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Coop shoved his phone in his pocket, a tad concerned. He hadn’t heard from Nellie all morning, which was unusual. He texted her: Love you.
A half hour later when he hadn’t gotten a response, his concern morphed into worry. Panic exploded when Tanner walked into the office shortly after that.
Tie hanging askew, his hair mussed, he gave the distinct impression something was very wrong.
“Where’s Nellie?” Coop was almost afraid to ask if she was okay.
“At home, I think.” Tanner shook his head. “I didn’t want to bother you when you were working, but—Grandfather fired her this morning. She’s not answering her phone, but when I went by the house, I heard music, but she didn’t answer when I knocked.”
“I really despise your grandfather.”
“Yeah.” Tanner shoved his hands deep in his pockets. “I’m going to go tell Mom and Dad. I’m not sure they’ve heard the news. You’ll go check on Nellie?”
Coop raked his fingers through his hair then scratched his beard. “Maybe that’s a bad idea. This is my fault. Maybe she—”
“What?” Tanner poked Coop in the chest. “This isn’t about you. Go see Nellie. You can’t tell me you have any doubt about how she feels.”
Coop nodded and shoved Tanner’s hand away. “Okay! You’re right.”
“You’re going over there, aren’t you?” Tanner crossed his arms. “Promise me.”
“I’m going.”
“Text me an update when you know she’s okay.”
“Will do.” Coop watched as Tanner pulled out of the lot. Guilt made breathing difficult. Coop was the reason she’d lost her job. He’d done this to her, but that wasn’t what was important right now.
“Seth, I’m leaving. Will you cover for me and make sure the shop gets closed up at five?”
“Yeah.” Seth wiped his hands. “Everything okay?”
“Not sure. I need to go see Nellie.” Coop ran out, not even stopping to scrub the grease from under his nails.
He jammed his keys into the ignition and dialed her number. It went straight to voicemail. Offering to let her out of the engagement was cold and wrong. She loved him, and questioning that now would only make things worse.
Tanner was right. She needed Coop—now more than ever. But maybe he could make it right, solve the problem. He could go to her grandfather. Coop didn’t even know the man’s name. But business man to business man—who was Coop kidding? He was a nobody. The owner of a corporation wouldn’t care that Coop owned a repair garage that was staying afloat because of Nellie’s recommendations.
Coop watched the divide expand, making him feel farther from Nellie. In his head, he knew she didn’t care and that to her there was no divide.
Pressing hard on the accelerator, he breathed a prayer that she was okay.
Navigating city streets, the what-ifs plagued him. Worse-cases scenarios flashed in his brain, making the twenty-minute drive seem much longer.
His thoughts on Nellie, he drove on autopilot. He stopped at a red light, impatient for it to turn green. When it did, he stomped on the accelerator.
Catching motion in his peripheral vision, he punched the gas, hoping, praying he could be out of the way before the car ignoring the light barreled into him. But there wasn’t enough time.
Coop gripped the wheel as metal crunched and the truck spun. Head braced against the head rest, his only thought was surviving so he could get to Nellie. His muscles in one giant knot, he tensed as the impact slammed him around inside the cab.
***
HE OPENED HIS EYES, unsure of how long he’d had them closed or where he was. Light scorched his retinas and his body felt like he’s be pummeled.
Flashes of the accident jogged his memory.
Feeling pain meant one thing—he was alive. He glanced around, still in his truck. He squinted against the sunlight and looked over at the other vehicle, but he couldn’t make head or tails of the wreckage. He expected sirens, but an eerie quiet blanketed the intersection.
As if he’d only parked, Coop shut off the ignition and pocketed the keys. The seatbelt didn’t cooperate. Tugging, Coop finally broke it loose then climbed out of the truck. He yanked his phone out of his pocket and called in the accident. Pushing through the haze, he stumbled over to the other vehicle and immediately wished he’d never looked in the window.
“Are you okay?” A man walked over from another car.
Coop nodded.
Pacing, he called Nellie again, but it went straight to voicemail, same as before. “Nellie darling, I’m coming. I was delayed, but I’ll get there as soon as I can.” The last thing he wanted was for her to worry, so he didn’t tell her what happened. He hoped she wouldn’t detect the shakiness in his voice.
Within minutes, police and an ambulance arrived.
Before talking to police, Coop called Tanner. “Hey. I need a favor.”
“Anything. How’s Nellie?”
“Haven’t made it there. Someone slammed into me.”
“Are you hurt? What do you need?”
“A ride or something. Will you call Art?”
“Where are you? I’ll send him that way.”
Coop rattled off the names of the cross streets. “I’ll be here a while. I haven’t even talked to police.”
“Anyone hurt?”
“Other driver didn’t make it.” Coop kept his eyes averted as the crews hovered around that car.
Tanner offered condolences for the stranger Coop would never forget.
“Gotta go.” He ended the call.
A uniformed officer walked up. “Can you tell me what happened?”
Recounting the events, Coop tried to keep it together. “It turned green. I went, but he ran the light.”
Another woman walked up, her face pale. “It wasn’t his fault, Officer. I watched it happen. The other guy just didn’t stop. Blew right past me.”
The policeman nodded. “Other witness said the same thing.” He patted Coop’s shoulder. “We’ll get this written up. Wrecker should be here in a bit, but you need to get looked at.” He pointed toward the ambulance.
Coop trudged over. “I’m not hurt.”
A short EMT with a blonde ponytail laughed. “That cut on your head says otherwise.”
After touching his head, he stared at bloody fingers. “Hopefully it’s not bad. My fiancée is going to—I don’t want her to worry.”
“Let me check your vitals, see how you’re feeling, and then maybe you should get checked out at a hospital.”
“I don’t need a hospital. I need her right now. I mean, I need to be with her right now.” He didn’t want to broadcast what happened, but he wanted the lady to know he was in a hurry. “She had a bad day, and I want to be there for her.”
“Looks like you’ll have bad day stories to swap. What’s your pain level?”
“Nothing hurts.”
“It will. Let me have a look.”
While she checked him over, making sure he’d live, Coop surveyed the scene. Where was the other driver headed? Why didn’t he stop? Who would forever be waiting for the guy who wouldn’t make it home?
Coop scrubbed his face. Perspective was a wonderful thing. The job, the money—none of it mattered. Even blame wasn’t important. The truth he knew in his head settled into his heart. He had one life, and the only thing that mattered was living it with Nellie.
His every muscle ached—not with pain, not from the accident, but with a craving deeper than anything he’d ever known. “Will I be able to go soon?”
“You sure you don’t want a ride to the hospital?” The EMT smiled as if that would convince him.
“I’m sure. If I start feeling horrid, I’ll go in.”
A limousine pulled up to the curb, a familiar truck right behind it. Tanner slid out and ran across the intersection.
Art followed close behind.
He flashed his signature smile. “You don’t look too bad. I expected worse.”
The humor did little to quell Tanner’s apprehension.
“You and me both.” Coop held out his hand. “Can I borrow the truck?”
“Sure.” Tanner handed over the keys.
“As soon as you’re cleared to go, head over to Nellie’s. Art and I will wait here until the tow truck clears the scene.”
“Thanks.” Coop took his truck keys off the ring and handed them over. “I appreciate it.”
After signing reports and waivers, almost an hour after the accident happened, Coop grabbed his duffle bag out of the wreckage and tossed it in Tanner’s truck.
Coop thought of all the things he wanted to say to Nellie, but mostly, he just wanted to hold her.
When he pulled into her driveway and saw wisps of smoke coming out of the kitchen windows, he bolted out of the truck. He couldn’t lose her, not after what just happened. “Nellie!”
Struggling not to drop the keys, he unlocked the door and ran through the house. “Nellie! Where are you?”
“In here.” She stood in the kitchen staring at her open oven, an unidentifiable object sitting on the rack.
“You okay?” He stopped right behind her.
She nodded but didn’t look at him.
“Tanner told me.” He moved closer.
Turning, she buried her face in his chest, and sobs erupted. “I can’t even cook. The pie looked so good, but then I turned the wrong knobs. Now I have a burnt apple pie and a mostly raw chicken.”
He held her to his chest, kissing the top of her head. “You had me so worried.”
Her shoulders bounced, and her whole body shook. “I wanted to surprise you.”
“Oh, you did.” He brushed the hairs out of her face. “Let me get this all cleaned up, and then we’ll go find something to eat. We can go to the diner and order shrimp and grits.”
“Can we just order pizza? I really don’t feel like being around people.”
Coop cocked his head. “I can order pizza, but I’m not leaving.”
“You’re not people.” She hugged his neck. “I want you to stay.”
“I need to call Tanner and let him know you’re okay. He was going to tell your parents.”
“I don’t want to talk to them about it right now.” She buried her face in her hands. “Mostly, I’m mad—really, really mad. I don’t care that I won’t run the company one day. I don’t care that I won’t inherit the lion-share of grandfather’s wealth when he kicks the bucket. I just—I don’t know what I’m going to do.”
Coop lifted her into his arms. “Nothing’s on fire—anymore—so cleaning can wait.” He sat on the sofa with her in his arms. “We’ll just sit here a bit.”
Nodding against his neck, she continued to sob, and Coop thought he might throw up. He hated to see her upset.
Lost in his own thoughts, he didn’t notice when she stopped crying, but he did notice when she started dropping kisses on his neck. “Whoa, Nellie. That feels pretty—that feels really good. Want to tell me what’s going through your head?”
She sighed. “I hate crying.”
“Is kissing me the cure for that?”
“I made it all day without shedding a single tear. Not a one. Then you walked in.”
“I’m sorry.” He smiled into her hair. “But I love that you don’t hide your feelings from me.”
“I couldn’t if I wanted to.”
“Here’s an idea. You go take a bubble bath, and I’ll clean the kitchen. Once I’m done, I’ll order pizza.”
“I’m fine. I’ll just—”
“Nellie Davis, please listen to me. You smell like burnt apples.”
She swatted his arm as she climbed off him. “I love you, Logan Cooper.”
No matter how many times she said it, he loved hearing it. “And that makes me the happiest man on the planet. Now go take a bath.”
Coop breathed a sigh of relief as she disappeared down the hall. She hadn’t noticed the blood on his shirt or the gash on his head. He’d shower, change, and clean while she relaxed in the tub. Discussing the accident could wait until another day.
He hollered down the hall. “Take a really long one. This kitchen is a mess.”
***
WITH HOT PIZZA WAITING in the now-clean oven, Coop wiped down the counters. He’d set everything back to normal, at least in the kitchen. Cleaning had given him time to think, and it made his muscles burn. He popped a couple Ibuprofen tablets in his mouth and chased them with an entire glass of water.
Nellie had been open about her financial situation. The house was paid for. She wasn’t making payments on the Jeep, so it wasn’t the loss of salary that had her sobbing on his shoulder.
Her bedroom door opened, and he ran to the end of the hall and dropped onto one knee.
She stopped, her eyebrows knitted. “Um?”
He clasped her hand. “Nellie Davis—burner of pies, hater of tears, and keeper of my heart—will you do me the honor of working as my office manager?”
The position was way below her talents, but if she wanted to feel needed, he wouldn’t have to pretend.
Her hand shot to her mouth. “At the shop? I’d work for you?”
“I wouldn’t make you call me boss.”
She bounced on the balls of her feet. “I love the idea.”
“I know you could get a job anywhere. And you can, but I would love working side by side with you.”
“Dang it. You are going to make me cry again.”
“Let’s grab a calendar, eat pizza, and pick a wedding date. I’m thinking I can make it about four months.”
She hopped on his back, and he gave her a piggyback ride into the kitchen.
She dropped a few more kisses onto his neck. “I’m thinking three.”
***
COOP DROPPED ONTO THE sofa and kicked his feet up onto the coffee table. Nellie still hadn’t noticed his small gash, or at least she hadn’t said anything about it. She ignored the rest of the couch and sat in his lap, which made him perfectly happy.
“We’ll see what’s on.” She flipped through channels, barely pausing to know what show was even on.
When a photo of accident flashed on the screen, she stopped and turned up the volume. “That looked like your truck.”
The words Fatality Accident popped up below the photo.
Coop grabbed the remote and turned off the television. “It was my truck. That’s why it took me so long to get here.”
“Did you call me?” Tears filled her eyes.
Coop pulled her close. “Everything is fine. I’m fine. A little sore, but that’ll pass.”
She grazed her fingers over the gash on his head. “I just thought you’d banged your head at work. Nothing serious.” She glanced at the screen, probably remembering the photo. “Fatality?”
“The other driver.”
She buried her face in the curve of his neck. “I don’t want to let you out of my sight.”
“You have to. There is a wedding to plan, and I have a business to run.”
“Are you hurt? I shouldn’t have climbed on your back. I’m so sorry.” She lifted the hem of his shirt. “You’re bruised!” She trailed her fingers across his chest.
“From the seatbelt. I should be all better in time for the honeymoon.”
She cradled his face. “I’m sorry I had my phone off. You needed me.”
“I didn’t want you to worry.”
“So, are you okay? I don’t mean muscle aches and bruises.”
He pulled her to his chest. “When I saw the tarp covering that other driver, it made me think about how we have one life. I don’t care about money, or family businesses, or being from completely different backgrounds. I just want to spend my one life with you.”
She sighed.
He kissed her cheek before continuing. “Sitting on the beach, watching the sun set over the water; counting down the seconds to New Years; walking cobblestone streets in Europe—I want you beside me, holding my hand.”
She brushed her lips on his. “Logan Cooper, if you make me cry again, I don’t know what I’ll do.”
“Or if I ever get stung by a jellyfish ...” He braced for a poke in the ribs.
She shook her head. “When do I start?”
“Use this week for planning the wedding. Start next week.”
“You trust me to make all the plans?”
“Whatever you want is fine with me. All I want that day is to hear you say I do. Beyond that is up to you.”
“Anything I want?”
“Whatever you can afford.” He winked.