Say I'm Yours

by Michaels, Corinne

  I’m so screwed.

  “Ready?” Cooper asks, bringing my attention back to him.

  “For our friend date,” I remind him.

  “For our date, date.”

  I grab my sweater and mumble under my breath. “Whatever you need to tell yourself, buddy.”

  He laughs from behind me and places his hand on my back. I lock the door and then Cooper helps me into his truck. This is the reason I don’t wear dresses. All the boys have these giant ass trucks, which require them to hoist you into the cab. I swear it’s a conscious thing.

  “Okay,” he says as he gets in the cab. “No backing out now.”

  I shake my head and smirk. “Drive, Cooper.”

  “If you insist.”

  We head down the road and make small talk. He tells me about the herd that he needs to move tomorrow and how the farm is doing. I talk a little about how excited I am for next year. After teaching third grade for the last eight years I’m finally moving to teaching fifth grade. I’m actually looking forward to school starting because this will be fun. I get to see some of the kids I had a few years ago and teach a new curriculum.

  “It sounds like you’re happy,” he notes.

  “I really am. I’ve been stuck in the same lesson plans and grading scale for a long time. I love the kids, that hasn’t ever been the issue, but I don’t know . . .” I trail off. “I’m bored a little. Getting to find a new way to teach something excites me.”

  He smiles and takes my hand. “I’m glad we’re doin’ this. I’m glad you agreed.”

  “I was somewhat coerced.”

  “Same difference.” He shrugs. “Even if I get my ass kicked,” Cooper adds under his breath.

  “What does that mean?”

  He cracks his neck but keeps his eyes on the road. “Just that I’m sure I’ll have a visit to my house pretty soon. There’s no way Trent is happy about me takin’ you out.”

  I groan. “No. He isn’t.”

  Cooper’s eyes meet mine for a second. “How do you know that?”

  Shit. Now, I’ve kind of screwed myself into telling him. I take a few seconds to think about what exactly I want to say. “Well, he stopped by my house today.”

  “And?” Cooper presses.

  “And he said as much.” I think back to what my mother always says: less is more. I’m going to stick to the facts and leave out the whole business of my letting him maul me on the couch.

  “Oh,” Cooper says as his head turns back to the road. And a moment later, a loud bang sounds. The truck shifts, but Cooper gets it over to the side of the road safely. “Dammit!” he bellows. “I’ll be right back.”

  He exits the truck, and I try to think of how to take back the admission of Trent coming over. I hear Cooper cuss a few times as he drops the tailgate and then slams it closed again.

  This can’t be good.

  I get out and head back toward him as he continues to mumble.

  “Everything okay?” I ask.

  “Blew a tire.”

  “Oh, well, just change it and we can be on our way.”

  He huffs. “Don’t have a spare.”

  “Why?” I’m trying really hard to hold back my amusement at the situation.

  “Because I had to haul hay today,” Cooper explains, obviously expecting me to connect nonexistent dots.

  “And that means no tire?”

  His hands grip the side of the truck so hard his knuckles turn white, and he dips his head. “It means I was in a hurry to shower and get done. It means my dumb ass forgot to put it back in. Karma for saran wrapping Presley’s car has finally caught up to me.”

  And my self-control is gone. I lose it. Completely and utterly lose it. The giggling becomes so much that tears are falling from my eyes. I clutch my stomach and try to get a hold of myself, but I can’t. I hear Cooper start to follow suit, and then we’re both hysterical.

  “You,” I lean forward, trying to catch my breath, “forgot the tire!” I struggle to catch my breath as I wipe the tears. “Because that’s what would happen on our first date!”

  Cooper comes around and grips my shoulders as I start to get myself under control. “I’ll call my sister.”

  That sobers me. “Who will what? Have her husband come out?”

  He closes his eyes. “It’s better than the alternative.”

  This couldn’t be any more comical. Our choices are: call Zach, who could quite possibly be with his brothers, or call the sheriff, who is the brother we’re avoiding.

  My hands rest on Cooper’s chest, and I giggle again. “You have to admit this is funny.”

  “Maybe a little.”

  “Or a lot.”

  Cooper shakes his head. “This isn’t exactly the way I thought our first date would go.”

  “Really?” I joke. “What did you think?”

  He smirks. “For starters, we’d actually make it to dinner.”

  “That would’ve been a good start, what else?”

  His eyes warm as I try to lighten the mood. “We’d have gone for a walk.”

  “Well, we may be doing that as it is if we don’t get help out here.”

  He nods. “Let’s make sure that part doesn’t happen. I’ll call Pres, and then maybe we can still salvage our night.”

  I’m not sure what we can save, but I appreciate that he cares. I try not to let my mind wander down the path that our blowing a tire is another sign. Considering I kissed another man tonight already, maybe the universe is trying to stop me from being a little bit of a hussy.

  “All right,” I acquiesce.

  Cooper squeezes my arm and then heads toward the truck. I lean against the back end and shake my head. I’m pretty sure tonight should make the top list of worst dates ever. First, Trent showed up, messed with my head from all his mixed signals, and then left with such a heavy sadness in his eyes. Then I could barely breathe when I was getting ready. And sure, Cooper brought me flowers, but then this whole tire thing is unbelievable. I’ve been hesitant about dating anyone, but I hoped that maybe, this could be different for me.

  Out of those things, Trent upsets me the most. There was something about the way he looked at me that I can’t shake. It’s that in all the times we’ve had our ups and downs, I’ve not once seen his eyes so sad. It was as if he were accepting our goodbye as what it was . . . the end.

  A shiver runs through me, and I start to head back to the cab, but I see a car approaching. “Coop! We might be saved!”

  I turn toward the back of the truck, and my stomach drops as the silhouette of a light bar comes into view.

  We’re not saved, we’re freaking screwed.

  I watch as the headlights approach and a tall form exits the car. I pray it isn’t him. I’m begging God to give me Hank and not Trent.

  “Everything all right here?” Trent’s deep voice rings through the silence.

  No. Everything is not all right. In fact, it went from bad to worse.

  “Of all the places you happen to drive past tonight, this is one of them?” I ask with a little too much hostility.

  Trent hooks his thumbs into his belt and cocks his head to the side. Cooper walks back, stopping short when he sees who’s standing in front of me. Both men are silent as they measure each other and testosterone fills the air. This is going to go really bad, really fast.

  “Cooper,” I step between them, “was callin’ for some assistance. Thanks for comin’ out, Sheriff, but we’re fine.”

  Trent looks over at me and then back to Cooper. “It’s gettin’ dark,” Trent says. “Were you callin’ for someone to change your tire? What? Don’t want to get dirty?”

  Cooper’s eyes narrow slightly. “The spare is at the farm. I left a message with Zach to bring it out.”

  Trent’s smile widens. “Well, Zach is headin’ out with Presley to get a new horse, and they won’t be back for a few hours.”

  My head falls back as I look to the heavens for support. “This can’t be happening.”
<
br />   “Let me guess,” Cooper adds. “Wyatt is busy, too?”

  “Yup,” Trent confirms. Bastard is a little too happy about this. “But listen, we can call a tow truck, and then I’ll drive you both back home.”

  “Just take me back to my car, and I’ll bring the spare out,” I suggest.

  Cooper sighs and shakes his head. “Your trunk isn’t big enough.”

  Yes, because boys and their big ridiculous wheels. “Right.”

  Trent smirks and touches my shoulder. “I’m happy to give you a ride back to town.”

  Sure, nothing like an awkward car ride with Trent and Cooper in the cop car.

  “No,” Cooper says without any room for discussion.

  “So, you’d rather stand out here or walk back to town?”

  I would rather lightning come and strike me dead so I didn’t have to be the monkey in the middle of this, but it seems I’m not going to have a choice. Trent and Cooper both keep making small movements, and my space is shrinking. All I want to do right now is go home and eat a pint of ice cream.

  Rocky road has never let a girl down.

  I turn slightly and place my hand on Cooper’s chest. “I know we didn’t expect this to happen, but I’m not really wearin’ the shoes to walk back.”

  He looks at my strappy heels and sighs. I hate this as much as he does, but short of waiting for someone else to show up, there aren’t any other choices.

  “We’d appreciate a ride back, Trent.” Cooper says through gritted teeth.

  Trent nods and attempts to smother his delight. But I see it.

  “I’ll grab your stuff from the truck,” Cooper says before walking away.

  I stand face to face with Trent and fight the urge to slap the smug grin off his face. “Good time on your date?”

  “Shut up. You could at least pretend not to look so happy about this.” I huff. He seems to be enjoying every second of this.

  He starts to chuckle but stops when he gets a look at my face. “Oh, please. If the roles were reversed right now, you can’t say you wouldn’t be the same.”

  “What happened to the ‘be happy, Gracie’?” I say in my best impression of his.

  Trent steps closer. “I want you to be happy. I just want it to be . . .”

  Cooper steps behind me. “Ready.”

  “Great.” Trent smiles. “Happy to help a resident in need.”

  Right.

  We walk over to the car, and Trent opens the back of the cop car. “Grace can ride in front.”

  “I’ll get—” I start to say.

  “In the front,” Trent ends my sentence. “Cooper wouldn’t want you to be uncomfortable back there, would he?”

  Way to back him into a corner on that one, Trent.

  I fight back the urge to roll my eyes.

  “Of course not,” Cooper replies through his teeth as he slides into the cruiser. “You should ride up front.”

  “Problem solved.” Trent slams the door closed a bit harder than he needs to.

  We walk around the back of the car, and I warn him. “Don’t be a jerk, Trent. I’m begging you. This is awkward for all of us.”

  “Not for me.” He grins as he opens my door. “Get in, sweetheart. I’ll have you home in no time.”

  Instead of arguing with him, I do as he says.

  “Sorry about this, Coop,” Trent says over my shoulder and then saunters around the car with a little extra pep in his step. I glare at him.

  “Sure you are,” Cooper mutters under his breath.

  This has to be some cruel joke. My ex-boyfriend is driving my current date home in the back of a squad car. Because . . . why the hell not?

  “I’ll drop you off first, Gracie. That way I can take Cooper back out with his spare.”

  “Or you can take us both to Cooper’s so we can get his spare.”

  “Grace,” Cooper says from behind the glass. “It’s fine, darlin’. We can do this another night.”

  Trent snorts, and I slap his leg. “Are you sure? I don’t mind comin’ back out so you’re not alone.”

  “What kind of sheriff would I be if I left him stranded out there?”

  “The jealous ex-boyfriend type,” I mutter, seeing straight through his act.

  “Don’t worry, Townsend. I won’t let anything hurt you out there.”

  I slap him again. “Can you be nice?”

  “What did I say?” he asks innocently. “I’m offering to protect your date from gettin’ mauled by a bear or God only knows what.”

  My hands tighten in my lap, and I swear this drive is taking longer than normal. Cooper looks out the back window with his head resting on his fist. It isn’t anyone’s fault this happened, but it still sucks. And making matters worse, Trent looks calm and relaxed. He starts to whistle and looks over to smile at me.

  I loathe him.

  We arrive at my house, and my stomach clenches. I shift in my seat to face Cooper. “Would you walk me to the door?” I ask.

  I need to salvage even a tiny bit of tonight.

  Yup. This is my life.

  “I can’t get out,” Cooper explains after he tries and fails to open his door.

  Trent clears his throat. “We don’t like to let the criminals have access to an escape.”

  “Well,” my voice grows hard, “Cooper isn’t a criminal, and you bein’ the helpful sheriff and all should have no problem lettin’ him out so he can walk me to the door, right?”

  I take a small amount of pride from being able to box him in at least once this evening. He can’t say no since it isn’t like anyone is under arrest, but at the same time, when he says yes, he’s admitting there’s no win for him. And he’ll have no choice but to wait for Cooper and me to finish saying our goodbyes.

  Take that, Trent Hennington.

  “No problem at all.”

  Trent lets Cooper exit, and we head toward my door. “I’m sorry,” he says looking over at Trent, who is leaning against the car watching us.

  “Don’t be. It wasn’t like you planned this.”

  Cooper takes my hands in his. “I know, but this couldn’t have gone any worse.”

  “Yeah, having to be rescued by my ex wasn’t high on the list of things I wanted to do today.”

  “Will you let me make this up to you?”

  The million-dollar question. I like Cooper. He’s been a friend forever, and my accepting a make-up date isn’t wrong. So, why does it feel like I’m cheating on Trent? It’s insane and completely ridiculous. My eyes drift over to where he stands. Trent’s eyes are unmoving as he stares at me. He doesn’t have to say a word. I hear him through the silence. He’s asking me to say no.

  “Please?” Cooper brushes his thumb across my knuckles. “I’m not blind, Grace. I see your hesitation. I’m asking for you to give this a fraction of a chance.”

  Trent clears his throat, and when my eyes find him again, all pretense of relaxation has melted away from his posture. “I hate to interrupt this”—his eyes flick to where Cooper’s hand is on mine—“touching scene, but I’m on duty, which means I need to get back to work.”

  I nod in his direction and turn back to Cooper. I’m not sure what about that statement helped me decide, but there’s no way I’m turning Cooper away tonight. Who knows if things might have been great had the tire not blown. I sure as hell don’t. But I do know that the man by the car has hurt me more times than I can count. I gave him a second chance and then a thirtieth chance. Cooper deserves at least one.

  “I would love to try again,” I say with a big smile.

  Chapter 7

  Trent

  I ’ve never been a possessive guy.

  I had two younger brothers who stole my toys, friends, and anything else they could grab. But we lived by a code when it came to girls. We would never go after a girl the other brother dated.

  I like to think of this as a man’s code. Something we all follow. I wouldn’t sleep with a married woman because that’s another man’s woman. It’s
wrong.

  Cooper is breaking every goddamn man code I know.

  He knows that Grace is mine.

  He just doesn’t give a shit.

  He climbs back in the cruiser after kissing Grace on the cheek. I swear I might have used deadly force if he touched her lips. The life sentence would’ve been worth it.

  We sit in silence as I try to assemble my thoughts. It’s high time I let him know what I think. I promised Grace I’d let her be, and I won’t break that promise, but I didn’t say shit about him.

  Once we’re out of the view of her house, I throw the car in park and turn to him.

  “What the hell?” he asks, trying to mask his surprise.

  “I figured it was time we had a talk.”

  I don’t know how this conversation will go, I didn’t plan very far ahead, but I’ve got things I need to say.

  “I don’t have anything to say to you,” Cooper glowers as he shifts in his seat. “I think we both know where we stand.”

  “Do we?” I push. “Because I can’t imagine you know where I stand.”

  Cooper has been a friend for my entire life, and what he’s doing is beyond fucked up. No, we’re not close anymore, but the line he’s crossing is unacceptable.

  “I know you’re pissed.”

  “Damn fucking right I am,” I bellow. “I can’t believe you would go after her. Her!”

  He raises a brow and smirks. “I didn’t go after her. You let her go, and I was there to catch her after you tossed her away.”

  Well, if that isn’t the equivalent to kicking me in the nuts, then I don’t know what is. He’s wrong, though. I didn’t toss her away—she left me. However, it doesn’t change the fact that she’s the girl I want. She’s the girl I love. She’s the girl I’m going to get back.

  “You and I both know who she belongs with.”

  “You don’t get it.” He lets out a bark of incredulous laughter. “You think this is a game? That I’m trying to take something that’s yours?” Cooper glares at me. “I don’t think she belongs with you. I think you had your chance.”