Just Maybe (Home In You Book 3)

by Crystal Walton

  She twisted the straw wrapper around her index finger and looked up to face the consequences of letting things go this far. “I wasn’t completely honest with you about why I came back.”

  “I know.”

  The wrapper unfurled. “You do?” Her pulse spiked.

  “Cooper Anderson?” A guy in a short-sleeved white dress shirt and loose tie approached their table with a drink in his hand. “Tonight must be my lucky night.”

  Cooper looked him over. “I’m sorry, do I know you?”

  “Chad Peters with the Hatteras Tribune.” He withdrew a business card from his pocket and held it out for him. “I’ve been trying to secure an interview with you for months.”

  When Cooper stared without taking the card from him, Chad set it on the table instead. “Maybe we could get some drinks. Even talk off the record if you want.”

  Cooper’s hand clenched around his water glass. “I realize you may have missed it, but I’m in the middle of a dinner date.”

  Chad’s focus strayed to Quinn long enough for assumptions to swirl. He looked behind him to the woman he’d left at his own table. “Me too.” He pitched an insinuating brow. “But I wouldn’t mind introducing you to my date. We could always hook up afterward. Go down to that beach around the lake I hear you enjoy taking the ladies to, eh?”

  If Cooper’s jaw got any tighter, it’d be stiffer than that drink Chad was about two seconds away from getting poured over his head. No wonder Cooper held such a distaste for the media. What gave this guy the right to infringe on Cooper’s privacy, waltzing over here like he had him all figured out, when all he was doing was insulting him?

  Quinn shot to her feet before she thought better of it. “I think you need to leave. Now.”

  Chad studied her then. When something too close to recognition flitted across his eyes, her knees buckled. Quinn sat right back down. If he was a journalist from Hatteras, their paths had probably crossed at some point. He didn’t look familiar, but that didn’t mean the opposite wasn’t true.

  Defying the A/C, sweat beaded under her shirt. One word, and the jerk could expose her for being more of a fraud than he was. Guilt seared into her. How could she judge him when she was even worse? She’d weaseled into Cooper’s life with the same exact presumptions and gall Chad had. The only difference was, a guy like Chad didn’t hide behind pretenses or rationalize his motives.

  Quinn strained to swallow, strained to pretend he didn’t unnerve her. But his silent appraisal felt like a floodlight drilling heat onto every hidden nook and crevice she’d tried to ignore since stepping foot in Lake Gaston again.

  A screech from Cooper’s chair legs grinding against the floor jerked Chad’s attention back to him. The second Cooper rose, Chad’s smug demeanor wavered.

  “I think you heard her.” He jutted his chin toward the table Chad had abandoned. As usual, Cooper’s commanding presence rendered words unnecessary.

  Chad sent one last look over Quinn, nodded in submission, and backed away. “You have my card if you change your mind.”

  Their waiter came over, his brow knitted with concern. “Is everything all right, sir?”

  “Fine.” Cooper returned to his seat and pulled his chair to the table.

  When the waiter still looked uncertain, Quinn offered him an assuring smile. They didn’t need any more attention drawn to themselves.

  “Fresh bread will be up in a moment.”

  “Thank you,” Quinn managed. Once the waiter left, she tried to gauge Cooper’s mood. How they’d go back to having a normal dinner now, she had no idea. But maybe it wasn’t fair to hope they could. If anything, running into Chad only fueled the urgency to get the truth out in the open before it reached the point where Cooper would never forgive her.

  “I’m sorry,” she said. For so many things.

  “I’m used to it.”

  “That doesn’t mean you should be.” She straightened the silverware on her napkin and inhaled. “Cooper, the reason I came home . . . I’m not proud of the way I—”

  “It’s nothing to be ashamed about.” He sat back. Traces of his frustration with Chad receded behind a look of tenderness Quinn couldn’t reconcile with the conversation. If he really knew why she was here, how could he hold anything but animosity toward her? Especially after how he’d reacted to Chad.

  He leaned both arms on the table. “I know you don’t want to admit it, but it’s obvious you want to reconnect with your family. I saw it that day at your parents’ place. The way your face lit up around your brother, your dad. You miss them, Quinn. And who wouldn’t? You have a great family.”

  It was a good thing he kept talking, because whatever she had planned to say lodged itself halfway up her throat.

  “I know it wasn’t easy for you to come home. You needed an excuse to be nearby without it coming off as if you’re the one waving the white flag. I get it.”

  Cooper reached across the table and rested a compassionate hand over hers. “But why not? Why not go all in? If you admit you were wrong in leaving, they’ll admit they shouldn’t have let you go.” His thumb grazed the top of her hand. “Love instead of fear, right?”

  Her eyelids finally moved in a single blink. Another. But her mouth wouldn’t budge, words still trapped.

  “You’ve already taken a bunch of leaps today. Just keep going.”

  His cell vibrated on the tabletop. Before he dismissed the call, Quinn caught a flash of the name on the screen—Livy.

  So much for his not giving out his cell number to girls.

  A twinge of reprimand broke through her momentary lapse in jealousy. Stupid. He’d already made it clear he viewed relationships as baggage that weighed him down. Sure, maybe they had some chemistry, but it didn’t matter in the end. She shouldn’t let misconstrued feelings get in the way of what she needed to do.

  Quinn wriggled up in her seat. “Cooper, this isn’t about family. It’s about business.”

  The waiter’s uncanny timing returned him to their table with a basket of freshly baked bread. He faced Quinn again. “I’ll have your food out in another few minutes. Anything else I can get for you?”

  A do over?

  “This is great for now,” Cooper answered. “Thank you.”

  Quinn ran her fingers along the condensation on her glass. She just needed to come out with it. Shoot straight. He’d be mad at first. But if anyone could be levelheaded about business, it should be Cooper Anderson. She placed her hands on the table, looked up.

  Her cell rang inside her purse, but she didn’t move. One more interruption, and so help her . . .

  “You gonna get that?”

  “No.”

  He fed Brayden a piece of warm bread the waiter had brought. “What if it’s your mom?”

  Even more reason to ignore the call.

  “QT.”

  “Fine.” She withdrew her cell. Mama, of course. Reluctantly, she dragged her thumb across the screen and covered her opposite ear. “Hey, we’re in a restaurant right now. Can I call you—?”

  “Quinn, honey?” The tremor in her mom’s voice traveled through the line and up Quinn’s spine.

  “What’s wrong? Are you okay?”

  The heavy pause dragged Quinn’s free arm down to her lap. She wrapped it around her middle, her voice shrinking to a whisper. “Mama?”

  “Baby, it’s your dad.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  Breakable

  Aunt Loraine met Quinn and Cooper at the hospital entrance and reached for Brayden. “I’ll look after him. You two go on.”

  They rushed into the waiting room at the same time Nurse Murphy came through the door leading to the wing Dad was in.

  Quinn examined the woman’s expression for any indication of the prognosis. “Is he . . . ?” She couldn’t even get the words out.

  “He’s going to be okay. They’ll likely keep him overnight for observation.” She patted Quinn’s forearm. “It’s completely normal protocol any time there’s trauma to the
head.”

  “Trauma?” The room started to slant.

  Next to her, Cooper gently drew her to the safety of his side.

  Nurse Murphy’s warm smile emitted waves of assurance Quinn wished she could grasp on to. “Your dad took quite the fall off those back steps. But I tell you what. If there’s anyone hardheaded enough to get the better of those rickety things, it’s George Thompson.”

  A small laugh escaped Quinn’s tight diaphragm. “You’re probably right about that.”

  Cooper ran a hand up and down her arm, strong and comforting.

  Nurse Murphy’s eyes softened while looking them over. “You remind me of your parents. George may be losing portions of his mental capabilities, but his love for his wife? I reckon it’s as strong as the day he married her.”

  She reached for both their arms. “You two hang on to that kind of love. It’s what’ll carry you through moments like these.” With a quick pat, she offered one more nod and headed past them to leave.

  Quinn brought her hands around her elbows, but her insides still crumbled.

  A love like her parents had. Is that what people saw? What they believed? Guilt closed in on the tails of an even greater sorrow. She’d wanted that kind of love most of her life. Turns out the closest she could come was nothing more than a charade.

  It was one thing to let herself start to rely on having Cooper in her life, but to drag her family into getting attached to him too?

  “Quinn—”

  “Don’t.” She couldn’t bear the apology in his voice, the tenderness. Stepping away from the false security, she met Cooper’s eyes for the briefest moment. “Please, don’t say anything.” She walked through the door from one lie toward another.

  The sound of machines led her down a cold, sterile hall. In the doorway to Dad’s hospital room, she held the trim, grasping on to what little composure she had left. She couldn’t deny this was part of why she’d moved away. To avoid seeing him like this, asleep in a hospital bed with probes and tubes tethered to his body while monitors chimed their anthem of uncertainty. It was too much, too hard.

  “Quinn.” Mama let go of Dad’s hand, crossed the room, and bundled her in a hug. “He’s going to be fine, sugar.” She rubbed circles over Quinn’s back.

  “Why didn’t you tell me things were getting this bad?”

  The circular motion stopped. Mama leaned back and draped Quinn’s hair over the front of either shoulder. “Now, don’t you be fretting over this. Your daddy’s as strong as they come. And with everyone praying, I just know—”

  “Stop. Mama, will you just stop.” Still cradling her arms to her chest, Quinn paced inside the small room. “He’s not okay. Look at him. He’s falling apart day by day.” A blurry image of her infallible father looked back at her. He’d been her hero growing up, her rock. But she couldn’t keep holding on to what she’d already lost.

  She staved off the beginning of tears and faced her mom. “At some point, you have to stop lying to yourself.”

  “Me?” Mama’s cheeks burned a fiery red. “That’s rich coming from you, dear.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “You know darn well what I’m talking about, and I’m not having it, Quinn Mary Beth. Not here. Not right now.” A hard breath wrenched her shoulders up as she turned.

  After stealing a minute to recollect her proper southern poise, Mama returned to Dad’s bedside. “Your daddy needs you, and you’re here. That’s all that matters.”

  She was right. Arguing wasn’t doing anyone favors right now. “I’m sorry.” She took Mama’s hand in hers. “Would you mind giving me a moment alone with him?”

  Mama’s eyes warmed in return. “Of course. I’ll be in the waiting room if you need me.”

  “Thanks.”

  Once she disappeared around the doorway, Quinn took her place holding Dad’s hand and watched him breathe in an unconscious flow. How many times had she listened to that same soothing rhythm? From early years all the way through high school, she could always lay her head on his chest and know she was home. That she was safe, loved. And when he’d needed her to do the same for him, she’d run away.

  Raw emotion tainted her whispered voice. “You gotta hang on for me, okay? I’ve been working hard for a promotion at work.” She swallowed, the fear of losing her chance never so prevalent. “I know it might not be where you saw me ending up, but I think you could be real proud of me if you saw what I could change as executive editor. The difference I could make.”

  She rubbed a hand over his, careful to avoid the IV. “I need you to keep fighting so you can see everything’s going to work out and that I’m going to be taken care of. I know that’s what you always wanted for me, and I need you to have that peace. Dad, please, I . . .”

  So much more than that, she simply needed her dad to be okay.

  He stirred but didn’t wake. Even if he did, he’d always be asleep in many ways.

  The ache of already losing part of him throbbed with the heart monitors as tears fought a battle she was sure to lose if she didn’t leave soon. She pressed a kiss to his forehead. “I love you, Daddy.”

  “He loves you too, you know. More than anything.”

  She turned toward Chase, leaning a brawny arm into the doorframe. Not caring how long he’d been there or how much he’d overheard, she barreled straight into her brother’s embrace.

  “The doc came back with the most recent X-ray. The swelling’s gone down. Looks like he’s going to make a full recovery.”

  “But what if he falls again? Or he’s in his workshop with no one around and . . .” Quinn gripped his sleeve. “I can’t lose him.”

  “Hey.” He lifted her back with a hand to each of her shoulders. “Look at me. Dad’s not going anywhere. And you have nothing to prove, Quinn. You hear me?”

  She hung her head to the floor and smiled sadly. “You’re wrong.” She rushed through the doorway and down the hall without giving him a chance to argue.

  On the other side of the waiting room, Cooper caught her in his arms. “Hey, easy. Slow down.”

  When she trembled against him, he cradled her head under his chin and stroked her hair. She balled the back of his shirt in her fingers, wanting to lose herself in his tender affection. Wanting it to be real, to last.

  He brought his lips to her ear and whispered, “It’s okay not to be okay.”

  “But what if it’s never okay?” She untied herself from his arms. “Some things are too broken to fix, Cooper. Even for you.” Emotions beyond her control launched her out of the hospital to catch a cab. She needed to get away from there. Out of Littleton and away from a mistake she was only making worse every day she stayed.

  Back at Cooper’s lake house, she got straight in her Altima, cranked the engine, and swerved into reverse. No more than five feet out of his driveway, she slammed on the brakes. The intensity she’d been carrying—the guilt and expectations, the fear and hope—crashed into her and drove her tears past their longstanding barriers.

  She folded her arms over the steering wheel and dropped her head to them, letting her emotions run freely for the first time since she’d moved away. But no matter how many tears she let escape, they couldn’t tell her where in the world she was supposed to go from here.

  In his kitchen, Cooper poured his third cup of coffee for the morning. If the caffeine didn’t kick in soon, working on his dock was going to be more than a little interesting.

  Quinn’s bedroom door opened at the same time he entered the living room. Still in her clothes from yesterday, she lowered her cell to her side and stared at him.

  “Morning.” He tipped his head.

  “My mom just called.”

  “Mm-hmm.”

  “Mm-hmm? Cooper, I can’t believe you stayed up last night to fix my parents’ back steps. After everything, I . . . I don’t know what to say.”

  He set his coffee on the end table and picked up his toolbox. “Nothing to say. It needed to be done, and i
t wasn’t a big deal. Chase and I banged it out together.” Grabbing his coffee again, he straightened. “Not everything’s too broken to fix.”

  The slightest blush tinted her cheeks as she curled her disheveled hair over one shoulder. “I’m sorry about how I acted, the things I said. It’s just . . .” She heaved a breath and slowly lifted her eyes to his. “Thank you, Cooper. For all of it. You’re really sweet.” A half smile finally found her lips. “When you’re not being ornery.”

  There was the girl he missed. “Sure you didn’t used to blog on complimenting skills?”

  Her long lashes fell the way they always did when he brought up her writing. Little did she know how attractive her unassuming beauty was.

  Cooper swallowed the thought with another sip of coffee. “Brayden’s already been up once, but he’s napping again. Should be down for a while.”

  Quinn’s pink cheeks drained of color. Wide-eyed, she clasped her forehead. “I’m so sorry. I wasn’t thinking last night. I just ran out and—”

  “There’s nothing wrong with needing space, QT. Don’t worry, Brayden and I did just fine. He even has on a fresh diaper, and no, I didn’t call the neighbor.”

  Her brow shot up, and he couldn’t help laughing. Catching her by surprise never got old.

  When he picked up his toolbox, her gaze darted to the wall clock, and the momentary breach in tension retreated as quickly as it came.

  Quinn fiddled with the corner of her blouse that’d come untucked from her skirt. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to sleep in this late.”

  “You don’t have to apologize for being human.” He crossed the room and stopped in front of her. “Being tired isn’t a weakness.”

  The bashful look on her face had him straining against the urge to hold her close again. That’d clearly gotten him in enough trouble last night. He backed up instead.

  “There’s coffee in the kitchen.” Once across the room, he peered over his shoulder. “I left you a sticky note. In case you miss it.”

  “Very funny.” She visibly fought a smile. “Don’t get too cozy outside. As soon as Brayden wakes up, I want to see those diaper changing skills firsthand.”