by Terri Osburn
“Protect me from what?” he said, frustration pulsing through him.
“From me! I came within inches of diving straight into a bottle instead of coming here. Tonight, I controlled it, but what happens when I screw up and give in? When I reach for a drink instead of you?” she asked.
“It isn’t when but if, Haleigh. And if that ever happens, I’ll be there to take you home and hold your hair back and help you find the strength to say no the next time.”
Haleigh shook her hands in front of his face. “You make it sound so simple.”
“It is simple. I’m here. I’m not going anywhere.”
“And what happens when I push you too far?” she asked. “What happens when we have a fight and I say horrible things?”
“Exactly what’s happening right now,” he answered, realizing for the first time ever that he’d found someone he was willing to fight with. And fight for. “I know what you’ve been through. And I know that you’ve been strong enough to overcome it all. I won’t be another person who let you down, Haleigh. You can lash out and throw things for all I care, but when you’re done, I’ll be here. Ready for another round or a good cry or a night of make-up sex. Whatever you throw my way, I am not giving up.”
Falling into his arms, Haleigh pressed her face into Cooper’s neck. “I don’t want to give you up, either.”
Relief shuddered through him, echoed by the knowledge that he’d just crossed a line in his own mind. The chance of losing the woman in his arms had been the push he needed. Cooper had found the one. Haleigh had always been the one.
“It’s about time you came around,” he said, speaking to himself as much as to her. Placing a kiss on her hair, he remembered his sweaty condition. “I’m sorry I smell like a locker room. You’re a brave woman to get this close.”
Lifting her head, she caressed his whiskered cheek with her knuckles. “Didn’t you say something about taking a shower?” she asked, a sexy look in her damp eyes. “I’d be happy to help with all the hard-to-reach places.”
Rising to his feet, Cooper took her with him, cradling her in his arms. “I’m really sweaty,” he said as she wrapped her arms around his neck. “We might need to do a full scrub at least twice.”
Circling his earlobe with her tongue, she murmured, “I’m willing to go for three if you are.”
Cooper took the stairs two at a time, with Haleigh laughing against him all the way.
Haleigh really, really wanted to believe every word that Cooper had said. And she knew without a doubt that he believed them with complete conviction. But no matter how hard she tried, the what-ifs still lingered in the back of her mind. He’d made some bold statements that implied this was more than a fling on his part. Not that she wanted a love ’em and leave ’em affair, but Haleigh hadn’t been thinking in terms of forever. At least not for more than a few scary seconds before chasing the thoughts away.
As Abby had so kindly made known, Haleigh already had three strikes under her belt when it came to marriage. Well, engagements. But not one of her exes was half as amazing as the man who’d just given her a knee-buckling orgasm in the shower. Cooper was far and away the best man that Haleigh would ever find. And he wanted her. Till death do they part from the sound of things.
If—and that was a big if—Haleigh committed to becoming the woman that Cooper believed her to be, there were still two problems standing in her way. The first being her lack of a home come thirty days from now. Cooper would likely insist that she move in with him. In the past, she’d have taken that easy answer, but not now. If they were going to make this work, Haleigh needed to come to him on equal ground, which meant taking control of her financial and domestic circumstances.
Both of which led straight into problem number two—her mother. She’d need to play this carefully. Do some research on smaller homes in the area for sale, but also on refinancing the existing mortgage to possibly lower the payments. They’d bought the house on Rebel Circle when Haleigh was eight. If her parents signed a thirty-year mortgage, the balance should be almost nothing compared to a full loan. Of course, there was the second mortgage, and who knew what that looked like.
Multiple requests to see the paperwork had resulted in a string of guilt trips about respecting her mother’s privacy and not treating her only living parent like a senile old woman. Per their arrangement, Haleigh forked over a set amount each month while living on a shoestring budget and paying next to nothing to rent a bedroom from Abby. An option no longer on the table, leaving Haleigh potentially homeless.
“This is a long shot, but do you know of any food vendors in town who might be willing to serve food at the rally?” Cooper asked, walking out of the bathroom with a towel slung low around his hips and drying his hair with another. “Thanks to my screw-up, we had one drop out, and I need to find a replacement.”
“How did you screw up a food vendor?” Haleigh asked, allowing the mouth-watering scenery to distract from her conundrum.
“Good question,” he said with one brow raised. “One of them had a question Lorelei needed me to answer, but I didn’t check my messages, so I didn’t get back to her in time. I still don’t know what the question was.”
Feeling defensive of her man, Haleigh asked, “Then how do you know Lorelei couldn’t answer it without you?”
“Because Spencer said she couldn’t when he reamed my ass today.”
Haleigh hopped up to her knees, pulling the sheet over her naked breasts. “He shouldn’t be blaming you for Lorelei’s mistakes.”
Settling on the bed next to her, he said, “I appreciate your support, but I’m the guy in charge, and if they need me, I need to be available. Not that I regret how I was distracted.” Cooper ran a finger along the top of the sheet. “You know I’ve seen what’s behind there, right?”
Shivering in response to his touch, her eyes dropped to his full lips. “And I’ve seen what’s behind that towel, but you still wore it out of the bathroom.”
Green eyes darkened with desire. “Would you like to see it again?” he asked, leaning close.
“I’d like to do a lot more than see it.” Haleigh fell back to the pillow, tugging him with her, but just as their lips met, the cell phone on his nightstand went off.
“Dammit,” he mumbled against her mouth.
“Ignore it,” she ordered, locking her arms around his neck.
Cooper pulled free. “I can’t. That’s the business phone.”
Leaning on her side, she watched him answer the call, take down a location, and say he’d be there in a half hour.
“Do you really have to go?” she asked once the cell was back on the table.
He dropped a quick kiss on her lips. “I really do. That was Dale Lambdon with the sheriff’s office. A couple high schoolers buried a Mustang in a ditch out on Highway 76. I need to tow them out and see how much damage they’ve done.”
“Send Frankie or Ian. We were just getting started.” How was she supposed to put off thinking about her crappy situation if he left her there alone?
“Ian doesn’t run the tow truck, and Frankie handled calls all weekend. It’s my turn.”
“There aren’t any other tow services in the county?” she pressed.
Cooper rose to his feet. “If you got a call from the hospital, you’d have to go, right?”
“Come on,” she replied. “Pulling a car out of a ditch isn’t the same as delivering a baby.” The minute the words hit the air, Haleigh smacked a hand over her mouth as Cooper’s face went hard. “Oh my God,” she said. “My mother’s voice just came out of my mouth.”
“Unless she’s a long-distance ventriloquist, that was you.” Draping the loose towel around his neck, Cooper said, “I know the difference between what we are, doc. You don’t need to remind me.”
Haleigh leapt from the bed to chase him to his dresser. “Cooper, I’m so sorry. That isn’t what I meant. What you do is important.”
“But not life and death. And I didn’t have to go to
school for nearly a decade to learn how to do it.” With clean clothes in hand, he charged back into the bathroom.
“Please, Cooper,” she begged, trailing behind. “This is the perfect example of what I was talking about earlier. I say stupid things. Things I don’t mean.”
“Let it go,” he said. “It’s fine.”
“It isn’t fine,” she argued. “That was a horrible thing to say. I don’t know where it came from.” After buttoning his jeans, Cooper reached for the deodorant, pretending she wasn’t there. “Dammit, look at me!” she yelled. “I love you and I would never say anything to make you feel inferior because I’ve known that feeling my whole life and you don’t do that to someone you care about.”
The Speed Stick hit the counter. “What did you say?”
Now that he actually was looking at her, Haleigh realized she was standing in the middle of his bathroom stark naked and raving like a mad woman. Snatching a towel off the bar to her left, she wrapped it around herself. “I said I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”
Unblinking, he said, “You said you love me.”
“I did?” Replaying the heartfelt speech in her mind, Haleigh heard the words play back. “I did say that,” she whispered, as surprised as Cooper looked. “I shouldn’t have said that.”
“But you did,” he said, crossing the distance between them. “Did you mean it?”
“Well, yeah,” she hedged, unable to lie when he was staring at her so intently. “But you don’t have to say it back. That’s not why I said it. I just needed you to know that I didn’t mean what I said. Originally.”
“I love you, too,” he said, a smile splitting his handsome face. “I can’t believe you said it.” Sweeping her off her feet, Cooper spun them around with a bark of laughter. “I love you, Haleigh Rae Mitchner.”
“Who’s the overachiever now?” she asked, clinging to his shoulders. “That’s twice now and I’ve only said it once.”
Looking like a big kid with a ticket to Disney World, he said, “Then say it again.”
Toying with the damp curls behind his ear, she fulfilled his request. “I love you, Cooper Daniel Ridgeway.”
The whoop of joy took her by surprise, and Haleigh buried her nose in his pine-scented neck, unsure how they’d gone so quickly from her blatant blunder to proclamations of love.
“I still have to go,” he said, dropping her to her feet. “But this will be the fastest tow Dale has ever seen. And then I’m coming back to make love to you for the rest of the night.”
Feeling the blush crawl up her neck, Haleigh smiled into the most beautiful green eyes she’d ever seen. “I would like that very much, Mr. Ridgeway.”
Chapter 25
Haleigh had ordered him not to do this, but Cooper wasn’t about to sit back and let Abby throw away a more than twenty-year friendship without an explanation. Besides, Haleigh was still at work and what she didn’t know wouldn’t hurt him.
To Cooper’s surprise, Ian answered Abby’s front door.
“What the hell are you doing here?” Cooper asked.
“I’m moonlighting as a butler,” the smart-ass replied. “Nice to see you, too, cuz. Come on in. We were just finishing up dinner.”
“We?” Cooper echoed. “You make it sound like you live here.”
“Not yet,” Ian said with a grin. To his boss’s scowl, he added, “I’m kidding. Damn. What’s up your butt?”
Stepping into the foyer, Cooper glanced toward the living room. “I need to talk to Abby.”
“Good luck with that,” Ian whispered. “She’s been walking around like a ticking time bomb for days.”
“That’s why I’m here.” Elbowing the younger man, he said, “Take Jessi out back or something. I don’t want an audience for this.”
Ian nodded. “I can do that.” Walking ahead of Cooper, he stepped into the living room and said, “Hey, Jes. Let’s take Emma out back and sit on the patio.”
“Why?” she said, spinning to look over the back of the couch. When she spotted Cooper, she grabbed the baby’s blanket from beside her. “Good idea.” With Emma on her shoulder, she mouthed good luck in Cooper’s direction.
He responded with a nod as Abby walked in from the kitchen and abruptly stopped. “When did you get here?”
“Just now,” he answered. “We need to talk.”
“I’m not interested.” She turned tail and marched back through the arched doorway.
Determined, Cooper followed. “Get interested,” he said. “Why are you doing this?”
“Doing what?” she asked, stacking cups in the top of the dishwasher.
“You know what, Abby. Why are you so against me and Haleigh being together? And why are you throwing your best friend away like a piece of garbage?”
Keeping her back to him, she said, “I told you. She’s wrong for you.”
“Actually, she’s perfect for me,” he said, walking around the island to stand beside her at the sink. “We make each other happy, and I’d expect you to be supportive of that.”
“Then you expect wrong.”
“Look at me, Abby,” he ordered, spinning her to face him. “You’re breaking her heart, dammit. She’s your oldest friend.”
“Which means I know what she’s capable of,” she argued, slamming the tea towel onto the counter. “I know the damage she can do firsthand.”
“Why do you make her sound like a monster?”
“Leave it alone, Cooper. Just get out while you can.”
“There’s something you’re not telling me, Abbs.” Grabbing her hand, he said, “Why have you turned on her like this?”
His sister snatched her hand away and yelled, “Because Haleigh Rae is the reason that the last words I ever said to my husband were in anger! Thanks to her, my husband died in the sand on the other side of the planet and I didn’t tell him I loved him.”
Before Cooper could respond, Haleigh stepped into the kitchen and said, “Cooper, would you leave us alone, please?”
“I—” he started, but she held up a hand to silence him.
“It’s okay,” she said. “Let me take it from here.”
Recognizing the calm assurance in Haleigh’s eyes, he backed away, stopping beside her. “I’ll be out back if you need me.”
“I appreciate that,” she said.
Turning back to see Abby staring out the window over the sink, Cooper left the two women alone.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Haleigh asked, patience and understanding replacing the hurt and confusion of the last few days.
Shaking her head, Abby replied, “Because there was nothing you could do to fix it.”
Taking a guess, Haleigh said, “Kyle didn’t want me to move in here, did he?”
A nod yes was her only reply. Words weren’t really necessary.
“You should have told me.”
“Why?” Abby spun. “What difference would it have made? Was I supposed to tell my oldest friend that my husband didn’t want a drunk living under our roof?”
She was being deliberately mean, but Haleigh didn’t blame her. This wasn’t Abby talking. It was the hurt. The loss. The anger.
“I would never have expected you to go against your husband’s wishes.”
“You’ve gotten so good at playing the martyr, haven’t you? Is that how you’ve blinded Cooper? Played up the Mommy Dearest story so he believes that your addiction isn’t your fault? That you can’t be blamed for all your bad decisions?”
“I’ve taken responsibility for all of my mistakes, but unlike some people, Cooper doesn’t hold them against me. He doesn’t consider me damaged goods because I’ve made some bad choices. And though you can lay a lot of things at my feet, Abby, I didn’t kill your husband.”
The grieving woman clung to the countertop until her knuckles were white. “He was so mad that I refused to tell you no. That I had the nerve to defy him. When he got mad, Kyle couldn’t sit still. That’s why he volunteered for that extra duty. He wasn’t even s
upposed to be out on the road, Haleigh Rae. But he went because I’d made him mad. Over you.”
“He was in a war zone, Abby.” Haleigh moved slowly around the island. “The same thing could have happened the next day when he was scheduled to be out there. You making him mad didn’t get him killed. You didn’t kill Kyle any more than I did.”
“No.” Abby shook her head and turned to face the window. “I should have agreed with him. I shouldn’t have been so angry that he wanted me to turn you away. I should have been a better wife. If I’d just done what he wanted, he’d still be here.” Shaking, she cracked. “It’s my fault.”
Haleigh wrapped her arms around her friend. “You’re wrong, honey. None of it’s your fault.”
After a brief struggle, Abby surrendered, spinning to return the hug. “I loved him so much, Haleigh Rae,” she sobbed. “I want him back.”
“I know you do,” she said, stroking Abby’s hair. “I wish I could do that for you.”
Haleigh’s shoulder grew damp with warm tears as the sobs racked the slender woman’s body. She couldn’t help but shed some of her own. When the crying subsided, Haleigh reached for the towel to dab at Abby’s cheeks.
“Why did you let me move in anyway?” she asked. “I’d have understood if you’d told me the truth.”
Abby’s breath hitched. “You didn’t have any place else to go, and I didn’t want to be alone. But then I started to feel like I’d betrayed him, like I chose you over him, and I got angry. Angry that Kyle took that patrol that wasn’t his. Angry that you were here and he wasn’t.”
“You have every right to be angry about all of that.”
“But I shouldn’t have taken it out on you,” Abby said, the tears coming again. “I don’t know what happened. I saw you and Cooper getting closer and the idea of you being happy made me even madder until I couldn’t see straight. Cooper is right, I’ve made you out to be a monster when I’ve been the awful one. God, when I think of the horrible things I’ve said.”
“Forget about it,” Haleigh said, relieved to have her friend back. “A lot of what you said was true, but I want you to know that I’m really trying to do better. I’m going to make you proud of me, Abby.”
