As the wedding party filed out, Ted’s mother Gladys caught Fallon’s eye and pursed her lips in disapproval. But Fallon didn’t miss the way her eyes swept over Jack, taking him in, a glint of admiration in her eyes. The rest of the wedding party was far more obvious. Sally’s maid of honor blatantly eye-fucked him as she walked out, and one of the bridesmaids licked her lips. Fallon gripped Jack’s arm a little tighter. She’d wanted this, after all. Wanted everyone to stare at her in envy. But now all she wanted was for all of them to stop gawking at Jack. It made her a little queasy and a lot jealous. Crazy.
“Ready?” Jack asked.
“Yes, please.” She stepped out into the aisle first, followed by Jack and Mom.
“You looked much prettier on your wedding day,” Mom hissed. “All three of them.”
Fallon winced. “Uh, thanks Mom.”
When they arrived at Serrano’s Vineyard on the outskirts of town (Ted was friends with the idiot man who owned it), the party was in full swing. Ted had sprung for a live band, including a brass and horn section. The reception was open table seating and Jack guided Fallon and Mom to an available table, pulling out a chair for each of them. The wedding party arrived nearly an hour later, and poor David looked miserable. They’d probably taken so many photos that he’d never want to sit or stand still again.
The minute he saw Fallon, he headed over to her table. “Mom! Grandma! The wedding is finally over. Now we can have Christmas!”
“We sure can.” Fallon smiled and reached out to fix David’s unnatural looking part. Force of habit.
“The photographer said this wedding would ruin anybody’s Christmas. But not ours!” David said.
Fallon inwardly cringed, Mom gave David her grandmother ‘warning’ look, and a moment later David was ushered off to the bridal table by Gladys.
“I love that kid,” Jack said. “No filter.”
The question remained whether he’d still love it when he happened to be on the other end of all the raw honesty. “This should be an interesting toast by the honorary best man. I hope Ted has thought this one through.”
“And I kind of hope he hasn’t.” Jack dipped his head and took a sip from the water glass.
He’d removed his jacket, but even though he was dressed like a cover model he wore the look with casual ease. Each arm was stretched out on the back of the chairs on either side like he owned this table. He’d loosened his tie slightly, and had one long leg stretched out, leaning back with the carefree comfort of someone at a picnic by the lake. His intelligent eyes never missing a beat. Observing.
“You know we’re going to dance,” Jack said, his gaze going to the dance floor and back to her.
“Eventually.” Fallon wanted a slow song, one where she could have every excuse to hold him close and bury her face in his warm neck.
Wine was served and the bride and groom took to the floor with their first dance. The band played I Only Want to Be with You. Sally danced next with her father, Ted with Gladys, and finally the entire wedding party crowded the dance floor. David was in the middle of it all, throwing his hands up in the air and jumping up and down in place to Uptown Funk.
“He’s celebrating the end of the Wedding Week of Doom.” Jack winked.
“Fallon,” Mom said. “Aren’t you going to dance? You two lovebirds should dance!”
Jack quirked an eyebrow at Fallon.
The band switched to a Sam Hunt ballad, Make You Miss Me. Jack stood and held out his hand. Fallon let him guide her by the small of her back to the dance floor where they joined the rest of the now somewhat subdued crowd. It wasn’t long before Jack had pulled her in tight enough for her to feel every one of his hard male edges. She laced her fingers around the back of his neck and swayed in time with him. Last night, Jack had said he wasn’t that great of an actor, but she still wondered how much of this was for show and how much for real. It shouldn’t matter. This was the entire reason she’d asked him to the wedding, even if it had blown up in her face. She wanted them to be the real thing. She wanted forever again for the first time in a long while but once again forever wasn’t going to happen. Not for her.
He tipped her chin. “I can hear you thinking.”
Hopefully her love-sick haze wasn’t written all over her pitiful face. “Everyone’s watching us.”
“Isn’t that what you wanted?”
What she’d wanted had changed, because she hadn’t expected to fall for him. Suddenly this display felt like a huge invasion of privacy.
She sucked in a strangled breath. “I’m moving back to Starlight Hill. When Ted gets back from the honeymoon, I’ll go back and pack everything up. For a while I thought maybe I’d see you again in L.A. at some point but that’s probably not going to happen now.”
“I’m sure it’s for the best.” His eyes were unreadable, hooded and shut-down. “I won’t worry about you living alone. And David needs you here.”
“I’m going to look into leasing the old salon where I used to work part-time. Re-model it with the money I’ve saved up and turn it into my own place. Fallon’s Follicles, or maybe I’ll just keep the old name, the Curl Up and Dye. The name isn’t as important as the fact that it will be mine. And I’ll bring a little bit of Hollywood to Starlight Hill.”
“If anyone can do it you can.”
She smiled at the amount of confidence he had in her, and ran a hand through his full head of hair. He didn’t need a haircut, but she wanted to give him one anyway if only to have an excuse to play with his gorgeous head of chocolate brown hair.
“Still don’t have a plan for what happens next?”
“Christmas with my folks. Other than that, taking it one day at a time. But you know, plans change.”
She met his eyes. “And you’ll be a cop again.”
“Maybe.”
“It isn’t wrong to want to help people. To be the only one in the room who notices the smallest of details. It’s a gift.”
“And a curse?”
“Whatever you do, I know you’ll do it well.”
Fallon closed her eyes and buried her face in his neck, thinking that somewhere in the world there was a lucky woman who would meet Jack Cooper at the right time.
17
Jack twirled a strand of Fallon’s hair around his finger. She was the most beautiful woman in the room, in his humble opinion. As far as he was concerned, there was no other woman. Her blue dress clung to her curves in all the right places, and he had a difficult time keeping his hands to himself. But he’d be good for now, the attentive lover with the perfect amount of affection for the circumstances. In other words, no ass-grabbing at the wedding reception. It wasn’t easy when he’d caught many a deadbeat checking out his date, Ted the Jackass included. He didn’t blame any of them. Her looks had caught his attention first, too, but he’d bet not one of them understood how much more there was to her. She’d taken her father’s death harder than anyone seemed to know or appreciate from what he could tell. Made some youthful mistakes chasing love and endured the taunts of mean-spirited people. She adored her son. She’d planned, and saved, and scraped by, and now she would have her own business. He’d also fantasized meeting her again at some point in L.A. But he was proud of her for making a tough decision. It hadn’t been easy and yet she was here. Still holding her head high.
Later there was dinner and wine. Then much more wine. Plenty of drunken toasts, as at any wedding, but unfortunately David was not invited to give a speech. Probably a wise move. Instead, Ted’s brother gave a rambling toast in which he awkwardly praised Ted’s great taste in women as his gaze swept over Fallon, and as somewhat of an after-thought, Sally. Seemed as though the jackassery might run in the family. The cake was finally cut, and while Jack wanted more than anything to get out of here and back to Fallon’s bedroom, he also recognized it meant the countdown had begun. It was time to gracefully bow out of Fallon’s life. Time for his curtain call.
Ted and his wife finally turned to say goodbye to t
he crowd of guests. Once the couple was finally out the door, the die-hards took to the dance floor and Fallon grabbed David’s hand.
“Are you ready to go home?”
“Yeah, guys! Let’s rock and roll!” David grasped Jack’s hand too.
The kid spun like a top on the way home, talking baseball stats, football, video games and Christmas. Never a dull moment with David around, that was for sure.
“It’s going to be time for bed when we get back to the house and your room is all ready for you,” Beverly said. “We have a big day tomorrow.”
Once back at the house, Fallon’s mother retired immediately claiming a monster sized headache due to Gladys and the entire ‘plebian’ side of Ted’s family. She apologized to Jack profusely for having to endure that ‘joke’ of a wedding. Fallon then took David upstairs to get him ready for bed.
In the living room, Jack lost the jacket and kicked off the uncomfortable shoes. He slipped off his tie and helped himself to a glass of milk in the kitchen. Quite likely, he was the most sober person in town tonight. He strolled back to the Christmas tree to make sure his present for Fallon was still where he’d put it earlier today.
What seemed like an hour later, Fallon walked in the room. “He’s finally asleep. This is almost as bad as Christmas Eve. He was so wound up. It must have been all the sugar in the wedding cake.”
She’d changed into dark sweats and a long sleeve white shirt that read: I make hair contact before I make eye contact. Big floppy socks on her feet. Hair pulled into a ponytail with all make-up removed. Gorgeous.
“It was a nice wedding, as weddings of idiots go. I’ve been to a few, believe me, and this was one of the better ones.”
She laughed. “Thank you.”
“For?”
“Being so wonderful about…all this. And for making me feel like the only woman in the room.”
“You are the only woman in the room.” He rocked back on his heels and scanned the living room.
“I meant at the reception.”
“That part was easy.” Jack pulled her present out. “Merry Christmas.”
He handed her a box wrapped in gold paper. He’d had to drive to Napa after the oil change in order to find exactly what he’d been looking for.
“I’ve got something for you, too.” She fished a package from under the tree. “But don’t open it till you get to Oregon and spend Christmas with your family.”
He knew he’d open it before he got out of town. “I want you to open mine now.”
“Really?” Her eyes shone as bright as any kid’s on Christmas morning. She took a seat on the couch near the tree, tore open the wrapping paper and lifted the lid of the box. Froze.
“Oh, my God.”
“Do you like it?”
“I love it.” She draped the new Bruce Springsteen t-shirt on. “It’s just perfect.”
“Yeah?” He pulled her up by the elbows and the t-shirt hung between them. “I want you to think about only one thing when you wear this shirt. I want you to think about making new memories.”
Her eyes were suspiciously wet and shiny. “I already have some beautiful new memories.”
“Fallon.” He pressed his forehead to hers. “I didn’t want you to cry, babe. I want to see you smile. You should be laughing and smiling all the time. That’s how I’m going to remember you.”
She gave him a trembling smile and kissed him tenderly, just a soft brush across the lips. But he pulled her closer and held on tight, her breath warm on his neck. He would always remember the way she smelled like sunshine and chocolate. The way her hair pointed in three different directions when she rolled out of bed. The way she laid across from him without a stitch of clothes or make-up on, still the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen. He had plenty of photos of her in his phone and they would have to do. He couldn’t have her, and he knew that. She needed someone who would stay in this little town and carve out a life with her and David. She didn’t need a washed-up cop who didn’t have a plan for what would happen next. These feelings he had for her would wear off in time he assumed. It couldn’t be love because love didn’t happen like this. It had been all of two weeks since they’d met. He didn’t fall in love easily so this had to be something else. As the type of man and cop who clung to reality and facts, the facts all said he couldn’t be in love. It wasn’t logical. This odd tightness in his chest at the thought of leaving her, this ache, might be…heartburn. He pulled back to rub his chest.
“Are you okay?” Fallon said.
“Sure.” Hell, no. He was sick. Or something.
“Maybe too much rich food tonight.” She walked to the kitchen and came back with a pill and a glass of water. “Here, take this.”
He swallowed it, doubtful it would help but at this point willing to try anything. The thought of leaving tomorrow, driving alone, no longer held any appeal. When exactly had he become such a sap? He set the glass of water down on the coffee table and took a seat on the couch, stretching his legs. Fallon smiled down at him and then plopped down in his lap. His arms immediately went around her like it was the most natural thing in the world. Strange. He had friends he’d known for ten years that he didn’t feel nearly as comfortable with as he did with her.
“Tell me you’re going to be alright. That you’re not going to let that jackass disrespect you anymore.”
“I won’t.” Her fingers dug through his hair, playing with it. Fluffed it out to the sides and then smoothed it down. She was the only person other than his barber that he’d let play with his hair. Ever. “You would have been proud of me today.”
“Yeah?”
“I stood up to the self-appointed town gossip, who’s made my life miserable in the past. I do believe I got his attention.”
“Good going.”
“I’ll be okay so you don’t need to worry about me. I always land on my feet. But it doesn’t mean I won’t miss you.”
“Right back at you, babe.” He tightened his arms around her as she lowered her head to his chest.
“This used to be my favorite thing to do as a kid waiting up for Santa Claus. My dad told me Santa wouldn’t come until I closed my eyes. I’d watch the Christmas tree lights until I couldn’t keep them open.”
He stroked Fallon’s back. By this time tomorrow he’d be in Oregon with his family. Probably goofing off with his brother’s sons and stealing fresh baked galletas from his mother’s oven. He should be looking forward to all of it, spending time with family and relaxing. Instead he was wide awake trying to figure out why he didn’t want to move from this position. Wondering if he’d get a wink of sleep tonight.
Eventually the pattern of Fallon’s breathing shifted and became slow and regular. He nudged her slightly. “Fallon.”
Nothing.
“Babe.”
Still nothing. Funny. She couldn’t keep her eyes open while he wasn’t sure his would ever shut again. He rose with her in his arms and carried her slowly up the steps. She moved, nuzzling his neck and mumbling his name.
“We’re going to bed. To sleep.” He wasn’t sure if he’d said that out loud for his sake, or hers.
He laid her on the bed and covered her with a blanket. She said his name again.
“Yeah. I’m here.” He unbuttoned his shirt and slung it on a hanger nearby. Tossed his pants and slipped under the covers next to her.
She rolled towards him and murmured two words quite clearly: “Hold me.”
But he’d already reached for her even before she’d asked. “All night long. And then in the morning I’ll bring you coffee. With cream.”
One last time.
18
Fallon always woke early when David spent the night. Call it mother’s intuition. She usually managed to wake before he did. Even so, when she heard the shower going and noted Jack’s absence next to her, she assumed he’d beat her to the shower again. There was no cup of coffee on the nightstand, possibly because it hadn’t been made. Good. Call her crazy sentimental, bu
t if Jack brought her a cup of coffee this morning she might burst into tears and embarrass them both. She threw off the covers, remembering all too well that she’d fallen asleep last night listening to the steady beat of Jack’s strong heart. Several times during the night her eyes had drifted open to find one arm slung over her. He slept soundly but still held her because he always kept his promises. Too well.
Fallon peeked in on David snuggled in bed. She made her way downstairs to the empty kitchen and started the coffee. When Mom padded into the kitchen a few minutes later, Fallon was searching for the mixing bowl.
“What are you looking for?” Mom asked.
“I want to make pancakes for David.”
“Here.” Mom reached in a cupboard and set a large bowl on the counter. “Where’s Bud? He’s always up before you are.”
“He’s in the shower. I’m sure he’ll be down in a few minutes.”
“I’ll want to say goodbye. He’s a wonderful man, that one. I wish he’d stay for Christmas.”
“He has to work.” Fallon added the flour, milk and cracked an egg.
“Shame.” Mom grabbed a mug and poured some coffee. “Christmas is a time for family.”
Fallon took a deep breath and stopped stirring. “I want to talk to you before David gets up.”
“What about?”
“I know I’ve made a lot of mistakes in the past, but haven’t I been a good mother to David?”
“Of course! What on earth does that have to do—”
Fallon held up her hand. “Whatever you think about my personal life is one thing but please don’t say it in front of David. He needs to hear good things about me, especially from you.”
There was a long beat of silence as Mom sipped her coffee.
“You’re right,” Mom said, meeting Fallon’s gaze. “After your father died, maybe I was too tough on you. I’ll try and do better.”
“That’s all I can ask.”
Starlight Hill: Complete collection 1-8 Page 125
