Page 14 of Cooper

“Nope. It would be weird if he wasn’t nice. But Cooper is so nice. He even let me make the pancakes.”

“I see that. You did a lovely job.”

“Mommy?”

“Yes, baby.”

“Am I going to get to see daddy for Christmas? He always buys me a big gift.”

I smile. “We always bought you a big gift. It wasn’t just daddy. And Santa Claus always brought you a thousand gifts as well.” I answer, hoping to quell her curiosity. The last thing I want is for her to see her father where he is. “And after all, Christmas isn’t just about getting big gifts. We’ve been through this.”

She looks down, frowning. “You’re right. I’m sorry.” Gosh, sometimes Bean is at least ten years older than she should be. But with James and I divorcing when she was so young, it’s forced her to grow up some.

I pat her on the leg. “It’s okay, baby. Christmas is important when you’re a child. I get that.”

Her face lights up. “Oh, but Cooper knows how to make Christmas cookies! We can make a whole bunch of them!” I always suck at baking. It’s kits all the way for me, and even those I manage to screw up.

“Well, there you go.”

“And we can get a gingerbread house!”

“Gosh, if Cooper’s that good, maybe he knows how to make one.”

“As a matter of fact, I do.” Cooper states, standing at the door. “My mama has a special recipe.” He’s in jeans and a t-shirt, and he’s showered and ready for the day, making me feel like a heel, still in bed. But he’s so sexy I could die. His lean muscles hug the shirt like it was made special for him, and his big blue eyes stand out a mile the way he’s standing, with the morning sun peaking in from the front window.

“Bean said you spoke to your landlord?” I query, getting out of bed, still in my clothes from last night.

“Yeah. He says that a lady would only help brighten the place up.” Cooper grins.

“And he’s not worried about the increased utility costs?”

“Tommy’s a rich man, London. The only reason why he keeps this place is because it’s by the ranch. Great land. I don’t think you realize how much land I have here. It should have been a ranch. In fact, I think that’s what Tommy was going to do with it at some point in time, but he invested elsewhere and just kept this house for another investment.”

“What does he do?”

“Well, exactly that. He’s got houses all over. Not just in North Carolina, either. Far as I know, he owns a hotel, too. Not here, though. Some of the properties he makes a killing on, and others, he just keeps as investments. He trusts me and he doesn’t have to worry about me tearing the place up or letting it go to pots, either. I do all the landscaping myself, all the upkeep and renovations, and as much as I make a lot of noise and I have a bunch of drum kits in the garage, that’s the worst of it. Having you and Bean living here is no difference to him.”

“But he can’t be making a profit charging you only five hundred dollars a month. I mean, gosh, my utility bills alone back home were nearly twice that much.”

A look crosses his face. “Well, I don’t know where you came from, love, but here the cost of living isn’t that much. In the city is a whole other ball game, but here, out in the country, it’s way different.” He changes the subject, looking at Bean. “What do you say we let your mama eat her breakfast while we start making some of them Christmas cookies you were so excited about?”

Bean’s face lights up. “Let’s go!”

I watch him take her hand in his. She practically runs out of the bedroom. Not that James wasn’t a good father, because he was, but after all that this child has been through between the divorce, ultimately losing her father, moving to a different city, and now moving to yet another house overnight, I have to hand it to her, she’s so resilient it makes my head spin. It takes so little to keep this child happy. I’m so grateful. My only worry is that if Cooper and I take too many steps, if what we have turns into a relationship, that it might be too much for her.

As I sit there, I wonder if it would be a mistake to get involved with him. He said so himself that just because we’re living under the same roof, he has no expectations. His sole purpose of us living here is for safety.

…but I soon learn that it’s so much more than that.

Chapter 6

Cooper

“You have to have more stuff than this.” I say to London, as we go through her things. “Gosh, I have more in my bedroom than you do here. This is mostly clothes and kitchen stuff.”

“A lot of it is in storage.” She tells me. “Um, just what did you tell Tommy, your landlord, anyway?” She asks carefully.

I clear my throat softly. “Just that I’d met a young girl I’m working with, and she and her daughter had a spot of trouble. I told him about the gunshot we heard in your neighborhood last night and that I’d immediately moved your things here. He told me I did the right thing, and you can stay as long as you need to.”

---