Thank you Charmed-Snow, I'm glad that you like it!!!
Jo
Thank you very much!!! It's great that you read all the chapters and that you like Prue and Cole together.
Perhaps I should say, that once I thought that just Cole and Phoebe should be together. But well later I really could't stand her anymore and I had to try something else. And when I started to write this story I noticed that Cole and Prue suit one another very well. And to tell the truth it was easier for me to write them together and more fun.
13. Chapter
When Prue entered her office Monday morning, Vivian was already waiting for her. Prue looked at her surprised, because usually Vivian was the last person, who started to work. "Vivian, what can I do for you." she asked reserved, while she put her back on her desk.
Meanwhile Vivian went up and down in the office, before she stopped to look at Prue. "I've heard that you pose as Cole Turner's wife."
Prue looked back, she was totally perplexed. "Who told you that nonsense?"
"Well it is said." Vivian explained coldly. "And I've also heard, that you are living with him in his house."
"Yes, that's right." Prue told her calmly, although she wondered, what's that got to do with Vivian, it wasn't her business. "As I already told you, he was married to my sister. And because she can't be here anymore, we take care of their son together." She said and looked at Vivian with a sneering smile. "Didn't he tell you about it?"
Vivian smiled back sneering. "No, we had more important topics." She said and came nearer. "I just wanted to warn you, don't dare to get in my way again."
Prue looked at Vivian calmly, as if she has ever got in Vivian's way, she thought and asked. "What are you getting at? In which way exactly?"
"You know very well in which way." Vivian snapped at her. "You won't place obstacles in my path. Don't dare you!"
"I've no idea, what you're talking about." Prue said angrily.
"He didn't call me yesterday and that's your fault, I know it." Vivian explained furiously. "And Daddy has told me, that Cole and you left the restaurant together last Saturday. But take my word for it, he'll be mine!"
"Cole?" Prue laughed. "Oh, he doesn't belong to anybody. Perhaps he belonged to Phoebe once, but you are not a patch on my little sister." She told her angrily, because it was horrific that everything she has done the last days has been watched somehow.
"Don't try to talk him into believing, that he still has to mourn for her." Vivian hissed furiously.
Prue looked at her with a contemptuous smile. "I don't have to." she said composedly. "And if there isn't anything more important, it would be a good idea for you to leave my office, I'm busy."
"You'll regret it, if I make an enemy of you." Vivian told her and rushed to the door, where she nearly knocked down Judy, who entered the room at the same minute.
Judy looked after Vivian and turned to Prue. "I wonder what's biting her."
"How should I know?" Prue shrugged her shoulders. "She thinks, that I interfere her plan's with Cole. What a lot of rubbish."
"Oh is that so?" Judy asked grinning and sat down on her chair. "I really don't know, what gives her that idea."
"She claimed that I would pose as his wife." Prue leaned back and her facial expression showed, what she was thinking about it. "What nonsense." But suddenly it occurred to her, that David Morgan could have told Vivian about it. "Do you know, if David Morgan and the Wingroves are close to each other?"
"David Morgan, the District Attorney? Not, that I know of." Judy said.
"What do you know about him?" Prue wanted to know.
"I just know that he's a brilliant lawyer and he never looses in court, even if the trial is doomed to fail." Judy said and thought hardly. She knew all pieces of gossip of New Orleans' high society and finally it occurred to her. "David Morgan's father was a highly influential man here and the upper crust was shocked, when he married a black beauty." Judy shrugged her shoulders. "Actually it doesn't make headlines these days, but he moved in the best circles and there it was. He died early and some people have immediately claimed that David's mother has killed him with Voodoo magic. But you mustn't take this so seriously, it's nonsense. Anyway David Morgan's grandparents have brought up the boy. I don't know, what happened to his mother. It's said, that she has gone back to her family and then she has married again." Judy raised her hands and looked at Prue ominously. "But some people say that she became a dark Voodoo priestess."
Prue laughed. "You'll be surprised, Judy. There is more in this world than meets the eye."
Judy shrugged her shoulders. "The ordinary madness is enough for me." she said and looked at Prue thoughtfully. "But I think that it's no good for you to make an enemy of Vivian."
Prue sighed. It was just great, and she owed everything to Cole!
At the same time Cole was waiting for Amy in the small room in the remand prison. He has put the sooty cross into his pocket and hoped, that he could get Amy to talk with this new information. When she entered the room she was still very pale. But she had a ponytail now and stared into space. When the warder has left the room she greeted Cole quickly.
"How are you?" he wanted to know.
Amy shrugged her shoulders. "What do you think, how I feel? I'm in jail." She looked up and cast a glance on Cole. "And did you have a nice weekend, Mr. Turner?" She couldn't bring herself to call him Cole.
Cole nodded. "Yes, indeed! And I had enough time to pay a visit to the clearing where Adam Boucher was murdered."
"Mm" was all Amy said. She didn't look at him, when she asked. "I thought you would have better plans for the weekend, wouldn't you?"
Cole ignored her question. "Why didn't you tell me, that your friends and you wanted to celebrate Beltane?"
Amy kept looking at the table. "I don't know, what you are talking about."
Cole looked at her annoyed. "You're a hopeless liar Amy. You wanted to celebrate May Day. You've decorated the trees and lighted a fire." Cole explained, but there was no reaction from Amy. "Okay, at least you don't deny it. And it would be needless, because I've found this powder in your room which has a disinhibiting effect." When Amy still didn't say a word, he added. "And I can assure you that it works."
Now Amy was surprised. "You've tried it out?"
Cole nodded. "Yes unfortunately I've spilled some of the powder on our dessert. And all guests have really acted strange after it." Cole explained smiling.
Amy smiled back and suddenly she was looking like the happy young lady on Father Tynan's photos again. "And what have you done?" She asked in amusement.
"Oh, you won't believe, that I've eaten something of it." he told her.
Amy shook her head laughing. "But your guests were guinea pigs for your experimental purpose. That wasn't very nice of you, Mr. Turner."
"Well, obviously I'm not very nice." He explained with a shrug.
"I doubt it. And it also isn't very good, to be too nice." She said and the smile faded from her lips. "So you had to eat the powder." She thought.
"Yes, what have you done with it?" Cole asked.
"I've sprinkled the bunches of herbs with it." Amy confessed and confirmed that she has decorated the trees.
Cole leaned forward on the table. "Why don't you tell me, what happened that night? Have you invited your boyfriends to celebrate a party?"
Amy shook her head. "No." she said firmly. "There was nobody else, just we."
"I don't believe you Amy. Where is the sense to have no sense of shame, when there are only women?" Cole asked with an ironical smile.
Amy flashed a look of contempt at him. "You are a man, you don't understand that."
"Oh, I understand very well. Your friend and you have broken down your inhibitions. And when Charlotte and Gillian left you, you could finally let it out. But unfortunately Adam Boucher turned up and wanted to stop you. Your friend saw red and has lost his control, so he killed him. And now you feel guilty, because you have used a magical powder to loose your self-control." Cole looked at her challenging. "So, what do you say now?"
"You have no idea." Amy explained coldly. "I can just tell you, that you are completely wrong."
Cole leaned forward on the table. "You don't have to protect him." he tried to convince her.
"There is nobody I have to protect." Amy said stubbornly.
Cole looked at her in frustration. She would never betray this guy, that was obvious and he could understand her. But nevertheless he had to find out, what has happened. He put out the charred cross and laid it on the table carefully. "But can you tell me at least, why this ended up in the fire?"
Amy took the cross carefully and suddenly she started to cry. "Oh my God, what have I done." she whispered and her head fell down on her arms lying folded on the table. She began to cry unrestrained and held the cross tightly in her fist.
"Wonderful!" Cole said, he was annoyed. "That's so great, but it doesn't help me along."
Amy raised her head and looked at him with eyes wet with tears. "Thanks for your sympathy!" She uttered sobbing.
"Sympathy? I don't know, why I should offer my sympathies to you." Cole said coldly, because he wasn't interested to see another crying fit.
Amy looked at him angrily. She sniffed and streched herself. "I think you'd do well to go. I've nothing to tell you!" She stood up and knocked at the door, while she still clutched the cross.
When Cole was sitting in his car again, he looked at his incoming calls. It was always Vivian Wingrove's number. Cole sighed. She has already called twice the day before and this morning again. He listened to her last message. She told him that he should call her in her office. Cole thought about it and decided that she just wanted to get back her keys. He put them into an envelope and decided to drop them by but not in her office. He set off and went to Edward Wingrove's house.
When Cole said that he would like to talk to Miss Wingrove, the gate was opened and Cole parked his car near the house. He got off and entered the entrance hall when a clerk told him, that Miss Wingrove would come soon. He opened a door and Cole entered the small room, where he had already waited for Charlotte a few days ago. It took Cole by surprise that Vivian was at home again, because he expected her in her office and he hasn't seen her car in front of the building. He looked around angrily. In fact he hasn't planed to meet Vivian again in a hurry. But when somebody opened the door he noticed to his relief that it wasn't Vivian but Charlotte.
"Oh, it's you." she let out disappointed.
"Charlotte." Cole said gladly, what a lucky coincidence. "I'm glad to meet you because I still have some further questions for you."
Charlotte sighed. "If it's got to be done let's get it over and done with." She dropped into an armchair disgruntled.
Cole sat down on the coach face to face. "Why didn't you tell me, that you've invited your boyfriends for a party at the 1st of May?" he asked straight.
Charlotte looked at him astonished. "Did Amy tell you about it?" When Cole nodded, she continued. "Well because they didn't come."
"But you've invited them?" Cole asked.
Charlotte nodded and leaned forward. "But don't tell my father about it." she said in a low voice. "He likes to forget that I'm already 19." She explained angrily. "I don't know how I can stand it. He really demands that I introduce every man I date to my parents first."
"Why don't you move out?" Cole wanted to know.
Charlotte looked at him in disbelief. "I'm studying and my Dad doesn't want to pay for my own apartment." She told him and sighed. "I know, that isn't fair, but I can't do anything against it." She said and it was obvious, that she didn't want to give up all comforts of her current home for a cheap student's digs.
Cole shrugged his shoulders, actually he didn't care about it, but nevertheless he was surprised that Edward Wingrove could exercise power on his daughter by means of money. "Does Vivian live her, too?" He asked thoughtfully.
"Oh yes, but she has her own flat in the left wing of our house." Charlotte told him.
Cole nodded. "But back to your boyfriends. Gillian, Amy and you have invited them to a party on the plantation, haven't you?"
Charlotte sighed. "Amy had this idea. And in the beginning Gillian and me thought, that it would be quite interesting, too. Something special, original, well unusual. But when we had lighted a fire and were waiting for our friends, Todd called me." She looked at Cole. "Todd is my boyfriend." She explained. "He called me, to tell me, that he and Gillian's friend wouldn't come to a deserted plantation, when there was a party in our favourite club. Gillian and me were angry, but then we saw, that they were right and we wanted to go back to town. We even asked Amy to go with us, but she wanted to wait for her friend."
"And do you know Amy's boyfriend?" Cole wanted to know.
Charlotte shook her head. "No. She always made a secret out of him. But who can it be, probably such an ecological freak, I suppose. I mean he likes Amy....!"
"So you don't know, if he still arrived that night?" Cole asked.
Charlotte shook her head. "No, and perhaps he doesn't exist, or he just exists in Amy's mind."
Cole looked at her searching. "What makes you say that?"
"Oh Amy was always..."
"Strange, I know." Cole stood up and went to the door. Then he turned around again. "Charlotte could you give this envelope to your sister, please." He asked her and handed over to her the envelope with the key.
When Cole arrived at home in the afternoon, he found two new messages of Vivian on his mailbox. He deleted them annoyed and went to the garden. The weather was bearable this day and he made himself and Danny a home under the chestnut tree, when the phone started to ring again. It was Isabell Swallow who told him, that Mr. Wingrove expected to meet him the next morning in the country club. Cole looked at the phone thoughtfully, he didn't know, what was the meaning of this. But he knew instinctively, that it was high time to get Amy to talk. The only question was, how he should arrange it. Finally he found the answer, but first he had to talk to Prue about it and he had no idea, what she would think about it. He decided to talk with her, when she arrived at home. But it was getting later and later and Prue didn't come. Normally she should have been home long ago, but she didn't arrive.
When the bell was ringing in the evening, nobody opened the door. Cole and Danny were still in the garden and Mrs. Jennings went home long time ago. So nobody saw an angry Vivian Wingrove waiting on the other side of the door. She pushed the bell again, but the noise remained unheard in the entrance hall. Vivian looked around searching for Prue's car, but she just found Cole's company car in front of the house. She tried to look through the pane off the door, but she couldn't see anything. She went to the window on the right side angrily and looked into a small room. The blindes weren't closed, but the sun light was strong and she couldn't make out a lot. There was a chair in front of the window with clothes of a man on it and there was a bed straight on, but she couldn't see anything else. She turned around and went back to her car furiously. She has specially made sure that Prue would have to work overtime. And now Cole wasn't at home, damn it. She sighed and drove away.
Prue finally arrived at home, when Danny was already sleeping. She had to work overtime and she knew exactly, who was responsible for that. When she has finally finished her work, she allowed herself to have a diner at a restaurant. She knew that the diner at home would be already cold and that Danny was sleeping in his bed by now. So the only person, who was waiting for her would be Cole and she really didn't want to meet him. She has tried to calm down and relax first, but she didn't really succeed.
When Cole saw her coming into the living room, he knew immediately that this wasn't the right moment to talk to her about Amy.
"Can you tell your girlfriend Vivian to leave me alone please." Prue said as calmly as possible. Vivian has made her clear, how much she could complicate her life, not only because of her influence on Petersen. Today Petersen has complained about every minor matter and Prue has had much more work that usually. She couldn't finish everything in her ordinary working hours. Moreover she could imagine, how the distribution of the next photo orders would be like. She has already wondered, if she should work as a freelance again, but she wouldn't let herself expelled from her safe job by such a silly cow like Vivian.
Cole looked at Prue asking. "What?"
"Your girlfriend has the stupid idea that I would try to separate you." Prue said with a cold smile.
"What on earth made her saying that?" Cole asked amused and looked up at Prue."Have you told her anything about us?"
"Have you gone mad?" Prue looked at him in disbelief and shook her head slowly. "And I'd say there isn't anything to tell."
"There is." Cole stood up and grinned. "You can't deny that you don't like her."
"No, but that's got nothing to do with you. I could never stand Miss Complacence." Prue said calmly.
"So where is the problem?" Cole asked.
Prue sighed. "I've already told you that she thinks I'm responsible that you didn't call her yet."
"Mm, and how do you know that she isn't right?" Cole wanted to know.
Prue looked at the ceiling. "Stop it." she said annoyed and turned around to leave the room.
But Cole was faster and blocked her way. "I'm not interested in Vivian, I just wanted information." He told her.
"I couldn't care less!" Prue said calmly, but she couldn't deny that it was a good feeling to know that he preferred her rather than Vivian. Perhaps even he had a little knowledge of human nature.
"Are you really sure?" Cole asked again and blocked her way to the door, because he didn't want to let her go. He even didn't know himself, why he didn't feel attracted to Vivian. She was attractive and okay, she preferred to talk about herself and it would getting boring in time, but for the moment Vivian should be good enough. But unfortunately Vivian was not nearly as interesting as Prue and not nearly as challenging. Prue held a great fascination on him, she fascinated him in a way no woman had done before. She was unpredictable and difficult and nevertheless so self-confident, that he never has thought that he could stand a chance with her. But apart from this she was absolutely right, it would only cause problems, if they were more than just fellow occupants. But at this moment Cold didn't care, he liked to take risks that was the way he was.
Prue looked at him angrily but she didn't say anything else. She just wanted that he would step aside, because she didn't want these emotions, she didn't want to feel anything near to Cole. She has just decided to order him to let her pass, when another thought occurred to her. It was rather strange, that she could have something so easily, that Vivian wanted so badly. If revenge was sweet, she would notice it soon. She was standing on the tip of her toes with a smile on her face and touched his lips.
First Cole was surprised about Prue's sudden affection, but he didn't mind. He leaned forward to kiss her and immediately she flung her arms around his neck to pull him closer. At least for this moment their awareness took a rest and they were in another world. These conflicting emotions fighting against each other inside of them disappeared partly and passion replaced it. Prue's mind was suffering from shock and she could let her emotions run wild.
When they were lying on Cole's bed hours later, they had forgotten to close the blinds again. The pale light of the street lighting was shining into the room and the light of the entrance hall was shining through the not completely closed door, too.
There was enough light, that Cole could look at Prue searching. He laid down on his side and his hand ran through her hair thoughtfully. "Why did you change of heart?" he asked interested.
"Mm." Prue was lying on her back and stared at the ceiling. This time it didn't feel so wrong than the nights before. Finally this time she knew at least the reason why she did it. And she could accept it more or less, although she wasn't proud of herself. But she made no move to get up immediately to leave the room. And well there weren't enough repairs in the house to kill another sleepless night. "Well that happens if people try to threaten me." she finally said.
"Oh, do you mean I owe my sudden attraction for you to Vivian?" Cole asked amused.
Prue turned to him. "Yes, that's quite possible." She confessed straight out. "As the saying goes, revenge is sweet."
"And is it true?" Cole asked and kissed her lips.
"Well I remember better kisses. But I have Vivian at the back of my mind and therefore it's bearable." Prue muttered.
Cole leaned to her and laughed. "You aren't a good liar, are you?" he asked and kissed her again.
Prue didn't care about truth and lie, she just drifted. She didn't feel so alive for a long time and luckily she missed her guilty feelings yet. So why shouldn't she enjoy this moment? Finally nobody knew, how long his life would last and caution wouldn't get you anywhere. Sadly, she found that. She felt Cole's hands discovering her body and she had no objections, but did the same.
Both were so busy with each other that they didn't notice a person in front of the window. Vivian Wingrove has tried all night to get Cole on the phone, but obviously he has switched it off, because he answered none of her calls. That was the reason that she went to her favourite bar to take her mind of her thoughts. In spite of all her drinks, she decided to take the car to go to Cole's house later again. When she arrived there without a hitch, she got off and saw Prue's car standing in front of the house. Nevertheless Vivian walked shakily to the door and wondered, what she was doing here. Finally it was really too late to ring the bell again.
She listened attentively at the door, but then she noticed some noise from the right side. She looked there and saw a tilting window which was opened a little. She went to the window and looked through the pane of glass carefully. It was quite dark in the room, but she could make out two persons on a bed. When Vivian became clear, what they were doing, she stepped back terrified. She sobered up immediately and couldn't believe, what she was doing. She wasn't a peeping Tom, she has never been interested to spy on lovers. Nevertheless the window had a strong attraction for her. She had to find out, who was lying on the bed, otherwise she wouldn't calm down. She went back to the window and looked into the room. Now she noticed that it was rather small, there was just a wardrobe, a chair and a bed in it. But no matter how hard Vivian tried, she couldn't recognize the dark figures. She already wanted to turn away, when she heard someone laughing and she knew this laughing very well. It was Prue lying on this bed. Vivian leaded back in relief. If it was Prue, Vivian wouldn't have to worry. Her colleague could do whatever she liked, Vivian couldn't care less. She came to realize that she could go home, she wouldn't find out anything interesting here.