Cole’s mouth curved up. “I like it,” he said. “And I’m just a teensy bit afraid.”
She laughed, feeling it from her belly to the tips of her fingers. Cole brought out her fun side. Why had she cut out that part of herself? “A teensy bit?” she asked. “Give me another target.”
“The wooden fence over there,” he said. “That lock.”
“But… but Cole, that takes a lot of work to fix.” She should know—she’d worked on that fence on that first day on the ranch with him.
“You’re worth it,” he said. “Do it.”
Worth it?
When was the last time that she’d felt the truth of those words? There was something about him that was so welcoming. Cole treated her like she meant something, like he believed in her potential. Maybe it was because he was fulfilled, and that’s why he wasn’t threatened by her.
He was settled in who he was.
West wasn’t. He was too empty to give her anything.
And she had been desperate to fix that, fix him! But now she knew that changing West was something that she had no control over.
If West wanted to change, he had to do it himself. Unfortunately, he’d never have the strength of character to do it.
But that was out of her hands.
“Go for it, Eva.” Cole coached her. Her hand tightened on the shotgun. “Get that lock and prove what a sharpshooter you are,” he said.
“Remember!” She nodded at the camera. “This is live.” Smiling, she took aim and shot the lock into kingdom come.
“Yeeeeeee-haw!” Cole shouted out in true cowboy fashion. “Bull’s-eye.”
“You want to play, Cole?” She moved to give him the shotgun. “He’s a pretty good shot. He’s quite the hunter, too—crossbows, archery, knives, darts.” She was running out of dangerous weapons that he knew how to use. “And that’s just him—his fierce dogs would tear anything to pieces.”
He let out a laugh at that, no doubt thinking of the gentle Lizardman and Ballerina. “What are you doing?”
She should’ve explained that she was intimidating her stalker before she pushed record. She was a little impulsive sometimes, but she knew that Cole could keep up.
“Oh, sorry. I haven’t properly introduced my friend.” She took her phone from him and showed her audience Cole… who, she wasn’t going to lie, looked really good after a night of sitting in the straw with her in that dusty old barn. He’d covered his messy hair with a cowboy hat that he’d found in his truck. His blue eyes sparkled at her in the morning light.
“You remember that hot kiss in the barn I livestreamed in August? Well, even though I was waiting for West, that was me accidentally kissing Cole, not his brother. It was dark, but… wow, I made a mistake. A big mistake, but at the same time, a good one.” Her cheeks heated at what she was doing. Was this making things right or worse? Was she going too far? “Even so, he didn’t deserve me doing that to him.”
His expression tightened.
She supposed she should’ve warned him that she’d blast their sins all over social media, but she wanted to clear some things up before she closed her TalkieTalk account forever. Would Cole understand her need to tell the truth to the world or would he judge her for it and think that West was right about her?
But there was one difference—Cole loved her. West didn’t, so even if he didn’t approve, they could work this out. “Will you forgive me?” she asked him.
Cole took a deep breath, his tongue running over his teeth as he brightened his dubious look with a grin. “Well, that’s one way of confessing the truth.” He let out a nervous laugh. “Eva? Listen… I’ll only forgive you if… you do it again.”
She returned the sentiment with a relieved giggle. “You bet I will!”
Oh, Cole was definitely letting her off the hook way too easily. He had it bad for her… she did for him too! Eva had almost settled for the counterfeit of love. How could she sell herself so short? Was she so desperate, so impatient, so lonely?
She’d imagined West to be everything that she wanted him to be. Now that the mirage was dashed, she was left gasping at the close call. She’d almost thrown everything that she’d ever cared about away when something so much better had been waiting for her.
“I will kiss my big strong man,” she promised, “… again and again, but this time… it will be our moment, for us alone. We don’t need to share it with anyone else to make it real.”
Her free hand reached out for Cole where the camera couldn’t see, and he took it, studying her face like they were already alone. Cole probably would never understand why she’d used social media to get attention. It was like this outside world didn’t exist for him—he didn’t let it in, and it had no effect on who he was.
That’s what she loved about Cole. He stood for what he believed in without caring what anyone thought, but then again, he understood his worth. Hadn’t he said that they were all children of God? He’d said it as casually as if stating the sky was blue. Eva wanted to feel that too. She was ready to put her worth to the test.