Chapter Twenty-Nine

Cooper

All the way back to the cabin, I had to keep my fingers white-knuckled on the steering wheel to keep from reaching for her.

How do you even begin to tell someone how sorry you are for getting them so wrong? Hey, back there, when you returned that guy’s paycheck? That was cool. I definitely didn’t think you were that cool. But now that I know that you are, could I please put my face between your legs?

Yeah. That wasn’t going to work.

Giving Sid his money back seemed to have loosened Willa’s tongue. She smiled and happily chattered away, reading the names of shops and cemeteries we passed before we started climbing back up out of the valley. She pointed out little waterfalls and deeply carved gullies and wondered if the water was still snowmelt way up here. “I want to go wading, but I bet my feet would freeze off.”

“We can go wading,” I agreed quickly. Because I wanted to see her smile.

She did, although it was more surprised than pleased. “I doubt that’s a good idea,” she said, lifting her cast. “My balance sucks.”

“I’ll hold your hand.”

She looked down. Her lashes cast a dark shadow across her flushed cheek. Fuck, she was so pretty. “You won’t let go at a crucial moment just so you can laugh when I fall on my ass, will you?”

God, I hated the person I was that would make her think I might do that. “No,” I grunted. “As long as you don’t push me in and hold my head under water.”

She laughed. “Maybe if I had two hands.”

“But I’m safe for now?”

There was mischief in her eyes when she grinned at me. “For now.”

I nodded. “Then it’s settled. We’re going wading. I bet there’s a stream near Liam’s place. They seem to be everywhere.”

“Okay,” she said eagerly. And she sounded so over-the-top happy with the idea that I nearly pulled over just so we could do it right now.

But I kept driving because she hadn’t eaten yet. And when we got back to the cabin, I fixed her a bowl of cereal and made her sit down and finish it, then poured her another one and insisted she finish that one too. And when she was done, I refused to let her bring her dishes to the sink.

I had no idea how even to open the fancy dishwasher, so I washed and dried our plates by hand.

And turned to see Willa busily sweeping the crumbs off the table and into her hand. Her broken left hand. “Are you seriously cleaning?” I barked.

She rolled her eyes and kept wiping.

"Willa!" I crossed the kitchen in two long strides. I caught her around the waist and spun around, plopping us both down in a chair with her squirming—pretty nicely—in my lap.

"Let go of me!" she cried.

"Will you stop cleaning?"

"Let go!"

"Not unless you promise to stop cleaning."

She fell silent. 

"You tell me you're going to stop and I'll let you go." I wasn’t so sure I’d keep that promise.

"You're ridiculous."

"How about this? Maybe it'll be even easier. Tell me why Liam said you had to let him repay you.”

I felt her inhale. Was it my imagination or was she warming up? I couldn't see her face, so I risked my grip on her to tuck her curls behind her ears. i watched the curve of her throat as she swallowed. 

"I can't tell you that."

"Why? Because you'd be lying?" It came out a lot harsher than I meant it to, but her nearness was doing things to me.

She shook her head so emphatically her curls tumbled loose from behind her ear. “Because it's not my secret to tell."

It was my turn to fall silent. Her breath was coming quicker now. The fact that she wasn't facing me seemed to make it easier for her to speak. 

"Don't you think…" She took a ragged breath. "Don't you think I'd love to tell you? I know you don't like me, Cooper. I always figured that was fine, that I wasn't missing much with you hating me like you do."

"I don't hate you." This close to her, those four words felt a lot more intimate than they sounded. I leaned in, barely resting my chin on her shoulder, but it was enough to fill my lungs with the smell of her shampoo. "I thought I did. Yeah. But..." Not looking at her made it easier to say as well. "I don't think I knew you well enough.” She ducked her head and the curtain of curls fell across her face again. This time I released her with my other hand.

She didn't move.

I reached up and tucked her hair again. “And I'd like to, Willa. I'd really like to know."

"What?"

"About you."

"You've known me forever."

"But do I know you?"

She turned, shifting in my lap. Without thinking, I wrapped my hands around her waist again. Not trapping her this time. Holding on to her.

Holding her. 

She shifted. And by degrees her head tilted until it rested against my shoulder. “I want to know you too, Cooper,” she whispered. “I thought I did, but now I’m not so sure.” She turned just a little so her breath crossed my ear as she whispered, “Tell me."