“When will you be back?” Luke’s voice pulled her from her thoughts, and she waited.
“Not good enough, Cole. I want to know when the fuck you’ll be back. Don’t make me call Alex,” he growled.
Sierra could only imagine what Cole was thinking at that point. He was a grown man and Luke had no right to try and dictate his life for him, but they both knew that Luke had a hard time not being in control of everything. He wanted things to work the way he expected them to. Unfortunately, with a relationship as complex as theirs, it didn’t normally work out that way.
“Fuck.”
Sierra turned the corner and entered the kitchen, hoping to calm Luke down before he said something he shouldn’t. That’s when she noticed that he wasn’t on the phone.
“What did he say?”
“He fucking hung up on me.” Luke placed his cell phone on the counter, gently laying it down and staring at his fist as though he was about to break the device with his bare hands.
“He’s in Austin?” She hadn’t expected him to leave without talking to them first, so the thought didn’t sit well with her.
“That’s what he says.”
“You don’t believe him?” she asked, wondering why in the world Luke would doubt anything Cole told him. If nothing else, Cole was one of the most honest men she had ever met. He might not talk openly or give his thoughts freely, but when he did talk, he was worth listening to.
“I don’t know what to believe right now, Sierra.”
Luke sounded angry. More than angry actually. She hadn’t heard him like this in months. The cold, detached man she had fallen in love with had changed in the last year, becoming so much more than she ever expected. It was as though his acceptance of the love she and Cole had for him had loosened the rope he kept knotted tightly around his heart.
“Go down there.” The words breezed right past her lips before her brain completely formulated the idea, but as soon as she did, she realized it was the only option. Luke needed to go after Cole. She had a feeling that the stress that lingered over their relationship had more to do with the two of them together and how Hannah fit into the equation than with the three of them as a whole. She didn’t want to think about what that might mean for her, but right now, she wasn’t important. Cole was.
“What?”
“You heard me. Go down to Austin. He said he’d be there for a week. I’m sure you can come up with an excuse to check in with Travis and you know Kane can handle the bar in your absence. This can’t wait until he gets back, Luke.”
Luke glanced from her then to the living room. She knew he was thinking about Hannah.
“I’ll have my mother come stay with us for a few days while you’re gone,” she told him quickly, not wanting him to come up with any excuses. She knew he wasn’t willing to leave her alone for one minute unless he absolutely had to. “I’d go with you, but Hannah has a checkup scheduled this week, and she can’t miss it.”
To Sierra’s surprise, Luke didn’t argue. He stared at her, and she wondered what he was thinking. The expression on his face was unreadable.
This was the only solution. The two of them could spend a few days alone and maybe, just maybe, they would be able to work this out. If not, Sierra feared that the wonderful life as she knew it was about to crumble at her feet.
As far as she was concerned, that wasn’t an option.
Never would it be an option.
Chapter Nineteen
Cole dropped his cell phone into the cup holder and stared out the window of his truck. His stomach churned around what felt like a boulder sitting right in his gut. Oh, and his palms were sweating, probably because he’d been clenching and unclenching them while listening to Luke.
He hated how he felt right at that moment. Hated that he was wondering whether Luke and Sierra would be better off without him. He would still have Hannah, but they’d probably only allow him to see her on weekends, and that was something he didn’t even want to think about.
His eyes misted, and he fought the urge to let loose. The emotions were intense, yet for some reason, Cole didn’t know what his problem was. If he thought about it, he was bringing this all on himself. But there was no denying the anxiety or the vulnerability he felt these days. He felt as though someone had finally tugged on the frayed string that had originally been holding him together and all of a sudden he was unraveling.
Shit.
He wasn’t the one who was supposed to have postpartum depression, damn it.
He didn’t know what provoked him to hang up on Luke, but he just couldn’t talk to the man, or listen to his disappointment or demands. It was clear he wasn’t happy with him for up and leaving without even saying goodbye, but when he had gone to his bedroom the night before, something about seeing Luke and Sierra curled up together made him feel like the third wheel all of a sudden.