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He pulled out onto the road.
“How far is it to Marshall?”
“About twenty minutes. But we should stop at Walnut on the way.”
“Sounds like a little bit of nothing.”
“It is. But there are a few places to hang flyers, and folks tend to gather on Saturdays. It’ll be good for the campaign to show my face, shake a few hands.”
Was he nervous about facing citizens outside Riverbend Gap after the newspaper article? “I saw the statement you put out Thursday. It was very convincing and well written.”
“Thanks. I hope people believe it.”
“It’s the truth. That helps. I’m glad you’re not shying away from this today.”
“Mom was willing to let me off the hook, but I’m not about to hide away in shame when I didn’t do anything wrong.”
“That’s the spirit.” She shifted her knees his way, trying to ignore how close they were in the small confines of her car. “Any luck tracking down Megan?”
“Sadly, no. She seems to have fallen off the face of the earth. No one in her apartment building claims to know anything.”
“She hasn’t been there long, right?”
“Yeah. But she’s got to return soon.” He gave her a sidelong look. “Any progress with your mother this week?”
“I haven’t seen her. She’s still doing her thing online for Trail Days. She’s sent me a couple texts, but that’s about it.”
A beat of silence ensued as he navigated a sharp turn. “I think Avery was a little reluctant to send us out into the wild alone.”
At his observation tension thickened in the space. Katie’s pulse kicked into a higher gear. “Yeah, I got that feeling too.”
His hands tightened on the steering wheel. They were nice, manly hands with long, tapered fingers, squared off at the ends. The memory of that hand holding hers in Lisa’s kitchen surged into her mind. The slight roughness of his palm brushing hers. The magnetic sweep of his thumb across her skin. The thought of never again receiving his touch hollowed her stomach.
“She has nothing to worry about.” His low voice scraped across the chords of her heart.
“Of course not.” But if that were true, why did it take every ounce of her resolve not to look his way?
Three hours later the mood had lightened considerably. They’d hung around Walnut longer than Katie had expected. Though therewere few places to hang flyers, those establishments clearly did a robust business.
Cooper chatted with quite a few people, and he introduced Katie as a friend—not his brother’s girlfriend as she’d expected. It meant nothing, but she couldn’t stop from hoping that it did.Stupid.
Cooper knew some of the townsfolk, and those he’d just met seemed genuinely pleased to make his acquaintance. A couple people seemed guarded, but she was thankful no one brought up the scandal.
Having a bit of success in his back pocket seemed to invigorate him. They hit the bigger town of Marshall with renewed energy. There were considerably more stores and offices in this town, and it took hours to hang flyers and canvass the area.
“That went pretty well,” Cooper said as they exited the last store and started back toward the car.
“An understatement. You’re very well liked, Mr. Robinson, scandal or no.”
“That’s got more to do with my last name than anything. Is there any place we missed? We have flyers left over.”
“I think we got them all. And stop being so humble. You’re a good guy and they know that. No one believes that tabloid gossip the paper put out.”
“Hope you’re right.” His features warmed as he slid her a grateful look. “Thanks. I have to admit I feel a lot better than I have all week.”
She’d been wondering about something since their last phone call. She strove for a carefree tone. “So, did you ever square things with Amber?”
“Not really. And I don’t think I want to be with someone who so easily believes the worst about me.”
