Catching Cooper (Red Maple Falls, #4)

by Theresa Paolo

  Cooper gave her the box to try and snuff out the fuse he just lit. Her smile returned as she flipped the lid open and examined the pastries inside. “Not bad,” she said with a nod. “Now for the true test.” She picked up the key lime pie cupcake and took a bite.

  Cooper stood back and waited for a response, deciding it was best to keep the fact that he had already tried one today and it was delicious.

  “A little too sweet. Could use a little more lime juice, but not bad,” she said as she moved onto the chocolate stout cupcake that she created using a batch of Mason’s beer. “Not sweet enough, but it’ll do.”

  Cooper held back a laugh as she took a bite of every single item in the box and had a minor complaint about each one of them. Shay taught Louise everything she knew and all the recipes Louise was following were created by Shay. But Shay was just like Matt in that nobody could do something better than her. Two micro-managers who hated to ask for help and refused to let go of the reins, it was no wonder they were currently bumping heads.

  “Do they pass the test?” Cooper finally asked when Shay closed the lid. “Or do I have to fire Louise?”

  “What? Of course not. Louise is the only thing keeping me in business right now.”

  “Then why are you having me sneak pastries out of the bakery for you to taste test? And why are you critiquing them like you’re a judge on some baking reality show.”

  “I just…”

  Cooper crossed his arms over his chest and glanced down at Shay.

  “I mean…I…Fine. I’m afraid she’s going to get better at baking than me, and when I go back people will be disappointed.”

  “That’s impossible. You know that, right?”

  She shrugged. “I guess so.”

  “Sweet Dreams Bakery is what it is because of you. Nobody can replace you. It’s your bakery and your recipes. Stop obsessing over the things you can’t control and start focusing on this.” He motioned to her ever-growing stomach.

  “You sound like your brother.”

  “Not my fault we come from the same DNA.”

  “So help me,” she said, resting her hands on her belly, but despite the disdain in her tone, a smile spread across her face. “If this little man is anything like his daddy I’m in for some trouble.”

  While she seemed to be in a good mood, Cooper decided to ask her a question that had been on his mind all day.

  “You had a customer today. Sarah Kramer.”

  Shay’s gaze turned on him with purpose. “Stay away from her.”

  “What? Why?”

  “She’s not your type.”

  “How do you know?”

  “Just trust me on this one.”

  “Kind of hard to trust you when you won’t give me any information. She seems like a nice girl once you chip away at her hard exterior.”

  “She is.”

  “Then what is it? Do you not think I’m good enough for her? Because I’d have you know I’m a pretty decent guy.”

  “I know that. But you also don’t stay in one place for too long, and you’ve already been home for a lot longer than you planned. Don’t start something with her if you don’t plan on sticking around.”

  “I just wanted dinner and a chance to show her a good time. I didn’t say anything about some long-term commitment.”

  “Which is exactly why you need to drop it.”

  “Do people not go on dates anymore? I know I’ve been out of the country more than I’ve been in it, but I didn’t think that was an outdated concept—”

  “Cooper!” Shay’s outburst cut him off, and he looked at her with curiosity. She let out a deep breath then met his eyes. “She has a kid.”

  Shay might as well have sucker-punched him in the gut. “A kid?”

  “Tommy, he just turned seven.”

  “Seven?”

  “Told you she wasn’t your type,” Shay said and though he agreed with her, he couldn’t help but be disappointed.

  Chapter 2

  Sarah was running late to pick up her son. She was never late, and it’s not like she had more orders to fill and process than usual, but somehow time managed to get away from her today.

  She blamed it on Cooper Hayes. He had completely thrown a monkey wrench into her daily routine by staring at her with those amazingly blue eyes and asking her one too many questions. And what exactly did he mean when he said she looked like she could use a little fun? She had fun. Maybe not jumping out of planes and zip-lining across a rainforest like she’d heard he had done, but fun no less.

  Besides, what gave him the right to judge her? He didn’t know her. Had no idea who she was or what she’d done. So maybe her life wasn’t full of late nights and vodka shots, but she was a mom, dammit, and that was all the fun she needed.

  She turned into the school parking lot and spotted Tommy standing with his teacher and her good friend, Sophie Reynolds. Sophie looked the picture-perfect version of a first-grade teacher in her baby blue shirt tucked neatly into a pair of tan pants and accented with a gold skinny belt and gold flats. The repurposed vintage necklace Sarah had made her for teacher appreciation week popped against the baby blue button down and gave the outfit that extra something.

  “I’m so sorry I’m late,” Sarah said as she pulled alongside them. She put the car in park and got out, joining them on the sidewalk. “I lost track of time.” Sarah went right to Tommy, getting down on her knee and taking his red lunch bag. “Sorry, buddy.”

  “It’s okay, Mom. Miss Sophie kept me company.”

  Sarah stood up and turned to her friend. “Thank you. I—”

  Sophie held her hand up. “It’s okay.” Her friendly smile spreading across her face. “It happens. Besides, I couldn’t have asked for better company,” she said to Tommy who blushed instantly. Sophie turned back to Sarah. “Rough day?”

  “Strange is more like it.” Unlike Sarah, Sophie grew up in Red Maple Falls. She knew everyone and everything about them. She’d definitely know Cooper. Probably even went to school with him. She debated asking about him, but why? He was just a guy at the bakery who happened to ask her out. So why was it that she couldn’t get her mind off of him?

  Cooper Hayes preceded his reputation as the worldly, good-looking youngest Hayes brother. He was obscenely confident—bordering the line of arrogance and charming—and she wanted to slap herself for thinking he landed more on the charming end of the spectrum.

  Cooper Hayes was everything she didn’t need in her life: unpredictable, audacious, self-assured… All problems on their own, but when combined together into a sexy hot package, it was downright lethal.

  No matter how tempting he was, she needed to stay away from him. Her life wasn’t about her wants. It was about Tommy and what Tommy needed. And the last thing Tommy needed was for her to bring someone into his life he would no doubt fall in love with, only for that person to move on with his life. She wouldn’t do that to her son.

  She made a vow the day she held him in her arms for the first time, red-faced and chunky cheeks, that she would always put him first. He was her reason for living, the reason she got up every day and pledged to make it better than the last.

  Even though there were nights when she was lonely, all she had to do was look at her son and remind herself of what was important.

  “Want to talk about it?” Sophie asked.

  She wasn’t going to ask Sophie about Cooper because she knew everything she needed to know already.

  “It’s nothing, really.”

  “Okay, then.” Sophie wasn’t one to pry, and Sarah appreciated that more than anything. “I actually talked to my sister a little while ago and she said if I saw you to let you know she has some new pieces in.”

  Sophie’s sister, Ellie, owned Forgotten Treasures Antiques where Sarah got most of the jewelry she repurposed and sold on her online store.

  “Perfect. I’ll stop by there tomorrow afternoon.”

  “Mom?” Tommy tugged on her blazer. “Mom?” He bounced u
p and down with that never-ending dose of energy he had.

  “What is it, Tommy?”

  He held up a flyer, his shaggy brown hair flopping in his eyes no matter how many times she combed it back into place; she tried again brushing it aside with her fingers. His dark brown eyes, just like her own, stared up at her with lively excitement. His big smile spread wide from one side straight to the other. “Can I go? Please?”

  She took the flyer from his hand and read the bold letters. Bob’s Big Adventures. Beneath it, in smaller print, for beginners to experts. Come join me this summer and discover all that Red Maple Falls has to offer. Canoe/kayak lessons, rock climbing adventures, trail survival classes, and so much more. Call today to reserve your spot. Supervised weekly summer programs for children and teens also available. Spots are limited.

  She looked to Sophie to see if she knew anything about it, but Sophie only shrugged.

  “So can I, Mom? Please. I promise to be good. Joey is going and I really, really want to go.”

  “Why don’t we talk about this tonight?”

  “But Mom!”

  “No ‘but Mom’s.’ We’ll talk about it tonight. Now get in the car.”

  His shoulders slumped forward as if he had the weight of the world on his shoulders and dragged his feet to the car in performance worthy exaggeration.

  Sarah laughed and shook her head as Tommy got into the passenger seat. “He is too much.”

  “He’s a good kid. You’re lucky.”

  “I am, aren’t I?” Somehow in the mystery that was life—her unexpected pregnancy at eighteen—turned out to be the best damn thing that ever happened to her. “I should get going. We still on for Wednesday?”

  Every Wednesday night while Tommy was at karate class, they met up for dinner at the Happy Apple, a local restaurant that was known not only for their amazing food and outrageous apple décor, but also for the boisterous redhead who owned the place with her big teddy bear of a husband. It was always a guaranteed entertaining time and gave Sarah an hour a week to be a twenty-six-year-old girl out with a friend for the night.

  She loved her son to death, couldn’t imagine life without him, but she looked forward to her Wednesday nights when she could unwind a little and not have to worry about homework and messes.

  “Of course. I wouldn’t want to miss out on my weekly apple cheddar turkey burger. I swear I dream about it.”

  “Sometimes I wonder what Terry actually puts in her food to make it so addicting.”

  “What we don’t know can’t hurt us.”

  “Good point. Better to remain a mystery.”

  “Mom, how much longer?” Tommy whined from the car.

  “Just a minute,” she said to Tommy then turned back to Sophie. “Thanks again for staying with him. It won’t happen again.”

  “Sarah, it’s my job and even if it wasn’t, I don’t mind.”

  “That’s because you’re the best.”

  “Someone has to be,” she said with a wink. “See you Wednesday,” she called over her shoulder as she turned on her gold flats and headed back toward the school.

  “Mom?” Tommy said as she slid into the driver seat. “So have you thought about it? Can I go?”

  “I thought I said we would discuss it tonight.”

  “But that’s so far away!”

  Sarah hated to say no to her son, but she had been looking forward to their summer together. There was so much she wanted to do and show him, but he was getting to that age when he wanted to do things on his own. He was seven but he might as well have been sixteen. He no longer liked when she gave him a hug in front of his friends or walked him to the main doors of the school. She worried it was her fault that he was becoming fiercely independent. But she also knew that was a good thing, even if it did make her sad.

  God, what would she do when he was sixteen and driving. She didn’t want to think about it. Luckily, she still had time. Though, the past seven years had flown by so fast she gave herself whiplash just thinking about it.

  At home, she put the last of the dishes away and hung the dishtowel on the oven rail. Tommy ran into the room at record speed, coming to a skidding halt in front of her.

  “The sun is gone so that means it’s tonight.”

  She laughed, always amused by the way he viewed things. “Yes, I suppose that’s what that means.”

  “Can I go to the camp? Pretty please, Mom. With whip cream and a cherry on top. Please. Please.”

  She held up her hand to stop the nine hundred more pleases she knew were coming. “Let me talk to Joey’s mom and get a little more information.”

  His big eyes widened, pure joy spreading across his adorable little face before he broke out into a happy dance.

  “I didn’t say yes,” she reminded him.

  “But you didn’t say no.” His lip quirked in that mischievous way of his before he spun on his heel. “I’m going to call Joey right now.”

  “Is your homework done?” she called after him.

  “I just have to read, but I can do that later.”

  “No, you can do that before you call Joey.”

  “But Mom!” For some reason, her son hated to read. He preferred to be outside playing in the mud or building small towns with his Legos. Getting him to sit still for twenty minutes every night to read a few pages of a book was borderline torture. She’d tried everything to make it more enjoyable for him. Even bringing him to the library to pick out his own books. He didn’t care about the characters who had adventures within the pages when he could be making his own adventures.

  “No buts,” she said, her hand landing on her hip and making her wonder when exactly she became her mother.

  Tommy let out a loud exaggerated breath. “Fine.” He stomped away as if he was being sent to his doom. She turned back to the sink, resting her hands on the cool surface and letting out her own breath, thankful the fight was only short-lived.

  Wednesday couldn’t get here fast enough.

  ***

  Sarah dropped Tommy off at karate and decided to walk to the Happy Apple which was only around the block down Main Street. It was a gorgeous evening, despite the cold breeze that blew every now and again, reminding all of Red Maple Falls that it wasn’t uncommon to be hit with a snowstorm in the middle of spring. She just hoped she’d seen the last of the snow until next season.

  It was six o’clock on a Wednesday, and Main Street was already dead. Only a few cars were parked along the road. Sarah passed Sweet Dreams Bakery and couldn’t help a glance through the window. Louise, a sweet girl with a bubbly personality, was wiping down the counters, and there was no sign of Cooper Hayes—not that she wanted there to be. At least she didn’t think she did.

  Even if he was behind the counter it’s not like she would’ve gone in to talk to him. She was acting like a school girl with a crush, and it was ridiculous. She was far from a school girl and the last thing she needed was to involve herself with someone who was known not to stick around.

  As she approached the Happy Apple, she spotted Sophie heading in. She called out to her and gave a wave.

  “Hey,” Sophie said as she got closer. “Where’s your car?”

  “Over at the karate studio. Thought I’d walk.”

  “Burning off the calories before you eat them. Smart.”

  “That actually wasn’t even my intention, but let’s pretend it was.”

  “I won’t tell if you won’t,” Sophie said with a smile as she opened the door of the restaurant. The delicious smells of spices and herbs greeted them as they stepped inside.

  “I’ll be right there,” Terry, the owner, called out from the kitchen. She wiped her hands on a dish rag that hung from her apron as she walked on sky high black heels to meet them. Her red hair was puffed up high on her head—a sight that always made Sarah wonder how many cans of hairspray she went through in a week. Leopard print sleeves poked out from her apple decorated apron, and her huge smile was lined by bright red lipstick. “If it isn�
�t my two favorite girls.”

  “I bet you say that to everyone,” Sarah said, giving Terry a hug.

  Terry didn’t skip a beat, giving a feisty tilt of her head. “Maybe. But you’re all my favorites for different reasons.”

  “I’ll take it,” Sophie said as she was engulfed in Terry’s embrace.

  “You’re usual table?” Terry asked as she pulled back, and the girls nodded. They had been coming every Wednesday since the beginning of the school year after they’d met during a parent teacher conference and had hit it off.

  Sophie was the kind of teacher for Tommy that Sarah had dreamed of—smart, attentive, willing to go that extra mile, warm, and above all, friendly.

  So many people who lived in Red Maple Falls were born and raised, and Sarah found it hard to make friends. She felt like everybody was already settled with their lives and the people they surrounded themselves with, so when Sophie had asked her if she’d like to get dinner one night, Sarah had jumped on it.

  That one night turned into a weekly occurrence, and Sarah was grateful to Sophie for accepting an outsider into her life.

  It had been hard for Sarah when she left the comforts of her parent’s house and went out on her own with Tommy. Though it was freeing, being away from the only place she’d ever known, it was also scary and lonely. While she wasn’t a fan of the people she grew up with and most had dropped her when she became pregnant at eighteen, there was still a level of comfort with the familiar that she didn’t always have in Red Maple Falls. Until recently.

  They sat down at the table, and Terry went to hand them menus then pulled them back. “I don’t know why I even bother.” She nodded toward them. “Apple cheddar turkey burger. One with sweet potato fries and the other regular fries.”

  “You got it,” Sarah said. “And also.”

  “Glass of cabernet for you Soph and a water with lemon for you Sarah, right?”

  “Right.”

  “Anything else?”

  “Nope, that’ll do,” Sarah said. “Thanks, Terry. If you can get away for a minute, join us.”

  “I might take you up on that offer. My bunions are killing me today.”