by Terri Osburn
Thankful for the fading light, Haleigh ignored the tear that rolled down her temple. “I’m not going anywhere,” she said, her voice heavy with emotion.
“That’s all I needed to hear,” he said, before proceeding to make Haleigh happy enough to scream his name many more times.
By Tuesday morning, Cooper still couldn’t believe the turn his life had taken. Haleigh Rae had spent every night since Friday sleeping beside him until just before dawn, when she raced home to arrive before Abby pulled in from work. He’d argued that they were adults and Haleigh shouldn’t have to hit some early-morning curfew to placate his sister, but their friendship meant a lot to Haleigh, and she hoped that Abby’s feelings would change before she and Cooper revealed how far they’d taken their relationship.
Of course, the fact that he was in a relationship at all with Haleigh still blew Cooper’s mind.
“It’s good to see that you aren’t dead,” Spencer said as he stepped up to the car that Cooper was working on. “I don’t suppose you’ve checked your messages lately?”
Between keeping up with repair jobs and spending all his free time with Haleigh, Cooper hadn’t been paying much attention to his phone.
“By your tone, I’m guessing I missed something?”
“Lorelei had a question about a vendor for the fundraiser. She needed you to provide the answer.”
“What’s the question?” he said, tugging a stained rag from his back pocket to wipe his hands.
Spencer shook his head. “Too late. When she couldn’t give them an answer yesterday, they backed out. That means we’re down one food truck, thanks to you.”
Where the hell was the dickish attitude coming from?
“I don’t appreciate your tone,” Cooper said, stepping away from the car. “I didn’t ignore the message on purpose, so don’t give me shit because your girlfriend is annoyed.”
“This isn’t about my girlfriend,” Spencer hissed. “This is about you shirking your responsibility because Haleigh Rae Mitchner is finally giving you the time of day.”
“Look,” Cooper said, widening his stance. “Missing one phone call isn’t a criminal offense. So we’re down one truck. We still have two others.”
“Based on the projected turnout, we were already stretching it thin with three.”
“And that projected turnout is only happening because I’ve busted my ass for months to make it happen.” Cooper would be damned if he’d let anyone dismiss the work he’d put into this fundraiser. Not even Spencer. “I didn’t harass you during football season when you went trailing after Lorelei, shopping down in Nashville, instead of watching the games like we always have. And I’ve never said a word about her tagging along on pool nights, or insisting we include her and Snow on poker night. But now that I have someone, you’re going to give me shit?” Shoving the rag into his pocket, he said, “I don’t think so.”
“We have less than two weeks to go,” Spencer said, undeterred by Cooper’s speech. “You want to blow us off after that, go ahead. But until then, answer your goddamn messages.” Before he turned to leave, Spencer landed a parting shot. “And if you don’t want my fiancée around, find yourself a new friend.”
“Dammit,” Cooper yelled. “Spencer, wait.”
His oldest friend didn’t so much as slow down. Knowing they’d both crossed a line, Cooper charged out of the garage.
“I said wait up.” Cooper reached the silver Dodge before the shorter man could open his door. “Since when is it such a hassle for me to have a life?” he asked, blocking the vehicle.
“You can have whatever life you want, Cooper. Now get the hell out of my way.”
“We both know that I can kick your ass,” he answered. “And we both know that I won’t do it, so back up and listen. When you got back together with Lorelei, I was happy for you. I could have told you that you were being an idiot and might get your ass handed to you, but I didn’t. Because that’s not what friends do.”
“Your support is overwhelming. What’s your point?”
“It’s my turn, man. Haleigh is my Lorelei. She’s the one, and I’m not going to apologize for spending as much time with her as I can.” Pointing at his friend, Cooper added, “You, of all people, should understand that.”
Spencer continued to fume before shaking his head. “This just isn’t you, Coop. You don’t drop stuff like this.”
“This is me,” Cooper defended. “It’s just me with a new priority. But I’m as committed to this rally as ever. I’ll find another vendor, okay?”
Relaxing his stance, Spencer said, “I don’t know how you plan to do that with such short notice, but if you do pull off a miracle, let Lor know so she can keep everything on the food side straight.”
“Will do,” Cooper said, stepping to the side.
After opening the door, Spencer hesitated before climbing in. “Do you really think Haleigh Rae is the one for you?” he asked.
Considering that Spencer knew better than anyone how long Cooper had wanted this, the question took him by surprise.
“I do,” he answered. “I always have.”
“Does she feel the same about you?”
They’d only been together for four nights, and no one had thrown around the L-word yet, but the way Haleigh responded, the way she gave as much as he did, made Cooper confident that she’d get there. Eventually. Considering the alternative made him want to punch a hole in Spencer’s truck.
“She hasn’t said as much, but I think we’re heading in the same direction.”
Stepping into the driver’s seat, Spencer said, “I hope you’re right, buddy. But if you hit a snag, you’ve got friends, okay?”
“No snags in sight,” Cooper said, more for his own benefit than Spencer’s. “But that’s good to know.”
For all intents and purposes, Haleigh should have been a walking zombie considering how little sleep she’d had in the last few days. Instead, she’d never felt so awake in her life.
Each night, they talked about their day while making small meals in Cooper’s kitchen. Another benefit from the high-energy sex was a return of Haleigh’s appetite, and her new lover was more than happy to feed her, body and soul. Never much of a domestic goddess, she’d been surprised to feel so comfortable in Cooper’s kitchen. She made sandwiches while he mixed sweet tea. Or he flipped the grilled cheese while Haleigh stirred the tomato soup.
What they were doing didn’t seem to matter as much as that they were doing it together. And heaven help her, Haleigh wanted to keep doing everything with Cooper for a very long time.
Not that she’d admitted as much, at least not aloud. To say Cooper had gotten a head start on this relationship was like saying the sun was kind of far away. For Haleigh, this was all brand-new. Shiny and bright and possibly misleading. What did she know about healthy relationships? She still didn’t even like herself all that much, though the more Cooper preached of her awesomeness, the more she grew to believe him.
That fact was, each day she spent with him, the happier she got. And the happier she got, the greater the fear of messing up.
“You just couldn’t stay away from him, could you?” asked a voice behind her.
Haleigh jumped, splashing coffee onto her hand. “Hot hot hot,” she said, shaking the steaming liquid off her skin. “Warn a girl before you scare her half to death, Abby,” Haleigh mumbled as she reached for a napkin.
Since Abby’s shift had ended hours ago, encountering her in the cafeteria at ten in the morning was unexpected. And based on her opening line, her sentiments regarding Haleigh dating her brother hadn’t altered in the last two weeks.
“I talked to Jessi this morning,” her roommate said, ignoring the sarcastic comment. “She’s exhausted. It seems Emma still isn’t sleeping and there hasn’t been anyone else around to help during the night.” Tilting her head, she added, “I’ve been at work. What’s your excuse?”
Abby must have caught Jessi in a weak moment. She never would have squealed other
wise.
“It’s obvious that you know where I’ve been, so excuse me if I refuse to play your interrogation game.” As much as she loved her best friend, Haleigh was creeping extremely close to her limit where this attitude was concerned. So she didn’t have a great track record. Big effing deal. Everybody deserved a second chance.
Haleigh moved to step away from the coffee counter, but Abby blocked her path. “You promised.”
“I promised not to hurt him,” Haleigh clarified. “I never said I wouldn’t see him.”
“We both know that one always leads to the other,” Abby insisted.
Taking a deep breath, Haleigh battled with the desire to tell her best friend exactly where she could stick it. Instead she said, “What did I do, Abby? What unforgivable sin did I commit to bring this on? Every relationship I’ve had didn’t end with a man going down in flames. Have they all been healthy? No. Was I always the worst person in the pairing? Absolutely not. I admit that I have issues. Everyone does. But I’m doing my best to make a change, and I am not going to continue being unhappy because you and my mother believe I haven’t yet paid my penance.”
Once the words were out, Haleigh felt a weight lift off her shoulders. She was not a villain, and she would no longer accept being treated like one. Since Abby didn’t respond, she said, “Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going back to work.”
Unfortunately, Abby wasn’t finished. “I want you out,” she said, jerking Haleigh to a stop with her words. “You have thirty days.”
Open-mouthed, Haleigh watched the dark-haired stranger walk away. No way in hell was this all about Cooper, but whatever the source, Abby had officially pulled the plug on their friendship. Haleigh fought down the bile collecting at the back of her throat.
Twenty-three years and Abby tossed her away without showing a hint of regret. As if cutting Haleigh out of her life was as simple as taking out the trash. Feeling empty, she waited for the urge to hit. The desire for a drink that would tip her off the wagon once more.
But Haleigh didn’t want a rum and Coke. She wanted Cooper. Which sparked the question—was she trading one diversion for another? Was she using Cooper because he made her feel good? Made her forget who she was? What she was?
Doubts pummeled her from every direction. Her old reliable friends, worthlessness and regret, whispered in her ears. Some distant voice told her to fight, but what was the point? Abby had made her feelings clear. The thought of moving in with her mother stirred a wave of panic. There had to be another answer.
As Haleigh’s mind raced, the cell phone in her pocket went off, signaling a call from the maternity ward. In the end, Haleigh was good at only one thing—her job. At everything else she was a roaring failure.
Chapter 24
Disappointed that Haleigh had to stay over at work, Cooper found himself wandering aimlessly around the house, as if he’d forgotten how to spend an evening alone. Ever since the visit from Spencer, he’d been playing back every conversation with Haleigh over the last four days. They’d discussed their day, their pasts, and everything from music to movies, but neither had brought up the future.
Except on that first night. His request for a chance to make her happy had been answered with the simple statement that Haleigh wasn’t going anywhere. Not exactly a vow of forever. He’d taken the answer in a positive light, but then they’d been in the middle of sex and his brain hadn’t been as fully engaged as the rest of him.
So had Cooper only heard what he wanted to hear? Did Haleigh see this situation as nothing more than two adults enjoying each other until they grew bored and moved on? And if she did, was he prepared to let her go?
Annoyed by the direction of his thoughts, Cooper hit the workout room to burn off some energy. On his second set of twenty pull-ups, he placed the blame for his doubts squarely where it belonged.
On Spencer.
Why had he stirred this crap up? Why couldn’t he let Cooper be happy living in his own illusions, if that’s what they were? Only an idiot would sit a woman down four days in and say, “Where do you see this going?” and Cooper was not going to be that idiot. Or that needy.
But damn, he wanted the answer.
By ten o’clock, he’d completed double his normal reps on every exercise in his routine. The harder he pushed, the more his mind raced in the wrong direction, and the faster he pumped to shut down his mind. Which meant when Haleigh showed up at his door at ten fifteen, she found a dripping wet Cooper looking like a man who’d just run a marathon through a downpour.
“Is there a water leak somewhere?” Haleigh asked when he greeted her at the door.
“Doubled up the workout,” Cooper replied, still breathing heavy from the sit-ups he’d been doing when she rang the bell. “I meant to shower before you got here, but I lost track of time.”
“I’m sorry,” she said, lingering on the threshold. “Maybe I should go home.”
“No,” Cooper said, pulling her into the house. “Don’t be crazy. I’m glad you’re here.”
Haleigh did not return the sentiment. “It’s been a really long day,” she said, staring at her shoes. “I shouldn’t be invading your life every night.”
The waver in her voice caught his ear. Bending to see her face, Cooper said, “Darling, are you crying?” She shook her head quickly but the sniffle gave her away. “Hey now,” he said, pulling her chin up, “you are crying.”
“I know,” she said. “I feel like an idiot.”
Knowing she’d stayed late for a difficult delivery, he feared she might have lost a patient. “Come sit down and tell me what happened.” Due to a lack of tissues, he handed her his discarded T-shirt off the back of a chair. “I’m afraid this is the best I can do.”
Wiping her nose, she said, “It’s fine,” before jerking the cotton away. “Whoa, that smells.”
“Yeah, sorry.” Searching for another solution, he said, “Let me grab a paper towel.” After a quick run to the kitchen, he handed her a full roll.
She blinked up at him. “A bit excessive, don’t you think?”
“I’m not good with crying women. Just take what you need.”
Ripping one off the roll, she blew her nose. “This is so stupid. I really should go home.”
As if he’d let that happen. “I’m not letting you go anywhere until I know what brought on these tears.”
Struggling to even out her breathing, she said, “Abby found me at work today. She knows that I’ve been staying over here.”
“We knew she’d find out eventually. What did she say?” Of all the people who could come between him and Haleigh, Cooper never thought his sister would be the biggest obstacle.
Haleigh swiped at the tear running down her cheek. “She’s kicking me out.”
“She what?” Cooper said, rising to his feet.
Staring at her hands, Haleigh added, “At least she’s giving me thirty days.”
“To hell with that,” he raged. “She is not kicking you out because of me.”
“Of course she isn’t,” Haleigh corrected. “She’s kicking me out because of me. Because I’m a worthless human being who is more than likely going to ruin your life. And if that’s the case, I’m going to have to do it while living in my car.”
“No,” he said, dropping back down beside her. “You are not worthless and you are not going to ruin my life. Abby is angry over losing Kyle and she’s taking it out on you. On us. Whatever the reason, it doesn’t matter.”
“It does matter,” Haleigh cried. “She’s been my best friend since we were nine years old. We’ve gone through everything together. She knows every horrible thing my mother has ever said to me. She didn’t abandon me when I couldn’t get my nose out of a bottle, and then once I got out and kept falling back in, she was never more than a phone call away. Through it all, Abby has been there, and now she’s so sure that this is a mistake, she’s willing to throw me out of her house to save you.”
Cooper’s hands curled into fists. He’d never wa
nted to throttle his sister as much as he did in that moment. Why would she take this away from him? Why would she get in the way of the happiness of two people she claimed to love?
“I don’t care how far she’s willing to go,” he said, “she’s wrong.”
“I don’t think she is,” Haleigh said, her voice crumbling. “What if all I’m doing is switching out one addiction for another?”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“I drank to drown out the voices. To numb the pain and feel good, even if that good wasn’t real. What if I’m doing the same thing with you?”
“I’m not a drink, I’m a person, Haleigh Rae. There’s nothing wrong with two people making each other feel good. And there is nothing fake about what’s going on here.”
Brown eyes stared up at the ceiling. “You don’t know that. I don’t know if I’m here because this is real or because when I’m with you all the bad stuff goes away. You’re as much a drug for me as a bottle of whiskey ever was. I don’t want to use you like that.”
Dropping to his knees in front of her, Cooper cupped Haleigh’s face, forcing her to look him in the eye.
“Do not believe for one second that this isn’t real. What happens in that bedroom upstairs is something I’ve never had with another woman. When you’re working beside me in the kitchen, I can’t imagine a day when you won’t be there. After you leave in the morning, I smell your scent on my pillow and think about the next time I’ll get to touch you. Nothing has ever been this real for me, and I know you feel it, too. I know it every time you arch against me, every time you smile at me over your coffee, and every damn second that we’re apart. If I’m your drug, then you’re mine, and I refuse to give you up.”
Taking one of his hands, she placed a kiss in his palm, “That’s the best thing anyone has ever said to me. But that’s why I have to protect you. Because you won’t protect yourself.”
