Chapter 8
Cooper’s house was much as she’d expected, simple but functional. She followed him to the kitchen feeling like she’d stepped back in time. “You haven’t changed anything yet?” She asked, looking at the old stove and ice box.
“I keep thinking I’ll get around to it, but something else always seems to get in the way.” He said, shrugging his shoulders. He really hadn’t felt any need to make alterations to the house.
“Well, it’s charming just the way it is.” She said, looking out the window at camp across the road. “I bet you’ll be glad when we’re gone and you can have your view back.”
“Hey, the last thing I want is you gone. I’ll put up with all those people if it means that you’re still here.” He said, so forcefully she turned quickly to look at him.
The intensity in his eyes took her breath away; it wasn’t only desire she saw there but a much deeper emotion. “I’ll be around for a while Cooper, I promise.” She said, breathlessly, her eyes locked on his.
He crossed the room and pulled her into his arms, “That’s the best news I’ve heard all day and this was a pretty big day.” He said, his hands cupping her face. “I meant what I said earlier today. You’ve become very important to me Paige. I want to take our relationship forward, but only if you’re ready. I don’t want to rush this.”
Paige shivered a little at the thought of being naked in Cooper’s arms, her body tingling with desire. “Are you cold?” He asked, pulling her closer.
“No, I’m not cold, it’s just that I’m a little nervous. It’s umm, been a while, I don’t usually.... and I’m not exactly.... well I’m curvy and I had a baby so things aren’t…” Paige was so embarrassed she buried her head in Cooper’s chest.
“Hey, look at me.” He said, pulling back a little and tipping her chin up. “In case you didn’t notice I like your curves, don’t you realize just how sexy you are. Half the men on the crew would be thankful if you gave them half a chance.”
“I don’t think so.” She said, still uncertain about herself.
“I know so. Paige I want you, every wonderful soft curvy part of you.” Cooper said, threading his hands in her hair and kissing her until her doubts evaporated in a storm of passion. “Will you come to the bedroom with me?”
Paige nodded and let him lead her to the bedroom, her heart hammering in her chest, not from nerves now, but from anticipation. Cooper led her up the stairs to the first room in the hall, pulled her inside and lit a lamp on the table by the bed. The room was as old fashioned as the rest of the house, but the bed was clearly new and very large. It was covered by a thick comforter that looked like it would cradle her in comfort.
Cooper pulled her over to the bed and climbed in, holding his hand out for her. She took his hand and climbed in next to him, aware of the soft fabric underneath of her and the way the flickering light made Cooper’s eyes a deeper shade of blue. He pulled her into his arms then covered her body with his, his muscular leg between hers and kissed her.
This kiss was like nothing before; it was demanding and almost desperate, as if they were going to be interrupted at any moment. But then Cooper seemed to realize that they had all night and he softened the kiss, dipping his tongue into Paige’s mouth, then nibbled on her lips until she moaned and pressed herself up against him.
Cooper’s hand had been stroking her back, but when she pressed her breasts against his chest, he slid one hand up the back of her sweater and unhooked her bra, then pulled the shirt and bra off her head. He rolled her onto her back and took a swollen nipple into his mouth, while his other hand massaged the other breast. Paige was lost in a storm of sensation so intense she dug her nails into Cooper’s back, making a frustrated noise when her hands found his shirt and not bare skin.
She began tugging at his shirt, not satisfied until it was off and lying on the floor next to her sweater. Running her hands up and down his chest, she growled and experimentally took one of his nipples into her mouth, laughing when he moaned and threw her back down on the bed. “Oh sweetheart, I’m hanging on by a thread as it is. Don’t push me too hard or I’ll embarrass myself.” He said, as he pulled off first her pants then his own.
Paige was tempted to cover herself as Cooper’s eyes roamed over her body, but when she saw the raw desire in his eyes she suddenly felt the power of her own body. When he reached for her this time, she grabbed his hand and guided it between her legs, and said, in a husky voice that about drove Cooper crazy, “Then we’d better do something about that.”
When he felt how wet and hot she was, he groaned, “Oh God, Paige your feel so good.”
Paige was lost the minute his finger slid over her clit, a storm of pleasure so intense she was frightened for a moment, and stiffened, but Cooper found her mouth with his as his finger gently stroked her swollen nib. As the pleasure began to wash over her in gentler waves, she felt herself spinning through the air, grounded only by Cooper’s hard body on hers. She cried out his name as her orgasm flooded her body with pleasure.
Cooper unable to wait any longer, knelt between her legs and slid inside her still pulsing core, his eyes locked on hers as they became one. Deep inside her, he paused, the feeling of them joined taking his breath for a second. In that second all the clarity he’d been looking for suddenly came to him, whatever had happened to them before they met was all in the past. This was the woman he was meant to be with for the rest of his life.
Paige must have felt the connection as well because her eyes filled with tears, when one escaped and rolled down her cheek Cooper reached up and wiped it away with his thumb then kissed her. As he began to move inside her, Paige could feel the heat in her belly beginning to spread, and she thrust her hips up to meet his. With each deep thrust, Cooper claimed Paige as his own, creating a connection that would never be broken.
Knowing that there would never be another man for her, Paige gave herself completely to Cooper, every fiber of her being his to command. Repeating his name over and over again as her body responded to his, she finally burst over the crest and her body clamped tightly around his. As her pleasure broke, Cooper’s last bit of restraint and his own orgasm swept through him like a tornado, Paige’s name escaping his lips in a husky growl.
They laid tangled together in the bed for a long time, recovering from the power they’d just released. When Cooper began running his hands over the stretch marks on her hips, Paige tried not to squirm away in embarrassment, but couldn’t help but stiffen a little. Leaning up on one elbow, he continued to stroke her hip, his eyes searching hers.
“I know these bother you, but I think they’re sexy. I like the fact that you’re a real woman Paige, no one’s perfect, after all I’m old.” He said, nuzzling her neck and making her laugh.
“You’re not that old.” She said, slapping him.
“I’m thirty-five. That’s seven years sweetheart.” He said, turning his attention to one of her breasts.
“Well, you seemed just fine a few minutes ago, old man.” She practically purred when his other hand spread her legs and he slid a finger inside her. “But maybe we should do a bit more research.”
“Hmm, what did you have in mind?” He asked, his thumb stroking her clit.
“Whatever it is you’re doing seems to be a good place to start.” She barely managed to gasp before words were impossible.
The next morning, they were just finishing breakfast when Brandon came bouncing through the door. “Hi Paige. Hi dad. What’s for breakfast? I’m starving.” He said, sniffing the air and looking around the kitchen.
Cooper and Paige exchanged a glance surprised by Brandon’s easy acceptance of her being in the kitchen, a place she’d never been before. “Well, I’ve got pancakes and bacon.” Paige said, smiling.
“That sounds good as long as you made them.” Brandon said, with all the grace of a ten-year-old.
“Thanks a lot son. Didn’t they feed you at Jeff’s?” Cooper said, pouring Brandon a glass of milk to go with the pancakes Paige had just set in front of him.
“Yeah, but I’m still hungry. What are we going to do today?” Brandon asked, through a mouth of food, which he quickly swallowed, then looked contrite when Cooper shot him a dirty look.
“We were thinking about going to Cedar Ridge…Paige hasn’t seen it yet.” Cooper said. “And Paige said she’d make us some fried chicken and potato salad if we don’t make her ride a horse.”
Brandon considered that for a second, “Can we take the four wheelers?”
“I already called Marissa.” Cooper said, with a smile.
“Then I’m in. I love fried chicken. Paige you need to teach my dad to cook.” He said, shoving another huge bite of food into this mouth and chewing happily.
They got a late start that morning, but since they had all day there was no hurry, they even stopped a few minutes to chat with Marissa and Scott before they climbed onto the four wheelers and set out for Cedar Ridge. Brandon was impressed that Paige could drive one, but she explained that they used them on the remote digs all the time.
When they got to Cedar Ridge Paige was impressed beyond words. “There are people out there who would love to see this.” She said, standing in the middle of the street looking all around her.
Brandon appointed himself her tour guide and gave her a grand tour of the town, including a trip up the hill to the cemetery to prove to her how brave he was. They explored the church and the school, finally winding up sitting on a bench outside the town store. Paige dug a couple of water bottles out of her bag and handed one to Brandon, drinking half of her own in one gulp.
“This is a wonderful place. We’re lucky those men saved it all those years for us to enjoy.” Paige said, “It would be fun to have a Fourth of July celebration here with everyone dressed in costume.”
“You like old stuff don’t you?” Brandon asked, looking at her.
“Yeah, I guess I do.” She said, laughing.
“Is that why you like my dad?”
Paige almost choked on a sip of water. “Umm, no I like your dad because he’s a nice guy.” She finally managed to say.
“And he’s handsome.” Brandon said, with authority.
“Well, yes he is.” She said, trying not to laugh. “You look a lot like him, you know.”
Brandon looked at her for a minute then smiled, “I guess that’s good.”
She dug around in her bag and found a granola bars. He finished it in about three bites and looked up at her. “I take it you’re ready for lunch.” She said. “Hopefully your dad will come out soon.” She said, looking over to the court house where Cooper had disappeared almost as soon as they’d walked into town.
“We’ll have to go get him. Once he goes in there he never wants to leave. I don’t get it, it’s just a bunch of old papers.” Brandon said, shrugging.
“Well, let’s give him a few more minutes. It’s nice sitting here.” Paige said, leaning back into the shade of the building.
Brandon was silent for only a minute or two; Paige felt him shifting in his seat and knew that he had something on his mind. “Are you going to marry my dad?” He finally asked, practically spitting out the words in a rush to get them out.
She looked at him surprised, then noticed he was blushing. “I honestly don’t know the answer to that question.” She quickly said, then she paused to gather her thoughts. “I like your dad a lot and I think he likes me a lot, but we haven’t gotten past that stage.”
“You mean love?” He asked.
“Yeah, I guess so.” She said, nodding her head.
“Well, then that’s not a problem because my dad loves you.” Brandon said, with conviction.
Paige was shocked at that declaration, but then realized that Brandon was just a little boy and it probably did look like they were in love. She paused for so long he continued, “I’ve seen the way he looks at you, he looks at me like that too and he loves me.”
“Well, I....” Paige trailed off unable to think of anything to challenge his thinking, but then he shocked her even more.
“He never looked at my mom like that.” Now she was completely speechless, which seemed to encourage Brandon to keep talking. “She wasn’t much of a mom.”
“But I bet you still miss her.” She said, scooting a little closer to him.
“Not really, she wasn’t ever there anyway. But if you married my dad then you could be my mom and I bet you’d be there all the time.” He said, hopefully.
“We might be getting a little ahead of ourselves with that, but I’ll be happy to make you fried chicken and pancakes any time you want. Plus, my son will be here at the end of the week and you might not like him.” She said, with a teasing smile.
“I know I’ll like him.” Brandon said, smiling back at her. “You’re nice so I bet he’s nice too.”
“You know what I bet you’re right, I think you and Justin will get along just fine. Let’s go find your dad, I’m hungry.” She said, getting to her feet and holding out her hand for him to take.
He looked at her hand for a second, then jumped off the bench and took it. “Don’t tell my dad about what we talked about. Okay?”
“My lips are sealed.” Paige said, smiling at him.
They got back to Cooper’s house late that night after a dinner with Marissa and Scott that they just couldn’t refuse. Brandon went to bed with no argument, so tired he didn’t even ask Cooper to read him a book. When he came out of Brandon’s bedroom, he found Paige in the kitchen cleaning up the dishes from their picnic that day.
“He’s out like a light.” Cooper said, coming into the kitchen through the dining room.
“That was a big day, after another big day. He’s a good kid, I had fun with him today. You should give him a job as a tour guide when you open up the town. He did a good job.” She said, smiling at the memory.
“I noticed you two deep in conversation in front of the store.” He said, coming to lean against the counter by the sink where she was washing dishes.
“Yeah, we had a nice talk.” She said, evasively.
“That’s nice, what did you talk about?” He asked.
“Oh you know stuff.” She said, then noticed the scowl on his face. “I know you want me to tell you what we talked about but I promised him I wouldn’t tell you.”
“Don’t you think you should, he’s my son?” He asked, annoyed.
Paige took a second to form a reply, “I know he’s your son, and my guess is he’ll be talking to you about it tomorrow, but I promised him and I don’t break my promises.” She gave that a second to sink in, then looked him in the eye. “Trust is one of the most important parts of a relationship.”
“Okay, okay. I get it you made a promise.” He said, pulling her into his arms. “But I’ve never known Brandon to confide in anyone but me.”
“I promise you that if it was anything that might harm him in any way I would tell you, but I think he’s just trying to work through some new feelings.” She said, laying her head on his chest.
“Did he talk about his mother?” Cooper couldn’t help but ask.
She looked up at him, “You don’t give up. Do you?”
He just shrugged his shoulders and said, “I think it’s time we talked about Amy.”
“Only if you want to. I used to think it was important, but I don’t really care all that much anymore.” She said, meaning every word of what she’d just said.
“I feel the same way, but let’s get it out in the open for Brandon’s sake if nothing else.” He said, pulling her out the front door to the bench tucked into the corner. It was dark there and if they kept their voices low, there was plenty of privacy.
She settled in his arms and waited for him to speak, “I guess it’s an old story, a woman marries a man for money then leaves, destroying what seemed to be the perfect life.”
“Amy married you for your money?” Paige said, to get him to open up a little more.
“We met in college and I was sure she was the one. She seemed so perfect, but after we were married she changed, I excused it as a normal reaction to suddenly getting everything she’d ever wanted. While she came from a wealthy family, she’d never experienced the kind of money I have.” He said, pausing to collect his thoughts.
Paige hated to interrupt, but she needed some clarification, “What kind of money do you have, I didn’t know there were different kinds?”
“Well, you know.” He said, frustrated that she didn’t seem to understand.
“No, I don’t think I do.” She said, equally frustrated.
“I’m worth billions of dollars and Amy set out to spend as much of that as she could on making herself over into what she thought was the perfect woman.” Cooper finally explained.
“Billions? You’re worth billions of dollars?” She stammered. “I knew you had money, but not that kind of money.”
Cooper looked at her shocked, not only did she not care about his money, she didn’t even know about it. “I thought you knew.” He said, a silly grin on his face.
“How would I have known? That’s not exactly my social circle.” She said, shaking her head, not sure if that was good or bad news. “That’s a lot of money for one person.”
Cooper couldn’t resist pulling her onto his lap and kissing her. “You never cease to amaze me Paige.” He said, when he’d kissed her breathless.
“What?” She asked, wondering what had brought on the sudden burst of affection.
“You don’t care. Do you?” He asked.
“Well, I guess it’s nice that you’re rich, but I really don’t care. Although it has been nice to have a big budget on this dig.” She said, shrugging her shoulders.
“Woman, I think I’m falling in love with you.” He said, giving her a smacking kiss on the lips.
Paige sucked in a breath, then said, “That’s good because I think I’m falling in love with you too.” Then gave him a smacking kiss just like the one he’d just given her.
She rested her head on his chest, listening to his heart beat, content to sit silently letting his words replay over and over in her mind. But then it occurred to her that he’d never finished his story, “Cooper, what happened to Amy?”
“She took a big payoff to give me full custody of Brandon and disappeared into Europe. I have to be honest with you, she’ll probably be back someday. Once she’s blown through the money I gave her, she’ll be back. It’s expensive to maintain the lifestyle she’s chosen.” He said, keeping it as simple as he could.
“Will you give her the money?” She asked, curious.
“Probably, it doesn’t mean that much to me and it will keep her out of my hair. At some point when Brandon’s older I might change my mind, but I’d rather keep the peace right now.” He said, hoping she’d understand.
“That makes sense to me, if you have it then give it to her and keep her happy. That’s a lot easier for Brandon right now, but someday he’ll have to know the truth about her and don’t wait too long.” She said, trying to counsel him without revealing her earlier conversation with the boy.
“You’re a smart woman Paige.” He said, standing up with her still in his arms and heading into the house. “Now let’s go to bed, I’m tired.”