“You ignored her?”
I nodded. “Figured I can play up the whole no talking thing for a while before she catches on that I’m only ignoring her.”
Rich burst out laughing. “I’ve got to hand it to you, that’s pretty genius. She won’t understand what’s going on when she sees you talking to Carl and Ruthie and Emily like it’s no big deal.”
“Someone say my name?” Ruth asked, coming over to see what we wanted.
“Nah, it’s nothing,” Rich said. “Rose Rogers is back, and he’s planning to mess with her head a little.”
“Rose is Lucy’s daughter, yeah?” She cocked her head to the right. “What did this Rose girl do to deserve you messing with her, Pax?”
“She—”
“I asked Paxton, not you, Rich,” Ruth interrupted. “I thought you said you weren’t in the mood to talk, anyway?”
He laughed apologetically. “Sorry. It seems like everyone steps in to speak for Pax.”
Ruth looked at me expectantly. She was too young to have known what I was like back in school, and I liked that. Some reputations were hard to get past. “I barely spoke a word to anyone when I was growing up. Don’t ask me why. I simply didn’t. Rose bullied me for it until we entered high school.”
Her face was plastered with disbelief. “Someone bullied you? A girl, no less. How on earth did that happen?”
“I was a late bloomer,” I explained. “I got tall quickly, but nothing else caught up until the summer before college. I was a gawkish, awkward kid who’d rather read than talk. That reputation has followed me around for years. Everyone called me names like weirdo and mute.”
Rich glanced at Ruth. “In all fairness, Pax is being hard on himself. He may not have talked much, but I’m certain he wasn’t weird. I’d rather read a good mystery than talk to most people.”
She narrowed her eyes. “And this Rose girl bullied you for it?”
I nodded. “It was a lifetime ago. I’d rather let it go.”
Her eyes flashed. “So how are you getting back at her now that she’s in town?”
“He’s gonna keep up the silent act in front of her, so she thinks he hasn’t changed, then she’ll be confused as hell when everyone around him loves him.”
“Childish, but I like it,” she said, grinning wickedly. “Mind if I join in? I wouldn’t mind flirting outrageously with you to mess with her head. Make her think you’re a real catch.”
“Hey, I am a real catch. Just don’t want to be caught.” I couldn’t help but grin right back. “Either way, your support is appreciated.”
“John would kill me if I didn’t support the man who helped get us through that horrible winter weather. And you’re the least terrible Cooper brother, so you have that going for you.”
Rich looked affronted. “Hey, I’m not a Cooper, but there’s nothing wrong with me. I’m still in good shape and have all my hair. I’d say I’m still as handsome as I was ten years ago. I’m quite the catch too. Now only to attract my type.”
“I was still in high school when you were in college. It would be weird for me to comment on this.”
“Aw, so you never had a girly, teenage crush on an older man when you were in high school?” I asked.
She rolled her eyes and looked at me. “Yeah, on your brother Owen.”
“But he’s the same age as me,” Rich said. “And twelve years older than you.”
“Yes, and he was an architect and had the dark hair and blue eyes thing going on. Way more my type.”
“Until you found out he was a useless idiot, that is.” I swirled the brown liquid around my glass.
“Yes. He crushed the teenage me with the reality of who he is,” she said with dramatic flair. “Although, to be fair, if he treated me the way he treats Carla, I’d be in heaven. I wasn’t the right woman for him.” She sighed and looked at Rich. “Your sister was.” She switched out Rich’s wet napkin for a dry one.
“Have you considered leaving Frazier Falls? You know … fish from a different creek?” I asked.
She looked at me, as surprised as Lucy had been when I’d asked her when she got married. She blushed a little as she looked away.
“Sometimes, but I like it here. This is home, and the people are family.”
“Yeah,” I laughed. “Inbreeding is still illegal.”
She pulled an ice cube from the bin and tossed it at me. “I can’t help but sometimes feel like I’m stuck here, and that I should go see the world, but what then? I know me, and I’d only want to come back home.”
“The rest of the world is overrated,” I tossed back.
“Says the guy who didn’t even leave the state for college.” Rich sank straight into the Cooper quicksand. He was sinking in deep into our family unit. There wasn’t much he didn’t know about us, but the tables weren’t reversed. While he was learning about everyone else, he didn’t divulge much about himself.
“What can I say?” I shrugged. “I’m a creature of habit.”
Ruth burst out laughing. “Paxton, you should speak more often. You’re kind of cute when you do.”
“Cuter when he’s not so chatty,” Rich added. “Talks straight through movies. Annoying as hell.”
“Who visits who all the time?” I turned toward him. Since I couldn’t get my brothers to come up for air, I was forced to hang out with Rich. It wasn’t a punishment as the guy was cool, but there was no way I was taking the heat for being the needy one in this relationship.
He slung his arm around my shoulders and gave it a squeeze. “Aww, don’t be like that. You know you love me.”
I gave him a sideways glance. “How are you drunk already?”
“I’m not.”
“Ruth, does this look like a drunk man to you?” I asked her, pointing at Rich with my thumb.
“Definitely drunk.”
“Hey, that hurts.” He swayed in his seat. “I thought you had my back.”
“The only time I’m touching your back is when I shove you out the door.” I tossed back a gulp.
Ruth was distracted by another customer signaling for attention at the bar, so she excused herself to serve them. Rich let go of me, returning to his previous slouching, head-on-fist-on-table position. He looked at me, uncharacteristically serious.
“You’re okay, though, right?”
I frowned. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
“I heard she made you cry.”
I shifted my feet uncomfortably. “My brothers are telling too many stories. Besides, we were twelve.”
“That’s not what I heard. Those stories follow you to thirteen, fourteen, and—”
“I get it. But she left me alone when we got into high school, so it’s all good.”
“Yeah, and then Brady Huck happened,” Rich grumbled. “Prick. Why didn’t you tell Eli and Owen about the full extent of that? Even Carla knew he bothered you for almost all of your junior year.”
I shrugged. “Why didn’t Owen tell anyone about his panic attacks? Because he was embarrassed. Why would I bother them with high school drama? They’d already lived it on their own.”
“I’d say it was a little more serious than high school drama. I’m sorry you had a terrible adolescence.”
“It’s high school. Was yours much better?”
Rich let out a chuckle. “Can’t say I’d go back again. High school sucked.”
“Let’s leave it in the past.”
By the time I returned home with a drunk Rich in tow, I was thoroughly ready to crash. Rich threw himself on the couch despite the fact I had a spare room and was asleep in seconds. I got him a glass of water and some painkillers, placing them on the coffee table to find in the morning.
After I stripped off my clothes and got into bed, I couldn’t help but search for the high school photos someone had recently posted to social media in order to make fun of Carla’s tomboy years in preparation for her wedding. It was easy to spot myself in the back row of one.
I was the one that looked like he wanted to m
elt into the wall. I always stood as far away from Brady Huck as I could.
In the front row was Rose. Our high school had been so small that all classes took photos together, which annoyed me only because of her. She was dressed in her cheerleader uniform, with perfect red lips and her long, sandy-colored hair tied up high in a ponytail. I remember it swishing from side to side as she walked down the school’s corridor.
“Face of the devil,” I said, turning off my cell phone screen and abandoning it on my bedside table.
There was no denying that Rose had been a beautiful girl, but what was frustrating was how she had somehow gotten even better looking. How she flew from New York in heels, a backless dress, and that ever-present red lipstick still perfectly in place was beyond me, but damn if she didn’t look great.
“A bitch is still a bitch,” I murmured, not feeling the least bit bad for saying something so brutal.
If there was one person I was allowed to hate until the end of my days, it was Rose.
Chapter Six
Rose
“Carla.”
I rushed in to give my old friend a crushing hug. We hadn’t seen each other for a few years, and catching up was long overdue.
“What’s it been, like, four years?” she asked, grinning as she messed up my hair, and I shied away from the action.
“Five, actually. Stop acting like my big brother or something. You’re only a year older than me, and you’re a woman, for goodness’ sake.”
“I was a woman back then too,” she countered, taking her hand back as we strolled along Main Street in Frazier Falls.
“Yeah, but you were such a tomboy. It felt natural, especially with everyone calling you Carl and mistaking you for a guy half the time. “Now it feels weird. It’s like you are my mother or big sister since you are older and wearing a dress and makeup. Your hair is even brushed and styled.”
She let out a laugh the way some men let out a burp. Loud and unexpected. “I suppose I didn’t care much for my appearance back then, did I?”
“Not in the slightest.”
“At least now we don’t look so out of place next to each other.”
I had to hand it to her—she had finally developed a sense of style I could get behind. Her long, wavy, dark brown hair hung loosely around her face, cascading down her back. Her green off-the-shoulder dress hugged her figure where it cinched in at the waist, and floated out around the skirt. Her legs were so long she didn’t need to wear heels. I would have been envious if I wasn’t so damn happy for her; to snag a man and a Cooper at that.
Thankfully, my new clothes had arrived, so I wasn’t stuck in pajamas or that backless blue dress. Donning a gypsy-style outfit and heeled ankle boots, I resembled a woman on-trend. Appearances had always been important to me. Not sure why, but somehow my value was connected to other’s opinions.
“Did you dress up for me, or do you dress like this all the time?” Seeing her look feminine was an odd sensation. It reminded me that everyone grew up and changed—had I?
“I’m still in my favorite oil-stained overalls when I’m working at the mill, but it’s all dresses and styled hair the rest of the time. Most of my work involves speaking in professional settings now. I’m the face and voice of the Green House Project.”
“I can’t believe how well you and Owen have been doing this past year—both in business and personally. That was fast.”
She rolled her eyes. “I don’t care if it seems fast. The two of us knew. Owen is the last person anyone in Frazier Falls would’ve pegged as a ‘he knew’ kind of person, but he did, and neither of us wanted to waste more time. We have lives to live and love to share.”
Happiness looked good on my friend. Love did crazy shit to people. In Carla’s case, it made her wear makeup and dress better. Seeing how beautiful she was now, made me thankful she hadn’t taken an interest in girlie things before. Instead of a friend, I would have had a rival.
“I wasn’t judging,” I replied, though, in truth, I had been. It was warmer in Frazier Falls than it was in New York. A bead of sweat ran down my forehead, so we detoured into Sugar’s Sweet Shop to buy an ice cream. “I couldn’t believe I got your invitation to be one of your bridesmaids.”
“As you pointed out, I was an odd bird and had a small circle of friends. You were definitely top of my list.”
“Only one on your list.”
“Not true. I could have asked Alice Bransen or Judy Flanagan.”
“True, but you’d have to allow for those red Converses from Alice and the whir of the oxygen tank from Judy. Both accessories hard to work around if you had a specific theme in mind.”
“Always the fashionista. Weren’t you with someone this past year?” she asked. “James or Jack or something?”
“Um, James. We broke up. I caught him cheating on me.”
“Ouch.” She looked at the ice cream case in front of us, moving right to left to take in all the flavors.
“He said that we were never exclusive. What he meant was he was never exclusive. I’ve always been a one-man woman.”
She scrunched her nose. “That’s even worse.”
“I know, right? Complete scum bag.”
“Good to see you’re handling it well.” She laughed before turning to the counter in Sugar’s to order. “Hey, Sugar, can I have a double salted caramel and chocolate fudge cone, and—” Carla looked at me.
“A single strawberry cone for me, please.” I shook my head. “I don’t understand where you put all those calories. You’ve been addicted to sugar ever since you were a kid.” I remembered her mom giving her a dollar to get milk at the store, and she’d buy a bag of penny candy with it. Fifty pieces of pure sugar she’d eat before she made it home.
“Hard labor at the mill keeps me in shape. I should watch what I eat now that I spend more time in meetings, but the weather is improving, and I can swim in the creek with Owen, among other things.” A dreamy expression floated across her face.
“I bet it’s the other things you really enjoy. You don’t really swim in the creek, do you? That’s your strange metaphor for something else, right?”
With our cones in our hands, we made our way back onto the hot sidewalk, moving toward the park.
“We do. The first dip in the water happened when we were drunk,” she replied, eyes hungrily examining where to lick her ice cream first. “But after that, it was for fun and exercise. That pool under the falls is the best. Sometimes I race him to the bend, but I always win. He says he lets me.”
“That’s cute.”
As soon as the words came out, they sounded like a déjà vu moment. Hadn’t Nick said something similar before my failed date with James?
Clearly, my breakup had made me cynical, and innocent words became daggers to my soul, not good form in the run-up to Carla’s wedding.
“I don’t care if it’s cheesy or not; we enjoy ourselves.”
“I have no doubt.” My tongue flicked out to catch the melting ice cream before it ran down the cone. “Tell me … what’s he like in the bedroom?”
Carla choked in response. “What?”
“Aww, come on, we’re not in high school. This is grown-up girl talk.”
She smiled, and a hint of pink colored her cheeks. “What do you think?” she said suggestively. “He’s well-built and strong and tall and—”
“Okay, okay, maybe I don’t want to know. Jealousy was never a good color on me.” I laughed. “What you’re alluding to is he’s a great lay.”
“That’s a crude way to put it.”
“Doesn’t make it any less true.” I’d been gone so long, and there was a lot to catch up on. I was going to get all the latest gossip I could from her. “I heard Eli recently got a girlfriend.”
“He did. Emily’s great. She’s Irish and judgmental as hell, just like him. She spent the last fifteen years living in California, so she’s still adjusting to life here. I think you’d like her.”
I smiled. She definitely s
ounded like someone I could get along with. Anyone with enough patience to deal with a Cooper was good in my book. “It sounds like the Cooper brothers are slowly but surely getting tied down. Never thought I’d see the day.”
“Yep, that leaves Pax as the last one standing. Means he’s next,” Carla said.
We reached the fountain in the middle of the park and sat down, enjoying the sun on our faces as we ate our melting ice cream.
“That will be the day,” I mocked. “Pretty Princess Paxton in a relationship? Give me a break.”
“I haven’t heard you call him that since we were twelve.”
The name had literally come to be because of his ridiculously pretty eyes. That was the extent of my creativity as a child when it came to nicknames. That and Piss Your Pants Paxton, which I regretted since the day I vomited that one out. Poor guy had spilled a drink, and I made everyone believe something different.
Carla continued, “Ever think it’s about time to stop picking on him?”
“I haven’t picked on him in years. It would be simple to continue, though, because he’s such an easy target.”
“What do you mean?”
“He was mowing the lawn for my mom the other day and was as silent and moody as he was back in school.”
“Really?”
I cocked my head to the side. “Does that surprise you?”
“It’s just—” Her eyes grew wide. “Speak of the devil …”
I followed her line of sight and saw him walking along like he didn’t have a care in the world. To my displeasure, Carla waved him over. “Hey, Pax. Over here.”
He looked to Carla and nodded. When his eyes moved to me, his shoulders sagged. I could almost see him calculating whether he could get away with a quick escape and evade or if he was stuck.
He moved hesitantly before shifting in our direction. His eyes were focused on Carla while he completely ignored me. I had to pinch myself to make sure I was there. As he neared, he did more than smile at Carla; he lit up like high beams on a dark highway.
His was a massive, dazzling grin that made my heart beat faster, and my insides turn to pudding.
Defend Me: A Frazier Falls Novel Page 4