AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I won’t leave your side,” he said. “My sister is here too.”
“Cherry?”
“Yeah, I wanted you to meet her apart from the others. She’s not going to judge you.” Lee turned as his door opened and Ford stood there. “Just a minute, son.”
“Dad, you’ve got to see Cherry’s boyfriend’s dog,” the boy said anyway.
“He’s not her boyfriend,” Lee said, his tone even darker than before. “I need one more minute, Ford. Go tell your aunt Charlie better not have a dog in our house.”
“He’s out back,” Ford said, skipping away. “Hurry up, Dad!”
Lee reached out and pulled his door closed. He took a breath and pushed all the air out. “They’re not going to be judging you, Rosalie. They’re going to be wondering how in the world I got you to go out withme.” He wouldn’t look at her, and Rosalie didn’t know how to process his words.
“Lee,” she started.
“See, I’m the resident bear around these parts. Everyone knows it, even the neighbors. I do have a couple of friends over at Forrester, but that’s about it. Even my cowboys call meMister Cooper.” He sounded absolutely miserable, and Rosalie hastened to unbuckle her seat belt.
“Stay there,” she said, unlatching her door and toeing it all the way open so she could twist her whole body and get out without gaping her dress at the knees. She went around the truck, her heels a bit squishy in the gravel. To her surprise, Lee stayed, and she opened his door the way Ford had.
She stepped into the space, and he still sat a bit taller than she stood. “Handsome,” she said, making it his noun. He brought his attention to her, and she offered him a tiny smile. “Just remember whatIthink of you, okay? Who cares what everyone else thinks?”
“What do you think?” he asked, ducking his head so his cowboy hat obscured his face.
“I think I like it when you call me Rose and not Rosalie. I think you’re incredibly handsome. I think you have a heart of gold, almost all of it belonging to that child who just came skipping over to you.” She looked over her shoulder, but Ford had disappeared. “He didn’t call you Mister Cooper.”
She turned to face Lee again, and he looked right into her eyes. “No one’s going to be looking at us,” she said. “Didn’t you say Shayla’s family has a momzilla?”
Lee finally cracked a smile. “Yeah.”
“Then we’re fine.” She stepped back and extended her hand toward him. “Now, you promised me you wouldn’t leave my side, and I’m not meeting your son or your sister without you. Come on.”
Lee got out of the truck, immediately taking her hand. “Rose, you’re…I don’t deserve you.”
“Why not?” she asked as he slammed his door.
“I don’t know.” He faced the cabin but didn’t move toward it. “For a long time, I thought I’d be fine here. Just me and Ford on the weekends. I’m not sure when it became something I didn’t want anymore, but I know I’m happier with you than I was before.”
“Well, that’s a good thing,” Rosalie said, the warmth from the things Lee said seeping into her skin. He said a lot with only a few words, and if he knew that or not, she wasn’t sure. “What do you want?”
“I want a wife,” he said in a whisper. “Who loves me and who I am. Who understands I’m doing the best I can, and that I love this farm, that it flows in my blood.”
Rosalie nodded, though she wasn’t sure all that entailed. She didn’t think anyone but Lee could understand that.
A woman appeared at the top of the steps, and she clearly belonged to the Cooper family. The dark red hair that she’d piled up on top of her head testified of that. She also wore the same apprehensive look of misery on her face that Rosalie had just seen on Lee’s.
Lee moved, taking Rosalie with him. They walked side-by-side, and Rosalie told herself that was exactly what she needed to do today—stay at his side. He needed her as much as she needed him today. Like a flash of lightning could strike in less than a heartbeat, Rosalie realized that while Lee was very happy for his brother, he was also hurting over his own losses.
He hadn’t said why he and his ex had broken up, but Rosalie would find out soon enough. Right now, she had to meet his sister and son.
“Hey, my sister,” he said, releasing Rosalie as he went up the steps. He took them two at a time and reached his sister in only another moment. He wrapped her in a tight hug, and Cherry gripped him right on back. Rosalie stayed at the bottom of the steps and watched them, something tender and powerful about the way they loved each other manifesting itself right there in front of her.
Not only that, but she felt the anguish and unrest in both of them, and she wanted nothing more than to soothe it. She picked up her skirt and went up the steps, taking care not to trip. When she arrived, Lee and Cherry separated, and Cherry moved back, wiping her eyes.
Rosalie slipped her hand into Lee’s and squeezed. He said, “Cherry, this is my date, Rosalie Reynolds.” His voice only carried a slight edge to it, but Cherry continued to sniffle as she met Rosalie’s eyes.
“I see why he likes you,” she said, her voice the female counterpart to Lee’s low one.
“It’s lovely to meet you,” Rosalie said, extending her hand toward Cherry. She shook it, her eyes darting over her shoulder as the door behind her opened. A tall man came out, but Cherry made no move to greet him.
