Cooper's Charm

by Lori Foster

  But he wasn’t Cooper.

  His hand cupped the back of her head. “I was already irritated, but then I saw your cart and I...” He shook his head. “I just knew.” Hugging her again, he kissed the top of her head. “Scared the bejesus out of me.”

  She choked on a laugh. “Bet it scared me more.” Knowing she couldn’t continue to cower against him, she pressed back and sucked in another deep breath, hoping it would help to loosen the restriction in her chest. “Sorry.” Composing herself was so difficult. “I didn’t mean to—”

  “Hush.” He stood and helped her up, frowning at her scraped knees. “I need to call Coop, and then I need to call the cops.”

  “Cops?”

  He gave her an incredulous look, which he quickly softened. “Hon, someone did this on purpose. The door was locked from the outside.”

  “Oh, right.” She felt sick as it all started sinking in. “But who?”

  “No idea, but we’re going to find out.” He withdrew his cell phone.

  Phoenix touched his arm. “Don’t tell Cooper yet. I’ll explain it to him.”

  His gaze sharpened. “Why wait?”

  “It...might bother him. I’d rather he see that I’m okay first.”

  Daron considered her a moment, then nodded before thumbing in a few numbers.

  Fretful, so many worries squeezing her heart, Phoenix waited.

  “Coop? Hey, it’s Daron. You busy?...No,” he said quickly. “Everything is fine, but could you come down to the maintenance building? I need to show you something.” He nodded, then added, his gaze on Phoenix, “Yeah, she’s right here. I’ll explain when you get here...Right. See you in five.” He disconnected and shoved the phone into his pocket, again looking around. “We need a new lock.”

  Still feeling dazed, Phoenix looked at him.

  Brows flat, he explained, “I broke the other one.”

  She thought of how he crashed inside. And if he hadn’t? Eventually she’d have realized the problem, but would the straw have caught fire first? What about the fuel and other accelerants? There were so many tools and pieces of equipment in the building, she knew she’d have been jumping at shadows. Solemn, aware of what could have happened, she whispered, “Thank you, Daron.”

  He nodded. “We should wait for Gibb,” he said, hands on his hips as he looked around, “before we touch anything. He’s already aware of the problems.”

  She tipped her head in dawning realization. “I suppose you are, too?”

  “You’re one of us now, right? What affects you affects the rest of us.”

  Despite the awful circumstances, his statement warmed her. Being part of Cooper’s Charm was a very nice feeling.

  “Come on. We’ll meet Coop outside, then you head up to his house and wash your knees, maybe put some antiseptic on them or something.”

  Phoenix looked at her legs and the superficial scratches. She’d done worse while working in brambles. “I’m fine. But this...” she said, indicating the building. Scattered bits of straw still smoldered on the floor. The doors hung open, one of them crooked on a loose hinge. “I need to clean this up after Officer Clark does...whatever he needs to do.”

  “Hell, no,” Daron insisted. “I’ll do it.” Without waiting for her to argue—if she would have, given the way she still trembled—he led her outside, into the bright sun and fresh air.

  Because the maintenance building was located at the end of a lane along the rustic tent camping area, few people were around. She considered that a blessing, saving her some discomfort, but it also lowered the chances that anyone would have seen anything.

  Daron pulled the doors partially shut behind him, then led her over to a bench situated under a decorative copse of trees. “Let’s wait for Coop here.”

  Knowing he’d closed the doors so she didn’t have to see inside, her mouth twisted. “Thanks.”

  He patted her knee while watching for Cooper to arrive.

  In preparation, she straightened her shirt and her glasses, doing her best to look unaffected, to look fine when she felt anything but.

  When she finally saw Coop approaching in a golf cart—going faster than was allowed—she felt ridiculous tears sting her eyes. No, I will not do that. She sucked in several fast breaths and concentrated on looking serene.

  Coop pulled to a halt next to them. He stared into her eyes, then climbed from the golf cart. Without a word, he handed Sugar to Daron and strode to Phoenix.

  She opened her mouth to explain, but he tugged her close, his arms folding around her, and she found she couldn’t utter a single word.

  * * *

  Coop watched as Phoenix moved the spaghetti around her plate. She’d had only a few bites of it, less of her salad, none of her garlic bread.

  He wanted to coddle her, but that wasn’t what she wanted, and he tried to be conscious of her preferences. Twice she’d been close to tears; he didn’t want to be the one who pushed her over the edge. It’d be tough for him to see her cry, but he knew it’d level her pride.

  He glanced toward the door. When would Gibb finish? How long did it take to look around and question a few vacationers? There wasn’t that much to see, not many people he could talk to, especially since Daron said no one was around when he reached the building.

  Phoenix picked up her garlic bread. “Shouldn’t Officer Clark be done by now?”

  “Soon.” I hope. If a man could be in two places, Coop would be there now, listening in, getting info firsthand—and insisting that someone go check up on Harry and his goons. The waiting, the not knowing, was excruciating for him.

  How bad must it be for her?

  That was why he’d opted to take Phoenix to his house. She’d tried to insist she’d be fine alone, and she was strong enough that he believed her. But Ridley was off somewhere with Baxter and though Phoenix hid it well, she was shaken. For him, she was the priority. So here he sat, waiting.

  “Cooper,” she said softly.

  Finding her gaze on him, he forced away his frown and said, “Hmm?”

  As if he’d done something to amuse her, she smiled. “You’re sure you don’t mind if I stay here tonight?”

  If he had his way, she’d move in until...

  His brain stalled. Until when? Until they found out who was harassing her? And then what?

  Since he didn’t know, he shook off the deeper question and answered what she’d asked. “I want you to stay. I’ll feel better if you do.”

  In a corner of the kitchen, Sugar snored, but the rapping of knuckles on wood brought her awake with a jerk.

  Phoenix jumped too, scowled darkly, then composed herself.

  “Gibb,” Cooper said, already up and striding for the door.

  She nodded and, oddly enough, took a big bite of bread—maybe just to give herself something to do.

  Sugar followed Coop to the door, and when she saw the officer, she sniffed his foot, gave him a look of dismissal and padded back to her bed to sleep again.

  Not much of a watchdog after all, Coop thought.

  Hat in his hands, Gibb gave Coop a brief nod before stepping inside. “Sorry that took so long.”

  “Doesn’t matter if you found something.”

  “Unfortunately, I didn’t.” He turned to Phoenix. “You’re okay?”

  “It startled the heck out of me, but I wasn’t hurt.”

  Coop would have disagreed, but once she’d cleaned her knees, the scrapes weren’t bad. Still infuriated him, though.

  “I can imagine.” Gibb took a seat beside her. “You don’t recall anyone around when you went into the building?”

  Her mouth twisted to the side. “I’m afraid I was daydreaming, not really paying attention to my surroundings. I was just about done for the day and trying to hurry so I wouldn’t be late for dinner.” She indicated the food.

 
Gibb smiled. “Understandable.”

  Manners belatedly kicked in. “Hungry?” Coop asked, knowing his friend had likely missed dinner. “There’s plenty left.”

  “If I’m not interrupting.?”

  It was Phoenix who assured him, saying, “Not at all. You can eat while you tell us what we should do next.”

  Putting his hat on his knee, Gibb sat back. “Other than being cautious, which I know you’re already doing, there’s not much I’d add.”

  Coop set a plate of spaghetti in front of him along with a bowl of salad and a glass of tea, then took his own seat at the end of the table. “Will you go see Harry?”

  “Already did.” He twined spaghetti around his fork. “That’s part of what took me so long. I didn’t want to give him a chance to cover his tracks.”

  “And?” Coop’s patience was at an end.

  Gibb finished the bite, wiped his mouth and explained, “He was at his grandma’s. She lives down the street, so I stopped in there.” With a shake of his head, Gibb said, “He wasn’t happy for me to interrupt. Neither was his grandma. She gave me all sorts of hell and said Harry had been with her for a few hours at least.” He smirked. “According to her, he’s a good boy.”

  “Jesus,” Coop muttered, sitting back in his seat.

  “I’m sorry, but there’s not much more I can do.” In between bites, Gibb promised he’d keep an eye on things, suggested Phoenix shouldn’t be alone, and lastly, mentioned that it could have been a simple prank by a kid.

  Coop stewed in silence. He wanted to mention another possibility but wasn’t sure how Phoenix would react.

  “Did you believe him?” she asked suddenly, her expression curious. “Harry, I mean. Did you believe that he’d been with his grandmother?”

  Coop and Gibb both looked at her.

  Gibb seemed to stall, taking a long drink of his tea. When he finished, he pushed back his plate and folded his arms on the table. “Honestly, I don’t know. Harry’s always been a troublemaker, and some trouble is bigger than others. He knows I’m watching him and he doesn’t like it, but is he stupid enough to keep up a harebrained campaign against you anyway?”

  “Stupid enough?” Coop said. “Yes.”

  Gibb grunted a laugh. “Yeah, I suppose he is. To be honest though...” Gibb glanced at Coop first, then at Phoenix. “This doesn’t really feel like him. I think he’s on his guard with Coop for one thing. He’d probably never admit it, but you scared him.”

  “If others think that too,” Coop mused aloud, “maybe his friends, then he could be trying to prove something.”

  Gibb turned thoughtful. “True.”

  Phoenix cleared her throat. “I wonder if there could be another possibility.”

  Coop’s gaze snapped to hers. Suddenly he knew they were thinking the same thing—David.

  Her ex visits, and right after that someone decides to terrorize her? He figured that was one hell of a coincidence, and apparently she felt the same. He should have realized that she wouldn’t shy away from it. “I wondered the same.”

  She shrugged. “I’d have a hard time believing it.”

  “I know.”

  “I don’t want to believe it.”

  He could understand that, especially since the visit had ended well, and she’d felt so good about it.

  “But I also don’t want your property further damaged, so I think I should share everything.”

  Though he agreed, her motivation pissed him off. “Daron already repaired the doors.”

  Gibb added, “The place is locked up again.” He finished his tea. “What other possibility are we talking about?”

  Coop continued to watch, silently encouraging. Now that she’d brought it up, he’d prefer to let her share what she wanted about her ex and their backstory.

  She looked away first, her entire demeanor composed.

  His pride expanded.

  “David is my ex. Before I moved here, we were engaged.” She paused. “But I ended things.”

  “And he’s bitter?” Gibb guessed.

  “Actually, no. He has every reason to be, but he came by this morning and he was super nice.”

  It was subtle, but Coop saw Gibb go on alert. “He came here?”

  “Yes.”

  “So he knew where you were?”

  She shook her head. “I’ve posted photos on social media and he saw them.”

  Gibb considered that, then nodded. “Go on.”

  “David said he’s found someone else and moved on. He’s happy now and he hopes I’m happy, too.”

  “That’s why he came? To tell you that?”

  “Yes.” Phoenix traced the top of her tea glass, her gaze averted a moment before she turned to Gibb again. “But it seems a little convenient that he was here, that he was so incredibly nice about everything...” She bit her lip. “It could seem surprising to most that he’d care enough for me that he wouldn’t want me to feel guilty, even though he’s in love with another woman now.”

  Damn right it was “surprising,” Coop thought, but he didn’t say it aloud.

  “Hmm,” Gibb said, being noncommittal. “Does he live in the same place?”

  “He said he moved out of the house we chose together. He has it up for sale.” She frowned. “I’m not sure where he’s living now, though. Maybe with his new girlfriend.”

  “Is his phone number the same?” Gibb asked.

  “Should be.”

  “Why don’t you try calling him? You can tell him what happened today, ask him if he saw anyone hanging around—we’ll see how he reacts.”

  Looking very unconvinced, but still agreeable, Phoenix got out her phone and dialed David.

  Coop noticed that, while she didn’t have him in her contacts, she still knew the number by heart.

  “Hi,” she said, a small frown in place, and then uncertainly, “Is David there? Oh. Oh, I’m sorry.” After disconnecting, she checked the number she’d called. “That’s weird. I had the right number...”

  “So it’s changed?” Coop asked.

  “Apparently.” She seemed to think about it, then shook her head. “But I still find it hard to believe David would try to scare me. He’s not that way.”

  “Is he the type to seek you out, just to tell you to move on and be happy?” Gibb asked.

  She gave him a wry smile. “Let’s just say I believed him when he said it. He was—is—a nice guy. Everyone likes him.”

  They were all silent a moment, then Gibb stood. “Thank you for dinner.” He grinned at Coop. “You’re a good cook.”

  “He really is,” Phoenix agreed with her own smile.

  Coop stood too, his frustration extreme.

  At the door, Gibb paused. “If you’re interested, I have an idea.”

  “Let’s hear it.” At this point, Coop was willing to try just about anything.

  Gibb turned his hat in his hands, then gave all his attention to Phoenix. “You say your ex found you because of social media. That goes both ways, right? You could try looking him up, see if you can figure out where he’s staying, who he might be staying with.”

  “Oh, absolutely,” she said. “I should be able to find him on Facebook, Instagram, maybe even SnapChat.”

  Unless he’d canceled everything, Coop thought, and that would be telling.

  “I need to get back to work. But reach out to him and let me know how it goes.”

  Phoenix agreed, but reiterated again that she wasn’t accusing David of anything.

  While she talked with Gibb, Coop was thinking of another way social media might help.

  He had the perfect trap in mind—but it’d be better if he didn’t mention it yet.

  * * *

  Baxter stared down at Ridley while she slept. It amused him that she hadn’t removed her makeup, and now she lo
oked like a raccoon. And her hair, all that glorious mink streaked with red, looked like a rat’s nest and yet somehow it made her even sexier.

  Even asleep, she had attitude, her brows slightly pinched, her hand beside her face curled into a fist as if she might battle someone in her dreams.

  If she’d let him, he’d do that for her.

  She turned to her back, stretching with a low groan, one rosy nipple peeking out from beneath the sheet before she settled again with a sigh.

  Baxter didn’t move, content to just look at her, remembering how she’d snuggled next to him last night, surprising him.

  And then they’d both passed out.

  So much for his plans of having her again and again, of impressing her with his stamina and expertise. He silently snorted to himself.

  She’d impressed him.

  It was a neat trick, how she balanced her abrasive manner with the unconditional love of a devoted sister, the wildness of her passion with her cuddly nature.

  And she was afraid of bugs.

  He smiled, liking that human weakness.

  Unable to resist, he caught the sheet in two fingers and very slowly drew it down until both her breasts showed, then her smooth belly, over her hips and the neatly trimmed triangle of hair, down to her knees.

  She had a beautiful body.

  A challenging demeanor.

  A sexual drive that rivaled his own.

  Mentally listing her assets meant he was already too involved, but he couldn’t make himself care. Ridley Rose was the type of woman who’d make a long-term sexual relationship worthwhile—emphasis on the sexual. Today he’d explain things to her. With any luck, she’d agree with him.

  Just then, her bluer-than-blue eyes popped open. She stared blankly at the ceiling, almost with dread, before letting her gaze slide over to him.

  Baxter smiled and cupped the breast closest to him. “You could patent this look.”

  She swallowed.

  “Sleep-rumpled sexy. That’s what I’d call it. Thing is, I’m not sure any other woman could pull it off the way you do.”

  Her mouth flattened, then a glittering look of retribution entered those amazing eyes. “What,” she growled in a grumpy morning voice, “are you still doing in my bed?”