I switch directions, heading toward the LeBlanc house to say hello.
As I’m approaching the truck, I hear her yell at Landon again. “Go help your brother get our stuff out of the car.” I watch as two dirty blond teens walk around to the back and pop the hatch open. Bags begin tumbling out. Damn. How long are they planning to visit?
The driver’s side door swings open and Spence climbs out. Immediately, our eyes lock. She looks me up and down as I take in the beautiful chaos that stands before me. Her raven hair is in a huge knot on top of her head. She’s in yoga pants and a threadbare tee with flip-flops and not a stitch of makeup on. Although I can tell she’s both tired and stressed, her face hasn’t aged a bit. Creamy white skin, crystal blue eyes, and dimples for days.
“Coop?” She blinks a few times as if she’s surprised to see me. Her mother must not have told her that I moved back, much like my own hadn’t bothered mentioning to me that Spencer would be in for a visit this weekend. She must have known. I don’t think either of our moms can take a shit without telling the other.
“Heya, Princess.” The old nickname rolls easily off my tongue.
Spencer looks down at her ratty clothes and her cheeks flush. “What’re you doing in Cedar Grove? I thought that you and Kristy had moved to Texas.”
“We did. Our divorce has been finalized for a few months.” Spencer’s blue eyes widen in shock. Did her mom not tell her that, either? “I moved back about two weeks ago,” I add, stuffing my hands into my pockets as I begin rocking back and forth. Spencer makes me feel like a nervous teenager. I never thought I’d ever feel uncomfortable around this girl. There was a time we’d known all there was to know about each other. But, since we broke up, every interaction feels awkward. Like we’re ignoring the huge fucking elephant in the room, because we are, and we’ve been doing it for almost fifteen damn years.
“Oh,” she gasps before clearing her throat. “I, ummm. I had no clue.” She swallows as her thumbnail moves to her mouth and she begins chewing. “I can’t believe my mom didn’t mention that. I mean, it’s kind of a big deal.” She huffs, blowing upward to push the hair out of her eyes.
“I assumed you already knew.”
Spencer’s head shakes slowly. “Wh-what happened?” she asks, fiddling with the bottom of her shirt.
The last thing I want to discuss with this woman is my ex-wife and our failed marriage. I shrug. “We just...we didn’t work out. Kristy wanted things I couldn’t give her.” Spence nods, but her face is screwed up in confusion. It’s as if she doesn’t understand a word that’s coming out of my mouth. “There was no sense in either of us being miserable. It was for the best,” I answer carefully, both wanting to make sure she knows that I’m not still hung up on my ex-wife and not wanting to come off as an uncaring asshole, either.
“Wow.” She gulps, staring at my face as if she’s waiting for more. I have no more to offer.
The truth is, that while I cared about Kristy, I never loved her. Not the way I should have. I guess she’s expecting me to be more upset, but all I felt the day I signed those papers was relief. I can’t exactly say that, so I opt for changing the subject.
“What about you? Last I heard you were still teaching women how to orgasm in NOLA.” I laugh, throwing that out there to try and lighten the mood. I hate it that she’s so nervous. But, my attempt at humor backfires.
Spencer’s face pales as a little voice calls from the back seat. “Hi, man. Hiii!”
That must be number three. The last time I saw him was at her father’s funeral. He was barely walking, and certainly not talking yet. It’s a lot harder to ignore him when he’s calling for me.
Her eyes narrow to slits. “Don’t be a pig, Cooper. I loved my job.”
Well, this just got interesting. “Past tense?”
“The clinic I worked at is closing down, so the kids and I are moving in with Mom ’til I find a job and we sell our house.” Her voice is thick with emotion. She’s definitely not happy about being back here, and she doesn’t seem too thrilled with the fact that I’m here, either.
“Yet me outta here! Yet me out, man!” baby spawn yells from the back seat as his little fist pounds on the tinted glass. Spencer pretends she doesn’t notice.
“You gonna take the kid out or what?”
“I’m sorry?” Her hand goes to her chest in an unspoken “Are you talking to me?”
“The little one.” I dip my eyes toward the back seat. “You can’t tell me you don’t hear him yelling to get out.”
“I know it’s been a while, Coop, but I’m missing a vital piece of equipment to be addressed as man.” Her brows do a sexy little bounce as she dips her head toward the car in challenge. A smirk plays on her lips.
Shaking my head, I hold my hands palms out and slowly begin backing away. “Oh no. Sorry. I don’t do kids.” Especially not kids that the woman who was supposed to bear my own children had with other men.
Apparently, she finds this amusing. With a giggle, she mocks, “You don’t do children?” Spence raises her hands, making air quotes.
“I don’t.”
“Wow.” With that single word, all humor is wiped from her face. I’m truly fascinated by how quickly this woman is able to switch her emotions. I try not to stare in awe as she continues. “I’m not asking you to take him home or anything. He just wants you to get him out of the truck. He’s a two-year-old, Cooper...not a fucking viper.”
Well, this is going downhill real quick.
“I’m just not around kids much. They make me uncomfortable,” I say by way of explanation, hoping to calm her tits a little. The last thing I want is to piss her off, but I seem to have a knack for it.
Spencer’s mouth falls open in surprise. “Are you really not going to take that baby out of the car?” She is downright pissed, and this time, her anger is directed at me.
Fuck. I don’t remember her being so scary. She’s got those momma eyes down to a T, yet, somehow...on her, they are hot as hell. The term M.I.L.F. now makes all the sense in the world.
Spence throws her hands up in resignation as she tries to move around me. “Get out of my way so I can get him.”
My hand darts out, grabbing ahold of her upper arm. “Are you angry with me, Princess?” I ask, pulling her close. I find myself fighting the urge to smile. She would fucking murder me.
Spence growls with annoyance. “Fuckin’ right I am. You don’t come over here acting like my baby has a damn disease or something.” Her manicured finger is right in my face. I reach out, pinching it between my thumb and forefinger, and bring it to my lips, dropping a kiss on the tip before lowering her hand to her side. That earns me a glare, but she’s not unaffected. In fact, she’s stunned speechless. My heart is racing. I can feel it pulsing in my throat.
“Man! Hi, man. Take me out!”
“Fine, I’ll do it.”
Spencer’s sparkling blue eyes roll up in her head as she jerks her arm out of my grip and crosses them on her chest. “Just go home.” Her head shakes slightly and she huffs a disgusted breath. And fuck if that doesn’t make me want to prove to her that I’m not the loser she thinks I am. Her anger, I can handle. Her disappointment, I cannot.
She starts to walk around me again to open the door, but I stand in front of it, legs and arms spread wide, blocking her. “I said I’d do it.”
“You look like a five-year-old,” Spence snaps, backing away a few paces.
I open the truck door and the little booger smiles a big, cheesy grin. “Hi, man!”
“Hey, little guy,” I say with a smile. I can do this. I can hold her kid.
“You a fuck!”
Whoa! I jerk back in surprise, knocking my head on the doorframe.
“Shit!” Goddamnit. That fucking hurt.
“Shit!” the little potty mouth repeats.
“Don’t say that,” I whisper, hoping the she-devil behind me didn’t hear.
“Are you teaching my baby bad words?”
; “I think your baby could teach me a few bad words,” I call back as I finish untangling his arms from the straps and pull him out. The way he looks so much like his momma takes me by surprise. Her smile. Her dimples. Her little button nose.
“What’re you talking about?”
“This kid just called me a fuck.” I make sure to mouth the last word as to not get myself into any more trouble. I hold the kid out to Spencer so she can take him, but he pushes away from her.
“Hole me, man! I yike you.”
Spencer’s cheeks redden like a ripe, juicy tomato. “He probably just said truck. Two-year-olds don’t always pronounce words correctly.”
“I not say shruck, Mommy. I say fuck!”
I smirk and cock my brow, daring her to tell me that I didn’t just hear what I know I heard. “Your baby just called me the F word.”
“Landonnnn!” Uh oh.
“Ma’am?” he says, coming around the truck with a fresh load of bags in his arms.
Spencer’s hand flies out, connecting with his shoulder.
Landon flinches at the same time that I hop back in surprise.
“How many times have I told you to watch your mouth around your baby brother? Huh?” Landon shrugs as she leans in closer. “He just called Cooper the F word!”
“Mommy, you mean! Not hit Yannon, Mommy. Dat not nice!”
“Shhhhh,” I whisper to the little dude in my arms. “Didn’t anyone ever teach you not to poke the bear?”
“Not helping, Cooper,” Satan grumbles without turning from her kid.
“Can I go now?” Landon mutters, still rubbing his arm.
“Go!”
I wait until the kid is out of sight before risking my life. Why I’m choosing to put my life on the line for the enemy, I have no fucking clue, but apparently I am going for the gusto. “I know I’m not a parent or anything, and I don’t even think I’d be a good one, but you think maybe you shouldn’t have hit him?”
Her head spins, and I half expect green vomit to shoot out of her mouth. “Did you just call me a shitty parent?”
I look around as if the person she’s talking to will just magically appear, because I know damned well that I did not just do that. “I didn’t say that.”
“No,” she says, ripping her baby from my arms. “You just said that you’d be a shit parent and even you wouldn’t hit your kid.”
Umm. What the hell is happening here? “I don’t think that’s what I said.”
Her big blue eyes well up. Oh shit. “You think this is easy, Cooper? Huh? You think you could do better?” Her eyes overflow as big, fat tears drip from her chin. “Guess where their perfect fathers are?”
I shrug, wishing I could take back what I said.
“Out...living their lives, because you know what, Coop? They don’t do children, either.”
Her other son, Lake, silently walks between us, giving me a “Now you’ve gone and done it” look while shaking his head to himself. He grabs the little one from Spencer’s arms. “Come on, Savage. Let’s go say hi to Gramma.”
“Otay, Yake. Bye, man!”
I lift my hand and wave, watching until they’ve made it inside before apologizing. “I’m really sorry, Spence. You’re right. I don’t know shit about raising kids. I shouldn’t have said anything.”
Her face crumbles. “But, you’re right. I-I shouldn’t have hit him. He’s not handling the move well, and his father stood him up. He’s just been so ugly to me this last week, and he taught the baby to say fuck. I was just so embarrassed, and I took it out on him.”
She still does it. My heart clenches tightly in my chest as I listen to her ramble on, the way she always used to when she was upset. It’s crazy how little things like that stay with you.
Opening my arms, I whisper, “Come here, Princess.”
She shuffles forward until her chest is flush with mine then rests her forehead on my shoulder. Slowly, Spence snakes her arms around my waist as I do the same. I hold her while she cries it all out, stroking her back lightly with the tips of my fingers.
I look up to find her mother watching us from the front window, and when her eyes meet mine, she gives me a thumbs up.
It’s at this moment I realize that these old ladies are up to something. I’d be willing to bet that when I get to Momma’s mailbox...that son of a bitch is empty.
Spencer
Remember when I told you I’d had exactly three sexual partners in my lifetime? That broken heart I spent years getting over before Tate? Well, that third spot and broken heart can both be accredited to Cooper Hebert. And yet, being in Cooper’s arms like this again feels like heaven. Even if he is a big, dumb, kid-hating jerk.
Stop staring, Spencer. Fuck. I can’t. Somehow, he’s managed to get even more gorgeous with time with his stupid boy band hair and the way the light sheen of sweat on his hairline causes brown wisps to stick to his forehead. How those amber brown eyes catch the light from the sun so perfectly. The way they’re staring into mine right now and I’m suddenly finding it hard to swallow. Those lips. Dear God in heaven, I want to suck on those lips. No. No, I don’t. What’s wrong with me? I will not be lured in by that sexy scruff, chiseled jawline, or that fucking dimple in his chin that still makes my heart race. Goddamnit.
“Still mad, Momma Bear?” He whispers the question in my ear, and the warmth of his breath makes me shiver.
I shrug, burying my nose in the fabric of his shirt. The scent is oddly comforting. It’s the smell of childhood sleepovers, first dances, first kisses, and first love. Coop smells exactly the way he did when we were kids. For a moment, I convince myself that nothing has changed. But, although this place may look the same and he may even smell the same, I can’t allow myself to forget that we are very different people.
“Let me make it up to you? I’m meeting Roy Nelson at T-Boy’s tonight for a beer. Why don’t you take my number and call me if you can sneak away? Let me buy you a drink?”
God, I haven’t been to T-Boy’s bar since we were kids. Hell, I haven’t been inside of a bar since discovering that I was pregnant with Kyle. I’m not sure how wise it’d be to go out drinking with my heart’s most unhealthy addiction. I am dangerously close to falling back under his spell. Hell, maybe I’ve been fooling myself into believing I’ve ever truly gotten out from under it.
I pull back, feeling embarrassed for so many reasons. The way I’m dressed, losing it on my child, breaking down in front of him. It’s definitely not a novel worthy reunion, that’s for damned sure.
“Say you’ll come...” he pleads, giving me a pouty lip as he holds out his business card, offering it to me between his pointer and middle fingers.
“I’ll think about it. It’s been a hell of a day, Coop. Shit. It’s been a hell of a week.” I take the card from his hand and flip it around in my fingers.
“All the more reason you should sneak away with an old friend for an adult beverage or two, or even ten. I won’t judge.”
Old friends. Such a shitty title for all that we were.
“Is that what you consider me? An old friend, Coop?”
He reaches out, tucking a tendril of hair behind my ear as his eyes meet mine. “Princess, I don’t know that there are words to adequately define what I think of you and us. Old friends felt most appropriate considering...But, if you need me to stand here and list all of the roles you’ve filled in my life...the voids you left when you took yourself out of it...I can.”
I can smell the coffee on his breath and have to fight the urge to lean in and taste it. Suddenly, I’m finding it extremely difficult to breathe. Why does the world always disappear when I’m with this man? How can a few words still ignite a fire in my blood?
“Mommmmy,” Kyle screams, banging on the screen door. “Mommy, hole me!”
I pull my bottom lip between my teeth and laugh. “I’ll think about it, Coop. I should get inside and say hi to Momma...tend to my children.”
Cooper hangs his head, studying his shoes. “You’
re still as beautiful as ever, Spence,” he says as he lifts his brown eyes to meet mine. “You still make it hard to breathe.”
“And you,” I say, swallowing as I try to rein in my overeager heart, “are still the same old charmer you always were.”
He chuckles, mostly to himself. “Was good seeing you again, Spence. Call me if you change your mind, okay?”
“Mommmmy!”
“I will. I gotta run.”
Cooper takes both of my hands into his, squeezing them gently. He looks into my eyes and stares a little too long. A little too hard. And I feel way too much.
I step back, letting my hands slip slowly out of his, and then I tear my eyes away. I don’t trust my voice enough to utter another word as I go. I want to turn back. I miss him the second I move away. Coop’s eyes burn holes into my back as I climb the steps and pull the screen door open. Even then, I don’t have the courage to glance in his direction. I let the door slam shut behind me, continuing into the kitchen where Momma is spoiling my boys with junk food and sodas.
“Mommy, you baack!” Kyle calls from his booster seat, reaching out with his Cheeto-covered fingers, making grabby hands.
I blow him a kiss from the doorway. “Not a chance, Savage. You finish your snack and I’ll hold you after you get all cleaned up.”
He doesn’t argue, digging right back in to the mountain of chips and candy before him.
“Welcome home, Spencer.” Momma dries her hands on the towel that hangs from the oven handle and walks over with glossy eyes and a smile that splits her wrinkly face. She grabs my head in her hands and places kisses on each of my cheeks before wrapping me in her arms. “I’m so happy you’ve finally come back.”
I know why she didn’t tell me that Cooper was home. It’s never been said, but she knows me better than anyone. Well enough to know that the reason I’ve stayed away all these years was to distance myself from the boy who broke my heart. The heartbreak from which I’ve never fully recovered. I thought I’d be safe now that he was married and living in another state. If I had known that Coop was back, there’s no way I’d have come. I’d have been too afraid to face him. And yet, I still have to ask...“Why didn’t you tell me?” My voice cracks.
Boomerangers Page 3
