Two Weeks (The Baxter Family #5)(48)

Ashley exhaled. She and Landon had talked about Elise and the hold she had on Cole’s heart. But they hadn’t specifically talked about this. Ashley didn’t want to bring it up. As if by doing so she might somehow make it happen.

She looked up at Landon. “You don’t think he’s really considering it? Running off and getting married out of high school?” An exasperated sound came from her. “Just so he could be like you?”

“No.” He kissed her lips this time. “There are a lot of ways Cole could help Elise if she raises her baby. Giving up his future career doesn’t seem like a very good choice.”

“Yes.” Ashley nodded. “Good. That’s what I needed to hear.”

“Of course.” Landon laughed, the quiet sort that was meant only for her. “Happy to help.”

Ashley chuckled. She hated feeling anxious, especially about her kids. They were God’s first and God’s always. All of them were only on loan to her and Landon. Still, she would pray desperately that God would work out the details for Cole and his life in the coming months. Not only for her son.

But for the girl he loved.

? ? ?

SINCE HE’D PICKED her up an hour ago, every time Cole looked at Elise she took his breath. Like literally, he couldn’t breathe right, couldn’t think straight. His mind was spinning and his feet didn’t seem to touch the floor.

He had never seen a more beautiful girl in all his life.

As he walked her down the porch steps to his car, the sun was setting over the golden fields and the slightest breeze rustled the baby leaves in the trees that lined the far side of the driveway. The sky and her dress and her crystal blue eyes were all the same color and a truth hit him in a sudden rush.

This moment would live with him forever.

He stopped and turned to her. Then he held up his hands and formed a frame. “If I ever become an artist like you, this will be my first painting.” He let his hands fall slowly to his sides. “The way you look tonight.”

Her eyes lit up and she held her skirt out and twirled. “That’s my dream, Cole.” She stopped and her smile reached to the center of his heart. “It’s always been my dream.”

“For me to be an artist?” He took her hand and spun her twice more. Who needed the prom? This was the dance he would remember. “I better get an easel.”

“No, silly.” She laughed. “To live in a painting. To be the art instead of creating it.”

“Well, then . . .” Cole drew her closer and looked deep into her eyes. “Your dream just came true, Elise. Because you are the most unforgettable work of art.”

This time she grew quiet, her eyes full of a love Cole had only hoped to know one day. “You’re my dream come true, Cole.” Her voice was like a song on the evening air. “Only you.”

Just for tonight Cole didn’t want to think about Elise being pregnant. He didn’t want to talk about due dates and clinic visits and how her decisions in the next few months could change both their lives forever. He only wanted to be young and free and eighteen.

In love with the prettiest girl at prom.

On the ride to school, at first neither of them said anything. The feel of her fingers between his was enough. As often as he could, Cole caught a glance at her. At every stoplight she looked more beautiful. How could she ever have been the bad girl? Running around with some jerk who didn’t respect her? It was impossible to believe.

Cole leaned back, his eyes on the road. He took another glimpse at her. “You know something, Elise?”

“What?” She lowered her chin, flirting with him. Her eyes sparkled even in the dim of the car.

Cole wanted to pull over and just stare at her. Instead he forced himself to look at the road. “Every guy’s going to be jealous of me tonight.” Another brief glance. “You look like an angel.”

“Thank you.” She turned and faced him. Her corsage was positioned just so on her left wrist. The smell of his carnation and her tiny white roses filled the air between them.

He could tell she was thinking about something. “What’s on your mind?” They were still a few minutes from the school. Prom was taking place in the gymnasium.

“Liberty.” She sounded curious, casual. All her walls completely down. “Why do you want to go there?”

Strange, Cole thought. She had barely talked to him about Liberty University before this. Their conversations had been so much about Elise and her pregnancy, her regrets about Randy and what she was going to do once the baby was born. And most of all how he might help her. This was the first time she’d asked about his school.

He shot her a quick look. “Now?” He didn’t want to think about being a world away from Elise. Not on a night like this. “You want to talk about Liberty?”

“Yes.” She smiled. Her voice was softer still. “It matters to you. So it matters to me.”

“Okay.” He made a right turn. The school was just two miles away. “At Liberty there’s a high bar and every student wants it. Higher academics. Stronger character. Deeper faith.” He smiled. “Four years later, people come out ready. For a career, for life.” He looked at her again. “For a family.”

“That’s what I thought.” Elise faced straight ahead and stared into the evening. For a minute she didn’t say anything. Then she took a quick breath and turned to him again. “It sounds wonderful, Cole. And the medical school you want to attend, it’s there, too?”