Liar's Fire: A Cooper Brothers Novel

by Dee Burks

  Jeff strolled out on the porch and sat down next to Tyler. “Poor kid’s gonna be deaf at this rate. Chelsie hasn’t shut up for five minutes since I got here.”

  “You staying long?”

  Jeff shook his head. “Just wanted to be sure everything was wrapped up with the restaurant.”

  It was wrapped up all right. The police still hadn’t found Lydia or any trace of the money she’d stolen. “It’s about par for the course. I am the proud owner of a pile of ashes.”

  “Glad to see you’re not bitter about it.” Jeff glanced sideways at Tyler and grinned. “You have a little from the donations, and at least Krista didn’t get anything. That’s one bright spot. Apparently Mark Ricca left her high and dry.”

  “Couldn’t happen to a nicer girl.” Tyler shrugged. “We all gotta move on, I guess.” Not that the fire left him any other choice at this point.

  “You hear from Serena?”

  They talked at least once a day, which wasn’t near enough to suit him. “Yeah, she’s using that Texas charm on those New Yorkers.” Serena talked for hours on end about her new job and the life she was making for herself. She’d done it. Decided what she wanted, reached out, and grabbed it. He was proud of her and afraid at the same time. Tyler felt the distance in her voice each night growing further and further away. There was less to talk about, longer lapses in conversation. She was slipping away from him.

  “So what are you still doing here?”

  Tyler didn’t have a good answer. Oh, he had good excuses, but none of them were the real reason. He felt worthless next to Serena. Like a pretender conning her into loving him, when he knew she deserved better.

  He knew he had flaws, as a business person, as a partner, pretty much in every area there was a lot of room for improvement.

  “You know I haven’t seen Mikayla since the day she left me standing at the altar,” Jeff said.

  Tyler remembered but was shocked Jeff brought it up. It didn’t seem like eight years had passed since that awful day, and Jeff had always refused to talk about it until now. “Coopers sure do throw interesting weddings.”

  “That we do.” Jeff laughed. “It’s the Cooper curse.”

  “I always wondered what happened with you two.”

  “Ahh, it was stupid. I had just opened my own practice, and we agreed that once we got married, we’d wait five years to start a family. But that morning she said she’d changed her mind, she wanted kids right off.” Jeff’s voice trailed off, lost in the memory. “We argued, and I refused to budge. Next thing I knew she was doing a sprint back up the aisle of that church and out the door.”

  “You would have never gotten where you are today if you’d had a family that soon.”

  “Don’t kid yourself, little brother. I’d trade that Mercedes for a mini-van in a heartbeat.”

  “What happened to her?”

  “Don’t know. She’s probably a soccer mom out in the suburbs somewhere.”

  “I’m not letting Serena go, just waiting until things get better for me.”

  Jeff got up to go inside. “And when will that be?”

  Tyler didn’t answer.

  “Me and Mikayla could have had half a little league team by now.”

  Tyler sat alone on the porch. Shadow brushed against his leg and lay down in front of him. He glanced at the dog’s pitiful expression. She had moped around since the day Serena left and so had he. “Don’t look at me that way.” He reached down and scratched Shadow’s ears. “I miss her too.”

  All the reasons he’d had for staying failed to convince him he’d made the right choice. He had to decide. Either go after what he wanted, or sit here and let it slip away. How had Serena put it? Imagine yourself in the life you want and work to get there. Baby steps, she’d said. It sounded easy but felt like leaping off a cliff.

  Tyler closed his eyes and imagined him and Serena together, side by side, running a new and improved version of JT’s. The image quickly faded as doubts crowded in. It had taken years to start JT’s, and look how that had turned out. Serena was all wrapped up in her new job now, her new life. There might not be any room for him anymore. One thing was for sure. Daydreaming on his sister’s porch wasn’t getting him anywhere.

  Tyler shook hands with Jeff and gave Chelsie a quick hug. Climbing into his Jeep, he whistled for Shadow. He steered the vehicle onto the highway. A large green sign read Highway 287 North. That’s where he wanted to be: North, with Serena. Tyler missed his exit to Serena’s old house and kept driving. The hardest thing about faith was taking that first step.

  Chapter 39

  Serena gazed out her office window on the 10th floor. A slight haze surrounded Central Park several blocks away, its lush green an oasis in the late summer heat of the city. Even after six weeks, the view seemed surreal, as if someone had taken the imaginary picture that she’d had in her mind all these years and glued it to the window.

  “You ready for this meeting?” Deborah stuck her head into the office. Ten years older than Serena, she exuded New York fashion from her black leather designer jacket to her tall spiked heels. Nolea would love her. Deborah joined her by the window.

  “I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of looking at this.” Serena smiled.

  “Miss Finley?” The receptionist carried a small wrinkled paper bag at arm’s length. “This was just delivered for you.”

  “Is it ticking?” Deb gave the bag a suspicious glance.

  The girl set it down, leaving them alone with the offending object. Serena peered at it. There were staples along the top. Picking it up, she jiggled it gently.

  It had something in it. Something heavy. She tugged on the paper, popped open the staples and dumped the contents onto her desk.

  The cross tumbled out, its bright stones reflecting the light.

  “Wow.” Deb said. “That’s beautiful.”

  Serena’s breath caught in her throat. Tyler’s here. She grabbed the necklace and ran down the hall to the reception desk. “Who delivered that bag?”

  “A guy in a cowboy hat. I told him you had a meeting.”

  Serena ran toward the door.

  “Where are you going?” Deborah yelled after her.

  “Sorry, there’s something I have to do.” Serena clutched the cross in her hand as she waited on the elevator and pushing the down button repeatedly. “Come on, come on.” She couldn’t believe he was here. He’d done it, finally taken the leap. She had almost convinced herself he’d never come for her. She rode down and burst through the front entrance into a sea of people. Where was he? She scanned the sidewalk to the left and to the right. A cowboy hat should be pretty easy to spot on a street in Manhattan.

  A dog barked, drawing her attention. Shadow. She peered through the throng of people toward the park. A beat up cowboy hat floated through the crowd toward Central Park. Serena bobbed and weaved her way through the people hurrying to catch him. She’d waited weeks for him and wasn’t waiting one more second.

  Arriving at the park a few minutes later, she saw him in the distance on the lush grass. “Tyler!” She yelled.

  He turned around and grinned at her.

  Serena kicked off her heels and sprinted across the grass. She leaped into his arms and he caught her, laughing as he kissed her.

  “I can’t believe you’re really here.” She gazed into deep blue eyes that had haunted her dreams for the past six weeks.

  “I couldn’t stay away. You have to understand I’m still trying to get things together. But I love you, and I’m willing to do anything to make this work.”

  “I love you, too,” she whispered. They kissed, sealing the promise between them. She’d somehow found the strength to let go, and he’d found the faith to believe.

  Chapter 40

  Four Years Later

  Tyler threw more wood into the fire pit. The ribs would be smoked to perfection in another 30 minutes, just in time to feed a restaurant full of people.

  Serena weaved her way through t
he kitchen, talking and laughing with the staff. Tyler smiled. They all loved her, and so did he.

  She’d been right about almost everything. Tyler had attended culinary school in New York right alongside Justin with the money he’d received from the donations, and now not only could he cook better, he knew every nuance of running a successful restaurant including how to pay the bills!

  Though Serena had been a big hit at American Woman magazine, it hadn’t taken her long to realize the city really didn’t suit her—or Shadow. As soon as culinary school was complete, they had all come right back to Cranfield.

  Serena grabbed Tyler’s arm. “Come on, you’re the man of the hour. They can handle this.”

  He followed her out to the front of the restaurant where all of their friends and family had gathered. Justin and several servers passed champagne to all the guests. Thank God they’d volunteered to help; the crowd had already grown larger than expected.

  Jeff raised his glass for a toast. “Here’s to my little brother,” he nodded toward Serena, “and my new sister-in-law. May their venture, Cooper and Company, be a huge success.” Shouts of agreement filled the room. Serena grinned at Tyler, love radiating from her face. She wore the silver cross around her neck as she had since the day he arrived in New York. The dream of the restaurant had happened much faster than he’d imagined. It was hard to believe that just a few years ago he’d stood in the rubble of what was JT’s thinking his life was over, but this was more than he’d ever hoped for.

  No one could have made him believe that this was even possible. No one except Serena. He’d never be able to thank her enough, love her enough. Putting his arm around her, he pulled her close. “Are you ready for this Mrs. Cooper?”

  She grinned. “Absolutely.”

  About

  The Author

  Dee Burks has been in the publishing industry for more than a decade. She has written numerous Amazon.com #1 bestsellers as a ghostwriter and is the author of Picks & Shovels: Cashing in on the New Gold Rush in Ghostwriting, The Trouble With Money: 8 Strategies to Eliminate Financial Chaos From Your Life, and FREE Your Inner Millionaire.

  Dee also writes historical romance under the name Kerri Marshall and has started a historical series beginning with Yours Again (January 2011). She has taught novel writing, ghostwriting and freelancing on the collegiate level and has an MBA with a special emphasis in international marketing. Having worked in the jungles of corporate America for more than a decade, her experience lends a level of believability and compassion to her characters’ voices.

  Dee is Editor and Publisher at TAG Publishing, LLC and is committed to helping authors build long term audiences for their work. www.deeburks.com