“Go for it all you want. He’s a spoiled only child and his mother constantly contributes to his issues. Until he gets a backbone, I don’t foresee anything changing. In the meantime, we keep hoping Paige will let go of whatever obligation she feels to stick with the dork and move on.” Dave finished carving the turkey and washed his hands. “Follow me with the spuds. We should be all ready to eat.”
Cooper carried the bowl of potatoes to the table. Thanks to Randi’s quick intervention, he found himself sitting beside Paige while Dexter glared at him from the other side of table. After Dave asked a blessing on the meal and they passed the food around, Cooper looked across the table. He bit his tongue to keep a snappy comment from rolling out of his mouth.
An open pillbox sat in front of Dexter as he carefully plucked out a handful of pills. He lined them up on his plate then began swallowing them one at a time with tiny sips of water. Cooper had seen toddlers at the hospital take pills with more ease and grace than the man across from him.
Cooper made the mistake of glancing at Dave. When his host tipped his head toward Dexter and pulled a funny face, he fought back the urge to laugh.
“So, Poindexter, what is it you do?” he asked, ignoring the way Paige stiffened beside him and his grandfather shot him warning looks.
“It’s Dexter. Not Dex. Not Poindexter. Just Dexter. Dexter Woods. I’m a security operations analyst for a firm in Portland.” He placed another pill on his tongue.
“What does a security operations analyst for a firm in Portland do?” Cooper asked, watching as Dexter tipped his head back and worked to take the pill. The sight put him in mind of a pelican trying to swallow a fish bigger than it could handle as Dexter’s Adam’s apple bobbed up and down above his bow tie. If he dared look at Dave or Randi he’d burst out laughing, so he continued observing Dexter’s odd behavior.
Finally, Dexter got the pill down. “I detect and prevent cyber threats to our systems.”
“How does that work, exactly?” Cooper felt something hit his leg and dropped his gaze to Paige as she tried to kick him again beneath the table. He grinned at her then looked back at Dexter. “How do you detect and prevent cyber threats?”
“By analyzing the software, hardware, and networks.” Dexter gingerly placed the last pill on his tongue and took another sip of water.
Unable to watch him without snickering, Cooper looked down at his plate and forked a bite of sweet potato casserole.
“It sounds fascinating,” he said, winking at Paige as he took a bite.
Dave asked Nick about the ranch and Randi questioned Cooper about the places he planned to travel in the coming year.
Paige remained oddly quiet while Dexter slowly ate the food on his plate. Other than a pile of mashed potatoes he turned gray with pepper, and a large helping of green beans, he ignored the feast around him.
“Aren’t you hungry, Dex?” Cooper asked as he helped himself to another fluffy dinner roll.
“Dexter has food allergies,” Paige said, frowning at Cooper as he slathered jam over the bread. “And he’s also on a vegan diet.”
“I see,” Cooper said, taking a big bite of the roll to keep a snarky remark from surfacing. He was pleased to see Paige eating a normal meal, even if her idiot boyfriend picked at his food like a fussy four-year-old.
“Everything is delicious,” Nick said, smiling at Randi. “Thank you, again, for inviting us. If you hadn’t, we might have resorted to frozen dinners.”
“That would never do,” she said. “It’s our pleasure to have you both here.” Randi looked at Dave for agreement.
“Absolutely! We’re so glad you could join us.” Dave smirked at Cooper. “The bacon on those green beans you brought is so good. Do you raise your own pork?”
Dexter’s eyes bugged and he stared at the green beans on his plate as though they’d turned into some sort of alien monster. He lifted his glass of water and chugged half of it, then glowered at Cooper. “You put bacon on the green beans?”
“Of course! That’s the only way to eat them. You simmer the beans in a little bacon grease then crumble in some nice crispy pieces and add a little onion. Mmm, mmm. That’s the best way to serve green beans, and it’s how my grandma always made them.”
Dexter muttered something and used his knife to shove the remainder of his green beans onto his unused bread plate.
“Oh, golly, I guess you can’t eat ‘em since you do that vegan thing,” Cooper said, wondering if Paige was trying to permanently maim him as she kicked him two more times beneath the table. It was a good thing she sat beside him instead of across from him where she might have inflicted real damage.
Randi hopped up from the table and made some flimsy excuse about needing to get something. She rushed over to the refrigerator where she proceeded to fill a bowl with ice cubes from the maker in the door. As the ice clattered out, it didn’t quite conceal her giggles.
Cooper smiled and looked back at Dave. “To answer your question, we don’t raise our own pork, but Gramps does raise some mighty fine beef. If you want to sink your teeth into the best steak you’ll ever taste, come on out to the ranch sometime. There is nothing like a thick steak, cooked just past rare, so when you cut into it all that delicious pink juice pools on your plate.”
While his skin took on a slightly green hue, Dexter glugged water like a dehydrated camel.
“We’d really like that,” Dave said, nodding at Cooper and then Nick. “It’d be fun to see your place. Or is it called a spread?”
“It’s actually called Joyland Acres,” Nick said, watching Dexter with a hint of concern and a generous amount of humor.
“Joyland?” Paige asked, looking at Nick. “That’s a different name.”
He smiled at her. “My great-great-grandmother picked that name when she and my great-great-grandfather settled there back in the 1800s. The land has been in our family for more than a hundred years. Great-grandma said their strength to turn the land into a home would come from their joy in working a place with so much potential. So they called it Joyland.”
“That’s a great story,” Randi said, returning to the table with a bowl of ice that no one needed. “So is it a farm or a ranch?”
“Ranch. We mostly raise beef cattle and their feed, but we have a cherry orchard, too.”
“Really? That’s awesome,” Randi said, looking around Dexter to see Nick.
Cooper smiled at his grandfather. “My great-grandparents planted the cherry trees and Gramps can’t quite bring himself to take them out, so we’re probably one of the few cattle ranches that also dabble in raising cherries.”
“Are they sweet cherries or pie cherries?” Randi questioned.
“Luscious, dark, sweet cherries that are so juicy, just looking at one of the ripe little beauties hanging from a tree branch will make your mouth water,” Cooper said, fixating on Paige’s lips. They’d reminded him of his grandfather’s cherries from the first moment he saw her and after tasting them, he’d concluded they were even sweeter.
When her gaze fused to his, he forgot about anyone else being there, forgot her boyfriend sat across the table. All he wanted to do was take her in his arms and kiss those tempting lips again.
Mindful of his thoughts and the fact he and Paige were subtly leaning toward each other, he turned back to Dave.
“Tell me more about the type of wine you produce. I don’t know a lot about the process.”
More than happy to share his passion for his work, Dave answered all of Cooper’s questions about the winery.
Once the meal was over and everyone helped carry the dishes into the kitchen, Randi asked Dexter if he could look at the computer in her office while Dave invited Nick to go out to the garage to look at a woodworking project.
Clearly uncomfortable to remain alone with Cooper, Paige started scooping leftovers into containers.
Cooper helped, sidling close to her and inhaling her tantalizing scent. Tension rode her movements and he held back a laugh after sh
e dropped three rolls in succession onto the floor.
He set down the bowl in his hands and took the resealable bag out of hers. Before she could protest, he guided her down the hall to the door and draped his coat around her shoulders, then pushed her outside.
Although it was cool, he wouldn’t freeze in his shirtsleeves. Paige shivered in his coat and he didn’t know if it was from the cold or his presence. When she tipped her face to one side and sniffed his coat collar, he hid a gratified grin.
Maybe she liked him more than she let on.
“Paige,” he said, his voice husky and resonate.
When she turned and looked at him with a soft, inviting light in her eyes, he gave up any plans of keeping his distance.
In one forward step, he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her against his chest. The moment his lips settled on hers, she squirmed against him. Immediately, he let her go, hurt she’d push him away so rapidly. He hoped he’d at least get in a kiss or two before she pretended she didn’t like it. From their past kisses, he knew she greatly enjoyed them.
Much to his pleased surprise, she let his coat drop to the porch floor, freeing her hands to slide up his arms and wrap around the back of his neck.
When she tugged his head down to hers, he kissed her with a hungry, driven need that only she could fulfill. He lifted her off her feet and held her close as he lavished kisses on her cheeks, along her jaw, and repeatedly claimed her mouth as his own.
“Cooper,” she whispered on a moan that made him kiss her with fierce longing.
Finally coming to his senses, he gave her one last, quick kiss then set her back on her feet.
“Now that we’ve got that out of the way,” he teased, keeping his arms around her as she gazed at him with a dreamy expression on her face. “Paige, you are killing me. How can you kiss me like that and claim to be in love with Poindexter?”
The dreamy look fled and her vision cleared as her gaze narrowed.
“What are you doing dating that dufus in there?” Cooper pressed.
“Dexter isn’t a dufus. He’s highly intelligent and excels at his job.” Paige might have spoken in her boyfriend’s defense, but she didn’t make any move to leave the circle of Cooper’s arms.
“It’s painful to watch him, PP. He’s like an overgrown child parading as a grown up. He’s got to be what, about thirty?”
At her curt nod, he continued. “Whatever it is you think you owe him, whatever obligation you feel toward him, get over it. Stop wasting your time with him.” He nuzzled her neck. “Waste your time with me, sugar. I promise it will be well-wasted.”
Her posture went ramrod straight. “It really isn’t any of your business, Mr. James,” Paige said, stepping out of his grasp. The cool reserve he’d seen earlier settled back into place. “And I’ll thank you not to throw yourself at me in the future.”
“Throw myself at you?” Cooper scoffed. “I’ve never thrown myself at any woman and you sure aren’t gonna be the first. Do whatever you like with whomever you like. It’s no skin off my nose.”
He grabbed his coat and strode inside the house. Unable to be around Paige and watch her baby her idiot boyfriend any longer, he thanked Dave and Randi for a lovely meal, then marched his grandfather out the door.
“Thanks again for the meal,” he called, waving at Randi and Dave as they walked out on the porch.
Paige remained rooted to the spot she’d been in after he’d kissed her.
An odd sense of satisfaction settled over him as he glanced in the rear view mirror and saw her watching him drive away.
Chapter Thirteen
“Who’d you say was coming for lunch today, Gramps, besides the usual suspects?” Cooper asked as he set three additional plates on the dining room table.
“I didn’t.” Nick winked at his grandson as he stirred a pot of chili in the open, airy kitchen.
Last spring, they’d knocked out the wall between the kitchen and dining room, creating one big light-filled space they both liked.
Cooper straightened and stared at the older man. “Are you gonna tell me?”
Nick shook his head. “Nope. I’m not. You’ll find out soon enough.” He gave Cooper an observant look. “But you might want to take a shower before they get here. You smell like you’ve been wrestling with the bulls.”
“Maybe that’s because I was,” he said, glancing down at his manure-flecked jeans. “I wish they’d learn to play nice with each other instead of getting into shoving matches. Doctoring a cantankerous bull isn’t high on my list of fun activities.”
“I appreciate you helping the boys while I made lunch. Now, hurry it up or you’ll still be in the shower when our company arrives.”
Cooper started for the stairs and looked back at Nick. “And the mysterious company would be…?”
Nick shook a spoon at him. “Still not telling. Go!”
Cooper chuckled as he took the back stairs two at a time and hurried into his bathroom. He took a quick shower and shaved, since he hadn’t bothered to do so since Christmas. Thoughts of meeting Paige’s boyfriend made anger and jealousy simmer bitterly in his stomach. The woman was nothing but trouble. In fact, after she accused him of throwing himself at her, he was through wasting another moment of thought on her.
Because of her, he’d most likely suffer acute humiliation when all his friends saw him, in particular his jean-clad posterior, in a bunch of advertisements next year in Las Vegas.
He’d back out of the deal, but he’d given his word, even if he hadn’t yet signed on the dotted line.
Maybe he could make Paige angry enough she’d let him off the hook. As Cooper hurried to dress, he thought about the ludicrous amount of money the designer was willing to pay. Truthfully, he couldn’t turn it down.
Although their ranch did well, it would be stupid to turn his back on that kind of money. With what he made from the one modeling gig, they could purchase a new piece of equipment, implement changes to their cattle herd that he and his grandfather had discussed, or build the new hay shed Gramps had been talking about the past year.
No, Cooper wasn’t in a position to turn down the money. Additionally, he wanted to see Paige again, no matter how much it galled him to admit it.
The woman had somehow worked her way under his skin. Despite how much he denied it, he kind of liked having her there.
At the sound of the doorbell ringing, Cooper tamped his feet into boots and snatched a shirt from his closet. On the way down the stairs, he slipped his arms through the sleeves and threaded a belt through the loops of his jeans.
His grandfather always invited a few of his friends to join them for New Year’s Day lunch. Gramps would spend all morning making his signature chili and cornbread. Cooper would grill steaks, and they’d add a salad to keep the meal from being a complete meat fest. Then Gramps and his buddies would sit around all afternoon talking about the good old days and asking Cooper about his rodeo plans for the coming year.
As he hurried down the stairs to the kitchen, he pondered who his grandfather had asked to join them, but knew he’d soon find out.
Nick walked into the room with Randi, Dave and Paige following him.
Caught off guard, Cooper lingered on the bottom step, staring at the woman who’d insulted him a week ago.
“Hey,” he said, gathering his composure as he strode forward, holding out a hand to Dave in greeting. “Nice to see you all here. Welcome to the ranch.”
“We were so excited Nick invited us to come today. It’s so nice of you to have us for a meal,” Randi said, taking a chocolate cake from Paige and setting it on the counter while Dave set down what appeared to be some sort of vegetable dish.
Paige lingered behind them, although her gaze bore into Cooper’s chest. It was then he realized he hadn’t yet fastened his shirt.
Hurriedly, he snapped it and stuffed the tails into the waistband of his jeans. “Did you guys do anything fun last night?”
Dave shook his head and jabbed
a thumb over his shoulder at Paige. “This one was asleep before nine and Randi wasn’t far behind her. It was a quiet evening at the Martin household.”
Cooper grinned. “Gramps was just turning out his lights when I headed out to celebrate last night.”
“Yeah, and you woke me up when you got in this morning. What time was that, anyway?” Nick asked, pulling the cornbread out of the oven.
“Around two.” Cooper glanced toward the hall as the doorbell rang again. “Excuse me,” he said to their guests then hurried toward the door.
Nick introduced Randi, Dave and Paige to his friends. The older men, all widowers, dug out their best smiles for the young women and kept them entertained with stories while Cooper took steaks outside to grill.
He returned to the kitchen with a platter piled high with juicy, savory meat and set it on the table. Nick removed a green salad from the refrigerator while Cooper ladled the chili into a serving bowl and set it on the table.
“Let’s all take a seat so we can dig in,” Nick said, making sure Paige sat next to Cooper with Randi and Dave across from them. Inordinately pleased with himself, he asked a blessing on the meal. As soon as the last “amen” faded, the food was passed from one guest to the next.
Paige dipped a small serving of chili into the soup bowl next to her plate and took a tentative taste. “Mmm, that’s good,” she said, smiling at Nick.
“It’s a secret family recipe,” Nick said, with a broad grin.
“The only secret is what brand of chili you buy, because you peel the labels off the can, you ol’ coot,” one of Nick’s friends teased.
“I add my own meat and spices,” Nick retorted.
“That much is true,” Cooper said, accepting the platter of steak when Nick handed it to him. He took one and held it out to Paige.
“Are there any that are well done?” she asked, casting a wary glance at the pink juice pooling on the platter.
Barreling Through Christmas: (Sweet Western Holiday Romance) (Rodeo Romance Book 4) Page 14