Eleven
“I’m going to assume since you aren’t speaking to me that you’ve somehow found out about Sadie, and already jumped to every conclusion except the truth.”
He stood facing her with his hands in his pockets, and his arms tucked in close to his sides. Emma went to sit down on one of the chairs, but he didn’t make any move to follow. He swallowed as he kept his eyes on hers.
“Sadie is my ten-year-old niece. She’s not mine by birth, but I’m doing everything I can to make her mine legally.”
His niece?
“If she’s your niece, why didn’t you just tell me? Why all the secrecy?”
He thrust his fingers through his hair, rustling the top of it up into even more disarray.
“Because she’s been through enough, and the last thing I want is for her to get attached to someone who has no intentions of sticking around. And because I didn’t know how you’d react when you find out that Sadie’s father is a drug dealer, and has been in and out of prison her whole life. Her mother, my sister, was a user, but she’d gotten herself clean. Only to end up with ovarian cancer, and die within a year.”
Her heart plummeted as she saw the stricken look on his face as the memories flooded his face.
“I’m so sorry.” Her voice barely came out over the lump in her throat.
He shrugged and moved over to sit in the opposite chair. He leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees, looking down at the ground.
“It’s not like it was anything new in my life. I’m sure you heard about my parents. Everyone knew about them. I was the kid of two junkies who didn’t even care that they had children. Everything I had, and have now, I’ve had to fight to get. I never let the drugs get me, and I tried to help my sister, but she couldn’t seem to fight what was in our blood.”
“Cooper, what your parents were, is no reflection on who you’re meant to be.”
He lifted his head and met her gaze. “I’ve spent my life fighting against the stereotypes people believed me to be. When you’re being accused before anyone even knows the truth, it’s hard to fight it. You start to believe it would just be easier to be who everyone already believes you are.”
Her heart ached. She remembered back to when he’d show up in town during the summer. Had she made him feel that way too? Had she even believed it herself—that deep down she was better than that boy who rode the motorcycle and whose life was different from her own?
He was still watching her. “I want more for Sadie. To grow up having the life I never did. I want her to have parents who love her, and to go to school and feel like she’s normal, and fits in with everyone else. She’s lost her mother, and her father has been in and out of her life, never caring where she was or how she is. That’s why I moved her to Silver Springs. My uncle has been the only stability and family in my life, and he offered to help me out. I’m going to fight for custody so I can adopt her legally, and make sure no one can ever take her back to that life.”
She looked out across the back lane, her thoughts racing through her head. She couldn’t meet his eyes; the pain was too raw and the guilt she felt for not giving him the benefit of the doubt tore at her insides.
“I know how I feel about you, Emma, but I need to put the needs of Sadie before anyone else. No one else has. I needed to know you were planning on sticking around, even if you found out about my past before I let you know everything.”
She spun her head around. “Do you honestly believe me to be so shallow that I’d ever think less of you because of the circumstances of your birth? Maybe when I was younger, and too immature to understand it all, I might have thought you were nothing more than trouble. But there was always something about you that drew me to you. And now I’m a grown woman with a mind of my own. You should have let me decide for myself if I was ready to know about Sadie or not. This isn’t something you hide from someone you say you care about.”
He clenched his eyes tight and the muscles moved in his jaw as though he fought his inner demons.
“I know. I’ve worked hard to have a good job, and to get away from the life that always threatened to pull me in. But I still have days where I doubt I should expect to be any better than my father. It’s hard to believe anyone can see me as anything more than a fraud, nothing more than a man pretending to be better than he is.”
Emma stood and walked over to him, crouching down and taking his hands in hers. His eyes warily met hers.
“Cooper Levine, you are a good man, and I can see it in the way you talk about your niece. Any man who can love a little girl as much as you obviously do isn’t bad. And any man who insists on taking a woman to the hospital for stitches, and sitting there waiting when he obviously hates hospitals, isn’t bad. Let’s not forget the man who went and bought a pizza so he could finish a date with a woman who really didn’t deserve another chance after blowing him off for years.”
His thumb started moving on her hand, leaving a trail of heat where he touched.
“I never really thought of it as blowing me off—more like playing hard to get. I never had any doubt I’d eventually get you to go out with me. I just didn’t plan on it taking so long.” His eyes now had a different look to them, and Emma sucked in her breath as she felt him tug on her hand and pull her toward him.
His lips gently touched hers, moving slowly, before he pulled his head back slightly. Emma realized her eyes had closed and she now felt him standing up, and pulling her up with him. He tugged her close, and she wrapped her arms around him. His hand caressed her back as she lay her head on his shoulder.
“Thank you, Emma. I know I should have trusted you, and I hope you can forgive me for not telling you. I’d like it very much if you would come over and meet Sadie.”
She had to take a moment as she swallowed, afraid of the emotion she was feeling overwhelming her. He was letting her in to his life, and she needed to make sure she didn’t mess this up. This was something important to him, and she realized that somehow, it had become important to her too.
Twelve
“Does this dress look okay? It’s the only one I have that still fits me.” Sadie twirled in front of him as she walked into the kitchen where he was cooking dinner. Emma was coming over to meet Sadie, and Cooper wasn’t sure who was more nervous, him or his niece.
He knew the feeling of desperately wanting to please this person who was hopefully going to be a part of her life. But he hoped she realized she didn’t have to be anything but herself when she met Emma.
He smiled at the skinny girl with red hair and freckles. She looked exactly like his sister had when she was that age. He and his sister had spent all their time together growing up. They were usually on their own, making their own meals while their parents were out partying and doing whatever they wanted.
He sometimes felt angry with his uncle Chuck for never stepping in and getting them away from the situation they were living in, but he may not have known how it bad it was.
“You look perfect, Sadie, don’t ever forget it.” He winked at his niece as he moved the chicken around in the pan.
“You have to say that because you’re my uncle.” She was far more grown-up than any girl her age should be. Instead of worrying about whether a woman coming over to meet them would like her, and think her dress looked all right, she should be playing with Barbie or whatever little girls her age did.
“Pfft…I don’t have to say anything. Would you rather I tell you that you look like an old hag?”
“Nice, Uncle Cooper.” The way she rolled her eyes at him and turned to go out of the room, gave him a picture of what would be ahead for the teen years.
When the doorbell rang, he smiled to himself as Sadie ran over to get it. She was nervous, but she’d also spent a ridiculous amount of time with just him and Chuck, so Cooper knew she would be excited to spend time with a woman.
His sister had finally been getting her life together after years of addiction. Sadie hadn’t had much good to rememb
er about her mom growing up, but the last year had given her a glimpse at the woman her mother could have been if drugs hadn’t taken over her life.
Sadie had been devastated to lose her mom, just when she finally felt she was getting one.
The door was flung open, and Cooper was sure everyone in the room would be able to hear his heart beating. He was never this nervous around women, but this meeting was everything to him, and he had to admit he was afraid things wouldn’t work out as he hoped.
Starting to date a guy is hard enough. But to find out he comes with a child who is nearly a teenager, and the added worry of the biological father being a drug dealer, would be enough to scare even the strongest of women away.
He prayed Emma was even stronger.
When her eyes met his over Sadie’s head, relief radiated through his body. If any woman was going to be able to handle all of this, it was Emma Roberts.
“Sadie, this is Emma. And Emma, this girl wearing this tattered old dress is Sadie.”
His niece spun and slapped him on the arm. “Uncle Cooper!”
“Don’t worry, Sadie. I don’t listen to half the things he says anyway.” Emma walked over to Sadie and put her hand out. “It’s nice to finally meet you. And I love your dress. Cooper can’t help it if he has awful fashion sense.”
Sadie was beaming as she shook Emma’s hand.
Emma reached into the enormous purse she always carried and pulled out two books. “I brought these for you. I don’t know if you’ve read them before, but when I was about your age, they were my favorites. I’d like you to have them.”
“Judy Blume? I’ve never read her books before.” Sadie was holding them like they were the rarest editions of any book she’d ever read.
“You mean these were your very own books?” The girl’s voice sounded like she couldn’t believe it was true.
Emma nodded. “Yes, you can even see here in the front where I put my name so no one could steal them from me.” She reached out and pulled the front cover back slightly to show Sadie her ten-year-old signature.
Sadie pulled them into her chest and smiled up at Emma. “Thank you. I can’t wait to start reading them tonight.”
Cooper realized he hadn’t even known she liked to read, but the way she was acting now, he could see she’d probably used books as a way to escape. He silently kicked himself for not making sure she always had new books to read.
“I’m just finishing the chicken alfredo. If you ask Sadie, you’ll probably find out that I’m just about the best cook this side of the Rockies.”
Sadie made her eyes large as she shook her head slightly in Emma’s direction.
“Oh come on, it isn’t that bad.”
Emma was laughing as they followed him into the kitchen. The house he was renting was small, but it was perfect for just the two of them.
“It smells all right, so I’m assuming it can’t be too bad.”
Sadie laughed quietly. “Oh, just wait.”
Cooper knew he wasn’t quite up to par in the cooking department, but they weren’t starving. They ate a lot of takeout, but he did try to make a home-cooked meal now and then.
He made a face at his niece as he went over to stir the pasta. Unfortunately, while they’d been answering the door, the pot had boiled dry and now half of the noodles were burned to the bottom of it.
And the chicken pieces had been left too long, and were a slight charcoal color.
Emma came over and looked at the offerings on the stove and scrunched her nose up. She turned her head and gave him her lopsided grin that he’d learned every single Roberts family member had.
“Maybe a little too long on that one side.”
“It’s fine. I just like to make sure my meat is well cooked.”
She looked into the pot. “And your noodles?”
He shrugged. “I always make way too much anyway, so we can afford to sacrifice a few pieces to the pot.”
Sadie sat down at the table and watched them closely. He knew she’d only ever seen fighting the few times her parents had been together, and there was never any fun joking. She wasn’t quite sure what to make of it.
He was determined that this would become the normal way of life for her. And he was sure he’d found the right woman to make sure that happened for her.
Thirteen
“So, are you going to marry my uncle Cooper? I’ve never even seen him go on a date, never mind actually bring a lady home to meet me since I’ve been living with him.”
Emma dropped the giant spider she’d been trying to hang from the light by the front window as the young girl innocently asked her the question. It landed with a thud onto the chair, with long legs twisting and tangling. She had Sadie here helping her decorate the coffee shop for Halloween while Cooper went to meet with their caseworker.
He’d been desperate, saying the worker had called earlier and said she needed to talk to him. He didn’t want to drag Sadie along until he knew what was going on.
“Um, that’s kind of a hard question to answer. I’m not really sure if we will get married or not. I like him, and I like spending time with him, but marriage isn’t just something that happens too quickly.”
She laughed silently to herself as she realized that’s exactly what had happened with many of her Roberts family already this year, so what did she really know.
Sadie came over and handed the spider back up to Emma. “I’m sorry to ask such a personal question. I just want him to be happy. He’s done so much for me, and I know he’s lonely. Well, he was lonely until he met you I mean.”
Now the girl was pulling on some of the fake spiderweb cotton, making it look like a spider had spun a web she was placing around the shop. She seemed to be talking more like a twenty-year-old than a girl half that age. Emma’s heart squeezed as she imagined the life she’d endured to cause her to grow up so fast.
Sadie was lucky she had a man like Cooper who was determined to give her a better chance at life. A better chance than he’d had himself.
They worked in silence for a while, and Emma found herself peeking over at the girl and smiling at how sweet she was. Any time a customer came past her, Sadie would say hello and smile at them. She had more manners than most kids her age, and even more than some adults Emma knew.
“So, are you liking Silver Springs? It’s probably a big change from Denver.” Emma wrapped the orange lights around the post by the counter, plugging them in to test they were all working.
“I love it here. It’s so quiet and there’s not so many people everywhere.” The girl stopped pulling on the webbing and seemed to get lost in her own thoughts. “And there’s not so many bad people around.”
Emma stopped breathing as she waited to see what else she was going to say. On one hand, she desperately wanted Sadie to feel like she could open up to her and talk about anything, but on the other, she wasn’t sure she was ready to offer her any advice.
Sadie just gave her head a small shake, then smiled over at Emma. But Emma noticed the smile didn’t quite make it all the way into her eyes this time.
“I know it’s still pretty early in the day, but how about a double scoop ice cream cone. Just don’t tell your uncle.” The young girl’s eyes lit up at the mention of ice cream as she set everything down to follow Emma.
She was sure Cooper wouldn’t mind her having ice cream this early anyway. Where Sadie was concerned, Emma knew he’d move mountains out of the way to make her happy if he had to. He’d understand the need for a treat at this moment.
As she scooped it out, she thought back to the other night when she’d had dinner with them. Emma’s heart swelled with emotion when she thought about how he’d done everything he could to try and make it a perfect night. And other than the meal being slightly overcooked, everything had been.
She’d felt so at ease sitting and laughing with Cooper and Sadie. It was obvious they both loved each other beyond reason. Somehow now, it felt like something had changed between Cooper and
her.
Since finding out the truth, it seemed like he’d finally let himself be completely open and unguarded around her. She hadn’t really noticed he’d been doing it until he stopped, but now he could just be himself.
If she hadn’t found herself already falling hard for this man, she knew without a doubt, she was now. Cooper Levine was unlike any of the men she’d known and dated before in her life. Most of them thought they were so much better than anyone who wasn’t on the same social status as them. Or they’d had things passed down to them, given to them without needing to work for it.
Cooper treated everyone as an equal, never once forgetting where he came from, even after achieving success that many men would only dream of having.
And he’d worked hard to get there.
The roar of the motorbike could be heard out in the parking lot, so Sadie grabbed her ice cream cone and ran for the back door. Emma figured she may as well make one for herself too since it was almost lunchtime anyway. She quickly put a small scoop into a cone for herself and headed for the door too.
As she came through, Cooper gave Sadie a hug, pretending to scold her for eating ice cream. He was still sitting on his bike, holding his helmet in his hands when he turned and noticed her—his eyebrow shooting up. “Don’t you think maybe you’re a bit old to be eating ice cream for lunch?”
“Just for that, I’m not even going to offer you one.” She licked her cone dramatically.
Cooper reached into his pocket and pulled his wallet out. He took some money out and handed it to Sadie. “Can I get you to go back in and ask Katie to make me a triple scoop chocolate cone please?”
Sadie laughed and raced back inside the building.
“So, how did it go with the caseworker? What did she want?”
Emma knew something was up. Cooper’s face had fallen as soon as Sadie had gone back inside.
Rocky Mountain Heart Page 5
