Dance
“Great.” Quinn held Brayden out to Cooper. “I hope you know you’re in for it later.”
“Can’t wait.”
She dipped her fingertips in her water and flicked drops at his face.
When her mom came out brandishing a dusty off-white cowgirl hat and a pair of equally faded leather boots, his chuckle morphed into outright laughter.
“You’re lucky you’re holding Brayden right now.” Quinn made a face at him while begrudgingly taking the gear Mrs. Thompson presented her like a prized family heirloom.
Chase flicked the tip of her hat. “Don’t act like you don’t love being the center of attention.”
“You know these boots have spurs, right?”
Cooper joined in her brother’s amusement until Mrs. Thompson struggled to help her husband up from his chair. Nurse Murphy intervened and led him to the front of the table where Quinn stood looking more helpless than nervous.
Something in him flinched. He’d wanted to prove her wrong about coming here today. To show her family was family, and if she gave it half a chance, she might even have a little fun. But now that he’d seen glimpses into why she’d left to begin with, he felt more like a heel than a hero.
“It’s your dance, George. Remember?” Mrs. Thompson looked to Nurse Murphy, who gave him a gentle nod of assurance.
He took Quinn’s hand as the music began, but he might as well have been sleepwalking, each movement slow and unfamiliar. The pain on Quinn’s face deepened the longer the song dragged on until Cooper couldn’t bear it any longer. He held Brayden out to Chase, about to rescue her, when something shifted in her dad’s countenance.
He grasped her hand tighter, the motions more fluid, more certain. A step at a time, life seemed to surge back to his vacant eyes, and Quinn was no longer leading. He was.
As the song waned, he stopped shuffling in the grass and cupped both her cheeks as though seeing her for the first time. “My baby girl.” A sheen coated his eyes. “You’re home.”
“Yeah, Daddy.” Her chin trembled. “I’m home.”
He curled her into the kind of hug Cooper missed from his own dad. The ones that let you know everything was going to be okay.
All-out tears overtook her mom’s cheeks, while Loraine covered her chest.
Brayden dragged a plastic spoon over the table and threw it on the ground, fussing. Thankful for the opportune interruption, Cooper rose and walked Brayden along the opposite end of the yard. Sometimes the pain of missing Dad caught him in the gut without warning.
He turned and almost smacked right into Quinn’s father. He set her hand in his. “It’s only fair you get a dance too, young man.”
Cooper looked from the awkward tension in Quinn’s eyes back to her dad. “Oh, sir, I appreciate that.” He lifted Brayden up. “But I’m on baby duty.”
“Nonsense.” Mrs. Thompson came over, arms outstretched. “I’ve been itching all night for dibs on this cutie. Come to Nanna,” she said to Brayden before waving them off. “You two go on. Have some fun.”
Ginny must’ve turned up the music on her phone. Even the fireflies seemed to be urging them to join their dance floor.
“Scared I might out dance you, partner?” The playfulness in Quinn’s tone lured Cooper’s gaze to an even more impish grin. She was in for it now.
He stole her hat and swept her into his arms. “Ask me again when we’re done.”
Head back, hair flowing in the wind, she laughed with a melody that topped any song. His stomach tightened. It was a good thing he wasn’t sticking around Lake Gaston. ’Cause if he wasn’t careful, he could fall for a girl like Quinn Thompson.
“How’d you know Ginny would want to come over to the lake?”
Where’d that come from? He leaned back slightly to read her expression, then shrugged. “The chance for a suntan before her party? Especially with a boy to get dolled up for? Made sense.”
Her feet stalled. “Should I be scared or impressed that you think like a girl?”
He chuckled. “I have a niece.”
“Mm-hmm.”
“I lived with my brother for a while last year. Took Maddie paddle boarding a lot. We got close.”
“So, you—”
“Look at you two.” Her dad approached again with a glint of awareness still in his eyes. He patted Cooper’s back. “I’ve been waiting a long time to see my Quinn in love.”
She dropped Cooper’s hand, her face falling with it. “Daddy.”
“What? There’s nothing wrong with a father wanting to see his little girl happy and taken care of.”
A silent fury Cooper didn’t fully understand ransacked Quinn’s embarrassed expression, all while her dad’s continued to brim with affection anyone would be blind to miss.
He nodded at Cooper. “Forgive an old man’s sentiment. I won’t interrupt you two again.” After a pat to each of their shoulders, he turned back toward the picnic table.
Cooper drew Quinn into a dancing hold again to give her a chance to calm down, if nothing else.
Behind them, her dad sat Brayden on the grass in front of Loraine and led her mom up from a wicker chair into their own dance. Cheek to cheek, they swayed in a world that, for the moment, clearly belonged only to them.
His stomach tensed. “You can’t tell them, Quinn.”
“What?” She leaned back.
“Your parents. This—us—it obviously means a lot to them. What’s it going to hurt to play along?”
Her features hardened. “They can’t let their happiness ride on whether or not I get married. I have . . . other things that make me a success on my own.” She glued her focus to her Converse sneakers as if they held the answers to life’s great mysteries. “Once I get past one more hurdle, it’ll finally put me in a position he can be proud of me for.”
Did she not see the way her dad looked at her? Cooper lifted her chin. “I think he already is.”
A tear as stubborn as she was hung to her bottom lashes, refusing to escape.
He brushed her bangs over to her ear. “I’m not saying you shouldn’t tell them. Just not today.”
Quinn glanced behind her and back without answering, a dozen emotions still churning in her brown eyes. She needed to get her mind off things. To be honest, he did too.
He twirled her around, drew her in, and dipped her like a professional dancer.
Angled downward, she raised a brow at him. “Going for a trophy?”
“If our fan club over there has anything to say about it, I think I just won it.” He lifted her upright and motioned to the faces following their every move from the opposite end of the yard.
Sass returned to her eyes as she stepped out of his hold. “Don’t be so sure. They’re a tougher crowd than you think.”
“Then I guess I better find another way to impress them.” He took her hat off, nestled it onto her head, and curved her hair around her ear. “They want to know you’re with someone charming, gentlemanly.”
“Mm.” She nodded, evidently placating him. “Well, you are a good actor.”
“Who said I’m acting?” He countered her raised brow with a steady gaze. “In fact, I think they’d be pretty disappointed if I didn’t kiss you right now.”
“Is that right?” She stood her ground, but the slightest flutter on her neck told him the distraction was working.
“Mm,” he mimicked, edging closer. “Question is, would you be?”
She set a hand to his chest. “Ask me again when we’re done.”
Despite the tease in her voice at using his own lines on him, his heart rate picked up. A breeze blew through her hair, tangling him in an aroma of flowers and summer and things able to bring him to his knees.
Her fingertips reached for his collar, her eyes never leaving his. Her alluring expression nearly consumed him until a laugh breached the tiny space between them. “Sorry, that was totally lame, wasn’t it?” She tugged her hat down. “I don’t know how to play the smooth card like you do. I’m too much of a dork.”
“No, uh . . .” Cooper ran a knuckle along his jawbone. “That was, um, really good, actually.”
“Yeah?”
Recovering, he slid his fingers in her hair, his grin to the side. “Yeah.” With his lips to her ear, he whispered, “But you should probably keep practicing.”
Her breath fluttered when he grazed a kiss to her cheek.
He leaned back, winked, and started toward her family, who were still watching them like they were about to bust out popcorn. Halfway there, an acorn nailed him dead in the back of the head. He swung around toward an overly satisfied grin.
“Good thing my arm doesn’t need any more practice.”
He lit up in laughter. Yep, he could definitely fall for Quinn Thompson if he wasn’t careful.
At the table, Quinn picked Brayden up from the grass.
A yelp drew all their glances toward her dad almost falling off the back steps, her mom and Nurse Murphy on either side of him. Cooper and Chase reached them in a second.
“I’m all right.” Mr. Thompson waved them all away.
“It’s that faulty step there.” Quinn’s mom pointed to a splintered section of the wood. “Been meaning to fix it for ages.”
Cooper squatted to examine it. The old stairs had rotted in several places. It was a wonder they hadn’t fallen through yet. “I’ll be happy to come mend that this week. Won’t take long.”
“Well, that’s mighty sweet of you, dear. A man who knows how to work with his hands is definitely a keeper.” Beaming, she sent two more conspicuous winks at Quinn.
She massaged her forehead. “We should really get going. Thanks for lunch, Mama.”
“Glad you could come, sugar.” She kissed Quinn’s cheek. “Drive safe, now.”
“Safely,” she muttered under her breath as she turned.
Though her mom probably missed it, Cooper couldn’t help chuckling at the involuntary shuddering Quinn failed to hide.
After saying the rest of their goodbyes and ensuring her dad got in the house okay, they went through the back gate to his SUV. He buckled Brayden in his car seat. If he was anywhere near as tuckered out as he looked, he’d be asleep before they left the driveway. The sight of him compressed around Cooper’s chest again. He brushed Brayden’s slightly damp hair to one side and kissed his head.
Turning, he caught a smile fixed on him that seemed to brighten and then dim with thoughts he’d pay to hear. “What?”
Quinn lifted a nonchalant shoulder. “Nothing. You’re just getting really good with him. It’s sweet to watch.”
His face fell. Sweet maybe, but not enough. Thankfully, his cell interrupted them and cut off a conversation that would end up going nowhere. Cooper heaved a sigh at Drew’s name on the screen. On to another conversation he didn’t want to have.
He turned and answered. “Sorry I couldn’t take your call earlier, hoss. What’s up?”
“I hope you have a guest room ready.”
“Why?”
Audible anticipation pulsed through the phone line. “’Cause we’re coming for a visit.”