“We’ve wasted enough time, then, don’t you think?” he murmured huskily, reaching out and sliding a hand through her wind-tangled hair. “What more can I do or say to prove to you that I want us to be a family?”
Lily had dropped off to sleep with her head on Cooper’s shoulder. She woke with a start and blinked at him. Glancing around, she patted his shirt and mumbled something that sounded like “Blue.”
Tears gathered in Willow’s eyes. She clutched her throat and said in a voice tight with emotion, “Coop, your shirt is blue. Blue’s one of the colors you taught Lily about. Red and blue are her favorites.”
Mumbling “Red,” the girl tugged out the front of her own shirt, just before she raised both arms and hugged Coop around his neck.
Happily stunned, he blew a juicy kiss against the child’s ear. She made a noise that could have been a giggle and batted a hand over her ear.
“Oh, Coop, those are more words than she’s ever attempted. This is more animation than she’s ever shown at one time. I said before that you’re good for her. I can’t…I’m not denying that. It’s me. It’s us. Are we good for each other?” she exclaimed. “I can’t help worrying. It’s all so confusing.”
“It doesn’t have to be.” Smiling, Coop stood and waltzed his soon-to-be daughter in a circle. “What I’m asking for is another chance. This is no place to talk. I’ll wait here with Lily if you’ll hunt up the driver of your bus. I assume you have suitcases. Come with me to the Triple D and we’ll work everything out.”
“You’re a hard man to refuse. Okay. I’ll go with you so we can talk more. But there’s someone I need to say goodbye to. I met a really nice lady on the bus. A grandmother who’s headed to San Antonio to take care of a special-needs grandson because the boy’s dad is deployed overseas. Do you mind if I go talk to her first? I want to tell her what happened with Lilybelle.”
“By all means. Any friend of yours is a friend of mine, Willow.”
She’d jumped up from the bench, but checked her forward motion. “That’s good. I want friends. It’s something I missed desperately at the ranch. Tate hated for me to go to town. He didn’t like me talking to anyone. He thought I was plotting against him, plotting to leave him, I guess,” she said with a shake of her head.
“It’s a shame you had to put up with his antics for as long as you did,” Coop said with feeling.
“Yes, but like my mother said, it was a choice I made, and I had to honor my decisions.”
“Belle said that?” Coop snorted. “I’m disappointed in her. What was she thinking?”
“Probably that she stuck with my dad through thick and thin.”
“Hmph. She left most of it up to you, Willow.” He waved a dismissive hand. “Oh, it doesn’t matter now. Go find your friend, and then the driver.”
“Dad was a paraplegic for a long time, Cooper. That took its toll on Mom and me. These days I’m sure there are more agencies to help families in our situation. Or maybe not,” she said with a shrug. “Okay, I’m going. But I don’t want you to hate my mom. She’s Lily’s only grandmother. Someday I’d like her to get to know Lilybelle.”
“I don’t hate her. I won’t begrudge her visiting, but I believe she steered you wrong about suffering through a bad marriage. Living with a tough situation is one thing. Abuse is different.”
“Mom didn’t know about that. I never told her.”
“You kept too much bottled up, Willow.” Coop twirled a strand of her hair around his index finger until she pulled away.
“In hindsight, yes,” Willow admitted. “But like you said, that’s in the past.” She took a step in the direction of the depot. “Wait here. I’ll be right back.”
Coop watched her hurry off and pass through the glass doors leading into the attached restaurant. He saw her bend down and speak to an older woman. People had begun to wander out. Some lit cigarettes. Others came to stand beside the door of the bus.
The child had drifted off to sleep, her forehead tucked against Coop’s neck. He swayed from side to side, moving out of the way as more travelers emerged from the restaurant.
Willow walked out soon after, matching her steps to those of a big man in a bus driver’s uniform. “It’s highly unusual to give passengers their luggage at a stop before their final destination,” Coop heard him say to Willow.
“Sorry for the imposition,” he said, joining them. “I missed connecting with her in Carrizo Springs.”
The driver stared from one to the other. “He’s not forcing you to go with him, is he?” he asked, eyes raking Willow.
“Oh, no. Not at all!”
“Huh. All right, then. Do you remember which bin your bags are in? And I’ll need the claim checks.”
Willow dug in the canvas bag she had slung over one shoulder. “Here they are. Just two. Mine is a standard black case. Pretty beat up. My daughter’s is smaller. Brown plaid.”
Taking out a key, the driver opened the compartment Willow indicated. “There,” she said, pointing.
The driver set the bags on the concrete. Willow bent to collect them, but Coop swooped down and grabbed the larger one. “I’d take them both,” he said, “but Miss Lily is out like a light.”
“I can see that. I’m concerned about how long she’ll sleep. She wouldn’t eat or drink what I brought for her supper. I hope she doesn’t get dehydrated since it’s such a sultry night.” Willow aimed her words at Coop, but as the bus driver left she caught his sleeve and thanked him.
“You’re welcome. All aboard for San Antonio,” the man shouted, plodding ahead to open the bus.
“Where are you parked?” Willow asked Coop.
“Across the street. In the next block.”
They crossed, and he noticed how pinched Willow’s face was. “It’s approximately seventy miles to Hondo, then another ten or so out to the ranch. How do you feel about staying here tonight, so we can all get a good night’s rest? I know of a nice motel with a country-style restaurant next door. They’re open twenty-four hours if you want to buy Lily a glass of milk. Did you pack her favorite cup? I can register and then run next door and have her cup filled while you settle in the room.”
“One room, Coop? I… We really haven’t worked anything out.”
“I’ll see if they have a suite. But if they don’t, I wish you’d believe I’m exhausted, and I can see you are, too. And we have Lily with us.”
“Staying here tonight is fine, Cooper. I certainly can’t imagine the three of us barging in on your brother and his wife after midnight. What would I say to him?”
“Don’t worry about Sully.” Coop opened the pickup doors. He tossed the suitcases into the backseats, then handed Willow in and eased Lilybelle onto her lap. “I’ll deal with him. I’ve already set out my conditions for going home. I promise you, Willow, if he says one disparaging thing, or doesn’t accept you, we will not stay at the Triple D. I’ll get an appraisal and he can buy out my share. I won’t ask for half, since he’s carried the workload for a long time. But…Blythe told me Sully’s developed high blood pressure. That’s what killed our father,” Coop said, sounding worried.
As he got in his side, she carefully buckled Lilybelle between them before putting on her own seat belt. The new booster seat was still back in her old pickup. “I will not let you split with him, Coop. As I said, I refuse to be the reason for a deeper rift between you and Sullivan.”
“No, Willow. I want you in my life. It makes me mad all over again when I think of what he said—blaming you for me running off to the rodeo.”
“Was he right? After all, I never tried to contact you.” She stared at her hands as he started the engine. “I’m the one who let fear mess up our lives.”
“Fear? What do you mean?”
“I tried to tell you how scared I was that you’d get bucked off or smashed against a chute. That you’d be hurt like my dad was.”
“I told you bulls were way more dangerous. I’d ridden bucking horses since I was thirteen.”
“You still don’t get it, Coop. There was no difference in my mind. I had nightmares about a horse stomping the life out of you.”
“Willow, for God’s sake, why didn’t you tell me?”
“I assumed you could see the toll my father’s injury took on Mom and me. And I knew that if I made you give up a dream, eventually you’d resent me for it. That last time we did talk, I tried to articulate how I felt. You didn’t get it or seem to care. You went to Mesquite. So, I gave up. By then Dad was having seizures and I needed to go home instead of staying in school. I told my study group that evening. Tate was there. He failed two classes and was retaking them. You know he was always after me to go out with him. But he never came around when you were there.”
Coop ground the gears pulling out. “I told you before that I’d rather not talk about Tate. It’s pointless.” He tossed his Stetson in the backseat and ran his hand through his dark hair.
“You need to hear it all, Coop. I want to tell you how things happened. The next night some of my friends were going to a movie and asked me along. I knew I’d be gone in a week and I’d be back home taking care of Dad. Tate offered me a ride back to the dorm. He said the same six or so couples were planning an end-of-the-year party at a popular club the next night. I’d never been, so I agreed to go. I got tipsy. Well, more than tipsy, to tell you the truth. Tate took care of me.”
Cooper broke in again, but Willow shushed him. “A month after I got home, Daddy died unexpectedly. I felt guilty for being angry about having to leave college. Yes, you sent flowers, but Tate was there and he helped us handle stuff. He was solicitous of me and Mom. I just felt…numb. Your brother brought me to tears at the reception after the service. He yelled at me, like I said. Tate heard it all. He took me outside and proposed right then and there. He sounded sincere, and he promised we could move away from Hondo. I didn’t want to stay where I could run into you any time you came home from the circuit. I grabbed Tate’s offer like a lifeline.”
Willow rubbed her forehead, hardly noticing that Coop had pulled into the parking lot of a western-style motel. “Well, you know the rest,” she said, gesturing with one hand, her eyes closed. “His feelings for me were superficial at best.”
“I’d like this to be the very last time we discuss Tate. Or any of the Walkers. Well, maybe not Bart. The sheriff said he stole your ranch because he thinks there’s oil. If he strikes it rich, I’ll gladly help you hire a lawyer to sue him on Lily’s behalf. Maybe even if the well comes up dry. The way he’s treating you two is wrong.”
“Coop, I can’t swear I’ll never mention Tate. He was Lily’s father. It’ll be her right to know that someday. Even if I have to whitewash his history, I don’t want her only to hear about his bad side. If you can’t handle hearing Tate’s name now and then, we shouldn’t take our relationship further. The biggest question is, are you liable to resent Lily down the road for being his child?”
“No! I swear to you I’d never do that.” Coop reached across Lilybelle and took Willow’s hands. “And we can talk about Tate if necessary.” He sighed. “I know we can’t change the past, but we can shape our future. Ours and Lily’s. While I was at your ranch I realized I’ve always loved you. I’ll be honest. There were times I didn’t want to. But when I found you again, I couldn’t deny wanting to be with you. I want to be a husband to you and be a real dad to Lily. Will you let me?”
Chapter Fourteen
Willow gazed at Coop for a long moment. “I think I should wait to make that decision until we get to the Triple D tomorrow and see what our reception is. If your brother objects to me being back in your life, I won’t stay. I mean, the Triple D is where you belong, Coop. It’s your birthright as much as Sullivan’s.”
“The Triple D is land and an empty house. You’re the woman I love. The woman I want to spend the rest of my life with. Our getting married has to do with us. Nobody else, Sully has no say.”
Willow wished she believed that, but something in her wasn’t reassured.
Lily stirred on the seat between them, shifting her head to Coop’s leg. For a second her eyelashes fluttered, her eyes opened. She saw him, then snuggled back.
“I want to be your wife,” Willow murmured. “I’d like us to be a family more than anything I’ve ever wanted. And, you know, I don’t regret that Bart Walker took the ranch. I was stuck in a rut there. I can’t care if Sully approves of me or not. No, that’s a lie…I do care, Coop. I hope for your sake he forgives what he thinks I did. I love you like I’ve loved no one else. I’ve got to admit I have reservations, but I…yes, I’ll marry you.”
Coop’s eyes glowed with pleasure. He already held Willow’s hand, and because her daughter lay sprawled across his leg, all he could do was press several kisses into Willow’s palm. “I want to give you a better kiss,” he said. “And I will. But before the motel staff sends cops to investigate why we’re parked in their lot and no one’s come inside, I need to go book us a room. Do you still want a suite?”
Willow smiled. “No, but nothing’s really changed. It’s late. We’re tired. Lily will share our room and maybe even our bed, so it’s all about sleeping tonight.”
“If they have a room with two queens, Lily can have a bed of her own. And at least I can fall asleep holding you in my arms. Tomorrow night, though, we’ll—”
“Coop, this may be the second time around for me, but I’m obviously shier about discussing what goes on in the bedroom than you are.”
Coop carefully lifted the groggy child and put her in Willow’s arms. “You never used to be. And you didn’t seem at all shy to me the other night when we made love on your living-room floor.”
She cleared her throat. “I don’t recall that we talked about having sex first. We just…acted on our urges. Our feelings. It happened because I love you.”
“That’s what I mean. Maybe sex can be awkward, but when the people involved love each other, it’s natural. An expression of shared feelings.”
“Wow, I never knew you could be so poetic,” Willow teased.
“And I’m even better at showing than telling.” With that, Coop opened the door, left the cab and strode into the motel lobby.
He soon returned with a key card. “We’re at the back. I’ll drive around, park and turn the horses out in their corral.”
“The motel has a corral?”
“That’s how I know the place. It’s not a chain. It’s owned by an ex-rodeo couple. They cater to guys and gals on the circuit, or to cowboys passing through.”
“You’ve traveled all over the state. This is all so new to me.”
“Really? Where did you go on your honeymoon?”
Willow hesitated, and didn’t respond until Coop had parked out by the stables and corral. “No honeymoon,” she finally said. “Tate and his dad drove to Carrizo Springs and closed on the ranch after Tate and I visited a justice of the peace. His dad tried to talk him into an annulment. Tate refused, but just knowing that threw me off balance. But we were married, so I drove down in Tate’s pickup the next day. Nothing about my wedding or my marriage was romantic.”
“You can bank on us having a honeymoon. Even if we take Lily along and make it a nice vacation. I want us to have something memorable. With photos to pass down to Lily and any other kids we have.” He frowned as he went around the pickup to help Willow out. “We didn’t discuss that possibility. Do you want more children?”
Running a finger lightly over the buttons down the front of Cooper’s shirt, Willow nodded. “I do want your children, Coop.”
He clasped her by the shoulders, taking care not to bump the sleeping girl she held. Nevertheless he managed a deep and searing kiss. “We’re in room twelve,” he said in a voice rough with desire. “You go on in. After I turn out the horses, shall I go next door and get her some milk? You never said if you packed her cup with the lid.” He handed her the room card.
“Listen to us. We sound like an old married couple. Yes, I packed her cup. I’ll ge
t it. If she wakes up, milk should last her until morning. I hope they have pancakes for breakfast, which she loves.”
“I’ll pick up a menu while I’m at the restaurant. Or do you want to walk over there for dinner?”
“I’m not really hungry. Anyway, I have apples, cheese and a sandwich I made for the trip.”
“Okay.” Coop set all three bags inside the room dominated by a king-size bed. A shower was visible through an open door. The decor—in browns and rust, complete with a wagon-wheel light fixture overhead—gave it an aura of the old west. “King-size beds were all they had left.” He turned back one side of the covers. “Put Lily down here. You get the middle and I’ll crawl in on the far side.” Coop backed toward the door. “Uh, I almost forgot her cup.”
She nodded, dug around in her suitcase and gave him the cup.
“I told Sully to open up the home place for us, Willow. He and Blythe built a new house. I’m not sure which, if any, furnishings they took. It used to be nicely furnished, but if you don’t like how it’s decorated, we’ll get different stuff. It’ll be your home, Willow. I want you to be happy there.”
Moved, she curved her hand around his cheek. “You’re assuming Sullivan will welcome me.”
Turning his head, Coop again kissed her palm. “I wish you’d stop worrying. As kids Sully and I fought like, well, brothers.” Coop hesitated a moment. “He had to grow up fast when Mom died. Being the oldest, he took over the accounting that she’d handled. When Dad died, running the ranch fell on Sully’s shoulders because I was still in school. Until I spent time with your cattle in the past few weeks—vaccinating, branding and then negotiating prices for them—I never gave Sully enough credit. I can see I acted like the spoiled younger brother. I suppose he deserves an apology from me. Our parents were decent and loving folks, and I believe Sully and I can be like them. We can forge a truce. Blythe was sure of it.”
“I hope so. I really do.” Willow watched Coop step out of the door. As it shut she battled a sinking feeling. Was Coop being too much of an optimist? His brother had run the Triple D alone for seven or eight years now. It stood to reason that he’d be used to control. Sighing, she ate two apple slices and a piece of cheese, but she really wasn’t hungry.
The Maverick Returns Page 16