by Cathryn Fox
“Yeah.”
“Dad and I built that.” At the mention of his dad he felt a little melancholy. He missed him so much. He gazed at Julia and smiled. His dad would have loved her. He’d have spent hours telling her about his childhood antics, and she would have laughed, loving every minute of it.
She pulled her head back in. “I remember your dad. He was always very nice when I went into the bank.” She looked a bit hesitant. “Is he…”
“No, he’s gone now,” he explained.
“I’m sorry.”
He reached out and squeezed her hand, taking comfort in her touch. “It’s okay. Are your folks still alive?”
“Yes. Dad retired from the service and is now puttering around the house fixing things.”
A truck sped by, kicking up dust. Coop rolled the windows up to protect her hair and clothes from getting soiled. “Fixing things?”
She laughed. “Okay, more like getting on Mom’s nerves. He needs a hobby.”
Coop laughed with her. “When I retire, I’m getting a motorcycle.” He held his hands out and rolled them, mimicking the action of riding.
“How about your mom, Coop?”
“She’s…okay,” he said and pulled back onto the highway. He could tell she wanted to ask more, and while he planned to tell her—to share everything with her—he wanted to do it later.
He drove toward town, and she squeezed his hand. “I liked seeing your childhood home.”
“Good, because I have more to show you.”
“Oh?” she said, her eyes moving over his body. “What exactly do you have in mind?”
He laughed at her playful side. “Hey, get your mind out of the gutter.”
She chuckled along with him, and they fell into easy conversation as he drove the rest of the way. A short while later he pulled into a parking spot along the town’s main street.
He shaded his eyes and glanced up and down the long street. “Nothing much has changed in twenty years. Except maybe the new beaver tail and ice cream store.”
She turned, taking it all in. “It’s so quaint. I love it.”
His heart warmed. It meant something to him that she liked where he’d grown up. “Yeah?”
“Yeah. I can see why you’d want to move back here.”
He captured her hand and pulled her to him as he led her down the sidewalk and into the store. They both ordered a pastry, and he guided her to the playground he hung out at when he was young. Kids bustled about around them, their parents talking on park benches as they played.
“Swing?” he asked.
“Sure.”
They grabbed the empty swings beside each other and dived into their pastries.
“This is where you hung out?” she asked.
He wiped cinnamon from her face, and when she gave him a sheepish look, his heart turned over. She was so sweet, and he was so fucking lucky to have her in his life. Now, just to keep her there. “This swing exactly,” he said.
“Cool.” The smile she gave him warmed his soul. He bit into his pastry, catching a big hunk of banana, and moaned with pleasure.
“It’s so good, isn’t it?” She took another big bite, chewed, and said, “I can’t remember the last time I had one.”
“You should have one every day,” he said.
“Yeah.” She scoffed. “Wouldn’t my hips love that?”
A hyper little girl in pigtails squealed and started to run by, then slowed when she saw their food. Her eyes went wide. “Mom,” she shrieked. “I want a beaver tail.”
Julia crinkled her nose. “Uh-oh. Look what we started.”
More kids started yelling, and he cringed. “I think the last thing any of them need is sugar.”
“You don’t like kids,” she said, a statement, not a question.
“Yes, I do.”
Her head came up with a start, surprise in her eyes. “Really?”
He dragged his feet though the dirt as he moved on the swing. “Yeah. Someday I’d like to have a couple.”
“Oh.”
“Oh what?”
“Nothing…I just…nothing.”
He kicked his leg out, to pick up momentum as he swung beside her. “I’ll teach them how to play soccer, hockey…ride a horse.”
She smiled at him. “I bet you’d be a great dad.”
“What about you? You want kids?”
“I haven’t given it too much thought. The last few years have been spent focusing on my career.”
“But you do want them?”
“Yeah, I do.”
“Good.”
She gave him a strange look as they finished their last bites. Coop jumped off the swing, grabbed her hand, and hauled her to him.
“I thought we’d go for a spin.” He pointed to the merry-go-round. “I swear I could get that thing going a hundred miles an hour. I’ll teach my kids that, too.”
“I think I’m going to pass.”
“Seriously?”
She put her hand on her stomach. “Unless you want a second viewing of my dessert.”
He laughed, and she looked so adorable as she grinned up at him that he couldn’t help himself. He leaned in and put his lips on hers, tasting the sweet cinnamon on her tongue.
“You taste good,” he murmured. “I think they should only ever make peanut butter, banana, and cinnamon-flavored beaver tails.”
“Maybe I can get a law passed,” she teased. She broke the kiss and grabbed his hand, a new excitement in her eyes. “Show me where else you hung out.”
“Sure.” He loved her enthusiasm and how interested she was in knowing more about him.
He led her along the streets, taking her to the park where he and his friends skateboarded, past the school where he went to elementary, along a side street where some of his childhood friends had grown up, then stopped at the old movie house.
When he saw that it was some chick flick playing, he said, “You’re not going to make me, are you?”
She sagged against him and gave him a playful grin. “You bet I am.”
“Fine, then, but we’re sitting in the back so we can make out.”
“Oh, is that what you used to do when you were a kid?”
“No, but only because I was too young.”
She gave him a playful whack, and he reached for his wallet. He bought their tickets and found seats at the back of the near-empty theater. The movie came on, and true to his word, he spent the better part of the time kissing her. From the way she kissed him back, she didn’t seem to mind missing the flick. By the time the credits rolled, it was well past dinnertime, and they walked back to his truck.
“Dinner at the saloon?” he asked.
Her cheeks were flushed from their heavy make-out session. “I’m thinking more along the lines of dinner in bed.”
He hurried his steps and dragged her along with him. “You don’t have to ask me twice.”
He opened her door for her, stepped back, and waited for her to get in. Instead, she stopped, turned to him, and put her hand on his chest. His throat tightened. Had she changed her mind? Was she pushing him away? His stomach dropped, but then she reached up and laid her hand on his cheek. A surge of warmth flooded his veins at the softness of her palm on his jaw, the rasp of his stubble against the pad of her thumb as it slid gently over his face. Such a small thing, this show of affection, so genuine that for a moment he held his breath, fearful that even pulling air into his lungs would break the incredible connection between them. She looked up at him, and the tenderness in her eyes became his undoing. His knees buckled, and he forced them straight as he leaned into her hand, overwhelmed with the things she made him feel.
“I really liked seeing where you grew up,” she said softly, and then she smiled. The faintest lift of the corner of her mouth. “Thanks for sharing it with me.” Her hand slipped from his cheek, and the loss of her touch left an emptiness in his chest. He stood there trying to remember how to breathe as she slid into the truck.
She
was quiet on the way home, her glance straying to his numerous times as he drove. Whenever he returned it, she gave him a warm smile. They reached the ranch, and he circled the truck to open her door. She jumped out, and he was about to guide her inside when she went up on her tiptoes and planted a soft kiss on his mouth. He slid his hand around her waist and drew her in close, needing the connection. As he held her, his body reacted with need.
“It seems like you might have a little something else to show me,” she teased as his erection pressed against her stomach.
“It does seem that way,” he said, and brushed his thumb over her cheek, wanting her so much he felt dizzy. “And there’s nothing little about it.”
She laughed and swatted him again, making him feel like the teenage boy who was so crazy about her.
In seconds flat he had her naked and on the bed. He kissed her mouth, her neck, her breasts, basking in her sweetness. Unable to wait another second, he sheathed himself and pushed into her. Her hand touched his back, and he sucked in a breath as heat zinged through him. Christ, he was lost. So fucking lost in her.
His mouth moved back to hers, and she slid her tongue over his bottom lip. He drew it into his mouth, so aware of how well their bodies fit together. Blood pounded through his veins, and her nipples pressed against his chest as they rocked into each other, need propelling them on. Her muscles clenched around him, her whole body trembling beneath his.
“Yes,” she murmured, and the second he felt her warm heat, he let go.
“Julia, baby,” he murmured into her mouth. He put his hands on either side of her head and inched up to see her face. She stared at him for an endless moment, then her fingers tangled through his hair. She gave a throaty purr of contentment, and his heart filled with so much love. His brain raced. He could take her every night like this, yet never get enough of her.
He rolled off her, discarded the condom, and then covered her with a warm blanket. She sank into him, and they remained quiet for a long time, both lost in their thoughts. When he could finally breathe again, he rolled on his side. His heart turned inside out to see her so sated, so comfortable with him that she’d already started to drift off to sleep.
“Julia.”
He touched her face, pulling her awake. Her eyes met his, and the smile she gave him tugged at the center of his chest. He needed to tell her everything, and pray to God that she didn’t think he’d been keeping himself emotionally closed off because all he ever wanted was sex from her.
“Yeah?” she asked.
“We need to talk.”
Chapter Eight
Julia’s stomach turned upside down. She’d thought something significant had happened between them today. Thought Coop had opened up to her, showing her another side of himself, because he might want more. But now he needed to talk, and in her book, that meant one thing. It was over. God, how could she have been such a fool to think, even for the briefest of moments, that things could have ended differently? Then again, even if he had wanted more, she’d been playing a part, which meant he didn’t know the real her. If he’d fallen for anyone—again—it was her sister.
She braced herself. “What is it?”
He opened his mouth, but his cell phone rang. He leaped from the bed and grabbed it. What—or who—was so important that it couldn’t wait a minute?
Julia listened to the one-sided conversation, barely able to comprehend what was going on. When he finished talking, he shut down his phone and said, “I have to go.”
Before she could even ask what was going on, he disappeared into the bathroom. When he came out, he dressed quickly.
He turned to her, worry backlighting his eyes as he said, “We’ll talk later.”
She nodded, and he practically ran out the door. Stunned by his sudden departure, Julia climbed from the bed and numbly made her way to the shower. He was about to break it off with her. Should she just leave, get a lift into town until the next plane came?
After washing, she pulled on a dress and walked to her window to pull open the sheer curtain. But when she did, she spotted Coop and Tessa talking on the wraparound deck of the small cottage at the foot of the mountain. At least now she knew who was so important. Julia had no idea what they were saying, but she could tell by the tension in their posture that they were discussing something very important, something very personal.
Unease moved through her as the sting of jealousy hit her hard. Her heart began racing, aching painfully, but she quickly tried to shrug it off and reminded herself that she had no claims on Coop. They weren’t dating, and he was likely only seconds from reminding her this was a week of sex and nothing else.
Feeling slightly light-headed, she backed away from the window. No matter how much her brain tried to convince her that Coop didn’t matter, her heart knew he did. Cripes, she never should have gotten on that plane, or engaged in a wild week of sun and sex.
She’d pretended to be the kind of woman he wanted to get him to like her, but deep down she most definitely wasn’t the kind of girl who could love casually.
Needing to get far away from the place, she grabbed her purse and hurried downstairs, looking for a ranch hand who could drive her to town, or possibly get her a cab. But when she stepped onto the wooden deck, she ran into a big muscular wall—Coop.
He gripped her shoulders to still her. “Julia—” he began, then looked down at the way she was clutching her purse. Worried, he did a careful assessment of her face. Her stomach lurched. How would she ever go on without him? “Are you going somewhere?” he asked.
“I’m leaving. I’m going to stay in town until the plane comes.”
Visibly taken aback, his hands tightened on her shoulders, and his body stiffened. “What the hell?”
“It’s okay, Coop.”
“Like fuck it’s okay,” he bit out, his face tightening warily. “What, you were just going to leave, without telling me?”
“I have to go.” She tried to push away, but he wouldn’t let her go. “Coop—”
“You’re not making sense,” he cut in, a strain in his voice she’d never heard before. “After today…I thought…”
“You don’t owe me any explanation.” In the distance she caught a glimpse of Tessa. “What you do in your private life is none of my business. I knew what I was getting myself into when I decided to stay here.” Okay, she was rambling, but she couldn’t seem to help herself. What the hell happened to the calm, collected lawyer who always thought with her head and not her heart?
Coop got quiet for a moment, and then a muscle in his jaw rippled. “Did you, Julia? Did you really know what you were getting yourself into?”
“What? Yes, of course.”
Coop stared at her longer than was comfortable, then grabbed her hand and tugged. “Come with me.”
Her stomach tightened as he marched her toward the cottage, and she had to hurry her steps to keep up. “Coop, I don’t think this is a good idea.”
“There is someone I want you to meet.” The tension in his tone was replaced by sadness. A sadness so deep she felt it in her core. “Someone very important to me,” he added with a whisper.
The protest went out of her as he walked her across the field and eased open the door to the cottage. Julia’s nervous glance landed on Tessa, who exchanged a knowing look with Coop before disappearing into the other room. After the pretty brunette exited, the sight of the elderly lady sitting at one end of a floral sofa came into view.
“Coop,” Julia asked quietly. “What’s going on?”
Just then the woman turned her head, and Coop started for her.
“Mom, it’s okay. It’s me, Coop.” He hurried out and ducked in time to dodge the remote control aimed his way. He picked the remote up and set it on the sofa.
Her heart ached as she watched Coop drop to his knees in front of his mother. He took her hand in his and was speaking quietly to her, soothing words for her ears only. Understanding dawned quickly. This was the curveball life had thrown
him. Her throat tightened, and her legs weakened beneath her. A few moments later, the woman blinked and turned to face Julia.
“This is Julia,” Coop said, standing back up. Warmth moved into his eyes when they met hers, and she nearly forgot how to breathe, the love she felt for him twisting inside her. “Julia, this is my moth—”
“Are you in Chase’s class?”
Julia looked at his mother, then back at Coop in search of answers. When he nodded, she took a tentative step closer.
“Yes, I am.”
His mother frowned. “Chase’s friends don’t come around much anymore, and he’s never brought a girl home before.”
“That’s because this one is special, Mom.”
Her smile returned, and with hands gnarled from arthritis, she waved Julia over. “Come let me have a look at you.”
Julia took a few measured steps toward the sofa, and as she neared, Coop held his hand out to her. She took the offered hand, and when she slid her palm into his, he gave a reassuring squeeze.
“Julia, I’d like you to meet Lois, my mother.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Lois.”
“She’s a very pretty one, Chase. I can see why you like her.”
Julia dropped down onto the sofa next to Coop’s mother, and when she took Lois’s hand in hers, she didn’t miss the way Coop’s tense shoulders relaxed, or the mixture of pride and possessiveness on his face when his glance met hers.
Julia turned her attention to the television to take note of the soap opera Lois was watching. “I see you’re watching The Rich and the Famous. It’s one of my favorites,” Julia said.
That brought a smile to Lois’s face. “Mine too, dear.”
With her heart full of all the things she felt for Coop, Julia spent a few more minutes talking about the characters, having become familiar with the show when an old friend joined the cast a few years back, but then suddenly, a confused look came over Lois’s face and her lids began to flicker.
“I think she needs to rest now,” Coop said quietly.
Understanding that Coop needed a moment alone with his mother, Julia stood and gestured toward the door. “I should—”
