“I can’t leave. They might call me.”
He squeezed her. “Okay, I’ll get us a cup. You sit down, I’ll be right back.”
When Cooper returned, he handed her a cup of coffee and a pack of cheese crackers.
“You need to eat something,” he said. “Neither of us had dinner tonight.”
The thought of putting food into her mouth almost made her gag. She shook her head and sipped her coffee in silence. She checked her wrist- watch. “I wonder what’s taking so long?” she said.
“They’ll want to check her out completely, babe,” Cooper said. “Are you sure you won’t eat something?”
“I should have moved back in with her until her health improved,” Summer said, ignoring his question. “I can’t believe how selfish I’ve been.”
He looked confused. “Selfish? How?”
“After all she’s done for me, I should have seen to it personally that she was following doctor’s orders. She’s all I have. She took me in and raised me because my own parents didn’t want me. Her love was unconditional. I remember being happy as a young child.” She suddenly frowned.
“What is it?”
“Mrs. Bradshaw came into the picture when I was ten years old and things changed. Every time I did something wrong, she’d tell me I was going to grow up just like my mother.”
“No wonder you don’t like her.”
“You figured that out, huh? I was terrified of the woman while I was growing up, but mostly I was afraid she was right. I was afraid I’d grow up like my mother, bear a child out of wedlock, and shame my grandmother even worse.”
“I’d like to give old lady Bradshaw a piece of my mind. Did you tell your grandmother?” he asked.
Summer shook her head. “I did not want to make trouble. I just wanted to be a good girl and make my grandmother proud. I made all A’s in school and graduated the top of my class in college.”
Cooper took her hand in his and gazed at her palm as though it would point out her future. “Is that why you’ve been afraid of intimacy? Is that why you were so worried yesterday?”
She nodded as her eyes grew hot with tears. “I couldn’t bear the thought of bringing an unwanted child into the world, and I wasn’t in love with anyone or likely to be married anytime soon. The few times I even came close to making love, I backed out at the last minute. I garnered a reputation as being a tease. One by one, the men stopped calling. My grandmother thought it was because I was a workaholic. If only she knew.” Summer wiped her eyes.
“What made you choose to become intimate with me?” he asked, his voice no louder than a whisper.
She gazed at him thoughtfully. “I’m not sure. Maybe I got tired of pretending I didn’t need anyone. Yesterday, when you asked me to make love, my immediate reaction was to withdraw. Once you do it long enough, it becomes a habit. But then you kissed me, and I realized I’d been paying a high price for my parents’ sins,” she added on a grim note. “I have to forget the cruel things Mrs. Bradshaw said, not to mention the kids at my school.”
“Kids are cruel,” Cooper agreed. “I’ve been there.”
She looked at him. “Warren told me your father walked out on your mother when she was pregnant and you were a little boy.”
“Warren has a big mouth, but, yeah, that’s exactly what happened. I pretty much ignored the teasing, but not when it came to my sister, Ashlee. I bloodied a few noses over it.”
“Ms. Pettigrew?”
Summer snapped her head up at the mention of her name. She stood quickly and found herself facing a young female doctor in green surgical garb. “How’s my grandmother?” she asked quickly.
“Her EKG was normal. There was absolutely no sign of a heart attack. In fact, she says she’s never felt better.”
“When can I see her?”
“She should be coming out any minute.”
“You mean you’re releasing her?”
“I called her doctor. Neither of us saw any reason to admit her.”
Summer gave Cooper a wide smile. “Did you hear that? She’s okay.” She looked at the doctor. “Thank you so much. You don’t know how grateful I am for the news.”
“I think I do,” the doctor said. She left them, promising to send Henrietta right out.
Cooper hugged Summer. “See? All that worrying for nothing! Why don’t you wait here, and I’ll have our driver pull up to the emergency exit.”
“I’ll call the hotel and see if I can have Helen Fry paged. I’m sure she’s worried sick.”
By the time a beaming Henrietta was wheeled into the waiting room, Summer had placed her call to Helen and Cooper had returned. “See, I told you it was plain old indigestion,” the woman said.
Summer chuckled. “Well, I for one was worried sick. We’re taking you home so you can rest. I’m even going to spend the night so I can make sure you take care of yourself.”
Cooper tried to hide his disappointment. He’d been counting on spending the evening with Summer. But he knew she wouldn’t be able to relax until she was certain Henrietta was going to be okay.
They wheeled Henrietta out to the waiting limo and helped her into the car. Summer was exhausted after having spent the evening so worried, and she looked forward to climbing into bed. Tomorrow she would be able to think more clearly where Cooper was concerned, but right now her mind simply wasn’t functioning at full capacity.
“Summer gave me the good news,” Henrietta said once they were on their way.
Cooper raised a dark eyebrow. “She did?”
“Yes, and even though I agree it was very sudden and I had my doubts at first, I couldn’t be happier. I know you’ll be a good husband to her.”
Cooper sat there for a moment feeling as though someone had pulled the rug out from under him. He glanced at Summer for some sort of cue, but she was doing her level best not to make eye contact with him.
“I know we’d planned to keep it a secret, darling,” she said, “but I hope you don’t mind my telling Grandmother.”
“Nonsense!” Henrietta replied. “I’m going to shout it from the rooftops. In fact, I’m planning your engagement party as we speak. How does Saturday the twentieth sound?”
Summer gaped at her. “That’s only ten days from now.”
“I’ve put together bigger events in half that time,” Henrietta said proudly. “Besides, with my health being like it is …” She let her words trail off as she glanced at Cooper. “I trust you’ll have time to find my granddaughter an engagement ring by then. I’ll be glad to give you the name of my jeweler and ask that he put it on a payment plan.”
Cooper nodded dumbly as he tried to figure out how the whole thing had come about. No doubt Summer had thought her grandmother was dying and told her they were getting married so the woman wouldn’t worry about her. Once again Summer had backed herself into a corner. He almost chuckled at the thought. How was she going to pull this one off? He sat up taller in his seat. “I’ll start shopping for a ring immediately.”
“Have you set a date yet?” Henrietta asked, then went on excitedly before they could answer. “I hope you don’t plan on having a long engagement.”
“Oh, no,” Cooper said. “We want to get married as soon as we can, don’t we, sweetheart?” he said, grinning at Summer, who managed to smile back at him. “The sooner the better,” he added, giving her a hearty wink.
“Well, thank heavens for that,” Henrietta said. “I can’t tell you how long I’ve been waiting for this moment.”
They pulled up in front of the estate, and the driver parked and came around to help Henrietta out. She kissed Cooper on the cheek once he’d walked both of them to the door. “I hope I didn’t spoil your evening,” she said.
“Not at all,” he insisted. “Just try to get a good night’s sleep so you’ll feel better tomorrow.”
“Who has time for sleep?” Henrietta said. “Summer and I will be up all night making out the guest list for your engagement party. By the way, I’ll
need your address and phone number so I can contact your mother. I can’t wait to meet her.” She took Summer by the hand and led her to the door as Mrs. Bradshaw opened it from the other side. “Put on a pot of coffee, Mrs. Bradshaw,” Henrietta told her housekeeper. “Summer and I have work to do.”
Cooper was forced to stifle his laughter as he watched Summer follow her grandmother inside. No doubt her mind was scrambling for ways to undo the damage. He climbed into the backseat of the limo and leaned back in the seat. Only then did he allow himself the luxury of bursting into loud, hearty guffaws. Sooner or later Summer Pettigrew was going to learn that her little white lies had a habit of blowing up in her face.
Chapter Ten
For the next three days Summer managed to avoid seeing Cooper by telling him she was up to her eyebrows in work. She could tell he didn’t like it, but he went along with it, albeit grudgingly. She knew she was simply trying to buy time and sort through her feelings, but sooner or later Cooper Garrett was going to demand a showdown.
On Sunday, Summer straightened her apartment, took out the trash, and sat down to work. She had worked most of the night, only to wake up at dawn unable to go back to sleep. She felt as though her brain had been stuffed with cobwebs. As she sipped yet another cup of coffee, she tried to find the file she’d been working on the previous night. She emptied her briefcase, checked beneath the sofa cushions, even looked into her kitchen cabinets, but there was no sign of the file.
The trash! She vaguely remembered tossing a stack of newspapers into a Hefty bag before carrying it out to the Dumpster. Could the file have been under the papers? Could she have inadvertently tossed it in with the rest of the trash? She groaned and went into the kitchen for her flashlight, then headed for the door.
The Dumpsters were tucked inside a tall fence behind the condominiums. As Summer stepped outside her door and started in that direction, the security guard named Jack passed by in his car and waved. She smiled and waved back.
Arriving at the Dumpster, Summer shined the light inside, hoping to find her white garbage bag. There were at least two dozen just like the one she’d tossed in. She sighed and muttered a four-letter word under her breath and, tucking the light beneath her jaw, climbed the metal ladder leading to the opening. She wrinkled her nose as she was assailed by the smell of old food. At the top of the opening, she jumped and landed in a mountain of plastic bags.
Armed with light, Summer began searching through each bag. She almost gagged when she opened one filled with disposable baby diapers and another one containing canned cat food. Finally, after what seemed an eternity, she found a bag stuffed with newspaper. She dug through it, and sure enough, there was her file. She glanced through it to make sure everything was in order, then dropped it outside the opening of the Dumpster. She shined her flashlight about, trying to find the ladder.
There was no ladder. There wasn’t even a foothold. Summer stood there for a moment, wondering what to make of the situation. Why would somebody put a ladder on the outside and not the inside? She glanced at the opening. She would have to be an athlete to pull herself up and over to climb out. She searched through the Dumpster for something to stand on. Nothing. She tried stacking a number of bags up the side so she could boost herself up, but the minute she put her full weight on them, her shoe went through the top bag and landed in something mushy.
She grasped the opening and tried to hoist her body up, but her arms weren’t strong enough.
There was no other alternative but to cry for help.
She stood close to the opening. “Hello, is anyone out there? Would somebody help me?” she cried out as loud as she could. She waited. “Can anybody hear me?” she yelled, banging on the side of the Dumpster. She waited.
Half an hour passed, during which time she called out and banged her fists against the metal as hard as she could. What if nobody threw their trash out today and she was forced to spend the entire day and night in the Dumpster? What if the temperature were to drop during the night? What if— No, she wouldn’t allow herself to think about the possibility of rats or cockroaches.
Wanting to sit down but too terrified to do so, Summer merely stood there, trying to keep herself from crying. There had to be a way out. Finally, too exhausted to care whether a rabid rat bit her on the behind or not, she dropped onto a heap of bags. She pulled her knees up and anchored her chin on top.
And waited.
She had no idea how long she’d been there, time seemed to crawl. Oh, Lord, she didn’t need to think of creepy crawling things.
She was startled when she thought she heard the sound of a lawn mower. She blinked several times, trying to get her bearings. No, wait a minute. That was no lawn mower, it was a motorcycle. Was she dreaming? The engine died, and all was silent. “Is anybody out there?” she cried, trying to push herself into a standing position. She heard footsteps. A second later Cooper peered into the opening.
“Well, would you look at that,” he said. “Somebody has gone and thrown away a perfectly good woman.”
She went weak with relief. “Oh, thank God you’re here!” she said, scrambling to get up. “Please help me out of here.”
“Help you? Did I hear you ask for help?” He frowned. “Gee, I don’t know. You’ve pretty much convinced me you don’t need anyone. I’d hate to ruin that tough-as-nails image of yours.”
“Cooper, that isn’t a damn bit funny. I’m terrified of rats and roaches. Just the thought of them—” She paused and shuddered violently.
He shook his head sadly. “Sorry, doll. I think you’re going to have to get out of this one on your own. How would you ever live with yourself if you discovered there might be a needy side of you?” He started to climb down the ladder.
“Wait! You’re not just going to leave me?”
“You’ll get out,” he said confidently. “If I know you, you’ll think of a way.”
She burst into tears. “I’ve already tried to get out,” she said. “I wouldn’t be asking for your help if I were able to.”
His look softened. “Okay, I’ll help you, babe. Come closer.”
She stumbled toward the opening, shining her flashlight in her path so she didn’t step on something that might be alive. Once she reached the side, she turned off the flashlight and handed it to Cooper, who laid it on top of the Dumpster.
“I can’t wait to hear your explanation of why you’re in there,” he said. “Were you running low on grocery money?”
She was still crying. “I’m in no mood for jokes, Cooper. Just get me out.”
He offered his hands. “Grab my wrists, and I’ll pull you up.”
“I’ve already tried to pull myself up. It didn’t work.”
“That’s ’cause you’re a wimp, and I’m a big, strong man,” he said. “Come on, grab hold.”
She closed her hands around his wrists, and he did the same. Without so much as a grunt of effort he pulled her straight up. “Watch your head,” he said, trying to get her through the opening. “Now swing one leg over the side … there you go.”
A moment later Summer was standing on the pavement beside him, feeling utterly ridiculous over the fact she was still crying and he was doing everything in the world to comfort her. “How did you know where to find me?” she asked, glancing up at his rugged face.
“When the security guard called your number to see if you wanted company, he got no answer. We both thought it was strange, since your car was parked right in front of your building. Then he remembered seeing you walking in the direction of the Dumpsters and asked me to have a look. I never imagined I’d find you inside.”
Summer reached for her file. “I accidentally threw something important away.”
“How long have you been back here?”
“I don’t know. At least an hour, maybe two. I yelled for help.”
“Well, you stink something fierce,” he said, grinning.
“I stepped in something. I need a shower.”
“Whoa, bef
ore we head back, are you sure you didn’t cut yourself … say on a can? Do I need to take you to the hospital for a tetanus shot?”
“No, all I stepped in was mush.”
“You look exhausted. How many hours did you sleep last night?”
“Not many. I was restless.”
“Have you had breakfast?”
“Just coffee. I haven’t had time to buy groceries.”
“I figured as much. I stopped by the store on the way. While you take a shower, I’ll whip up something.”
She was too tired and hungry to argue. She hopped on the back of his bike, and they rode the short distance to her front door, where a single bag of groceries sat. Summer kicked off her shoes and went inside with Cooper right behind. “It may take me a while to wash all of this grunge off,” she said, climbing the stairs toward her bedroom.
When she emerged from the shower a half hour later, she had scrubbed from head to toe and washed her hair three times. By the time she came downstairs, she found Cooper putting their plates on the table, eggs Benedict of all things, and a small bowl of grapefruit sections.
“Have a seat,” he told her, then leaned over for a quick sniff. “You smell much better. You ready for a fresh cup of coffee?” he asked.
“Yes, please.”
“I tossed your sneakers in the washer.”
“Thanks, Cooper.” She reached for her napkin and paused as she studied the place setting before her. You would have thought they were having brunch at a fancy hotel the way he’d set the table. Each dish and eating utensil was in its proper place. “Gee, everything looks so nice,” she said, wondering where a bike mechanic who wore leather jackets had learned to set such a nice table and prepare a fancy breakfast.
She ate her grapefruit sections first, watching him as she did so. His manners were as impeccable as they’d been the night of her grandmother’s dinner party. Something didn’t quite jibe.
“Is something wrong?” he asked.
“Huh?” She blinked. “Oh, no, my mind just drifted.” She yawned wide.
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