CHAPTER FIVE

 

 

Coop parked in the lot, then he and Jackie walked together towards Old Town and the Kids’ Korral. The second time their hands accidentally brushed against one another, Coop took that as a sign, and cautiously twined his fingers through hers.

Jackie kept her attention straight ahead, but she didn’t pull away. In fact, she tightened her hold on his hand, and they were soon walking in tandem, chatting about nothing much at all.

It had been the best date of Coop’s life.

Not only had it been with Jackie Novak, the woman he’d been itching to get to know for months, but it had worked. He’d gotten to know her, and it had been incredible. She was smart and tenacious and determined, and when she’d shared all that she had about her past…well, Coop’s admiration of her had gone up tenfold.

He figured she’d been trying to scare him away, telling him all about her past the way she had. But if anything, it made him admire her even more.

She’d come out of one of the worst situations he could imagine; orphaned, desperate, addicted, abused, alone. And through her own strength, her own willpower, she’d turned her life completely around. She’d done it for the best of reasons—sweet little Kalli. How could he not admire her for that? She’d seen what was important in life, and had decided to work towards that goal.

And now she was here in Riston, with him.

Coop considered himself blessed to be able to know her, and he found himself practically vibrating with the need to see her again soon.

But she was still here and still laughing about their drive home from the restaurant. “I can’t believe you managed not to hit a single one of those groundhogs! They were everywhere.”

Coop sighed dejectedly as they climbed up the steps to the boardwalk through Old West Town. “I know. I think they were mocking me.”

“You were swerving and juking and braking like a pro.”

“And I still managed to miss every single one of them.” He sighed again.

She glanced at him with a raised brow. “Which was the point, right?”

“Heck no!” His scowl was as fierce as it was fake. “I keep a personal tally of how many of those suckers I manage to plow down!”

She pulled him to a stop, her expression half-horrified, half-suspicious. “You’re not serious.”

“Very serious.” He nodded seriously, just to prove it. “One of ‘em killed my cousin Clem. Me an’ my family have a vendetta against them.”

“You don’t have a cousin named Clem, at least not on the Weston side.”

“Not anymore,” he answered solemnly, then swiped at his eyes, as if he were still pained over his “cousin’s” death by rodent.

She narrowed her eyes. “Wait a minute, you and your family have a vendetta against woodchucks?”

He nodded seriously again, loving teasing her like this. “Clem was taken out by one of those big shaggy ones. With the dark brown fur that’s all matted.” He lifted his free hand to his head and pointed his index finger out from his temple. “And horns. Big ones. Plowed him right over. Definitely vendetta material.”

She burst into laughter. “I think you’re thinking about a buffalo.”

Hoooweee, but he loved listening to her laugh. He vowed to make her do it as often as possible.

Pretending to think about it, he hummed. “Buffalo, huh? You might be right. I guess they’ll be harder to run over with my pickup, though.”

“Definitely.” She was still smiling. “But now you can leave those harmless groundhogs alone.”

Coop, who’d never purposefully hurt an animal in his life, placed his hand over his heart. “On my honor, I swear to switch the recipient of my vendetta to buffalo.”

She laughed again, a throaty chuckle this time. “I don’t think your cousin Clem would have wanted that. If there even was such a person.”

“Well, you say ‘person’, but Clem was really more of a… Well, let’s put it this way, he spent a lot of time out in the corral.”

“Clem was a horse,” she stated blandly.

“No! No, not a horse, not at all.” He pretended to think. “No, he was…well, I guess he was kinda like a horse, now that you mention it.”

“A cow? A donkey?”

Coop snapped his fingers and pointed. “Donkey. That was it.”

“I don’t believe you!” She was chuckling again.

He joined in. “Thank goodness, because I don’t either.”

With her head thrown back in laughter like that, her neck looked entirely too kissable in the sunset. Coop resisted the urge and grabbed her other hand instead. They were standing in front of the Kids’ Korral now, and since it was a Friday night, there were plenty of tourists strolling up and down the street. But he didn’t care.

“Will you go on another date with me, Jackie?”

Her laughter immediately stopped, and she eyed him suspiciously. He hated the way she seemed to close in on herself, her expression becoming hesitant. He tightened his hold on her hands and prayed she wouldn’t run away.

“When?” she asked.

His heart leaped for joy, because she hadn’t outright rejected him. “Are you free on Sunday? I don’t know what hours you work.”

She nodded slowly. “It’s my day off, along with Tuesdays.”

Things were looking good. Coop found himself holding his breath when he asked, “Would you like to come to church with me? We could do a picnic after with Kalli, if you don’t mind me being involved with her.”

“From what Belle has told me, you’re already involved with her.”

He couldn’t tell if that was censure in her tone or not. He shifted his weight slightly. “I’m sorry if you’re not comfortable with that. I can stop visiting her if you want. I was visiting Reddy, and figured since they were in the same class…” He knew he was blabbering, but shrugged. “I was just playing with all the little ones, really. But Kalli seemed to like me as much as Reddy does.”

Another shrug, like it hadn’t warmed his heart when the little girl had crawled over to pull herself into his lap.

She was studying him, her head cocked slightly. “How about she and I join you on Sunday, and we’ll see how it goes, before making any rules about you visiting her.”

His breath whooshed out of him in relief, and he smiled hugely. “That would be awesome!” Not just because he would get to see Kalli, but because Jackie had just agreed to another date!

He jerked his chin towards the small chapel in Old Town. “So you wanna meet out in front of the church Sunday morning? I always like Pastor Kevin’s sermons.”

“Sure,” she said quietly, then dropped her gaze to their linked hands.

“Hey.”

He squeezed her hand, and when she glanced back up at him, he smiled. He liked the way she blushed a little whenever he smiled at her.

Gotta remember to do that a lot!

“Thanks for going out with me tonight, Jackie.”

She shrugged, still not meeting his eyes. “Thanks for asking me out.”

“I…” He needed to tell her the truth. “I’ve wanted to for a while. A long time, really. Almost since I met you.”

Her gaze slammed back into his, but it was suspicious again. Like she didn’t believe him. “Why?”

“Why?” A laugh burst out of him, until he realized she was being serious. He immediately sobered. “Why?” he repeated. “Because…” How to explain? “Because you’re special. You’re funny and smart, and I really, really admire you.”

“Special?” she whispered, before looking away.

When she tried to pull her hands out of his, he tightened his grip reflexively. He didn’t want to hold her against her will, but she had to understand.

“I mean it, Jackie! You’re a really cool person, and I really like hanging out with you.”

She quit fighting him, but was still staring at his chest when she snorted. “Why? Why would someone like you want to hang out with someone like me?”

Someone like me.

Coop scoffed. “What’s so special about me?”

“Are you serious?” She glanced up at him, but looked away quickly. “You’re gorgeous and funny and you grew up here. You’re basically a celebrity.”

His burst of laughter was incredulous. “I’m a construction worker, Jackie. I’m just a regular guy! I don’t even have a good story to tell. You’re the special one.”

“Someone like me isn’t special,” she whispered, shaking her head.

“Someone who is determined? Who has a work ethic I really admire? Who is beautiful, both inside and out?”

This time when she glanced up at him, he smiled softly. And as he’d hoped, she didn’t drop her gaze again. This time she stared up at him, the setting sun reflected in her blue-gray eyes.

“I’m not beautiful,” she whispered again, but this time there was a desperate tone to her voice. Like she wanted to be convinced.

“You are,” he whispered back.

He wasn’t lying either. She was a little shorter than most women he’d been attracted to before, but it didn’t bother him in the slightest, and he loved her soft curves. They seemed to invite him to touch her, to feel if she was as supple as she looked.

In fact, he let go of one of her hands—careful to keep his hold on her other one—and reached up to brush a strand of her brown hair off her cheek. When she flinched slightly, but didn’t pull away, he brushed her cheek again, this time without the excuse of a strand of hair.

“You’re beautiful,” he repeated in a whisper. “And strong. And determined. And I really admire your values. I admire what you’ve overcome. You’re special.”

She flinched again at the word “special”, and realization crashed into Coop. Her ex-boyfriend had made her feel “special”, because no one else had paid her any attention. Is that what she thought was happening here? That Coop was paying her attention because he wanted to—

To what? To use her the way that other man had?

Coop dropped his hand by his side as his mind worked frantically to work through this problem. What did he want with Jackie? Did he just want to use her the way that Ivan guy had?

No. No.

Cooper mentally shook his head. He would never treat Jackie—Kalli’s mama—that way. She was way better than that, and he would never even consider it.

But what did he want with her? His mind and heart raced, and suddenly, he knew.

He wanted a forever.

But with Jackie? A woman he’d just had a first date with?

A woman you’ve been mooning after for months.

No, it was too soon.

Isn’t it?

Was it? Could he possibly be considering something long term with this beautiful, yet scared woman?

Yes, his heart whispered.

So he lifted his hand to her cheek once more. “You are special, Jackie. You’re special to me, and you’re very special to Kalli. We might not matter much in the grand scheme of things, but here and now, we matter. You’re important to me, and you’re important to Kalli. And I admire you so much for that.”

Was it his imagination, or was she holding her breath as she peered up at him? She didn’t say anything, but the look in her eyes told him she didn’t quite believe him, but was open to being convinced.

I need to know.

Coop needed to know if this was it. If Jackie was really the one—the special one—he’d been hoping for.

“Can I kiss you, Jackie Novak?”

Her eyes widened, and too late, he remembered that hadn’t been the name she’d been born with. But that didn’t matter. Whatever her past had been, here and now she was Jackie Novak. Jackie Novak was the woman he admired, the woman he loved—

Wait.

Love?

Cooper found himself smiling. Well, I guess we’ll find out.

Slowly, hesitantly, Jackie nodded, and Coop’s heart soared.

He didn’t want to frighten her, so he moved slow, leaning down towards her. He kept one hand gently on her cheek, the other laced through her fingers.

And when their lips met?

Pure magic.

The warmth he’d noted earlier during their date—when he’d held her hand—flowed through him. Not just up his arm, but through his entire body. He felt light, like he could fly, but also more grounded than he’d ever felt in his life. Like he was home. Like he was where he belonged.

She made a little noise against his lips—part whimper, part laugh—and he felt his heart repeat it.

Was she enjoying this as much as he was? He had to know.

It was torture to pull away from her, to make himself take a few deep breaths and let her step back. But she was breathing heavily too, staring up at him with wide, awe-filled eyes.

And he knew.

“I love you, Jackie.”

When her eyes widened further and she shook her head twice, he laughed, and shrugged.

“I’m sorry, but I do. I didn’t mean to fall in love with you, but it happened. And…” He took a step closer. “I’m not going to kiss you again, even though I can’t think of a thing I want more than that right now. And I already know just the memory of it is going to keep me up at night.”

“Me too,” she confessed, her expression a little sheepish.

“But I respect you enough to prove to you that you are special.”

And I’m not Ivan.

“You can’t love me, Cooper.”

He winked, and smiled, knowing it would make her blush. It did.

“I can, and I do. You’re a special lady, and I’m going to do everything in my power to prove that to you.”

“How?” It came out part exasperation, part wail.

He chuckled and squeezed her hand, fighting the urge to pull her into his arms once more. “We’ll start on Sunday. You just meet me out front of the church with that precious daughter of yours, and leave the rest to me.”

Her nod was hesitant, and when she stepped backwards, towards the entrance to the Kids’ Korral, he let her fingers slip through his, even though it pained him. She needed to be the one to make this decision. She needed to come to him; he couldn’t push her.

If he did, he’d be no better than Ivan.

“I’ll see you Sunday morning then,” he said quietly, hopefully.

She nodded again, and then, miracle of miracles, offered him a smile.

“Thank you for the dinner, Cooper,” she said.

He smiled. “It was the best meal I can remember.”

And it was the truth.