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Cooper transferred his shocked stare to his mother, but he couldn’t seem to look at her long before he jerked his gaze away and cleared his throat. “Yes, ma’am. I did.”
“Emma Leigh will be along soon,” Jo Ellen rushed out the words, curious and concerned about the awkward vibe emanating from both Cooper and Loren as if they were two strangers trying to get to know each other.
But thank goodness, a car drew up the lane and parked behind her Kia almost as soon as she spoke, relieving her from the tense moment. She wasn’t sure what else to say next.
“And there she is.” Loren hurried to the front door so she could greet Emma Leigh from the porch.
Left alone with Cooper, Jo Ellen opened her mouth to ask about him and his mom, but when she glanced his way, she found herself eye level with his dusky, flat nipples circled by light tufts of golden hair.
Her throat went too dry for her to speak. Not only would she hand him the tools to hurt her, she’d probably wrap them with a bow and hand them over with a goofy smile on her face while she did it.
“Excuse me.” He turned away, leaving her forced to watch his nice backside in those sexy jeans as he exited the room.
At the last moment before disappearing from view, he glanced over his shoulder. Caught peeking again, Jo Ellen zipped her eyes up and found him watching her. With a slow, sensual smile, he winked.
Oh, Goodness.
The muscles in her stomach cramped with too many emotions. Relieved he didn’t seem ticked about her presence, the warmth gripping her grew intensely uncomfortable. He made her body respond too easily. And yet his confidence made him even more attractive and irresistible.
Cooper wasn’t a vain man by any means, but he certainly seemed comfortable in his own body, and he knew good and well when a woman appreciated what she saw when checking him out.
She wanted to run—flee the sensations bubbling inside her—but she was soon swept up into the activity of Emma Leigh introducing Bran to Loren, and her brother-in-law bombarding the poor farmer’s wife with all sorts of strange questions like, “Do those chickens really cock-a-doodle-do at dawn?”
Jo Ellen laughed, and Emma Leigh made fun of him, while Loren patiently answered his questions. When Cooper showed up a few minutes later, Jo Ellen had resisted another cookie but downed her tea, draining the cup. Yet still, her mouth went dry when he stepped into the room.
All cleaned up, but still donning blue jeans and a t-shirt advertising the local grain elevator, Cooper looked even better than he had ten minutes before. His gaze met hers as soon as he entered the kitchen, but he just as quickly turned his attention to Bran and Emma Leigh, greeting them. For the next hour, he ignored her. Not that he had a lot of opportunity to pay her any special notice. With Branson and Emma hogging the conversation, he didn’t have any reason to even glance her way, which he didn’t bother doing. She wasn’t sure why that disturbed her so much when it was best if they just stayed away from each other. But it did.
When Cooper agreed to take Branson for a ride on a ‘real’ tractor, she and Em stayed behind to catch up with Loren. Finally, she learned the names of Cooper’s two sisters—Brendel and Stacia. From his mother’s scattered bits of conversation, it was obvious the old woman had grown lonely since Thad’s admission to the nursing home. Every time she spoke his name in passing, her lashes blinked rapidly. Then she’d mention Cooper and looked even worse.
Emma Leigh popped to her feet when they heard the men return, but Jo Ellen wanted to linger in Loren’s company just a little longer, maybe find out what had happened between mother and son.
Her sister, however, urged her outside.
“Damn,” Emma Leigh muttered, clutching Jo Ellen’s arm as she practically dragged her down the front porch. “I swear I was gonna burst into tears if I had to listen to Loren say Thad’s name one more time. She looked so sad.”
“I know.” Jo Ellen sighed sympathetically. “She sounded lonely too. We shouldn’t have left her so soon. We should’ve stayed and talked just a little while longer.”
“Are you crazy? Since Brand was born, I’ve been an emotional time bomb. I can’t cry now. Once I start, I won’t stop. And another minute in that woman’s company would turn me into a perpetual fountain.”
“Okay, fine.” Jo Ellen gave in. But she glanced back to wave when she saw Loren in the doorway, watching them from dejected eyes.
“Dear Lord.” Emma Leigh fanned at her face, already forgetting Cooper’s mother. “Is it ever hot out here or what?”
“I told you to borrow one of my thin shirts,” Jo Ellen argued, growing more tense the closer they moved to the men who’d parked Cooper’s tractor by the barn.
“Uh, hello. If you haven’t noticed, we no longer wear the same shirt size.”
When Emma Leigh splayed a hand over her chest, Jo Ellen groaned. “Yeah, you do look like the porn star version of me now that you’re breastfeeding, don’t you?”
Emma laughed. “Branson doesn’t seem to mind.”
With a snort, Jo Ellen rolled her eyes. “I should think not.”
As if hearing his name, Bran glanced their way. Emma Leigh waved and stuck out her huge boobs. Her husband grinned and his gaze grew heavy, making Jo Ellen feel like a voyeur for watching the two simply look at each other.
“Pervert,” Emma Leigh whispered the word lovingly as if she was mouthing them for her husband’s eyes alone.
Branson’s grin only widened. He said something to Cooper and both men laughed as they focused on the ladies’ approach.
