Operation Date Escape

she would celebrate her good news. After all, Operation: Date Escape had played a big part in bringing her and Cole together. Then tomorrow she would go after her man.
    * * *
    Cole held out the TV remote, flipping through channels on the big screen, not that he really cared what was on. All he could think about was Kelsie. Where was she? Was she okay?
    “ Any word from Kelsie yet?” Joe asked as he settled into the empty chair next to his.
    “No ,” Cole muttered. “Not that it should come as any big surprise.”
    “I just thought... Well, Nanci was acting a little strange on the phone last night.”
    “Strange how?”
    “Like she was keeping something from me that she really wanted to tell me. Saying things like tell Cole the sun will come out tomorrow and that patience is a virtue. I’m not sure what the hell all of that meant, but I think you need to give Kelsie a call again.”
    “As if she’d answer.”
    “When’s the last time you tried to reach her?”
    He turned to his friend. “When she first took off. I left several messages for her on her cell phone and on her answering machine at home. I think her not responding to any of them pretty much says it all.”
    “It doesn’t make sense. Maybe she never got the messages. Nanci said─”
    “Nanci’s wrong,” Cole growled. Fool he was, he’d fallen hard for Kelsie.
    J oe frowned. “Look, Cole-”
    “Breakfast is ready,” Stubby hollered to the crew as he stepped from the kitche n carrying a platter filled with several stacks of pancakes.
    “Time to eat,” Cole said, pushing out of the recliner, thankful for Stubby’s timing.
    “We’ll finish this conversation later,” Joe warned as he stood up from his Lazy-Boy.
    “Give it up, Joe. I don’t want to talk about Kelsie.” He tossed his friend the television remote and then crossed the room to the oversized table where the rest of his crew had already gathered for that morning’s breakfast.
    He’d done enough thinking about Kelsie the past few days to last a lifetime. And none of it had succeeded in really answering why she’d taken off the way she had. They were good together. The chemistry was incredible. And he’d done his damnedest to prove to her he was nothing like her ex, for all the good it had done him.
    Cole pulled out his chair and sat down. Then he reached for the coffee, in desperate need of some caffeine. His sleepless nights were beginning to catch up with him and that wasn’t a good thing.
    Joe settled into his chair across the table from Cole. Grabbing for his fork, he stabbed at the stack of pancakes in front of him and dropped three onto his plate. “Hey, Stubby, pass the syrup this way when you’re done.”
    “Will do.”
    The rec room door opened and Nate strolled in carrying the morning paper. He made his way toward the breakfast table, a smile on his face. “Hey, Maxwell, why didn’t you tell us that hot little tamale you’re dating is a writer?”
    A writer? What was he talking about?
    He looked up at Nate in confusion. “She’s not. Kelsie’s a dental hygienist.” And they weren’t dating. How could they be when she was nowhere to be found?
    Nate held out the folded newspaper. “According to this article, she’s also a soon-to-be famous author. At least, now I know how she ended up in that tree behind the strip club.” He chuckled. “Too funny.”
    Cole took the paper and scanned down the page. Sure enough, halfway down was a brief write-up about Worthington’s newest celebrity.
    ‘ Local resident, Kelsie Collins, hits the mark with her bad date survival book – OPERATION: DATE ESCAPE. According to our source, OPERATION: DATE ESCAPE is being picked up for publication. Miss Collins...’
    He read on and the more he read the more his gut twisted. Kelsie had never mentioned anything about being a writer. And she sure as hell never mentioned dating men to help her find ways to skip out on them in the name of research.
    Cole muttered a curse as understanding dawned on him. He was one of those men. To think he’d been fool enough to believe there had been something real between them. That Kelsie felt the same way he did and had only run out on him for fear of getting hurt again.
    His hardened gaze settled on the paper he clutched in his hands. It appeared he couldn’t have been more wrong about her. About them. No wonder his profession had never been a problem for her like it had been with the other women he’d dated. She’d had no