told herself.
Once home, she took a shower, ate dinner and settled into a good mystery. The phone rang beside her, making her jump.
“Hello?”
“Ellie, this is Cole.”
She took a deep breath. “I’m glad you called.”
“You are?” The surprise in his voice made her smile.
“Yes, I am.”
“Why?”
“I want to apologize for my behavior. I can’t promise I won’t struggle with your authority from time to time, but I can promise that I’m working on it and, with the Lord’s help, I’ll do better in the future.”
Silence.
“Cole?”
“Yeah.”
She liked the sound of his voice, deep, masculine.
“Are you okay?”
He chuckled. “Yeah, I’m okay.”
She heard him sigh.
“Look, Ellie, I called to apologize to you. Seems we do this a lot.”
“I know,” she whispered into the phone.
“I wish we could just erase everything and start over. I have a feeling things could be very different between us.”
She didn’t even want to think about what that meant, and she tried to ignore the way his words soothed her ruffled nerves.
More silence.
“Well, uh, I just wanted to set the record straight.”
“Thanks, Cole.”
“Um, I don’t suppose you—?”
“Yes?”
“Oh, never mind. See you tomorrow, Ellie.”
“Okay.” Without thinking, she cradled the receiver in her hands for a full minute. She made an audible gulp. “What in the world has gotten into me,” she said to her living room. She got up from the recliner and walked to the kitchen for a drink of water. Only then did she see her hand trembling.
Cole stared at the phone. A simple conversation, but somehow it left him shaken. The sound of her voice, sweet, vulnerable. Was that Ellie? Maybe he’d called the wrong number. She was clearly changing, despite her protests to the contrary.
What about you? The thought came to him out of nowhere. He pondered it a moment. He supposed he could stand to change some. Okay, maybe a lot. But that’s not something a person can do by himself.
He thought some more. Ellie had said, “With the Lord’s help.” Did she really believe God could change her like that? Isn’t God too busy running the world? He mulled the idea over in his mind. It just didn’t set well with him. His grandma had believed that—and she was a saint if there ever was one—but he couldn’t help but feel that a real man handled things himself. And that’s what he was, a real man.
Just like his dad.
He shook his head. He might as well face it. A real man would have left the bottle alone and helped his kids get through a tough world without a mom. It takes a real man to accept failure and grow from it. Everybody reaches for something to get them through the tough spots. His dad took to alcohol. Cole worked his frustrations out with new adventures like dirt bikes and parasailing, among other things. Ellie—he smiled—worked through her struggles with chocolate and/or diets. He shook his head. Seemed like an oxymoron to him, but then she could be that way sometimes.
Not that adventures and chocolate were bad. What mattered were the motives behind them. His motive for keeping every minute occupied with some new thrill, new challenge. Ellie’s motive behind the chocolate binges. He looked at the ceiling. Are You trying to teach me something here?
It took a moment to digest everything. Maybe he needed to talk to Jax. It didn’t hurt to find out more. He smiled at the thought. He’d better break it to Jax gently. Once Jax heard Cole was interested in knowing more about God, the man would probably keel over. Hadn’t Jax been trying for years to talk to him about such things, but Cole had always shrugged it off? Not this time, though. He wanted to know.
The phone rang. Cole got up from his couch and walked over to answer it. “Hello?”
“Hey, Cole.”
“Yes? Do I know you?” Cole teased, knowing full well it was his brother.
“Okay, so it’s been a while. I’ve been a little, well,
Once home, she took a shower, ate dinner and settled into a good mystery. The phone rang beside her, making her jump.
“Hello?”
“Ellie, this is Cole.”
She took a deep breath. “I’m glad you called.”
“You are?” The surprise in his voice made her smile.
“Yes, I am.”
“Why?”
“I want to apologize for my behavior. I can’t promise I won’t struggle with your authority from time to time, but I can promise that I’m working on it and, with the Lord’s help, I’ll do better in the future.”
Silence.
“Cole?”
“Yeah.”
She liked the sound of his voice, deep, masculine.
“Are you okay?”
He chuckled. “Yeah, I’m okay.”
She heard him sigh.
“Look, Ellie, I called to apologize to you. Seems we do this a lot.”
“I know,” she whispered into the phone.
“I wish we could just erase everything and start over. I have a feeling things could be very different between us.”
She didn’t even want to think about what that meant, and she tried to ignore the way his words soothed her ruffled nerves.
More silence.
“Well, uh, I just wanted to set the record straight.”
“Thanks, Cole.”
“Um, I don’t suppose you—?”
“Yes?”
“Oh, never mind. See you tomorrow, Ellie.”
“Okay.” Without thinking, she cradled the receiver in her hands for a full minute. She made an audible gulp. “What in the world has gotten into me,” she said to her living room. She got up from the recliner and walked to the kitchen for a drink of water. Only then did she see her hand trembling.
Cole stared at the phone. A simple conversation, but somehow it left him shaken. The sound of her voice, sweet, vulnerable. Was that Ellie? Maybe he’d called the wrong number. She was clearly changing, despite her protests to the contrary.
What about you? The thought came to him out of nowhere. He pondered it a moment. He supposed he could stand to change some. Okay, maybe a lot. But that’s not something a person can do by himself.
He thought some more. Ellie had said, “With the Lord’s help.” Did she really believe God could change her like that? Isn’t God too busy running the world? He mulled the idea over in his mind. It just didn’t set well with him. His grandma had believed that—and she was a saint if there ever was one—but he couldn’t help but feel that a real man handled things himself. And that’s what he was, a real man.
Just like his dad.
He shook his head. He might as well face it. A real man would have left the bottle alone and helped his kids get through a tough world without a mom. It takes a real man to accept failure and grow from it. Everybody reaches for something to get them through the tough spots. His dad took to alcohol. Cole worked his frustrations out with new adventures like dirt bikes and parasailing, among other things. Ellie—he smiled—worked through her struggles with chocolate and/or diets. He shook his head. Seemed like an oxymoron to him, but then she could be that way sometimes.
Not that adventures and chocolate were bad. What mattered were the motives behind them. His motive for keeping every minute occupied with some new thrill, new challenge. Ellie’s motive behind the chocolate binges. He looked at the ceiling. Are You trying to teach me something here?
It took a moment to digest everything. Maybe he needed to talk to Jax. It didn’t hurt to find out more. He smiled at the thought. He’d better break it to Jax gently. Once Jax heard Cole was interested in knowing more about God, the man would probably keel over. Hadn’t Jax been trying for years to talk to him about such things, but Cole had always shrugged it off? Not this time, though. He wanted to know.
The phone rang. Cole got up from his couch and walked over to answer it. “Hello?”
“Hey, Cole.”
“Yes? Do I know you?” Cole teased, knowing full well it was his brother.
“Okay, so it’s been a while. I’ve been a little, well,
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