“I’ve seen him glance appreciatively at you as well,” Stef added.
Why was she just hearing about this now?
And what, exactly, did it mean?
Nothing. He’d never, ever make a move on her.
She sighed. “It doesn’t really matter. It’s not like he’d do anything. I’m the sister of one of his military buddies.”
“So?” Stef raised a brow.
“So, it means he won’t disrespect Carter.” Something she’d learned early on in her brother’s military career.
Abby had come in contact with a lot of hot men in uniform, but other than appreciative glances and some harmless flirting, they never did anything more. Rylee’d had the same issue, and once their brothers started running ops together, they’d inherited more protectors, not suitors.
A wicked grin tugged at Mel’s lips. “But, they’re no longer active duty.”
“Yeah, look at Dex and Rylee,” Stef said. “He’s one of her brother’s military buddies, and yet he put the moves on her.”
True. She smiled. “It was great.”
But it was different.
Rylee had the guts to stand up to her brother, Gabe, and tell him to let her live her life or he wouldn’t be in it. Abby wasn’t sure she’d ever say that to Carter. She hated confrontations. Besides, no way would Cooper stand up to her brother the way Dex had stood up to Gabe.
“It can be great for you, too.” Mel set her hand on Abby’s and squeezed.
She snorted. “Yeah, but that’s going on the assumption that Cooper adores me, which he doesn’t. He’s that red-blooded man you were talking about, Stef. Most men look at a woman’s backside when they bend over.” She tugged her hand out from under Mel’s. “That’s all it was.”
“So…was Cooper’s face bruised?” Stef asked, her gaze still thoughtful.
“Yes. Mel’s right. I don’t think Mac is going to send him,” she replied, rising to her feet. Her half hour was almost up. She needed to get to work.
Her friends exchanged another darn look and nodded. Abby’s heart rocked. Maybe they were contemplating ways to keep the guy busy so she could have some fun at the pub this week.
Or maybe their mischievous expressions were full of conniving ways to put her in Cooper’s path.
Was that so bad? Maybe they were on to something.
Could be the perfect opportunity to cross off the last item on her bucket list…
Chapter Three
The next evening, Cooper sat at the Texas Republic bar and grille with Gabe, enjoying a burger and fries, and a much-needed beer, while his still on-duty buddy washed his meal down with an iced tea.
The damn bruise on his jaw sealed his fate. It sucked to be left behind on cleaning duty and babysitting detail. He washed some of his disdain away with a mouthful of beer.
Mac had taken Carter to Houston instead, and left him to clean the garage, take inventory, and lend Rylee a hand with her investigation. But between Dex asking him to have Rylee’s six if she tried to follow a lead on her own, all three men asking him to be on call if their women needed any mechanical help, and Carter making him promise to keep an eye on Abby so no one bothered her, he was going to be working harder than all three of his damn buddies put together this week.
“What’s with the bruise?” Gabe waved a hand at Cooper’s jaw. “Don’t tell me you tried to rescue another damsel.”
He shook his head. “No. It was from yesterday’s sparring match.”
Gabe stilled, burger in front of his mouth, disbelief raising his brows. “You let Carter do that to you?”
Aggravation rippled through his gut. He was damn stupid. “Yeah. I was…distracted.”
“Ahh…” Gabe’s gaze cleared. “By the damsel thing.”
Abby could technically be considered a damsel so he nodded, happy to leave it at that. Last thing he needed was his astute buddy figuring out the real reason.
Cooper’s sudden attraction to the damn woman.
Granted, he’d always found her attractive, but the fact he’d had no trouble burying it until now chapped his ass.
Maybe his head just wasn’t on right. Hell, ever since he’d found that damn document with non-identifying information from the agency that had handled his adoption, he was constantly second-guessing himself.
“So, Mac put you on babysitting duty.” Gabe grinned, reaching for a fry. “Sucks to be you.”
He snorted into his beer. Truer words.
Finding out you’re the product of your birth father abusing your birth mother didn’t give you the warm and fuzzies. It makes you rethink who you thought you were. He’d been raised by loving, adoptive parents on a ranch in northern California. They taught him right from wrong and to stand up for it, that hard work yielded a much sweeter reward, to be compassionate, fight for the underdog, and to always help those in need. That was who he thought he was. It’s why he became a SEAL.
But their blood wasn’t in his veins.
His came from an abusive prick.
What if that was his legacy? What if he turned into one?
“Got a call from Dean this afternoon,” Gabe said, snapping Cooper out of his funk.
Dean was one of two of their SEAL brothers who’d been injured in an op on Thanksgiving last year. RJ was recuperating from a spinal injury at his parents’ farm in Iowa. The man was damn lucky to be walking. But Dean was at a veteran’s rehab hospital, re-learning how to use his messed-up arm. Both were due to join ESI whenever their doctors gave them the green light.
“Doc clear him to travel yet?” he asked, knowing his buddy would still have months of rehab to continue here with a doctor in Harland County.
Gabe shook his head. “No. Not yet. But they did tell him it could be as soon as two weeks from now. That seemed to brighten his spirits. He sounded better.”
“That’s great news.” He lifted his beer and held it up for a toast. “To Dean.”
“Hooyah,” Gabe said, clinking Cooper’s glass before they both took a drink.
It would be great to have Dean there. A SEAL dealt with his injuries better when his brothers rallied around him. Been there. Done that.
Once RJ and Dean had been shipped stateside from Ramstein, Germany, Cooper and Gabe had flown to visit them in the hospital they’d transferred to in California. They’d stayed several days, and it’d sucked to leave, but they were in good hands, and he and Gabe had jobs to get back to in Texas.
“His doctor is in contact with an associate here in Harland, so the transition should go smoothly,” Gabe told him before biting his burger.
He snorted. “Yeah, if Dean goes.”
Cooper wouldn’t put it past the stubborn former SEAL to skip sessions.
“He’ll go,” Gabe said, voice and gaze firm. “If not, I’ll drag him there myself.”
“Hoorah,” he replied. “Pretty sure he’s going to move into Rylee’s old cottage across from me, instead of the apartment above ESI.”
Cooper had moved out of that apartment when Mel had vacated her cottage and moved in with Carter. Last thing he wanted was to hear those two getting busy, although he doubted it was possible, considering the thickness of the walls.
His buddy nodded. “Yeah, he’s always been a private person.”
“I get it. I like having my own four walls. Not sharing with someone next door,” he said. “No one above or below me, either.”
He could see Dean being the same.
“But I don’t anticipate him not going to his appointments,” Gabe said. “He has his mind set on joining one of the CIA’s special ops SOG teams.”
Cooper raised a brow. “Did they headhunt him?”
Gabe smiled. “Damn straight. They know a good operator, and Dean was damn good.”
Until that helicopter crashed.
The pilot and co-pilot had died on impact. Besides Dean and RJ, two other SEALs were injured. One died at Ramstein. Those two were his and Gabe’s replacements.
He knew it was stupid,
but he felt guilty as hell for the fallen SEAL’s family. Both of his adoptive parents had passed, so he wouldn’t have left anyone behind.
“Dean will need to be in top shape for SOG to take him,” Gabe said. “He’s hoping to work a few jobs with ESI while he continues his therapy.”
Cooper nodded. “Mac won’t put him in the field if he’s not a hundred percent, though.”
“He knows that.”
“But Mac has already started to set some things aside for Dean to do and told me he’ll definitely use him on some security jobs as another set of eyes,” he said. “This way he won’t be left behind.”
“Like you.” Gabe grinned.
“Yeah. Like me.” He snickered, then stiffened as awareness shot down his spine.
Abby was near.
“It’s my favorite brother and my favorite co-worker,” Rylee said, walking toward them with the rest of his charges. “Can we join you?”
No.
“Of course,” Gabe said, smiling as he rose to his feet.
Cooper did the same, greeting them with a smile and helping them butt another table up to theirs. He watched as they all grabbed a seat, and he breathed a sigh of relief when Abby chose one next to Gabe. He didn’t need her next to him, smelling amazing, brushing bodies. His damn dick twitched just thinking about it.
Mel sat next to him, and Stef and Rylee sat at each end of the table. Once all the women were seated, he re-took his…and realized Abby’s choice of chairs maybe wasn’t so great for him, after all. She was practically seated across from him and it was hard to keep his gaze from straying to her.
Damn. He should’ve gotten takeout.
“Where’s Lyndsey?” Rylee asked her brother.
Lyndsey was Gabe’s live-in girlfriend. Or rather, Gabe was Lyndsey’s live-in boyfriend since his buddy had move into Lyndsey’s house last week. Cooper knew because he’d helped with the move.
“She’s volunteering at the animal shelter tonight,” Gabe said with a measure of pride in his voice, and a mix of adoration and admiration in his eyes.
Three months ago, the sheriff’s tone and gaze had been filled with aggravation and interest where the vet tech/animal activist was concerned. It’d been the highlight of Cooper’s year to see her stand up to Gabe…then take him to his knees.
There was no better woman in the world for Gabe than Lyndsey. Cooper was damn happy for him, but a little selfishly depressed over losing some much-needed bachelor-buddy time, since all of his friends were now preoccupied with their girlfriends.
Dean couldn’t get here fast enough…
“Think we’re both helping out this Saturday,” Mel said, taking a menu from the waitress who arrived to hand them to the women. Mel also volunteered at the local animal shelter.
For the next half hour, Cooper nursed his beer and looked anywhere but at Abby as the women ate and talked about food, Stef’s upcoming wedding, Gabe’s dog Chief, and the new bakery that had opened in their strip mall.
Luckily, his buddy hadn’t gotten a call. Cooper didn’t want to be left to look after the women by himself. They weren’t exactly in danger, but there were plenty of cowboys eyeing the women up, and he didn’t feel right leaving them alone.
One lanky dude in particular kept staring at Abby—well, the back of her—until the guy’s gaze finally met his then darted away.
Back off message received.
A smile twitched his lip until he caught Gabe regarding him with way too much interest. Shit. Nothing good ever came from that. The damn man had a way of seeing under the surface to find out what made someone tick.
Lord knew what Gabe thought he saw.
Cooper held the man’s stare and raised a brow. A second later, a slow smile spread across Gabe’s face. He had no idea what the man found so amusing.
“Was that a back off or a warning?” Gabe asked quietly, as the women continued to talk over them about the bakery.
How the hell had he known that? Gabe’s back was to the cowboy just like Abby’s. Knowing better than to question the man’s superpowers, he lifted his shoulder. “There’s a difference?”
“Hell, yeah.” Gabe snickered. “A warning means—don’t even think it. But back off means—back off. She’s with me.”
Back off, definitely. His body concurred with an uptick in his pulse.
Damn. No, that wasn’t right.
“So, which was it?” A steely blue gaze fastened to his, daring him to lie.
He dared.
“A warning, of course,” he said, shaking his head as if the guy was crazy to think it was anything but that.
“What warning are you talking about, Cooper?” Stef asked from their end, as all female conversation stopped, and all eyes were glued to him.
Mel punched his left arm.
Son-of-a-bitch…she’d knuckle-balled him.
“What was that for?” he asked, rubbing his bicep.
Her brows crashed together, wrinkling her Carter tattoo. “You know perfectly well. Because you just evil-eyed that cute cowboy who was looking at Abby.”
Damn woman was too astute.
“Dang it, Cooper.” Now Rylee was frowning at him from the other end of the table.
Stef punched his right arm. “Yeah, how is she ever going to get a date to my wedding if you guys don’t give her some breathing space?”
Date? Abby was looking for a date?
His insides twisted into a knot, and he absently rubbed both his arms as he tried to think past that question.
“It’s okay,” Abby said, drawing his gaze to hers like a damn magnet, and his pulse kicked up at the blush coloring her pretty face. “I still have time.”
Shit.
She was looking for a date.
The knot in his stomach twisted, tightening until it tugged on his heart.
What the hell?
He glanced at Gabe, hoping his buddy had his back and could make sense of what the hell was going on, but he shouldn’t have bothered. Damn man was smiling at him.
Biting back a curse, he raised a brow. “Enjoying this, are you?”
Gabe chuckled. “Only a lot.”
Since there were ladies present, he kept his hands on the table but mentally flipped the bastard off. That only increased Gabe’s chuckle and Cooper’s aggravation.
He returned his gaze to Abby. “Sorry, but your brother asked me to keep an eye out for you, so I was just doing what he would’ve, had he been here.”
“That’s bullshit.” Mel glared at him.
He raised his hands and shook his head. “It’s the truth. In fact, I’m supposed to watch out for all of you. If you don’t like it, take it up with your men.”
“I believe you,” Mel said. “I meant this business of Carter and you guys scaring off men that are interested in Abby is bullshit.” She turned her glare to Gabe. “And that goes for you, too, Sheriff. You can’t tell me Carter didn’t ask you to watch out for Abby, too.”
Gabe lifted his chin. “A brother looks out for another brother’s family.”
“Hoorah,” he said, and weathered several female scowls. “Look, Abby’s beautiful, but unfortunately that can turn a lot of unsavory heads, too. It’s only natural Carter would worry about her.”
Abby’s mouth fell open and she blinked at him, while the other women wore matching grins.
Ah, hell…now what did he do?
“You think Abby’s beautiful?” Mel asked, her gaze alight with way too much mischief.
The fact he thought Abby was gorgeous was not where he needed his mind to focus.
He shrugged, not even daring to look at Gabe while his brain scrambled to find the words to defuse whatever thoughts the redhead had going on in her head.
“Of course,” he said. “You all are. That’s why Carter and the others are concerned and asked me to keep an eye on you.”
“We are capable of taking care of ourselves, you know,” Rylee said.
He nodded. “I know that, but as Gabe said, a brother looks
out for another brother’s family.”
Stef sighed. “I get it, but can you maybe lay off a bit while your brothers are gone and give poor Abby some breathing space? You guys can be suffocating.”
Well, hell…
He glanced at Abby and frowned. “Is that true?”
“Yes.” She nodded. “It’d be nice to move about town without a shadow. It was sweet at first, but it got old fast.”
Cooper hadn’t realized things were that bad. “It’s been like that since you moved here?”
“Yes.” She nodded again.
Damn. That was almost a year ago, if he remembered correctly. “I’m sorry. I promise to try to give you some space this week.”
Nursing his beer didn’t seem to be working tonight because he could’ve sworn something akin to disappointment flashed through her eyes, which didn’t make sense. Why would she be disappointed if he was giving her what she wanted…space?
Yeah, he was definitely seeing things.
“Your brother is just worried about you, Abby,” Gabe said. “Trust me, I know. Poor Rylee had to deal with me all her life, but everything I did and do is because I care about her.”
“I know,” Rylee said. “I love you too, Bro.”
Abby smiled. “I know, too and appreciate that he cares about me, but sometimes it can be a bit much.”
Gabe nodded. “I’ll try to talk to him when he gets back. But I’m not promising anything. Brothers can be very stubborn.”
Ryle snorted. “None as stubborn as you.”
Cooper chuckled along with the others. She was right. Carter was nowhere near as obstinate as Gabe, but apparently the guy was taking some of the joy out of Abby’s life.
That knot in his gut tugged at his heart again. He hated the thought of her being sad. Gabe wasn’t the only one who was going to talk to Carter.
The live band started then, putting an end to their conversation, and he was forced to sit back and watch as the women all jumped up to join the line-dancing on the floor. A minute later, Gabe received a call and left the bar and Cooper alone with his beer.
He didn’t mind, though. It gave him a chance to chew on the info he’d garnered tonight. Abby was looking for a date to Stef’s wedding. His stomach knotted again, but he ignored it. The woman had every right to do so, just like she had the right to dance with that skinny cowboy he’d evil-eyed earlier.
Cooper (HC Heroes Series Book 5) Page 4
