Lauren “Are you sure you don’t mind doing this?” my elderly friend, Millie, asked for the fifth time in the last five minutes. I smiled as I watched her pack more things into a large tote bag as I sat at her kitchen table, sipping my tea. “I honestly don’t mind,” I assured her. “I can drop that stuff off. It’s on my way home.” Okay, I wasn’t exactly thrilled to be stopping by Cole Remington’s ranch on my way home, but it was better than Millie going out in the cold. Her arthritis had been flaring up lately, probably because it had been brutally cold in Montana. We were still another month away from spring in the small town of Crystal Fork, and February had been a crazy month so far. The Chinook winds had wafted through our area earlier in the month, giving us some unseasonably warm weather just a week ago. Unfortunately, we were paying for those nice days now. It had been frigid and windy for the last several days, and it didn’t look like the cold temperatures were going to change anytime soon. In fact, we were supposed to get what looked like a substantial storm tonight. It was also completely unnecessary for Millie to expose herself to someone who might be sick, even if Cole was her nephew. “I’m worried about him,” Millie fretted. “Cole will never admit that he’s getting sick, but he didn’t sound good when I talked to him on the phone earlier. I’m afraid that he’s getting the flu bug that’s going around, but I’m not sure that I like the fact that you’ll be exposed if you drop this bag off.” “I took the flu vaccine,” I reassured her. “I’ll be fine.” I’d been incredibly busy with work in October when I’d gotten stuck for the virus. I’d gladly taken the protection as I hadn’t wanted to be down and sick for a week or two with the flu. Millie tossed some ibuprofen into the bag before she took her place at the kitchen table again to finish her tea. “I’m glad that I made an extra-large batch of chicken soup a few weeks ago so I could freeze some. So many of my friends have gotten sick this month that I’m almost out already.” She took a sip from her teacup before she questioned, “It won’t bother you to interact with Cole?” My eyes widened a little before I responded, “Why would it bother me to talk to Cole?” Millie sent me a knowing look. “I haven’t seen you with Cole since Devon and Reese’s wedding, but I think he made you a little uncomfortable. Please don’t tell me that you believe the rumors about my nephews.” I let out a long sigh. I loved Millie Remington. My parents had died in a boating accident while they were on an anniversary vacation when I was eight years old. Millie had become an honorary mother to me since my mom and dad had passed away. She’d made it a point to be there for me whenever I needed a mother figure in my life. She was the sweetest woman on Earth. But…sometimes she was way too intuitive and observant. I was close to Millie’s three billionaire sons, especially Tanner because he’d been my older brother Keith’s best friend before my brother’s death in a motorcycle accident years ago. I also adored their wives. Anna, Reese, and Hannah had become close friends since I’d returned to Crystal Fork from Boston. Cole and Asher Remington, Millie’s nephews, were an entirely different story. The two brothers had recently relocated back to Crystal Fork from Austin. Nobody was really close to Cole and Asher. I finally shook my head. “I don’t believe those rumors for a single second,” I told Millie firmly. “I know that Cole and Asher didn’t kill their father.” That particular rumor was nothing new. It had been flying around the small town of Crystal Fork for over two decades. There was absolutely no proof that the gossip about Cole and Asher was true, and it amazed me how many in town actually believed that story. Granted, the two brothers probably had a motive for wanting their father dead. Their father had been a mean alcoholic who had never really cared about his boys. At best, Cole and Asher had been neglected. At worst, they’d not only been neglected but abused as well. Their father had been murdered at their home when Asher was eighteen and Cole was sixteen. That murder had never been solved, and the brothers had left Crystal Fork two years later, as soon as Cole had graduated from high school. Honestly, I couldn’t blame them for leaving as soon as they possibly could. The town had judged both of them and labeled them as the black sheep Remingtons. I wasn’t exactly sure why Cole and Asher had recently come back to Montana from Austin after all of these years. Sure, they had inherited a very substantial amount of property from their father, acreage that bordered Millie’s, but it wasn’t like they needed that property. In fact, it had stayed unoccupied and neglected for a long time. Cole and Asher had become billionaires, only recently selling the tech giant company they’d built in Austin before they’d relocated back to Crystal Fork. The brothers still had vast investments and more money than they could probably spend in a gazillion lifetimes. The last thing they’d really needed to do was claim more wealth by finally inhabiting the property they’d inherited from their father. “But Cole still makes you uncomfortable,” Millie observed. “It’s not because I think he’s a murderer,” I replied. “I know he’s your nephew, Millie, but you have to admit that Cole isn’t exactly personable.” That was putting it mildly, but I could hardly tell my friend that her nephew was a surly, disagreeable jerk. There was just something about Cole that unnerved me. Oh, he was gorgeous just like his male cousins, but he was…intense. I felt like every time he looked at me with that hazel-eyed gaze of his, he could see right through me. I hadn’t seen Asher at all because he was incredibly reclusive, and I’d only had a few interactions with Cole, but those occasional meetings had been more than enough for me. The man emanated some serious bad boy vibes, too, and he was much rougher around the edges than Millie’s sons. Was that really unexpected, though? The two Remington family groups had been raised so differently. Kaleb, Tanner, and Devon had been raised by loving parents with an ideal childhood. Cole and Asher had been raised in an environment where they’d probably worried mostly about survival. Millie let out a frustrated breath. “I know he’s not an easy boy to like sometimes, but it’s not really his fault. His heart is good, even though his father was a horrible man. He’s been good to me since he moved back to his father’s ranch next door, and he did save Reese’s life. Devon is grateful to him, and Reese adores him, whether my nephew wants that adoration or not.” I wanted to remind Millie that she’d been good to Cole, too. In fact, Millie had initiated the relationship after Cole had gotten shot saving Reese’s life. She’d been there for her nephew while he was recovering from the gunshot wound, and Cole had reluctantly accepted his aunt’s affection. I had to give the guy credit, though. Cole had accepted Millie back into his life, and he was slowly starting to communicate with his cousins. I also knew that Cole stopped over at Millie’s whenever she needed help at her ranch. In fact, he often got those tasks done before Millie’s sons had the chance to do them. Cole and Asher had separated the vast acreage they’d inherited, and Cole had built his massive ranch home closer to Millie’s property. That was probably a lucky occurrence since Asher didn’t speak to anyone, and he probably wouldn’t have been a great neighbor for Millie. “I’m glad that he’s been good to you,” I told her honestly. I’d been really afraid that Cole would be a jerk to Millie, and that would have broken my friend’s heart. “He’ll warm up to you, eventually,” Millie said hopefully. “Give him a chance, Lauren. I really want all of my family to be together. We never really got a chance to be close to my nephews when they were young because my husband and their father were estranged. I’d like to change that in the future.” My heart squeezed inside my chest. The endless amount of love this woman had to give amazed me. It always touched me that Millie treated me like family since I had no family of my own anymore. I snorted. “I doubt that Cole is going to warm up to me. He’s not a warm and fuzzy guy, but that’s okay. As long as he’s nice to you, I’m happy.” Cole Remington was rough and abrupt. Curt to the point of rudeness. When he did speak, he seemed to say whatever he was thinking the moment the thought popped into his head. He had absolutely no filter, and unfortunately, most of his comments were surly. The man was intense, and that intensity had always made me uncomfortable. Nevertheless, I didn’t exactly dislike Cole. I just…couldn’t. And I certainly didn’t believe that he’d murdered his father. “How did you like the tea?” Millie asked, changing the subject. I smiled at her. “It was delicious, but I’m not sure if it’s as good as last week’s English toffee tea.” Our tea days were something special that Millie and I had been sharing since I’d moved back to Crystal Fork. We both had a weakness for delicious gourmet teas. Whenever I got a new one, or whenever Millie found one, we got together to try them out together as soon as possible. “It would have been more delicious with fresh scones,” Millie teased. I groaned. “I hated asking you not to bake any today. I’ve been too sedentary over the winter. I don’t want to gain back the pounds I lost before winter set in, and I still have to lose more weight.” Life really wasn’t fair. Weight had always been a struggle for me, but I was a major foodie. Millie’s freshly baked scones were one of my biggest weaknesses. My friend sent me a disapproving look as she said, “You don’t need to lose another pound. You exercise and you’re healthy. Your body was meant to be curvy. You’re beautiful exactly the way you are, Lauren.” I let out a long sigh. I’d heard exactly the same thing from Hannah, Reese, and Anna, all three of Millie’s daughters-in-law, who also happened to be my three best friends in Crystal Fork. In reality, I carried more weight than was considered desirable for a woman of average height. And I definitely wasn’t beautiful. My three best friends had tried to help me get more chic and up-to-date, but I still felt like the same overweight geek with a genius IQ that I’d always been, even though I’d been trying to change my style. I might be a blue-eyed blonde, but there was nothing really stunning about my looks. My hair was wild more often than not because it was so thick, and there was nothing I could do about my ridiculous dimples. My blue eyes weren’t the kind of blue that was vibrant and sparkly. They were muted and pretty boring. I sent Millie a small smile. “I appreciate the vote of confidence, but I’m thirty-one years old, and men have never been beating down my door to ask me out on dates.” “Then all of the men you’ve known are idiots,” Millie answered. “It has nothing to do with the way you look. You’re extremely intelligent and highly successful. That’s intimidating to some men. You’ll find the right man.” I nodded, even though I highly doubted the right guy was going to just fall into my lap someday. I wanted what my friends had with Millie’s sons, and I wasn’t willing to settle for anything less. If I never found a man who was crazy about me, I’d rather end up alone for the rest of my life. On the surface, I was a pragmatic, sensible female. Deep inside, I wanted what everyone wanted from a relationship. I wanted to love and to be loved. More and more, I was starting to wonder if that was ever going to happen for me. “I’d better get going,” I told Millie regretfully as I rose and took our empty teacups to the sink. “I have to stop by Cole’s place on my way home, and I should probably get home and do my laundry.” It was probably sad that it was Saturday and my excitement for the night was doing my laundry and watching some true crime shows. Unfortunately, that was pretty much the way my adult life had been so far. My boring and sometimes lonely existence was nothing new for me. At least I had my adopted Remington family now that I’d moved back home to Crystal Fork from Boston. Millie nodded as she stood. “There’s a storm coming tonight. I can handle a few teacups. Text me and let me know when you get home safely.” I hugged the woman who had become like an adopted parent to me over the years, grateful for all of the Remingtons who were like family to me. I’d lost my parents when I was eight, and then my older brother, Keith, right after I’d graduated from high school. Keith’s best friend, Tanner Remington, had been looking out for me since the day that my brother had passed away. Tanner and I had been exceptionally close since Keith had died, and he’d always made sure that I knew I wasn’t completely alone. He’d never tried to replace Keith, but we had developed a sibling sort of relationship over the years. “Don’t let Cole’s orneriness get to you,” Millie said as she handed me the tote bag full of things for her nephew. “Deep down, that boy still has a heart.” “I won’t,” I assured her as I took the bag from her. I’d have to take her word for it as to whether or not Cole had a heart. He wasn’t the kind of guy who made small talk or pleasant conversation. I’d just hand him his get-well stuff and hightail it out of there as soon as possible. I smiled as I exited Millie’s house, thinking that my laundry was probably more appealing than spending one moment longer than necessary in the company of the very cantankerous Cole Remington. ...
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