by Cathryn Fox
He gave a quick shake of his head and placed his palm on her face. “Please stay.”
She nodded, the heat of his hand stirring all her emotions. Coop was sharing a very private part of his life with her, and if he wanted her there with him, then she was damn well going to be there for him. He put a blanket over his mother, and as he worked to make her comfortable, all of the pieces known as Chase Cooper fell into place. Tears pricked her eyes, because the boy she knew from high school had turned into the most amazing man she’d ever met.
“Julia.”
His soft voice startled her, and she blinked the moisture from her eyes.
There was a tenderness in his eyes as they moved over her face. “Are you okay?”
“I didn’t know.”
“Who’s there?” his mother bellowed, and Julia jumped.
“Mom, it’s me, Coop.” He turned, just as his mother threw the remote at him again, and he caught it in the shoulder. It clattered to the floor, and Tessa rushed in to help his mother as he picked it up.
There was a real sadness on his face, but he tried to inject humor when he pointed to his nose and said, “Sometimes she has great aim.”
Her heart squeezed. “I’m so sorry.”
“Come with me.” He captured her hand, and the two made their way back outside.
Julia glanced around at the wide expanse of land and took Coop’s situation into consideration. “You bought the ranch and moved here for your mother.”
It was a statement, not a question, but he answered anyway. “Yes and no.”
Her glance darted back to his, and all she wanted to do was take him into her arms and hold him, soothe him, tell him everything would be all right. “Yes and no?”
Coop leaned against the white railing and pulled her into him, his legs wrapping around hers. He took a deep breath, let it out slowly, and began, “Yes, I bought it for my mother because she grew up on a ranch, and the familiarity helps with her Alzheimer’s. The guys chipped in on it with me because I couldn’t afford it by myself. And no, I didn’t move here.”
Confused, she asked, “What do you mean you didn’t move here?”
“I don’t live here, Julia. I live in Kentville.”
“Kentville?” Okay, that took her by surprise. “As in an hour outside of Halifax?”
“I’m a sports medicine doctor, and I have a practice there that I can’t just up and leave.”
She widened her eyes. That’s how he knew about her ankle. “Why didn’t you tell me any of this?” As soon as the question left her mouth, she shook her head, already knowing the answer. “Wait, never mind.” She waved a finger back and forth between the two of them. “This situation wasn’t about us getting to know each other.” She inched back, and she could feel his tension like it was her own when he cupped her elbow and hauled her closer.
“Oh, no you don’t. You’re not going anywhere, and you’ve got it all wrong.”
“Coop, please,” she said, needing to put a measure of distance between them.
Wait. Did he just say I had it all wrong?
“Getting to know each other was my every intention.” He glanced down, then back at her. “I just didn’t talk about any of this because it’s…it’s hard. She’s very sick…” His voice wavered when he added, “She doesn’t have much time.”
Her heart twisted at the sadness on his face. “I’m sorry, Coop.”
“I wanted to tell you.” He brushed his hand over his chin, and the vulnerability she detected in the depth of his eyes had her taking a small, tentative step toward him. “I planned to tell you tonight.” He put his hand on her cheek, and she leaned in to it.
“You did.”
“Yeah, I didn’t want you to think I was holding back because I only wanted sex.”
Her hand closed over his. “You…you want more than sex?”
“Don’t you see?” he asked, a new urgency in his voice. “I’m crazy about you, Julia. Today I took you to my old hangouts because I wanted you to get to know me. To show you that I wanted more. What you said in the bedroom, about this being a fantasy. I never once thought this thing between us wasn’t real.”
If her heart beat any faster it was going to burst from her chest. “Really?”
Coop placed his finger under her chin to tip it up. “I meant what I said.”
“What did you say?”
“When I told my mother you were special, I meant it,” he said, his voice thinning to a whisper.
Her knees buckled, and she forced them to straighten. “You did?”
He brushed his thumb over her cheek. “Julia, sweetheart. I need you in my life. It’s always been you I wanted.”
Her entire body tightened. “Then why did you invite Mari here for the week?”
He put his arm around her, and all she could think about was how good it felt to be held by him.
“Late one night, after a few beers, the guys and I got to talking about the ones that got away.”
“Oh.” She looked down as she chewed on that. Coop thought Mari was the one who’d gotten away, and since she was pretending to be her, Mari was the girl he’d fallen for again.
“But I was wrong, Julia.” He shook his head. “I was so wrong.”
Julia swallowed. “Wrong? How?”
“Your sister wasn’t the one who got away. Right after I sent that invitation, I started having second thoughts and regretted my spur-of-the-moment decision. She’s not the girl for me. She never was.”
Confused, she faltered backward, her mind racing, trying to keep up.
“Oh, no you don’t,” he said again, putting his hand around her waist to bring her back.
“Coop?”
“You’re not getting away from me again.”
“What are you talking about?”
“You, Julia. You were the one who got away. I’m in love with you. You never paid me a lick of attention all those years ago, but now that I’ve got you, I’m not letting you go. I don’t want anyone but you, Julia. I never have.”
He was in love with her? If only that were true.
She shook her head, her stomach clenching as she poked her thumb into her chest. “What you don’t understand is it’s not me you’re falling for. I was living out a fantasy, pretending to be carefree like my sister, so really, it was her you were falling for all over again.”
“I never fell for her once, so how can I be falling for her again?”
“What are you talking about?”
“Mari and I were only ever friends. It was you I always liked, but there’s an unwritten rule that I had to live by: you don’t hit on your best friend’s sister. And of course, you did tell me I wasn’t your type.”
“But I thought you two…”
“You thought wrong. And all this pretending you thought you were doing, well, you weren’t pretending at all. You’ve always just suppressed that side of yourself. ”
“Coop—” she began, but he cut her off.
“Maybe pretending to be wild and happy-go-lucky like your sister is what gave you the courage you needed to just let go and be yourself.”
Clearly, he was missing the point here. “I wasn’t myself. It wasn’t really me you were having a wild week with, or thought things were real with.”
“That’s bullshit, Julia,” he said, his voice a little lower, a little harsher. “It was you, and I’m not going to let you think otherwise.” He grabbed her hand. “Come with me. I’m going to prove it to you that I knew it was you who I was with this week.” He led her to the barn. “I was saving this surprise for later, but well. I think you need to see it now.”
He pulled open one of the stalls that had been empty up until now, and Julia looked in.
“Coop?” she asked when she saw the pretty mare. “What’s going on?”
He turned to her and put his arms on her shoulders. “She’s yours,” he said, his voice rough with emotions.
Her brain stalled. “Mine?”
“She’s all your
s, babe. Yours to take care of and to ride when you’re here, and I want you here, with me, a lot. She just needs a name.”
Julia’s hands went to her face as her throat tightened. “No, I can’t.”
“Sure you can.”
He gently touched her cheek, and the gesture brought tears to her eyes. “It’s too much.”
Just then the mare whinnied and poked Julia with her muzzle. Coop laughed. “I think she likes you. Not that I can blame her.”
Julia stepped closer and ran her hands over the mare’s forehead, examining the horse through blurry eyes. No one had ever given her a gift like this before. “She’s beautiful. Everything I’ve ever wanted.” She sniffed and said, “I can’t believe you did this.”
“I have something else for you.”
She looked into his eyes, and the love she saw there filled her with warm longing. He reached into the stall and grabbed something. She shook her head and laughed when she saw the daisy-duke shorts and pink riding crop.
“What are those for?”
“You’ve been wearing Tessa’s clothes all week, and I thought you might want something of your own.”
“And you had to find the shortest shorts in the universe?” God, she loved him. She loved him so much, she was ready to explode from the inside out.
He gave her a grin that weakened her knees. “Well…yeah.”
She shook her head and took the pink crop. She ran her hand along the length of it, stroking it with her fingers, and Coop groaned as he watched the action. “And this?”
He shrugged. “You’ve never seen a riding crop before?”
She looked at the mare. “I have, yes, but I could never use this on her.”
He took it from her and flicked it against her ass. “Who says it’s for the horse?”
The cheek of her ass had received the sting of the crop, but it was the unexpected clench of her sex that brought her breath out with a soft moan. “Oh.”
“Don’t you see, this is the real you, Julia. I’ve always known that, and the horse and crop represent both sides.” He drew her into his arms, and she slid her hands around his back. He pressed a kiss to her forehead and said, “Beneath the beauty and brains, you’re fun-loving, sexy as hell, kind, caring, and so easy to be with. You just suppressed that side of yourself because you’re sweet and giving and are always putting everyone else’s needs above your own. But I’m not going to let you do that anymore. You have needs, too, and I’m going to see that they’re taken care of.” He flicked the crop over her backside again and grinned. “Every single one of them.”
Julia stood there blinking up at him, trying to absorb everything he was telling her. Coop wanted her. Her. Julia Blair.
“Do you believe me now?” he asked. “Believe that I know who I was sleeping with this week?”
“I do,” she said around the lump in her throat, everything she felt for this man making her head spin and her heart swell.
“Good, because you see, Julia, when I asked you if you knew what you were getting yourself into, you really didn’t, because the second you stepped off that plane, I was determined to make you mine. When I said I was glad you were here, I meant it.”
“I’m glad I came, too.”
“I want you, Julia. I always have.”
Her pulse pounded in her neck, her heart swelling. “I’ve always wanted you, too,” she admitted.
Grinning, he lightly brushed his thumb over her bottom lip. “So I am your type?”
“Yeah,” she said. “I have a thing for those manly types who eat peanut butter and banana beaver tails.”
He laughed and scooped her up.
“Where are you taking me?” she asked.
“To the pond, then the loft, and then my bed.” As he began ticking off all the places they’d made love, an invisible fist clenched around her heart.
“Don’t forget the pasture,” she added, her heart soaring.
“Oh, don’t worry. I haven’t forgotten a single thing.” He grinned.
Julia arched a brow. “Oh really? Do tell.”
“Actually,” he said, a mischievous grin spreading across his face. “I’m tired of talking.”
“Well, I must say,” she began, embracing the wild side of herself and feeling free for the first time in her life, “I do love a man of action.”
He planted a warm kiss on her mouth and said, “And I love you, Julia Blair. The girl who is smart, sexy, wild, and wicked.” He stopped to give her a wink before he added, “The girl who loves horses, and riding, and has yet to be punished for that stallion comment.”
Never happier, joy welled up inside Julia, and a squeal of delight sounded deep in her throat. Coop squeezed her tighter, and with her body in his arms and her heart in his hands, he led her to the ladder leading to the upstairs loft. Julia smiled up at him, embracing the two sides of herself, and knowing there was no other man she’d trust with both.
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Acknowledgments
First and foremost a huge thank you to my amazing editor Candace Havens. Thank you for believing in this series and helping me make the stories shine. You are a rock star! I’m looking forward to working with you on more books.
My husband definitely needs to be mentioned in this acknowledgement. I can always count on him to listen to me ramble, or brainstorm when I’m stuck. Most times I think he’s tuned me out, as he mainly sits there staring at me blankly. But then he tosses out brilliant ideas that I usually run with.
Danita, thank you for keeping me organized and sane. You are a true gem, and I value your PA services, and your friendship.
To all the fabulous members of Foxy Fiction. You are all my extended family and the support you give me is phenomenal. Thank you all!
About the Author
New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Cathryn Fox is a wife, mom, sister, daughter, and friend. She loves dogs, sunny weather, anything chocolate (she never says no to a brownie) pizza and red wine. Cathryn has two teenagers who keep her busy and a husband who is convinced he can turn her into a mixed martial arts fan. When not writing, Cathryn can be found laughing over lunch with friends, hanging out with her kids, or watching a big action flick with her husband.
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