by Reana Malori
Just earlier that day, no more than three hours before, one of those gut feelings that something huge was about to happen had come over him. In that moment, he knew that his life would be changed forever. Having the cops show up at his office asking about his wife had not been on the list of possibilities.
Earlier that day, he had called Heather. Needing to speak with her after the feeling had come over him, they had been joking and laughing just minutes before she headed into a lunch meeting with a client.
“Baby, if you’re pregnant, I want a boy this time.”
“Who says I’m pregnant?” Her sweet voice responded with laughter. “I’m not you know. But, even if I were, who says it’s up to me what you get. Last I heard, it was the father who decided sex.”
Settling into his chair, he looked out the window as they continued to talk, “Well, I just got that feeling and it usually happens when something huge is going to happen. Like when you were pregnant with Madison, and when I got this job offer, even when Rob and Leslie asked us to be the godparents for Bree.”
What he failed to mention, and never would, is that these feelings also came right before they were attacked by insurgents and the day his father had a heart attack. No, his focus that day was on the positives.
“I think you just want someone to watch football with.” She laughed into the phone as he heard her turn off her car and exit.
“Nope, because Madison is going to be there, too. I’ll make sure she gets the right kind of sports education.” And no dating, he thought. There’s no way in hell she’ll date a boy like me.
Because of his career in the military, they had both agreed to wait until he had finished serving until they had children. Madison was born just six and a-half months ago at the time, and Heather had already been talking about having another one. Steeling his nerves for what he was about to hear, he spoke to the officer again, “Yes, I’m Cooper Branson. What can I do for you, Sergeant?”
The officer looked at him without blinking, as if schooling his features to deliver the next words out of his mouth, “Sir, I’m sorry to tell you, but there’s been an accident.”
Silence.
Although the police officer's mouth continued to move and words were coming out, Cooper didn't hear a word he said. The silence was deafening. Loud ringing was all he could hear and he tried to clear his head of the sound. What was the officer saying again? An accident? Dead on impact? It happened so quickly? She felt no pain? How do they know she didn’t feel any pain? How do they know his wife didn’t suffer for even one-second?
“Oh, God. This can’t be happening,” he managed to say the words, but hadn’t really been aware of his actions. He then heard a keening wail that shattered his soul and it took a few seconds for him to realize it was coming from him. The sound was coming from inside of his soul and unbeknownst to him, had echoed across the entire 10th floor executive suite.
Heather had been his rock, the person who had gotten him through the difficult years of serving in the U.S. Army and the three tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. After all they had been through, and finally deciding to live their lives and raise a family, he was being told that someone had killed his wife at a stoplight in Alexandria, Virginia. She was never coming home again.
Blinking back to the present, Cooper knew that his gut feeling that day had been right. Only thing was, it hadn’t been the stuff his dreams had been made of.
It had been the start of a nightmare.
Over time, he had learned to understand and interpret those feelings better and he knew that today, the feeling he had when looking over at his neighbor’s house, had been new. Different. Unlike anything he had felt before. That scared him, but not in the way one would think.
It actually gave him hope. It meant there was a whole new experience in front of him. Life was throwing him a curveball. All he had to do was decide if he was going to strike out or swing for the fences. With one last look, he decided to just go with it and let life happen.
Faith was nervous. She had spent the morning talking to herself like a loon and making up several reasons to not go and meet her new neighbors. Four casseroles later, three of which had already been thrown in the garbage after being deemed not good enough to serve to the dogs, so surely not good enough for her new neighbors. If she were thinking clearly, she would have remembered that she fully expected this man to be happily married. But for some reason, she couldn’t stop the insane thoughts running through her head. Thinking clearly was not on the menu today.
So, here she stood. On her neighbor's doorstep, frozen in fear and with a healthy dose of embarrassment that she had dressed to impress a man who would probably have no interest in her.
“Damn, Denise, your fucking timing is impeccable.” She knew those thoughts and insecurities were creeping in based on her ex-friend’s cruel words, but she was determined to move forward. “Get it together, girl. Don’t just stand out here staring at the damn door. Knock!”
Without waiting another second, she gave three strong raps on the front door. Her neighbor’s truck was parked in the garage. She noticed it as she walked over. Maybe he saw her looking out her window yesterday and already decided that she wasn’t worth getting to know in the first place. Especially if she had to gawk at people from the confines of her home. With no answer to her first knock, she decided to give up and try this another day.
Just as she started to turn around and head back home, she was hit with a sense of sadness. Not because there was no answer to her knock, but the one time she had forced herself do something brave, it hadn’t worked.
Did she expect anything to come from taking a casserole to her neighbor? No, not really. But the sadness was still there, no doubt stemming from the questions she had asked herself many times over during these past few days.
Mainly, would there ever be a man who would stimulate both her mind and her body at the same time? Someone that she wanted, someone she chose, and not just the guy who wanted to pursue her for the sake of experiencing what it was like to sleep with a thick girl.
Her sexual drought wasn't because there hadn't been opportunities for her, or because men had no interest in her. It was that she hadn’t yet met the one man who made her want more than just sex.
That was until she saw her neighbor standing on the front lawn of his new home in jeans and a t-shirt, laughing at the antics of two little girls and treating women in his life, old and young, with respect and care.
As she took her first step toward freedom—and her empty home—she heard the door swing open behind her. For just a smidgen of a second, she almost kept going. This was so stupid. It was probably his wife and Faith would look like a fool.
Regret began to spread through her like a wildfire, and then she turned around. As she came face-to-face with the man standing in front her, covered in sweat and dust from no doubt getting his home in order, her inner diva finally chose to show up to the party. Throwing caution to wind, she leapt into the storm and prayed she would come out alive and whole on the other side.
Finding her voice, she pushed the casserole dish in his direction. Forcing him to grab the warm dish with both hands, “Hi. I’m your next door neighbor, Faith Douglas.”
“Um, hello, Faith, I’m Cooper Branson.”
“I’m Madison!”
Looking down, she noticed his daughter peeking through his arm and the door. Wide, blue eyes staring up at the strange lady standing at their door. Leaning over so that she was on closer eye-level with the curious child, she held out her hand to shake, “It’s very nice to meet you, little Madison. Welcome to the neighborhood.” Surprised when she stuck out her little hand to grab Faith’s, she gave it two quick up-and-down motions. Giving her a smile, she was already enamored with the precocious child. Faith released her tiny hand and stood back up to take in the up-close and personal view of her father.
The smile on his face was something to behold. And he had dimples. Well, damn. ‘Could this man get any fucking better?�
�� was the first thought that floated through her mind. Still, she hadn’t seen the wife, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t around somewhere.
Within moments of that thought, her neighbor must have thought of something that changed his entire mood. His eyebrows turned down and his brow furrowed in a look of annoyance. Looking at both Madison and Faith, he was not happy about something. Uh oh, had she stepped over some pre-determined line?
“Well, I just wanted to let you know that I live in next house over. I’m very close in case you need anything.” Okay…this was not turning out the way she expected. “Is your wife home?”
“I don’t have a wife.”
Elation spread through her at his words.
“My mommy died when I was a baby,” she heard the little girl say as she entered he conversation.
Well, shit. Dread stomped on that elation, jumping up and down on it like it was a bug in a pristine kitchen.
She looked at her neighbor with a touch of sadness, shock, and true awe. He was a tall, sexy, widower raising a precocious little girl. If it weren’t so sad, it would be the stuff of romance novels.
His only response to his daughter’s statement was to continue looking at her with his piercing ice blue gaze, never taking his eyes from her face. Not even for a second.
Adjusting his position and placing the casserole dish on a side table sitting next to the door, he lifted one hand to leisurely rest one his lean hip, a slight smile tilting his lips on one side. “Well, with that cheery opening, thank you for the casserole, Mrs. Douglas.”
“Well, I know what it’s like to move into a new home and have to unpack and then get all of your food unpacked. Then if you don’t want to order pizza, the only other choices aren’t very good. So, I figured I would do something nice for you and your family. I’m sorry...I didn’t know you weren’t married. I just thought your wife wasn’t with you when you moved in yesterday…”
Trailing off, her eyes began to nervously drift away from his face. Her gaze soon landed on his chest and arms, his white t-shirt was form-fitting and fit his toned form perfectly. Unable to stop her eyes from shifting downward, she stopped briefly at the unmistakable bulge in his well-worn jeans. Positive that her mouth dropped open just a fraction, the clear and distinct outline of his package was very visible.
The way his jeans fit his lower torso, riding low on his hips made her think some very naughty, dirty, “not to be discussed in the daytime” thoughts about her new neighbor. Getting this far, there was no way in hell she was stopping now. Go big or go home was her new motto, so she was taking this to the endgame.
Glancing down at his feet, she guessed that he must have worn size thirteen, easily. With that realization, she must have made a noise as the limitless possibilities began to run through her mind. Just as she was starting to forget why she was even standing here, her new neighbor, whom she had known for all of two minutes, cleared his throat. Quickly lifting her gaze back up to his face, she felt her face turn hot in embarrassment. To be caught openly ogling the man while he stood in his front door was so inappropriate. This was totally not like her.
Tilting his head, his eyes crinkled up at her and his nose flared out. Not in anger, but maybe in frustration and annoyance. Maybe he was used to this and women undressed him in public all the time.
“Find something interesting, Mrs. Douglas?” Damn, now that was distinctly unfriendly. Although her skin had a beautiful pecan hue, she was positive the red flush of embarrassment and mortification was coming through quite clearly.
Could it be called sexual harassment if she was only enjoying the scenery? Okay, fine! She was way out of line and if a man had done the same thing to her, she would be downright pissed right now. Knowing she was the one in the wrong, she nodded her head once, acknowledging her error. Forcing her eyes back to his face, she realized this actually didn’t help very much at all. He was just yummy goodness from his head to his toes.
“It’s Ms.”
“Excuse me?” His voice had not softened one bit and that’s when she realized that this must be his normal tone of voice.
Two seconds later, some pesky butterflies took up residence in her stomach.
Finding her voice again, she continued, “I was just saying that I’m a Ms. I’m not married. Not that it matters or anything. I mean, it would matter. Because if I were married, my husband would be here with me and I never would have looked at you like you were a popsicle on a hot summer day.”
Her eyes widened and her brain began to short-circuit. Oh My God! “I mean...hell, you know what I mean. I’m sorry.” Looking behind her, she wanted to crawl into a hole and hide her head like an ostrich. “How about we start over. I’ll take my casserole back to the house, take my foot out of my mouth, wait five minutes and try it again.”
After a few seconds, a burst of laughter came out of his mouth. She watched a change come over him and he seemed to transform into another person right in front of her eyes. If she thought he was sexy before, that was nothing compared to seeing him with a smile on his face and his eyes crinkled up in laughter. Opening the door wider, the smile remained on his face as he motioned for her to come in.
“Don’t worry about it, Ms. Douglas. Come on in. I’m pretty much done for the day and your dish will come in handy.” Stepping to the side, he allowed her space to step through the door and into his home.
“Faith.” She said as she moved further into his home.
“Excuse me? I didn’t catch that.” Clicking the door closed, he picked up the dish from the table he had placed it on earlier, and turned toward the back of the house. As he began walking in the direction of the kitchen, she turned in the same direction and began following him.
Bad move. She caught her first glimpse of his powerful, confident walk, and it just completed the whole picture. If she weren’t such a good girl, and his daughter wasn’t peeking around corners trying to take in the scene, she would climb his fine ass like a tree in the jungle and change her name to Jane.
“Ms. Douglas, are you distracted again?”
Looking up at the back of his head, she wondered how the hell he knew she was looking at his firm behind and drooling over thoughts about the motion in his ocean. “Huh? Say what?”
Stopping to turn around and look at her, he had a smirk on his face, “That’s what I asked you. You said something and then went silent on me.”
Thinking quickly, she tried to recall what the hell they were talking about. Oh, her name! The man had made her forget her own name and they weren’t even naked and rolling around on the floor doing naughty, adult things to each other? Now that was a feat. “Faith. Please, call me Faith.”
Smiling slyly at her after she finished her statement, she could tell that he knew exactly what had happened and why. Oh yes, she thought, he’s dangerous. Then again, maybe this was what she needed. Just some good old-fashioned fun.
“Okay. Faith it is. Then you’ll have to call me Cooper, and this one,” turning toward his daughter and pointing with his elbow, “of course, is Madison. Although my little social butterfly already introduced herself, which I will address with her later.” Glancing over at his daughter, he watched her as she slowly walked into the large open kitchen and mini dining area.
“Great. Cooper and Madison it is,” she responded.
Tilting his chin toward the stools situated on one side of the kitchen breakfast bar, he turned toward the stove, “Go on. Have a seat. Let me take a look at what you brought over for us.” As he proceeded to lift the lid and take in the smell of the pasta dish she had stressed over this morning, Faith felt a tug on her arm.
“Hi, little munchkin,” she greeted the blonde-haired little girl.
“Hi, Ms. Faith. I want to sit next to you. Help me.” Lifting her arms in the air, she allowed Faith to lift her and place on her on the seat right next to her. Cooper looked back at them, a curious glance on his face as he watched his daughter interact with her.
“Well, then I guess tha
t makes it official. You brought us food, which smells delicious by the way, you ogled my body…”
Dropping her head into her hands, “I’m really sorry about that.” His laughter broke into her apology.
“Really, it’s okay.” Grabbing a towel to wipe his hands, he looked at Faith. “So, now that the official miniature welcoming committee has accepted you into our abode, I think we’re all settled. Would you agree?”
Looking down at Madison, she shrugged her shoulders, “What do you think, Madison? Are we ready?”
“Yes!”
Grabbing plates out of the cabinet and placing the casserole in the oven, he turned back to the two of them. “So, what do we want to do now?”
Madison raised her hand in the air and at the same time yelled out, “I know! I know!”
Her father pointed at her, “Okay, Madison, what would you like to do?”
Looking at Faith with a smile filled with little white teeth tinted with red from her fruit juice, she asked, “Do you like princess movies?”
Chapter Four
Waking up to the bright sun coming through his bedroom window, Cooper yawned and stretched out on his king size bed. Picking up his phone, he read the messages from Faith that had come through last night and gave a sigh of relief.
It had only taken a few weeks after that initial meeting, and several instances of her coming to them first, before he and Madison changed things up. Pretty soon, they were the ones showing up at her door instead. After all, he was just being neighborly.
At least, that was the story he continued to tell himself as he tried to understand why he couldn’t stay away from her.
Cooper wondered how different his life would be if he and Madison had never met their lovely neighbor. After that first day of bringing them food and staying for hours as they got to know each other, even helping to put away some of their unpacked items, they had built a routine. Every weekend after that, there she was, at their door with food. It was like she was always feeding them, making sure they ate something new and different every time. Asking them what they liked, preferred, and absolutely hated.
