Cole: A Boulder Series Novella

  Cole

  Copyright © 2019 by Eve L. Mitchell

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review. Copyright infringement is against the law, please do not abuse the hard work of the author.

  This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to any person, living or dead, or events or occurrences, is purely coincidental. The characters and storylines within this book are created by the authors imagination and are used fictitiously.

  Editorial services provided by: Paladin Editing

  Cover Design: Eve L. Mitchell

  Created with Vellum

  Contents

  Note From The Author

  Foreword

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  From The Author

  Why Cole?

  Bonus Chapter

  About the Author

  Also by Eve L. Mitchell

  For my readers who loved Cole so much, and wanted to hear his side, this is for you.

  I have tried to stay true to the locations, schools, and landmarks of Boulder, Colorado. Any error that there may be in my descriptions, is entirely mine and my inability to use Google Maps properly. I have truly enjoyed my research of the state of Colorado and Boulder. I would dearly love to visit one day; Boulder continues to have a special place in my heart. Any deviations that there may be from the city or surrounding area are to fit in with the story.

  Please note that I am a British author and although I have tried to make this as universal as I could, there will be some British spelling, phraseology, and terminology that I can’t (and won’t) eradicate from my writing and I am ok with that, I hope you are too.

  The first two books in this series can be read as a standalone, though I would recommend that you read them in order.

  Please note that Unbroken Bonds is not a standalone book and MUST be read in order of the series.

  It is essential that you read Indian Summer BEFORE reading Cole.

  For your convenience, the reading order is listed below. A synopsis of each book will be contained at the back of each book.

  Indian Summer (Boulder Series Book 1)

  Cole (Boulder Series Book 1.5)

  Dark Heart (Boulder Series Book 2)

  Unbroken Bonds (Boulder Series 3)

  I watched her from across the room. She sat on her bed, looking nervous in her small bedroom with its white walls and blue curtains. It was so sterile, it reminded me of a hospital room, the only stamp of personality on this room was the wall of books. Ari didn’t care that she had three other walls in this room, she seemed determined to fit as many books on this wall alone. Her hair sat on her shoulders, thick and shining. Large grey eyes, too big for her face, which were currently unfocused as she stared at one of her books on her shelves.

  “Ari,” I said softly. Nothing. She was zoned out again. I fought back a smile, I could quite happily sit and look at her all afternoon but that wasn’t why I was here, “Back in the room Ari.”

  She jerked out of her trance and flushed as she looked at me. “Don’t call me Ari,” she muttered.

  “Listen, Ari.” I cleared my throat. “Connor’s going crazy, you’re not talking to him?” I looked at her as she nodded her confirmation. “He’s driving my dad crazy. He’s wrecked two cars.”

  She gasped as she looked at me, her horror evident on her face. “What? How?”

  “Well, he drove the first one into a brick wall, and last night he took dad’s Jag and wrapped it around a tree.”

  “Oh my God, is he hurt?” Ari jumped to her feet and began to pace, I laughed as I watched her, stretching my legs out and putting them on her bed. She glared at me as she swiped my feet off her bed. I loved it when I could get a reaction out of her, when she didn’t have her head stuck in a book, when she wasn’t zoned out, hiding from Connor.

  “Of course he isn’t hurt, this is Connor. He jumped from the cars in time. He wasn’t happy with the damage to his own car. I don’t think he felt he had damaged it enough, so he set it on fire. Then sat back and watched it burn. Called the fire station himself. Waited for them to turn up and asked for a lift home.” I shook my head as I recalled Dad telling me what had happened. I started to smile as I thought of my dad’s language as he told me. As he demanded I come back from college and deal with my brother.

  “He’s crazy,” Ari whispered, breaking into my own musings. She was chewing her hair, I hated it when she did that. I reached over and took the hair from her mouth; I kept a hold of her hand. Her eyes caught and held mine.

  God she was absolutely beautiful, how the fuck did Connor mess this up?

  “He’s crazy for you.” I caressed her cheek, I shouldn’t have done that, she knew it too because she pulled away.

  “He put Jason White in the hospital, Colton.” I watched as the colour rose in her cheeks, a sign her temper was rising.

  “I know. He’s not the first guy Connor’s done that to.”

  “What? Was it because of…there are others?” I nodded. Watching her struggle with the question, dreading the answer that she was the reason my little brother was hurting people. Seeing the turmoil on her face made me want to hurt him.

  “Was it my fault?”

  “Not all the time.” I shrugged, hoping that if I played it cool, if I acted like it was no big deal, she would believe me. “My little brother has a temper and he’s possessive, mainly of you. How can you not know this?” I didn’t get the reaction I was hoping for, instead her eyes flashed at me, her anger taking over her confusion.

  “How the hell would I know? He’s always been Connor! Sweet, loving, somewhat juvenile, highly inappropriate at times, yes, but that’s Connor. He’s never said or done anything to make me think he was a freaking sociopath!” She sat down on the bed dejectedly.

  I could see she was going to cry and I didn’t want to be the cause of her crying. Without thinking, I pulled her into my arms. She felt so good. Her arms wrapped around me and I held her far too close as she sank into me. Her tears soaked my shirt. I didn’t care as I stroked her back, holding her while she cried. She tilted her head to look up at me, her eyes bright with some unshed tears still, her lips slightly parted.

  Fuck me, she looks perfect. I needed to get away from her, before I made a fool of myself. I pushed her back softly and stood.

  “He’s not a sociopath.” It was the only thing I could think of to say. Ari snorted and I agreed, it was lame. “Okay, he’s maybe a little too fixated on you and what you do, but you can’t say he isn’t devoted.”

  Her mouth dropped open in shock as she once again leapt to her feet. “Are you joking? He put Jason in the hospital. I don’t even know why!” Her hands ran through her hair. “I don’t even remember the last time I talked to Jason.”

  Ah, this I actually knew the answer to. “You shared your sandwich with him apparently.”

  She froze in the middle of the room and stared at me. “What?”

  “Apparently you gave him half your lunch one day and some idiot at practice commented that you look like the kind of girl that gave thing
s away easily.” I tried a smile when in reality I wanted to punch that motherfucker out instead.

  “What?” Ari looked furious. “Who? And why the hell didn’t Connor punch that guy out instead?”

  I laughed. I couldn’t help it; she was so innocent and so delightfully bloodthirsty when it counted. She was perfect. “He did. Unfortunately, seeing his friend punched out must have ticked Jason off, which was when he made some comment that seemed to imply you had offered more than your sandwich.” I shrugged, she stared at me, she seemed to be struggling with how to process it all. I tried to hide my feelings, in reality I wanted to have the whole damn locker room in hospital. None of them deserved to breathe the same air as her. She was exquisite. I watched her quietly, watched her take in a shaky breath.

  “Cole…I don’t know. I can’t handle this.” She sank back onto the bed beside me and I had to fight not to reach out to her. I offered her a smile instead.

  “So, I need to break it to him that you are over?” I rubbed the back of my neck. I needed to make my hands do something that didn’t involve touching her.

  “No, I thought I made it pretty clear myself,” she muttered beside me as she stared at her hands.

  “Avoiding calls, school, and visits isn’t going to cut it Ari. He needs to hear it. He needs to hear it from you.” I sat beside her again and cursing myself for being weak, I took her hand again. “He would never hurt you.”

  I knew this in my soul. Connor was my little brother, he would never hurt her, he was too in love with her. No, he would never hurt her.

  She was nodding. “I know. I’ve never been scared of him before… did you know this was happening?” Those huge eyes turned to look up at me and I was swallowed in their depths again.

  “Yeah, though I didn’t realise it had gotten so extreme. Matt always worried for you.” I glanced at her. “He told me on the way down here that you would have no idea what had been going on.” I knew she didn’t know the extremity, but I couldn’t believe she was oblivious. That was until I had seen her reaction myself. Then all doubts had vanished in one glance. “I admit I didn’t believe him. I do now.” I was honest. I was always honest with Ari.

  “Gee thanks for the vote of confidence.” She glared at me. I returned her glare mockingly with a grin. Her eyes narrowed even further.

  She stood and took a deep breath. “Okay, so I better go see him then and finish this.”

  “Now?” She looked at me and I realised I had just been staring at her like the lovesick fool I was. Had she seen me?

  “Better now than never. Would it be okay if Matt was with me?”

  Matt? What the fuck was wrong with me? “What’s wrong with me being there?” I couldn’t hide the stab of jealously I felt.

  “Because you’re his brother. You’ll take his side. Besides, Matt can take Connor in a fight if he has to.” She looked at me and ran her eyes over me. “Matty could probably beat your ass down too, come to think of it.”

  I bit my tongue. I didn’t want to tell her I could wipe my best friend out with one punch. It’s not something you boasted about. “I was on your side you know, but for that, I’m definitely on Connor’s. You probably drive him insane anyway.” She gasped as she spun to look at me. I couldn’t hold back my grin and I pulled her into a one-armed hug. “Come on, let’s go kill my brother’s hopes and dreams. Who said Saturday nights in this town were dull?” We went down the stairs and I waited while Ari told her father what she was doing.

  Jeff turned to me and I braced myself. “Your brother has been out of order,” he began. Again, for this girl, I bit my tongue. “It’s unacceptable to put people in the hospital for no reason,” Jeff carried on. “And Ari’s scared of him.”

  “Dad…”

  “I understand.” I cut her off and interrupted him. I had patience, barely. I had manners when it suited me, but most importantly, I could negotiate. “Connor’s behaviour has been unacceptable and will not continue. Ari will be safe with me. He would never, ever, hurt her, but I understand your concerns. Please be assured I will be with her the whole time.” I smiled. My back teeth ground against each other.

  “You’ll bring her home?” Jeff eyed me and I nodded. I was going to throttle Connor myself for this.

  We finally left the house and I watched as she laughed when she saw Matt, hugging him easily. They’d always had an easy friendship, he doted on her and her him. She asked him to go in with her and he didn’t hesitate. I could feel my teeth clenching again. When we got into the SUV, he glanced at me and I nodded to confirm that I was okay. He gave me a sympathetic smile, but his attention was soon on Ari again. His eyes continued to flick to her throughout the drive and I finally turned around to see her zoning out and panicking at the same time.

  “Ari, are you okay?” I asked her softly. She was tuned out. I glanced at Matt.

  “There’s a brown paper bag in the glove compartment,” he said. I reached forward, getting it and then I turned back and handed it to her. She snapped out of her daze, looked at me and then the bag. Snatching it off me, she scrunched it up into a ball and flung it at me. Matt let out a surprised laugh as I continued to watch her. Slowly, I turned away from her, facing forward to hide my smile.

  Matt pulled up in front of my house and as we got out, it was clear that no one was in a hurry. It seemed it wasn’t only me that wasn’t looking forward to the next part. As we headed inside, my dad was waiting. It was no secret he didn’t like Ari because he didn’t try and hide it. He knew how I felt about her, and he knew it was only a matter of time before Connor figured it out too.

  After getting Dad to leave her alone, we headed to the pool house. I made my way over to the bar, giving her the space she needed to break things off with my little brother. Matt didn’t leave her side and I was grateful for him giving her the support I couldn’t be seen to be giving her. I watched Connor play out his role, the repentant boyfriend, the disbelieving boyfriend, the jerk. When the jerk came out, I moved forward. My eyes flicked to Matt and got his acknowledgement of support as I went over to Ari. She stood in front of Connor bewildered and lost, I touched her elbow to let her know I was there. Merely to steady her, but I felt her calm down. It steadied me knowing that I calmed her.

  “You’re overthinking things. C’mon Ari, you don’t even talk to those people, these so-called friends you’re mentioning. You never have, you don’t care about anyone. That’s why I liked you to start with because you’re cold just like the rest of us. Only we matter Lil Bit. The rest of them are nothing,” Connor said to her.

  I regarded my little brother, taking in his arrogance and I wanted to shake him for it. Did he not know what he had in front of him, what he was carelessly throwing away? “Connor, you’re being cruel. No one at school thinks Ari is like that. We most certainly don’t. Your actions have scared her and rightly so. Nobody likes to be controlled and you’re trying to control her. She was never going to leave you for another guy, we’ve told you this a hundred times and you wouldn’t listen. Your own insecurities are what have brought you to this point. You have no one else to blame.” My tone was sharp, he noticed my hand on Ari’s elbow.

  I watched the anger break free and Connor lunged towards me. Matt caught Ari up in his arms and holding her close, moved her out of the way. Connor’s fist raised to throw down with me and I watched it as if it was in slow motion. Really? Had I taught him nothing? I caught the fist with my left hand and punched him low in the stomach, hoping to bring some sense to his thick-headed skull. The idiot stumbled back once, he raised his fist again and sighing with irritation, I hit him with a swift uppercut. He hit the floor, unconscious. I looked down at him and felt the familiar guilt I usually felt when I looked at him these days, my baby brother looked so innocent and harmless as he lay at my feet. Crouching down I ran my hand gently over his hair, this was what I used to do when he was younger and couldn’t sleep. A whimper behind me reminded me she was still here, rising I slipped the mask back on and turned to them bot
h. Ari looked at me with frightened eyes, her face white, her hands clutching onto Matt. She was scared of me, I could tell. Matt looked at me with sympathy and resignation.

  “Take her home Matt. I better get this idiot to his room before he wakes up. It would be best if you probably weren’t here for that Arielle.” Christ if she kept looking at me like that, I wouldn’t be responsible for wrestling her from Matt myself. Tearing my eyes away from her, I looked down at my brother. Fuck, I would have to explain this to dad. Oh shit, her dad! “Oh, and for God’s sake, don’t tell your father or none of us will ever see you again.” My eyes met hers, the idea of never seeing her panicked me. When Matt suddenly coughed, I know I let more show than I should have. I quickly turned away. Hiding, I was always hiding from her. She was the smallest person in the room most of the time but could cut me in half with one look. I heard them leave but had turned my attention back to Connor.

  Connor groaned and I nudged him with my boot. He didn’t stir. What a fucking mess.

  “What did you do?”

  I turned to my dad as he crossed over to us, the disapproval was clear. I shrugged as I ran my hand over my hair and stepped back. “You asked me to fix it,” I offered.

  “I didn’t say knock your brother out,” Dad commented dryly as he crouched down beside him, he turned Connor’s head to the side and checked his face.

  “Maybe I knocked some sense into him?” I offered as I walked back over to the bar stool.

  “Colton, that attitude isn’t helping.” Dad sighed as he stood and came and joined me. “You have to stop,” he added softly as he turned to look at Connor. “What are you going to do when he finds out?”