Tomorrow's Promise (The Hawks Mountain Series) by Elizabeth Sinclair Page B

over the sun-dappled grass. A soft whit-chew whit-chew drew his gaze to the birdfeeder hanging from a huge oak tree just beyond the porch railing. A female cardinal scooped up the sunflower seeds, her drab, brown body almost obscured by the backdrop of the tree’s bark. In the maple tree on the other side of the lawn, a flash of brilliant red told Cole that her male counterpart was standing guard over his mate. When the squirrel headed toward the feeder, the male swooped down, putting himself between the squirrel and the female cardinal. Alerted to the intrusion by the raucous cry of the male, the female flew off, followed almost immediately by the male.
    The whole scenario served to bring his thoughts back to Faith. If only she’d accept his help and protection as readily as the female cardinal accepted her mate’s. But Faith was fiercely independent—a trait he admired, even if it did frustrate him. In a way, it was good that she didn’t want to rely on him. What would happen to her when he left for Atlanta and his new job? He didn’t want to be the cause of her feeling as helpless as she had when she’d arrived back in Carson.
    So what brilliant move had he made last night? He’d kissed her. And not just a friendly peck on the lips. He’d kissed her as if his very life depended on feeling her lips beneath his, and, at that moment, it had. Under different circumstances, her response would have filled him with joy, and it had . . . last night.
    But now that he’d had time to reflect on it, he realized it had been a huge mistake. It would have been different if he planned on putting down roots in Carson and settling in to raise a family here. But he wasn’t, and if he continued encouraging Faith to believe otherwise, it could bring both of them nothing but heartache when he left town. That could not happen.
    Having made up his mind to call a halt to any further intimacy with Faith, he felt a bit better. He leaned back in the rocker and set it into motion again. Faith would love the rockers and so would Lizzie. And that thought resurrected the memory of Lizzie’s strident cry for her mother which brought with it the memory of the kiss.
    Try as he might, and no matter how many times he resolved not to think about her, she kept invading his thoughts. The feel of her lips beneath his, the way she’d clung to him, the contours of her body fitting so perfectly with his. All of it persistently played through his mind like a favorite movie stuck in rerun mode.
    Heaving a deep sigh, he stopped the rocker’s motion and leaned forward, resting his forearms on his thighs and gazed down into his cooling coffee. The heart has a mind of its own. His mother’s words to him after the breakup with Diane played through his head. At the time, he’d shrugged them off, but now he hoped her well-worn quote was wrong. If it wasn’t, he was going to end up hurting the person he wanted to protect, the one person who didn’t deserve any more hurt in her life.
    Chapter 11
    FAITH SAT BESIDE Cole in the reception area of the Paws and Claws Animal Clinic and Wildlife Sanctuary and waited for Dr. Hunter Mackenzie to pronounce his final verdict on whether or not Faith had a job.
    Dr. Mackenzie was seated behind the receptionist desk reading the pitiful resume Faith had managed to scrape together and handwrote last night. As he read, she studied him. Granny Jo had told her that he’d met his wife Rose when she applied for a job as his receptionist. She had been a surrogate mother for her close friend, and the friend and her husband had died in a car accident, leaving Rose to carry the twins she’d conceived and to take care of them after they were born. Rose and Hunter had fallen in love and married, and he adored his adopted twin daughters.
    Maybe Granny was right. Maybe there were a few good men. Faith glanced at the man beside her and then shifted in the uncomfortable, molded plastic chair.
    “You okay?” Cole kept his voice