Page 39 of No Going Back
It wasn’t just any car. It was a cruiser for the local police department.
All the anger and turmoil bled from his body, replaced immediately with a level of fear he’d never experienced before.
Griffin immediately started to run, racing from his yard to Dianna’s, taking the stairs to her porch in two giant leaps before yanking open the screen door and rushing inside. “Di?”
“Griffin?” Dianna’s voice was close and filled with surprise. “Is everything okay?”
He turned to find her standing right beside him, looking healthy and whole.
Relief sagged his shoulders as he gripped the front of her shirt, using the hold to yank her body against his. He held her close, burying his face in her hair as he took a deep breath. “I saw the car in the driveway and I thought something happened. I thought you were hurt.”
Dianna stiffened against him, her hands gently patting his back. “No, I’m fine.” She wiggled loose, pressing one palm to his chest as she stepped out of his embrace, her eyes moving to the couch.
The couch where a strange man sat.
“Griffin, this is Cooper Staks. He’s Nate’s cousin. His grandmother was Vera, the woman who owned your house.” She turned to the cop, giving him a smile that made Griffin’s gut burn. “Cooper, this is Griffin Fraley. My new neighbor.”
Cooper stood, looking him over before reaching one hand out. “Nice to meet you. Nate had a lot of good things to say about you.”
Griffin shook Cooper’s hand, squeezing it a little tighter than he probably should have. “I’m surprised I didn’t meet you when everyone was over here helping move Vera’s stuff out.” It was a dig. One he might be ashamed of dishing out later. But not now. Not when Cooper had just been sitting so fucking close to Dianna, looking at her like she was the best thing he’d ever seen.
She probably was. But looking was all he was ever going to do to her.
“Yeah.” Cooper hooked his thumbs into the armholes of his vest. “I work nights, so I wasn’t available to help as much as I wish I had been.” He worked his jaw from side to side, continuing to hold Griffin’s gaze. “That’s a big place for one person. You planning on selling the house when you’re done? Makin’ some quick cash?”
Griffin crossed his arms, standing to his full height. “Nope.” He lifted his chin. “I decided I like the neighborhood. Probably gonna live here until I die.”
“I feel the same way about my place.” Cooper lifted his own chin and rocked back on his heels. “I bought it because it was big enough to raise a family in.”
The words seemed casual, but their meaning was clear. Cooper was reminding him he was old as fuck. That his days of creating a family had passed him by.
If he were a better man he’d take the reminder and back down. Leave Cooper and Dianna to whatever conversation they were having.
But he definitely wasn’t a good man. Especially where Dianna was concerned.
“Must be tough. Can’t imagine there’s too many women lining up to make babies with a man who works nights.” It was a low blow, especially considering Cooper worked a job that was dangerous and often thankless.
But this was war.
Cooper seemed unbothered by the jab. He shot Griffin a wide grin. “Not as tough as you might think.” He turned to Dianna, putting all his focus on her in a way that made Griffin feel dangerously close to needing bail money. “I’m happy to hear you haven’t had any problems.” His voice lowered, as if it was just the two of them in the room. “You still have my card. Call me if you need anything.” He shifted closer. “And I mean anything.”
It was said in a casual enough way. One anyone else might have mistaken as a neighborly offer. But Griffin saw it for exactly what it was, and the offer Cooper was making Dianna was anything but neighborly.
Dianna smiled back at Cooper, the expression threatening to turn his back molars to dust as his jaw clenched tighter. “I will.” She reached out to rest one hand on Cooper’s arm. “Thank you for coming by. I really appreciate it.”
It took everything he had not to relieve Officer Staks of the appendage Dianna was currently touching. He had no right to be so bothered by another man sitting in her house, but hell if he could change the reaction.
And hell if he wanted it to happen again.
Cooper turned to him, offering an easy smile as he slapped Griffin on the shoulder. “Nice to meet you. Might want to get a dog so that big house doesn’t start to feel too lonely.”
He’d come close to landing his ass in jail on more than one occasion, but never as close as he was in this moment.
“I’m sure I’ll find someone to keep me company.” He stayed in place as Dianna walked Cooper to the door, refusing to budge until the police officer was in his car and backing out of the driveway.
“Why was he here?”
Dianna closed the main door before turning to face him. One dark brow slowly lifted. “Because we’re friends. I’ve lived next door to his grandmother for over a year. He would always check on me when he checked on her.”
