Chapter Twelve
“If you tell anyone about this, you’re dead. Hear me? Dead,” Bec said as Coop gently eased her up from the oversized sofa at the coffee shop and tried not to smile. Bec at seven months pregnant was a sight to behold. She was all belly and wild spiking hair. Unfortunately, she’d forgotten about the belly part when she’d sat on the sofa, only to sink so far down she’d been unable to stand back up. “Besides, teasing a pregnant woman is mean.”
“Hey, no one’s teasing anyone. That’s my little godchild in there. If his mom needs a push, I’m going to help.” Coop escorted her to a more easily accessible table and chairs. “I can’t believe you’re going to have a baby in less than two months.”
“I know.” Bec sighed as she reached out and squeezed his hand. “But that’s not what you really want to ask me, is it?”
He braced himself. Now Bec was nearing the end of her pregnancy, her super powers were well and truly coming back to her. Which meant she could clearly see he’d been hoping to hear news on Pepper.
Why? Because I like torturing myself.
And because it’s been two and half months since I’ve seen her.
I did the right thing.
“Go on, then,” he said before he could stop himself. “You might as well tell me. Save me from having to go to Stan, or Miss Dottie.”
“She’s doing good. She’s just brought in a huge new client, which is apparently worth loads of money, and now all those lousy firms who wouldn’t hire her, are trying to lure her away.”
Of course they were. Because Pepper Watson was unique. One of a kind. Brilliant, determined. Out of my life.
“That’s great,” he said as the waitress brought over their order. Coffee for him and a carrot cake covered in so much frosting, Coop wasn’t quite sure if the cake was there at all.
“No,” Bec corrected as she pulled a jar of pickles out of her bag and spread it over the frosting, ignoring the startled expression of the waitress. “What would be great is if you’d let me tell her how you really feel. If I thought for one second you were going to do some stupid noble sacrifice at Emmy’s wedding, I never would’ve left you alone. This is all my fault.”
“Bec, the heartburn you get from eating that disgusting combination will be all your fault, but what happened between me and Pepper had nothing to do with you. Besides, this is how it had to be. She’s now back at the top of her game. You can’t tell me that’s not what she wants.”
“Don’t you get it? This isn’t about what she wants, it’s about what she needs. She made that stupid plan when she was eleven years old. Hell, at eleven I wanted to be an acrobat. No one knows anything at that age.”
Yeah, but she wasn’t eleven anymore.
And the truth was that she’d only ended up back in Sunshine because of bad luck. And ended up with me because she was bored. Trying to fill time. A hometown distraction.
Worst thing was, it wasn’t even her fault.
Coop had thrown himself in without thinking. Just hoping that the fantasy would be stronger than the reality. She’d said he was the one who did things without a plan. And she was right.
Unfortunately, it didn’t change the facts. Being with an unhappy Pepper wasn’t what he wanted. He’d have to settle with being the miserable one. He groaned as he stirred some milk into his coffee. Now he just needed to remind his body.
“I’m fine. I just got a huge new order and business is booming, which means the farm’s finally safe,” he said, still toying with how to tell is pregnant best friend he was also going to take a short trip. Something to clear his head. Or at least distract him.
“I can sense an ‘and’ coming,” Bec said, saving him the awkwardness of explaining. “What else is there?”
“I’m hitting the road with the mobile bar. There are a few beer festivals in California that I’m going to. I can still do most of my day to day work on the road and Kevin’s going to do some brewing for me while I’m away.”
“Will you be back before the baby’s born?” Her eyes widened, but some of the fear left as he nodded.
“I promise. I just need space.”
“I understand.” She reached out and squeezed his hand. Coop managed to muster up a smile. If only her sister felt the same.
…
“Miss Watson, there’s a gentleman to see you down in reception. He says it’s important.”
Pepper looked up from her laptop to where her secretary was standing only to remember Gareth was getting his wisdom teeth out and the girl in front of her was a temp. A temp who didn’t know Pepper had a very strict policy on what happened to unannounced gentlemen turning up to the office.
They all needed to be sent away.
Not that any of them had been Coop. But she couldn’t take the chance. Because the idea of having to face him after what he did—or, more to the point, what he didn’t do—was unbearable. All his talk. His smooth lines. His so called charm. And yet, he’d basically dumped her.
She was still Bec’s straight-laced sister. Simon’s friend who only cared about her ambitions.
She pressed her lips. “He’ll have to make an appointment. But not for this month,” she added, hoping if it was Coop, it would put him off. The girl nodded and hurried away, only to return several minutes later, clutching her hands as if worried Pepper would throw something at her.
It was tempting.
“I’m sorry. He said he’s traveled a long way and whether you like it or not, he’s going to talk to you.”
Pepper’s throat tightened.
Traveled a long way? That meant it wasn’t just a local client. She sucked in her breath and refused to allow herself to check her hair or her makeup. If it was Coop, then he’d just have to take her the way he found her. Not that there would be any taking. He’d been perfectly clear at Emmy’s wedding. He didn’t want her. And if I’m lucky, then one day I’ll stop wanting him.
I will stop wanting him.
She took once last glance around her corner office. It was slick and sparse, just the way she liked it. With just her law books and her streamlined furniture for company.
My life is back under control. I’m living the dream. The one that’s cost me so much to have. I’m going to keep it, no matter what.
She caught the elevator down to the reception area and braced herself for what was out there. Her hungry eyes searched for Coop, but it was Charlie that they found.
He was dressed in a pair of denim jeans and a plaid shirt with the cord jacket Ivy had spent half her life repairing. But the way he was squirming, it was like he was wearing a suit made of nails. He obviously felt as out of place as he looked.
She came to a halt and rubbed her eyes.
As far as she knew, Charlie had never left the state.
“What are you doing here?” She gasped before a vision of Bec charged into her mind. The baby wasn’t due for another two months but then again, when did Bec ever do anything by the book? “Is she okay?”
“If by okay, you mean making Lincoln repaint the baby’s room three different colors, then yes, she’s fine,” Charlie said as he slowly got to his feet and gave her a familiar smile.
“Oh.” Pepper’s panic lessened as she crossed the slick foyer toward him. She wasn’t much of a hugger but seeing him standing there suddenly reminded her of just how much she missed him. How much she missed Sunshine. Her throat tightened as he reached out and wrapped his arms around her. Some of the tension in her shoulders loosened as she finally stepped out of his embrace and ushered him into her office. In the background she could see her temp looking two parts relieved and one part confused.
“Sure is bigger than mine.” Charlie whistled and Pepper almost giggled as she thought of the small room at the back of the barn he lovingly referred to his as his office.
“Probably not as comfortable for an afternoon nap,” she said as they both sat down in the armchairs underneath the broad window and the sweeping view. She frowned. “What are you doing here?”
“Well.” He gave a slow shrug. “I had a legal matter I needed to attend to and since Stewart Littleton is no longer in town I thought I’d come and see you.”
Pepper raised an eyebrow. “You could’ve just called me, Charlie. We could’ve done it over the phone. Are you sure you’re not here to convince to move back to Sunshine? Or tell me how Coop’s doing, or lecture me on throwing my one chance at happiness away?”
Not that anyone else had been telling her those things. In fact, both of her sisters had been unnatural in their silence over the matter. Pepper still wasn’t quite sure what to make of it. Yes, they called all the time, but neither of them had mentioned the kiss at the wedding or Pepper’s hasty departure. Now she was wondering if they’d sent Charlie in to do their dirty work for them.
“Nope.” He shook his head. “Not my place to tell you what to do. After all, if you’re smart enough to earn yourself this big corner office, you’re smart enough to know what you want.”
That answered that question.
“Oh.” Pepper nodded. She should’ve been pleased he wasn’t there to talk about Coop, but somehow it left her with a lump in her throat. She steadied herself. “Well, if you do really have a legal matter you want to discuss, I have to tell you I’m not licensed for the state of Connecticut.”
“We’re not in Connecticut,” Charlie said as he fidgeted with his hands, heavily scarred from years of working on the farm. “Though speaking of that. Stan’s been trying to take your place and give advice from the back of his taxi. He told Rita Lewis that if she was worried about her neighbor’s fence, she should just cut it down.”
“What? But that’s crazy. She’s been neighbors with Carrie Jones for sixty-years. Their dispute is over who should pay for a gallon of paint. I told Rita to just buy it and think of it as back payment on all the jelly Carrie’s given her over the years,” Pepper said before catching herself. “I mean, it’s nothing to me.”
“No, I can see that.” Charlie deadpanned before studying his hands. “But I really do have something to discuss. I’m thinking of getting married.”
Rita and Stan were forgotten as Pepper’s mouth dropped. Charlie was as placid as ever.
“Married?” she repeated, wondering if she’d somehow stepped into a rabbit hole. Long ago Charlie had proposed to Ivy, but she’d turned him down and Pepper had just assumed he’d be a bachelor for the rest of his life. Unless he’d forgotten Ivy was dead. “Who are you getting married to?”
“Beatrice,” he said and Pepper’s eyes widened some more. Miss Dottie? “I know I’m far too old to be courting. But when love hits, there’s not a lot you can do about it.”
He’d have to ask Coop about that. Because according to him, there was plenty a person could do about it. She swallowed her anger. This wasn’t about Coop at all. It was about the man who had been the closest thing to a grandfather she’d ever had.
Then she remembered the key lime pie Trudie had given him. Making a big decision.
“Charlie, I’m so happy for you. Truly. All these years on the farm. You deserve to do as much courting as you want,” Pepper said as an unexpected tear slid down her face and she quickly wiped it away.
“Hey, no need for that,” he said in a gruff voice. “I’m here to talk to you about a wedding, not a funeral.”
“I know.” Pepper took in a deep breath and brought herself under control. “What is it you want to discuss? A pre-nup, or how to divide property?”
He gave her a sheepish look. “I was wondering if you’d help me go ring shopping. Beatrice is pretty particular on what she likes. I want to make sure I get it right.”
Another tear slid down her face. What the hell’s wrong with me? Suddenly I can’t stop crying. She clamped her lips together and nodded. “I’d love to. Just let me clear my schedule,” she said, trying not to think of the drama it would invoke. But suddenly, missing a meeting or two didn’t seem nearly as important as it did yesterday. Even half an hour ago.
“Okay, I’ll wait outside while you do that,” Charlie said as he slowly rose to his feet. Then he fixed his gaze on hers, as steady and unflinching as he’d always been. “And Pepper, if I had come here to give you advice on what to do about Benjamin Cooper, it would be to say you’re the girl who never stops going after what she wants. No matter what the obstacles are in her way. No matter how many times she has to pick herself back up. Watched you do it as a kid and I’d hate to see you stop now.”
Pepper froze as the last two and a half months came crashing back down on her. The humiliation of Coop telling her to leave him and take the job. That what they had was only a fling.
“He sent me away.” Her voice was little above a whisper.
“Since when do you let other people tell you what to do?”
Pepper stiffened as Coop’s words slammed through her.
If you knew who I really was then we wouldn’t be having this conversation.
It had tortured her sleep every night about what it meant. But now it hit her. He’s not like me. He goes from his gut. His heart. And his heart wanted me.
This is what two feet in looks like.
Oh God. All this time Coop was right. He’d sent her away because she was the girl who only ever bothered to undo her top button. Even when he said he loved her and asked her to stay, all she’d done was tell him she was torn. Uncertain. That wasn’t two feet in. Hell, it was hardly even a toe.
But then something else occurred to her. He sent her away because he thought she was the same as Simon. That she wanted the same things Simon did. And perhaps she did once.
Adrenaline hit her system as she hugged Charlie.
“Thank you,” she whispered. She still had no idea if she could fix what was broken, but she was going to start trying. “Now, let’s go shopping. We have a ring to find and I have a few calls to make and a plane ticket to buy.”
…
“Really?” Coop raised an eyebrow as he studied the list Bec had handed him. “You called me all the way back from California because you need some furniture picked up from the farm?”
“Not just any furniture,” Bec assured him from the chair in the baby’s nursery, where she was sitting. “It’s Charlie’s old rocking chair. He offered it to me and I said no but then had a dream, and—”
“Yeah, yeah. And suddenly you had to have it. Why can’t Lincoln get it? Or Charlie?”
“There are several very good reasons why, but they’re long and tedious. Besides.” She wriggled into a standing position and pointed to her belly. “Your godchild is due any day now. It was time you were home.”
“I know.” He chided himself as he put the list into his pocket and hugged her. “I was on my way back when you called.”
“Good,” she said as she untangled herself from the hug and walked him toward the door of the nursery. “Because I’m kind of freaking out. I need my best friend around.”
“Lifting furniture is the number one thing on my best friend job description,” Coop said as he walked back out to his car. He’d only just arrived back from a very successful two months. Well, successful in terms of his business, not in helping him forget Pepper. Still, going to Wishing Bridge Farm was a hell of a lot better than going back to the barn, which was now filled with the lingering ghosts of their time together.
Enough.
He made the short drive to the farm singing loudly. It was a habit he’d started on his solo road trip, as a way to keep his mind clear. He wasn’t sure it really worked, but in lieu of any better suggestion, he’d kept doing it.
There was no sign of Emmy’s old pickup or Charlie’s truck, which was probably why Bec had roped him into this in the first place. He retrieved the list from his pocket and used his spare key to go and gather everything up. The only one he couldn’t find was the rocking chair. He finally tracked it down in Charlie’s makeshift office at the back of the barn, but since it was locked, he had no way of getting it. Well, no legal way of getting it.
He frowned. Part of him was tempted to just forget about it, but the other part—the one that didn’t want to tell a heavily pregnant, highly hormonal woman he didn’t have it—won out. He’d have to wait at the farm until Charlie returned from wherever he was.
He left the barn and walked back to the kitchen and retrieved Ivy’s old coffee percolator. He might as well as get comfortable while he waited. Once it was settled on the stovetop, he picked up yesterday’s paper to catch up on the news he’d missed while he was away.
“Any particular explanation for why you’re here and not at your own house?” a voice said from behind him. Pepper? He slowly put down the newspaper and turned around. It had been four and a half months since he’d seen her and his greedy eyes drank her in.
Her hair was longer and hanging loose around her face, while the top half of her body was covered in an old linen shirt and her bottom half—God—was covered in barely there shorts.
His pulse flickered.
Since when did Pepper wear shorts like that?
More importantly, why was she even here? Sure he knew she’d turn up when the baby was born, but there was no reason for her to be there early.
She arched an eyebrow at him, letting him know she was waiting for an answer.
“I’m guessing Bec didn’t call to tell you I was coming.”
“She most definitely did not,” Pepper said as the stiffness left her shoulders and she allowed herself to smile. “But I’m pleased to see you. When did you get back?”
“About a minute ago, and Bec immediately demanded I come and pick up some furniture.”
“Let me guess, she played the pregnancy card on you. I swear that sister of mine isn’t going to know what’s hit her when the baby’s born.”
“She’ll just play the ‘look how cute my baby is’ card,” Coop said as the coffee percolator began to steam. He stood up to turn it off. She was so close all he had to do was reach out and touch her. But that would lead to kissing, and wouldn’t be good for anyone.
Or, so I need to keep telling myself.
“Good point. Still, as godparents, we can hardly deny her or the baby anything,” Pepper said, her eyes seeming to follow him over to the stove. If he didn’t know better, he would’ve said she was checking him out. He frowned. Was this some kind of test? Because all of his old teachers could confirm he never tested well. He swallowed hard.
“Yeah, I guess. How’s the job going? I heard through the grapevine you managed to pull in a major client.”
“Oh.” Delicate color infused her cheeks and her mouth parted just enough to reveal her teeth. He tightened his grip on the coffee pot as he carried it back to the table, grabbing two cups on the way. Not that he wanted to drink it anymore, he just wanted something to stop him from touching her. “Well, business has been interesting. The last major client I pulled in was Vera Hobbs, who wanted to know if she could sue someone over in Daisy Hill for stealing her family’s hundred year old jam recipe.”
Coop shut his eyes and then opened them again.
“Vera Hobbs is your client? She can hardly afford gas for her car, how can she pay a Chicago lawyer?”
“I guess you’d have to ask a Chicago lawyer that question.” Pepper shrugged as she pulled a business card out of the pocket of the cut offs and slid it across the table to him.
Pepper Watson
Littleton & Watson, Sunshine, CT
Helping people protect what matters to them
“What’s going on?” Coop said as Pepper studied her fingers. Was she nervous?
“I’m now qualified to offer legal advice in the state of Connecticut and I bought into Stewart’s firm.”
“I don’t understand.” Coop looked at the card and then back to her. Her shoulders were relaxed and there was a calmness to her manner he hadn’t seen before.
“It’s perfectly true. Ask Stan. He has a huge sign plastered on the side of his taxi confirming it.”
The sign Coop could picture. But everything else?
“Everything you ever wanted was somewhere else. I still don’t understand. I think you’re going to need to talk me through it.”
“You thought you were doing the right thing by pushing me away because this job is what I’ve always wanted. But you weren’t just thinking about me. You were thinking about Simon. And yeah, perhaps it was the kind of job he would’ve ended up in. We’ll never know. But I’m not him. And neither are you. As for this idea that I don’t know you. That I look at you and see him? It’s just not true. You’re the guy who makes sure my kid sister is okay no matter how crazy she’s being. The guy who pretended to be my boyfriend without even being asked. The guy who let me share the one place that reminded him most of his beloved brother. Don’t tell me I don’t see you.”
“Pepper, I’m not sure what to say.” His entire body stiffened as adrenaline surged through him. Part of him wanted to ask if she was joking, but the Pepper he knew never joked. He rubbed his chin, his eyes never leaving hers.
“Good, because I think it’s time I did some talking,” she said as she unsteadily sat down at the chair next to him. There was no table in the way, which meant her bare knees were almost touching his leg. Sweet lord. “When you pushed me away, I let it happen because I was scared it might all get screwed up.”
His throat tightened. “I get why you were scared. Your parents. Simon. You’ve seen things screw up before. You know how bad it can be.”
She slowly nodded as her hand reached up and undid the top button of the linen shirt. “I do, but lately I’ve also seen things work. Seen how good it can be. Emmy and Christopher. Bec and Lincoln. Hell, even Charlie and Miss Dottie.”
“Uh huh.” Coop nodded, hardly able to take his eyes off the flash of chest in front of him. Then he frowned. “Wait? What? Did you say Charlie and Miss Dottie?”
She grinned as her fingers undid the next button. “Yup. They eloped to Las Vegas to get married by an Elvis impersonator. Though they’ve promised to have a second wedding here at the farm when they return.”
“Jeez. I was only gone for eight weeks. What else did I miss?”
“I don’t know, but I know what I missed—who I missed.”
Coop swallowed hard as she undid the last button and the blouse fell to the ground. All he wanted to do was touch her, kiss her, get lost in it all. But it didn’t make sense. Nothing had changed. He forced himself to stay still.
“Not as much as I missed you,” he growled. “But I don’t want to be the guy who made you give up your dream. Can you honestly tell me that overnight you went from wanting to have a corner office, to dealing with arguments over who a tree belongs to?”
“Well, for a start, it would depend on whose property the tree was on,” Pepper said in a logical voice that spiked his pulse even more. She reached around to her back and began to loosen her bra. “And no, my dream isn’t to be a small town lawyer, anymore than it was to be a big town one. My dream. The one thing I wanted since I was eleven was to go home. My only problem was I got confused about where home was. I love you, Coop. You’re my home. This is me. And my two feet.”
Coop’s heart hammered in his chest as he finally allowed his hands to leave his side.
“Do you remember when I said you were lousy at seducing someone?” he said, his voice low and gravelly. Hell, he was surprised he could speak at all.
“Yes, you gave me quite a lesson.” She shivered, as if uncertain what was coming next. He reached out and trailed a finger down her skin, sending shockwaves thundering through his body.
“I was wrong.”
“Thank God.” She let out a small sob. “Does that mean—”
“Oh, it definitely means—” he started to say before his instincts got the better of him and he dragged her to him, so she was straddling him, half naked with only the tiny shorts separating them. “I love you, Pepper.”
“Not as much as I love you,” Pepper said as she sunk deeper into his lap.
He wrapped his arms possessively around her back as his mouth searched out hers. Definitely, the best homecoming he’d ever had.