I shifted a pen, so it was parallel to the edge of the table. I grabbed a stack of already straightened papers and straightened them some more. I leaned over my brother's shoulder until he grunted and shifted away. Then I looked out the window again.
He was still in the driveway.
I angrily batted the tears away from my eyes and tried to concentrate on the scratching of Jake's pencil as he plodded his way through his math homework.
What the hell was Cooper doing out there? I wanted to rush out the door and demand to know just what he thought he was doing. Sitting in my driveway... I told him to leave. Or I didn't, not really but I was about to, dammit. He needed to back off and leave me the hell alone.
I twisted the ring on my finger and swore under my breath when it refused to budge. Goddammit, if I could just get this thing off myself, I would march right out there and throw it in his face. I twisted it again, then pulled. But not too hard. I... couldn't. Because I was hurt and all. But I was getting better really fast, so he needed to...
I squirmed in my seat and deliberately turned my back to the window. I didn't care. I didn't care one damn bit what he was doing. In fact, I deserved to keep this ring just as payment for having to put up with him. Damn straight. He could go fuck himself, thinking he had any right to tell me what to do. And kissing me like that? Just what the hell was he up to?
My fingers had strayed to my lips as I fumed, and I slapped my hand back down onto the table so hard it made Jake jump.
"Hey!" he protested.
"Sorry." I twisted around to the window again. "Did you hear that?"
Jake furrowed his brow. "What?"
"I thought I heard..." I turned away again and hoped like hell what I'd heard had been the sound of Cooper's engine - that ridiculously over the top pickup of his that was so stupid it made me want to laugh in his face - as he finally drove off. Then I turned to the window, filled with dread that that's what it had been.
My stomach dropped. My heart leaped. My whole body flushed hot.
He was still there.
"What the hell is he doing?" I hissed.
Jake bounced up in his seat. "He's doing something? I want to see!"
"Sit back down," I barked.
"You kissed him."
"He kissed me," I corrected. "And he had no business doing that. His mama must not have raised him to respect women." He saved your life, my conscience pricked. And he visited you in the hospital more than anyone. And you wanted him to kiss you again when you fell, you hoped he would. You're like some damsel in distress and he's your shining white knight in a black pick-up truck.
"Stop!" Jake looked up when I shouted aloud, stricken. I scrambled for an excuse for my outburst. "Check your work," I admonished him. Could my brother tell I was blushing? Was he old enough to know that everything was a lie?
He tapped his pencil eraser on the paper. Tap tap tap. He frowned. "It's fine." Tap tap tap. "That's the right answer, Willa. Right? Isn't it?"
I glanced out the window again. Did I hear a door slam? Tap tap tap. "Jake, stop tapping your pencil," I hissed irritably.
He held it under my nose. "I'm not."
"Then what's that?"
That was the creak of footsteps on the porch and I was moving before I could stop myself. I flung open the door, catching him in the act of raising his hand to knock again. Tap tap tap. "What do you want?" I barked, breathless, sounding more accusatory than I wanted. What? What do you want? Is it what I want? Do you know what I want?
I'd never seen him look so furious. The corners of his mouth were turned down in a ferocious scowl, and his blue eyes were stormy. The white scar blazed a lightning strike on his thunderous brow. He was pissed.
But so was I. "What?" I demanded again.
He glared at me for half a breath. Silent. I felt a flutter of fear in my belly and quickly banished it. I opened my mouth to demand to know what he wanted for a third time when he finally moved his hand. I stepped back a little, and a shadow passed across his face. I realized he was showing me something he was holding.
His phone.
I startled back to see Liam's face on the screen. He stared right at me with an unreadable expression. "Will."
My gaze ricocheted from him to Cooper and then back again. "What the hell?"
"Go with him," Liam said.
"No," I stepped back farther, bumping up against my chair. "Are you kidding?" I looked at Cooper, who just pushed the phone back into my face before looking away.
Liam was still talking there on the screen. The sound of his familiar voice made me miss him with a sudden violence that brought tears to my eyes. Or maybe I was crying because of what he was saying. "Willa you know I can't ever repay you. But Cooper's gonna help me try. So get in the fucking truck with him. You owe me a chance to make it right."
I blinked. And ducked past the phone to look at Cooper.
He was staring down at his shoes, his ears an angry, flaring red. I knew he'd heard Liam. But did he know what Liam was talking about?
"Go where?" I asked the man on the screen, but all my attention was on the man on my porch.
Chapter