Page 46 of Claws and Feathers

“I think I’ve more than proven my dedication, don’t you think?” He gave her a wink, then grabbed her by the wrist and picked up the pace. “Come on. I’m dying for you to meet Izzy.”

“Izzy?” she wondered, giving him her most enthusiastic nose crinkle.

“My boat.” Abby followed him onto the dock, and Cooper couldn’t help the extra beat of his heart when he saw her eyes light up. “Not bad, huh? I spent my entire college career saving up for her.”

Abby held onto her hat as a breeze swept by. She gazed at the pontoon with a sense of wonder. “Impressive.” She stepped inside, trying to maintain her balance as it wobbled beneath her.

Cooper made a valiant effort to keep his eyes from averting to her backside, and instead rushed forward and took her hand to help steady her. “I stocked the cooler with those girly lemonade things and snacks.” Abby turned to face him once she was fully inside, their hands still clasped together. A look crossed over her features that he wasn’t sure he’d seen before. Something raw and affectionate and much too fleeting. “What?” he smiled.

She shook her head, pulling her hand back as he climbed inside, but her glow remained. “Nothing.”

Only, he knew it wasn’t nothing. Cooper wasn’t sure what had washed over her, or why that particular moment was significant – all he knew was that it absolutely, without a doubt, wasn’t nothing.

Abby was buzzing.

Partly on the hard lemonade clutched in her hand, but mostly on everything else. The sound of the water lapping against the side of the pontoon. The smell of lake water. The image of two bumble bees hovering by the cooler that made her giggle, which prompted Cooper to question how many lemonades she’d had. She’d only had one. Bumble bees just made her laugh.

Oh, and then there was him.

There was something wildly organic andrealabout him today. Cooper wasn’t bogged down with the investigation or too many work hours. He was just a regular guy, enjoying a summer afternoon on his boat with a girl.

Withher.

Abby peered at him below the rim of her sun hat. He was sitting across from her, sipping a soda, and gazing out at the rippling water. He was dressed casually in an olive-green t-shirt and khaki shorts. His dark sunglasses and unshaven jaw gave him an edge that made Abby grip the spout of her beverage with a little extra gusto. Cooper turned and caught her gaze, a charismatic smile pulling onto his lips. She ducked her head, blushing slightly. “Thanks for inviting me today.”Lame.

Cooper took a sip of his drink and draped his arm over the side of the boat. “It was either you, or Kate and her endless harassment,” he teased.

She laughed. “At least you have a sibling you can do stuff with. I’ve missed out on that.” Abby hadn’t meant to dampen the mood. She immediately felt the familiar pang of loss in her heart at the mention of Ryan.

“What happened with your brother?”

Oh, boy.It wasn’t the ideal conversation to pair with such a perfect day, but maybe it would be nice to have someone to confide in. Nana had never initiated talks about Ryan, and she’d almost always changed the subject when Abby had prodded. “He reacted… differently to our parents’ death. I bottled everything up, and he let it out. He had a lot of anger. And Nana, rest her soul, hadn’t given him the same attention she’d given to me. I hate to say it, but there was a little less love there.”

“That must have been hard on him,” Cooper said, leaning forward and dangling his soda can between his knees.

Abby nodded. “I tried to reach him, I really did. But he pushed me away. I always felt this massive resentment coming from him, likeIwas to blame for Nana’s lack of affection.” She swallowed down a few gulps of the flavored alcohol. “He moved out on his eighteenth birthday and I haven’t heard from him since. Nana told me he got in with the wrong crowd and turned to drugs. It’s a shame because we used to be really close. Best friends.”

Cooper studied her, his expression pensive. “That’s interesting. I looked into him a bit when you were missing, and he didn’t have a record. Not even a traffic violation. Ryan Stone was squeaky clean.”

“He was always good at flying under the radar,” Abby said. She couldn’t help but smile at all the mischief they’d gotten into as kids. Ryan was an expert at pinning the aftermath of their wrongdoings on Abby. “My parents thought I was to blame for all of our shenanigans. Ryan was cunning like that.”

“Huh.” Cooper looked lost in thought as he digested her answer. He took another swig of his drink. “He never tried contacting you? Even after your grandma died?”

“No,” Abby said. “He never even came to the funeral. I left him the house and told my attorney to let Ryan know I’d signed it over to him, and that was it.”

“That seems like a pretty intense grudge,” he observed.

She shrugged. “He was always stubborn.”

Cooper tossed his empty can into a plastic bag and grabbed another from the cooler. He handed her a spiked lemonade and a tube of sunscreen. “You’re like a sun magnet. Here.”

Abby glanced down at her rosy skin. It was becoming redder by the minute. “Thanks.” She lathered herself up, relishing in the cooling sensation. She struggled as she reached behind her back, and Cooper approached when he noticed.

“I’ll get your back,” he offered.

Oh?

Oh.Cooper lathering her in sunscreen sounded borderline scandalous. “Okay,” she squeaked out.

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