Page 36 of Craving Cooper

“Wedding plans?” I say.

“Yes.” Cooper turns to face me. “Brady and Laurel are getting married at the beginning of December.”

“So soon after moving into their new home?” I’m surprised by that.

He smiles. “Yeah. It was a crazy enough schedule before Laurel hurt her back, but now…”

“Oh, we’ll cope,” Peony says and Ryan chuckles as Peony connects the call and they step away.

“I take it Laurel’s a friend of Peony’s?” I say once they’ve gone, and Cooper’s eyes meet mine as he twists and lowers his head, looking down at me.

“They’ve been best friends since they were at school.”

That’s a concept I don’t understand, but I nod my head. “I assume Peony and Ryan live in the town?”

He nods his head. “Peony owns the apple orchard, although she’s recently converted one of her barns into a wedding venue.”

“Which is why she wants to get together with Laurel to discuss her plans?”

“Yeah.”

I move just a little closer to him, studying his generous lips, wishing he’d kiss me.

“H—Have she and Ryan been married for very long?” I ask, unable to think of anything to say that doesn’t involve begging.

“The wedding was the week before Christmas.”

“Last Christmas?”

“Yeah.”

“They didn’t wait very long to start a family.”

He smiles. “No. Not long at all.”

I’m about to ask whether the pregnancy came before the wedding, when his attention is caught by someone and he nods his head toward another couple, who walk straight up to us. Like Ryan, the man is tall, dark and handsome… and also carrying a baby. This one seems a little older than Rory, and is a girl, judging by the pink ribbon in her hair. Beside him is a beautiful brunette. She’s a little taller than me, but I’d have said the same shape and size, her curves enhanced by the pretty floral dress she’s wearing.

“Hi,” the man says as they get up close. “I’ve been meaning to call you.”

Cooper looks confused. “You have?”

“Yeah. I need some help.”

“Oh?”

I stand, looking at the couple, feeling a little on the outside. Cooper hasn’t introduced me, and I don’t feel as though I can interrupt their conversation to do it myself.

“Yeah. I need to know how dental records are used to identify bodies.”

There’s a moment’s pause, and then I laugh. I can’t help myself. Cooper turns, looking down at me, with a curious expression on his face, and a smile touching at his lips. “Th—That’s different,” he says, with a stutter in his voice. “I can’t say I’ve ever been asked that before.”

“I’m sure you haven’t,” the man says. “But I’m coming up on an episode of McKenna’s Mill, in which a murder victim is gonna be found in a burned-out car. The car’s been rented with a fake driver’s license, so that won’t help with identification, and the only option left will be using dental records. I’ve got some technical questions about exactly how it’s done.”

I realize now that this must be Walker Holt, recalling the conversation we had with Brady and Laurel over dinner at their place the other night.

“Okay. Do you wanna come see me?” Cooper says, turning to me. “I’ve got some free time later in the week, haven’t I?”

I look up at him, shaking my head. “I don’t know. Believe it or not, I don’t carry your diary around in my head.”

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