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After sending a brief glance across the room to see Cooper stretched out in his chair, head tipped back and resting against the wall with his eyes closed and his cowboy hat propped on his belly, she swallowed and transferred her gaze to Branson and Emma Leigh cuddled together a few seats down, whispering quietly to each other.
A deep yearning claimed her. She wished she had someone to cling to as Emma Leigh did. She wished she had a hand to hold.
They’d heard nothing about Lexi’s prognosis, and three hours had passed. A renewed fear clutched her abdomen. She was suddenly very glad she’d been three states away when her twin had given birth; she would’ve panicked herself into an early grave if she’d been close.
But baby Brand hadn’t been a month premature. There must be complications with Alexa’s baby if she was delivering this early. What if the boy died, or had problems, defects—
Branson suddenly cleared his throat and pushed to his feet, making Jo Ellen jump. “Uh…” He looked uncertain as he helped Emma Leigh from her chair. “We need to head back to your parents’ place for a little while,” he announced. “Em’s—”
Flushing, he floundered. In his chair, Cooper immediately sat up and opened his eyes. He looked alert enough to make Jo Ellen suspect he hadn’t been sleeping at all.
“I’m leaking,” Em was more forthright to explain. She folded her arms over her chest as if she was cold, though Jo Ellen understood almost immediately she was wet, not cold. “It’s been too long since I last fed Brand.”
“But you’ll come back?” Jo Ellen asked, praying she didn’t sound too hopeful. She needed her twin’s solid presence nearby to help her through these next few grueling hours. If something happened to Dexter’s baby, she wasn’t sure she’d be able to handle it.
Em bit her lip uncertainly, and Jo Ellen immediately realized how selfish she sounded. “No, you’re right,” she answered before Emma Leigh could speak. “You should be with your son.”
“We’ll return first thing in the morning to check on Lex.”
Jo Ellen nodded.
“I can give Jo Ellen a ride back to Rio’s for her car once we’re done here.”
Cooper’s low words sent a bolt of heat and anxiety through her. She glanced his way to find he’d come out of his chair and was approaching their group to join the discussion. The reality of the situation suddenly struck her. Once her sister departed, she’d be left alone…with Cooper Gerhardt.
Emma Leigh’s earlier words echoed about in her head. Every time he saw me, he’d always send this quick glance around me to check who I was with. Took me a couple years to figure out he was looking for you.
Jo Ellen shivered. Her nerves felt singed. “Oh…no. No, thank you. I’ll just…” She glanced at Em and Bran, swallowing.
There really wasn’t any other option, was there? Still. How could she survive the night, next to a man who’d been involved in so much of the horrible parts of her past, the very man who set her body on fire with a mere glance.
Bowing her face, she demurred, “You don’t have to stay on my account, Cooper. It’s getting late and—”
“I don’t mind.” When she looked up, he shrugged. “Leaving now would be like walking out of the theatre before the movie was up. I want to get a look at this new tyke once he arrives.”
“Oh.” She flushed. “Well…” Ack, she couldn’t turn him down now. That would just be foolish and rude. But sitting alone with him, riding next to him in his truck…it made her blood skyrocket through her veins, and she couldn’t tell if that was a good thing or a bad thing. “I…thank you. I’d appreciate it.”
He nodded politely, though his gaze remained unreadable. The next moment, he shifted his pale brown eyes from her, and she felt a little bereft as he turned his attention to her twin’s husband. He stuck out his hand. “Bran, it was nice to meet you. Stop by the farm before you leave town and I’ll give you the grand tour of what real country living is like.”
Jo Ellen figured he made his invitation out of kindness with no inclination Branson would actually accept.
But Bran’s face lit with interest. “Really? Do you have, like, real cows and everything?”
Emma Leigh huffed. “Hey, I grew up on a farm. Where do you think you’ll be staying for the entire week?”
Bran gave her a bland look. “You grew up in the country, yes. But I wouldn’t go calling that multi-million dollar oil producing land a true farm.”
Cooper chuckled. “Well, we don’t have enough to consider ourselves true ranchers, but yeah, we got a couple head of cattle. Mostly though, we just crop farm.”
“Wow. That would be so sweet. I’d love to take a tour.”
“Bran’s always wanted to go fishing too.” Emma grinned like an indulgent parent who wanted to give her sweetheart whatever he so desired.
With a nod, Cooper complied. “Sure. We got a nice stock of crappie and perch in our lake right now, and I have a couple extra fishing rods you could use.”
“We’ll come out tomorrow, then,” Em announced as she began to dance around, holding her arms tightly over her breasts. “I’ll call in the morning. But right now, we really gotta go.”
Afte
