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“He’s not exactly known for his conversational skills,” Avery explained to Kate.
“He talks as much as he needs to,” Jeff said.
Avery chuckled. “And not one more word than necessary.”
“All that talking and you didn’t figure out who she was?” Mom asked him.
Yeah, he felt a little stupid about that. “Nope.”
Avery smirked. “There’s the one-word answer we’re accustomed to.”
Cooper scowled at her. Was dinner almost over? He felt like he was on the hot seat now, and he wasn’t a fan.
“Just goes to show,” Jeff said, “he can rise to the occasion when he needs to.”
“Well, he sure rose to this one.” A smile glimmered behind those blue eyes. “You’re gonna have to let me pay you back somehow.”
“Not necessary.” He definitely had to keep his distance. Which might be difficult if Gavin kept bringing her around.
The rest of the meal passed uneventfully, lots of talking and joking around. Cooper found it difficult to focus on anything other than the woman sitting across from him. The conversation went on long after the last fork hit the plate. Keeping up the pretense wore on him.
Finally, Mom tossed her napkin onto her plate and stood. “Who’s ready for dessert?”
“I could really use a sugar rush.” Avery joined her in the kitchen. “What did you make?”
“Cookies, and lots of them.”
Cooper and Katie exchanged knowing smiles. They already had inside jokes. And that’s when Cooper knew for certain—he was a goner.
“Good night, everyone,” Cooper said on his way out the door. He was the first to leave, but man. It really had been a long day. A long evening. Darkness had fallen like a shroud over the valley, and night sounds had begun in earnest.
“Finally.” Avery slipped out the door behind him and followed him down the porch steps. “I had to wait for you to leave—you blocked me in. I’m going to the early service tomorrow, and I still have to run home and grab a few things. I’m spending the night with Katie so I can check on her every few hours.”
“Nice of you.” They walked in silence, the gravel crunching under their feet and the oscillating buzz of cicadas swelling aroundthem. Now that he’d escaped he was a little desperate to be alone with his thoughts, but he refrained from quickening his pace.
He was almost to his own car when she called out. “Hey, Coop? You okay?”
He stopped and turned. “Sure. Why wouldn’t I be?”
“I don’t know.” She approached, studying him under the moonlight. “You seemed a little... starstruck, I guess. With Katie?”
“What? No. She’s Gavin’s girlfriend.”
Avery had a way of looking at you that made you feel like she could see all the way down to your inner core. She was doing it now. “Yeah, that’s true. But you didn’t know that out there, did you?”
“I need to be getting home. I have an early morning too.” And plans to return Kate’s phone. He’d forgotten all about that. The mission no longer brought a sense of anticipation. It seemed ridiculous that he could’ve gotten attached so quickly. That never happened to him. But somehow he’d come to care for her on that cliff. Why couldn’t he have met her first?
“Well, good night, then.”
Cooper said good night and got into his truck. His emotions had run the gamut today. But he couldn’t deny that they’d just reached the lowest point. Kate was out of his reach—because he would never do anything to hurt his big brother.
6
A wave of dizziness rolled over Katie as she set the last mum into its hole. These poor flowers had been waiting a week to go in the ground, and she finally had a free day. She’d attended church this morning and made a quick lunch afterward. She might even catch a nap this afternoon—she had a bit of headache from the injury.
A breeze blew, stirring the wind chimes she’d hung from the eaves. Her earliest memory was of playing on a porch. It was before her mom had gotten really bad off. Before she and Spencer were taken away. She still remembered that small home, the scent of mown grass, and the tinkling of those wind chimes.
Katie tamped down the dirt around the mums, then surveyed her work. Pretty pink and purple blooms now bordered the walk in front of her house. Her tiny lawn needed mowing, but she was already pushing concussion protocol. Avery had stayed overnight and checked on her every three hours. She was a gem of a boss—and a friend.
