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“Love you too, Mom.”
Walking into her room and shutting the door, she slipped Cole’s coat off her shoulders and hung it on the hook on the bathroom door. After stepping out of her dress and kicking off her shoes, she turned the hot water on in her shower and let it run. In only her bra and underwear, she took her wish jar off her dresser, climbed into her window, and wrote one word on a scrap of paper. One wish.Cole.
After opening the window, she struck a match and held the paper above the jar, watching the flame curl the corner of his name, watchingColebecomeoleand then onlyeuntil the flames nearly burned her fingertips. And then she let it go, letting him fall into the ashes of all the other wishes she’d made but knew she’d never get.
CHAPTERTHIRTEEN
COLE
It must have beenthe sunrise flaring pink and orange across the mountains, or the crisp morning chill making steam rise from his mug, or the way his fingertips still felt the softness of Mira’s skin along her spine, but Cole had never had such a perfect cup of coffee in his entire life.
“You and Mira seemed to have a good time last night,” Madigan said, sipping his coffee with one hand and petting Murphy with the other.
“When did you become a mind reader?” Cole asked, smiling into his mug. “I was just thinking about the good time I had with Mira last night.”
Madigan chuckled, crossing his slippered feet while they rocked in the big Adirondack chairs on the deck.
“I’m actually surprised to see you up so early,” Cole said. “I thought you and Ashley might have worn each other out once you finally got some alone time.”
“Do you see Ashley out here?” Madigan asked, looking smug in profile. Cole held out his mug, and Mad clinked it with his, then said, “But I couldn’t let you leave without saying goodbye.” He turned his gaze away from the view, the sunrise sparkling in his eyes. “Are you sure I can’t convince you to stay a few more days?”
“I’d love to stay.”More than you know.“But I need to get back to Becks and Ruby. And I’ve got a few recording gigs next week.”
“I have to admit, I’m kind of jealous.”
“Of me?” Cole laughed at that. “You just married your soulmate and you’re getting ready to spend three weeks in Iceland to celebrate it, and you’re jealous of me? Ha. Ha ha ha.”
“It’s true. I miss making music.”
“Yeah, well. This ‘music’ is for a toothpaste commercial. And Nancy already told me she’d be at the studio next week so…”
“Hmm.” Madigan fixed Cole with a stare that was far too thoughtful for this early in the morning. “Hard to get away from her in Seattle, isn’t it?”
The wind whistled through the trees, over his skin. Cole tried not to shiver. “What are you getting at, Mad?”
He shrugged. “Nothing. Just an observation.”
“An observation? Care to elaborate?”
“I think, sometimes,” Madigan said, looking out at the mountain again, “it can be hard to move forward into your future while you’re surrounded by your past.”
Cole checked his phone for the time, opting for snagging another few minutes with Mira in lieu of spending them at Madigan’s Hard Truths Coffee Hour. “I should probably hit the road.”
“I’ll try to get Ashley up, but Davis will literally kill me if you don’t say goodbye to her before you leave.”
“Maude Alice up already?” Cole asked, knowing he’d need to say goodbye to her too.
“I’m not sure that woman ever sleeps. She’s in the kitchen, probably starting on breakfast despite Ashley asking her not to until she was awake to help.”
“It’s a pretty great world you’ve found for yourself here,” Cole said, meaning it in a way that made him wonder if hewasstuck in his past, either lacking the momentum or just too damn scared to ever make a break the way Madigan had.
Pushing out of his chair, Madigan held a hand out for Cole and pulled him up. “Thanks for coming, Cole. Thanks for being my best man, and my best friend.” With their hands still clasped, with the sunrise bronzing his beard, he added, “And there’s always a room for you here in this world too.”
Coffee sloshed over Cole’s mug as he wrapped his arm around Madigan’s back and leaned in. “Have fun in Iceland,” he said. “Send me pictures.”
“Deal,” Madigan said, squeezing him tightly.
“Oh, Cole.” Ashley rubbed her eyes as she walked out onto the deck, a red plaid blanket wrapped around her shoulders. “Are you leaving already?”
