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Jess’s cold voice came from behind him. He turned to find her standing in the open doorway, staring at the photo on the monitor screen. Her face was pale, her eyes narrowed.
Cooper knew he’d been caught at the worst possible time. He knew she’d be furious. All he could do was explain, apologize, and hope to heaven she’d forgive him.
Cooper switched off the image on the screen, then wondered whether he should have left it on. There was no way the situation wasn’t going to be awkward as hell.
“Remember, at Grace and Sam’s, I mentioned feeling as if I’d seen you before?” he began. “I couldn’t remember where until you told me your story. Then I remembered seeing the photo in a magazine. I wasn’t sleeping, so I thought I’d look for it online. I just wanted to make sure the woman in that picture was really you.”
He’d told her the truth. But it sounded lame, he knew. And her angry expression told him that she wasn’t buying his explanation.
“So why didn’t you just ask me?” she demanded. “I’d have told you the truth. I’d even have found the photo for you. Why did you have to do this in the middle of the night, behind my back?”
“By the time I thought of it, you were asleep.” It was true, but he sounded like a jerk—and felt like one.
“I gave you my trust, Cooper,” she said. “I ripped open my soul and turned it inside out. I told you things I’ve kept to myself for years. And all I expected in return was the same trust and openness from you. Instead, I get up in the night for a drink of water, and here you are, checking out my story behind my back.”
“I’m sorry, Jess. I don’t know what to say, except that I never mistrusted you. I was curious, that was all. But I should have waited.”
She drew herself up, lifting her chin and squaring her shoulders. “Well, it doesn’t matter anymore. We’re finished. I’m going back to my room to pack. As soon as my car’s loaded, I’ll be gone.”
“Damn it, Jess, it’s after midnight. Where do you think you’re going?”
“I’ll get a cheap motel room in Cottonwood Springs until my apartment’s cleared out. You can keep the Christmas ornaments until you take the tree down. Then you can box them up and leave them with Grace. Unless it’s in a professional capacity, I never want to speak to you again.”
She turned and walked back down the hall. The next thing Cooper heard, through the wall, was the sound of her taking things out of the closet and dresser and tossing them into her suitcase. She hadn’t brought much to the house. Packing wouldn’t take her long.
Cooper’s first impulse was to try to stop her. But no, Jess had every right to leave. And trying to keep her here would only make matters worse between them.
Everything he’d wanted had been within his reach. How could he have been such an idiot?
Knowing that any attempt to talk to her would be useless, he remained where he was, listening to the sound of suitcases closing and doors not slamming but closing hard.
Only as he heard the Taurus start up and drive away did he step out of his office. Trevor was standing in the open doorway of his bedroom, looking mussed and sleepy.
“What’s going on?” he muttered. “Did you and Miss Graver have a fight?”
“Nothing like that. She just thought it would be better if she stayed somewhere else for a while.”
“You had a fight.”
“Yes, we did. Will you miss her?”
“I’ll miss her cooking. It was a damn sight better than yours.”
“Whoa, where did that expression come from?”
“From Abner and Skip. It’s cowboy talk, Dad. This is Texas, remember?”
At least the kid appeared to be adjusting. But this was no time to discuss Trevor’s language—especially when Cooper felt as if he’d just been kicked in the gut by a mule.
“Let’s both get some sleep,” he said. “You’ve got school tomorrow, and I’ve got work to do.”
“What should I say if I see Miss Graver at school?”
“You just say ‘Hello, Miss Graver.’ And if she asks how we’re doing, you answer, ‘Fine.’ Understand?”
“Got it.” Trevor stepped back into his room, then paused. “You know, she wasn’t so bad—for a cop.”
“Go to bed, Trevor.”
