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***
Katie’s heart actually clenched as she left Riverbend proper. For a while the place had truly felt like home. She prayed she’d find that feeling elsewhere someday.
After the bittersweet reunion with her mother last night, she really hated to leave. They’d talked long into the night, and Bethhad answered all her questions. When Katie had been young, the drug addiction had a terrible hold on her mother. It blinded her to her obligation and love for her children.
It was a story repeated too many times, in too many families. Katie hoped this one at least would have a happy ending. Beth asked her to reconsider leaving. But if her mother was serious about their relationship, a forty-five-minute drive wouldn’t stand in her way.
As Katie drove through the county, she passed sign after sign bearing Cooper’s name. She smiled as she thought back to the moment late last night when the final election results had come in. All evening Beth kept the news muted in the background, and when Cooper officially won, they toasted him with their water bottles.
Katie was so happy for him. Knowing he was here, living his best life, would go a long way toward soothing the ache of separation.
As she passed each campaign sign along US-70, she wondered if it would be the last one she’d see. Eventually she’d exit Madison County altogether and leave Cooper and his family behind. She’d done what she could to cut the ties that bound them. She’d even gone as far as to block Cooper’s number—not that she expected him to call. But at least now she wouldn’t be hoping for it. She had, however,rescued one photo of him from her deleted file. It was all she had left of him.
She glanced at her speedometer. She was actually going under the speed limit. It revealed her reluctance to leave, she supposed. But the sooner she got on with her life, the better. Resolved, she pressed the accelerator harder.
It would be good to see Jill and James again, as well as her host of foster siblings. Thanksgiving was coming up. That was always fun, if totally chaotic, at the Clemson household. And soon after that, Christmas. There was a lot to look forward to.
But she thought of the Robinsons. What did the holidays looklike at their house? What kinds of traditions did they keep? Would the mood be quiet and reverent or loud and fun? Did they open gifts one at a time or in a flurry of papers and ribbons?
Stop it, Katie. You have to move on.
Something blue and flashing caught her attention in the rearview mirror. She frowned at the black cruiser, lights strobing and siren wailing as it closed the distance between them. She glanced at her speedometer again. She was only going five over. Must be on his way to an emergency. She slowed her vehicle, steering onto the shoulder to allow the cruiser to pass. The boxes in the back jostled and rattled as she ran over the rumble strip.
But the cruiser didn’t pass; it slowed down.
He was coming afterher? For going a measly five miles over? Just her luck. Not only was she having to leave her job and home, but they were giving her a parting gift on her way out of town.
Sorry, you lost.Thanks for playing though.
She pulled well off the road, coming to a full stop, and lowered her window. Then she leaned over and began rooting through her messy glove compartment. Where was that registration? She knew she’d put it in here. Why had she kept all these receipts? Could she get a ticket for not having her registration?
Outside her window, feet shuffled to a stop in the gravel.
“Just a minute, Officer.” Her eyes homed in on the white registration, covered by several packets of ketchup and a napkin. She snatched the paper. “I know I was going five over but—”
Her tongue froze in her mouth. Her thoughts turned to slush. The sight of him in uniform had always taken her breath away. But just now he looked especially handsome—mostly because she’d never thought to see him again.
“Cooper.” His name whooshed out on a breath.
Expression enigmatic, he handed her a slip of paper.
“What—what’s this?”
“A warning for having a headlight out.”
“But... I didn’t even have my lights on.”
“Have you replaced it?”
She was so confused. “Um, no, but—”
Before she could complete the sentence, he ripped off another slip of paper and handed it to her. “Also, you should slow down. The deer like to jump out around here.”
“You don’t say.” She narrowed her eyes at him. “Was this the only reason you pulled me over?”
He slowly lowered the pad. His shoulders fell as if weighted by gravity, and his features softened.
As their gazes locked, awareness crackled between them. She searched his eyes and was mesmerized by everything she saw there. All the feelings she had for him were reflected back to her. Was it possible he cared as deeply as she did?
