“Hi, Mom.” Kelsey leaned in and gave her mother a kiss on the cheek. “Where’s Dad and Jess?”
“They headed for the Ferris wheel with the kids.”
“So what are you doing here?”
“We were looking for you, but the grandkids couldn’t wait. We ran into Frannie and Roberto. They said they were babysitting while you and Cooper danced.”
Her mother’s eyes shimmered with mischief as she looked directly at him before glancing at her daughter again. “Aren’t you going to introduce me to the first young man who’s snagged your attention since you got back to town? Despite the fact it meant you blowing off plans with your family?”
Kelsey blushed. “Mom, be nice.”
Cooper had wondered about Kelsey’s social life long before his sister ratted him out about his. Just because she’d made it clear she didn’t date people she worked with, didn’t mean there wasn’t someone in Red Rock who’d been captured by her charms.
He took a step closer to his date and mentally filed away the older woman’s comment. “Kelsey didn’t tell me she already had plans when I asked her to come with me and Anthony tonight.”
“A good-looking cowboy and his adorable son as opposed to hanging out with her parents? Not a hard choice.”
Cooper liked her. He held out his hand. “Cooper Fortune, ma’am. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
They shook hands and Cooper felt the scrutiny of a gaze only a mother could give. It’d been a long time since he’d met a date’s parents. He immediately found himself wondering how he measured up.
“Jeannie Hunt,” she replied, “and it’s nice to meet you, too.”
Lily walked back over to join them and Cooper quickly introduced the women to each other only to find out they had worked on many charity events together.
“So, Lily, what are you doing here?” he asked.
“Enjoying the Spring Fling like everyone else,” she answered. “And no, William’s not here with me. His doctor felt the crowds and noise would provide too much stimulation. Jeremy and Kirsten are staying with him.”
She rubbed Anthony’s back as she spoke, but his cries grew louder. “I took over watching Anthony for Frannie when their little one started fussing and they had to leave. She said to tell you he only finished a half a bottle. And speaking of stimulus, I think this little guy of yours has also had enough excitement for one night.”
Cooper was already reaching for his son as she spoke, a rush of contentment filling him when Anthony burrowed into his shoulder. The baby’s fussing quieted and Cooper placed his hand at the back of his tiny head. Anthony’s skin was sweaty to the touch. “He feels warm.”
“Do you think he’s getting sick?” Kelsey asked.
Fighting back an initial rush of panic, Cooper focused on the two experienced mothers standing before him. “I…I don’t know. Lily, Mrs. Hunt, what do you think?”
Both women placed their hands on Anthony when Cooper eased him away from his chest.
“He is a bit cranky, but perhaps he’s just overexcited from being here,” Kelsey’s mother said. “And please, call me Jeannie.”
“She’s probably right,” Lily added. “He’s just ready for his own bed.”
“Then we better head out.” Kelsey reached for the stroller. “Why don’t you just carry him? He seems calmer with you.”
They said their goodbyes, Cooper getting his keys back from JR before they headed through the crowd. Anthony had quieted down by the time they reached the truck, but let out a wail the minute Cooper strapped him into the car seat.
“You probably want the rest of that bottle, but you’re going to have to wait until we get home.” From the swell of Anthony’s cries and the whipping around of his tiny arms, his son wasn’t too happy with that plan.
“Why don’t I sit in the back while you drive?” Kelsey shoved the stuffed animals into the front passenger side of the truck. “The poor dear really wants to eat.”
She didn’t wait for him to reply.
Grabbing the diaper bag, she darted to the other side of the truck and crawled over the large wrapped package Cooper noticed lying on the seat. He realized it held the blanket he’d purchased for her from Isabella. JR must have put it inside Cooper’s truck and then locked the doors afterward.
Kelsey ignored the package as she plopped down next to Anthony’s car seat. Seconds later, she had the bottle out, gently shaking it before popping off the protective cap. The tears stopped and Anthony’s eyes lit up as soon as he spotted what was in Kelsey’s hands. He wrapped his chubby hands around it and latched on to the nipple, sucking noisily.
Cooper watched the two of them, chalking up his sudden inability to speak to Kelsey’s quickness in fixing the situation. He’d been ready to deal with a crying baby all the way home. This solution never even occurred to him.
For someone who claimed a week ago that she didn’t have a maternal bone in her body, she was amazing with his son. He was so damn glad she was here.
“Easy there, buddy,” Kelsey said, as she leaned in close. Laughter followed, a low and husky chuckle that filled the truck cab. “You don’t want to drown yourself.”
The sound swirled through Cooper’s chest and caused his heart to pound. He took a step forward, yanking off his hat when the brim knocked up against the truck’s frame, wanting to be part of the intimate circle that was his son and this woman.
Say something. Say anything.
Thank her. Thank her for saying yes to your last-minute invite. Thank her for being smarter than you and easily finding a way to make things better for your son. Thank her for just being her.
Cooper tightened his grip on the back of the car seat and braced his other hand, still holding his Stetson, on the open truck door. He fought to catch his breath and regain his ability to form a coherent sentence. He felt like he was in a freefall, hard and fast. It scared the hell out of him that there was nothing he could do to stop it.
Kelsey and Anthony gazed at each other, and when Kelsey dipped her head even closer to smooth his brow with her fingertips, her hair fell slowly forward in a curtain of rich brown. The movement captured the baby’s attention as well, and Anthony reached for the silky strands.
Cooper got there first and untangled his son’s fingers before he could close them into a fist. “Oh, no, pal. You don’t want to be doing that. We don’t want to hurt the lady.”
Kelsey glanced up at him for a long moment before she straightened and her hair slipped through his fingers. “Thanks,” she said. “The hazards of long hair around a baby. I guess I should’ve worn it up in my usual ponytail.”
Cooper tightened his grip, holding on to the last strands. It was crazy, but he didn’t want to let her go. “I like it down.”
There it was again. Despite an overhead truck light, the cab’s interior remained in inky shadows, but not dark enough that he couldn’t see the deep yearning in those beautiful brown eyes of hers.
“Would you hold this for a minute?”
She had to repeat her question before Cooper realized she was talking about the baby’s bottle.
He did as she asked and Kelsey lifted her arms, elbows angled out as she pulled back her hair in quick, smooth motions that pushed her breasts against the row of buttons down the front of her dress.
A deep rumble filled the air and for a second, Cooper thought he hadn’t succeeded in holding back the groan that threatened to erupt from him. A second growl became a roll of thunder and a flash of bright light lit up the sky.
“Looks like we’re leaving just in time,” Kelsey said, lowering her arms, her hair now tied in a messy knot at the back of her head. “I didn’t think it was going to storm tonight.”
“Well, sometimes the unexpected just happens.”
Cooper didn’t know if he was talking about the change in the weather or his own internal whirlwind of emotions when it came to this woman.
“Why don’t you get strapped in? I’ll take care of the stroller and we’ll
beat the traffic out of here.”
Exiting the fairgrounds, Cooper headed for the ranch and found his gaze straying continually to the backseat. Kelsey chattered softly to Anthony until Cooper drove the truck through the gates leading to Molly’s Pride. By the time he pulled up to the front porch of his cottage, silence filled the truck.
Opening his door, he stepped into night air that felt thick and heavy in anticipation of the approaching rain. Thunder rumbled across the dark sky, chased by long streaks of lightning. By the time he reached Anthony, Kelsey had already released him from his restraints.
“He woke up when you opened your door. Go ahead and take him,” Kelsey whispered. “I’ll get the rest of this stuff and bring it inside.”
Cooper wanted to tell her not to worry about it, but if he did, would she just head to her apartment over the barn?
No, she wouldn’t leave without saying good-night. And she couldn’t say goodbye if he was busy with the baby.
He gave a quick nod of his head in agreement and lifted his son into his arms. Heading for the front door, he smiled when Anthony released a man-size belch as they entered. It was humid inside the house, so he left the door open for Kelsey and made a mental note to kick on the air-conditioning. He changed the baby’s diaper, put him in a fresh onesie and laid him in his crib.
“Sweet dreams, little guy,” he said, pulling a light blanket over his son. “And do your old man a favor and sleep through the night, okay?”
Walking back to the living room, Cooper watched Kelsey enter, her arms full of stuffed animals, Anthony’s diaper bag and the wrapped package. She even wore his Stetson on her head. Pausing to allow the screen door to smack her in the backside before she fully stepped inside, he realized she was trying not to make any noise.
Still smiling, he moved to take everything from her except the package with her blanket inside. He dumped the animals and his hat on the dining room table and put the unused bottle of formula back into the refrigerator. He returned to the living room in time to see Kelsey about to lay the package on the coffee table.
“Why don’t you go ahead and open that?” he asked, moving in behind her. “It’s for you.”
She turned to look at him, her face in shadows. “Me?”
He nodded.
“Why would—what did you do?”
“Just open it.”
She carefully worked at the plain brown wrapping, peeling it back slowly. A soft gasp escaped her lips when the multi-colored woven blanket spilled out. Picking it up, she held it out and looked at it for a long moment before clasping it to her chest.
“Oh, Cooper.”
Damn, but he wanted to grab her and slam his mouth over hers every time she said his name like that.
“I saw how much you liked it when we stopped by Isabella’s booth,” he said instead.
A loud clap of thunder rang through the cottage and he looked down the hall, braced for Anthony’s cries. When silence continued to fill the house, he turned back to find Kelsey had moved to the still-open front door.
“You shouldn’t have done this.” She stood with her back to him and stared out into the dark night, the blanket held close to her chest. “You didn’t have to do this.”
Three steps and he stood right behind her. “I wanted you to have a special reminder from tonight.”
She shook her head. “Tonight was wonderful. I don’t need—”
“Please, keep it.” He reached out but didn’t touch her. He curled his fingers into a fist and dropped his hand. His skin burned like he was on fire. A fire that fed the fierce, pulsing ache he had for this woman. His clothes stuck to his body as his temperature soared. He fought not to grab her and pull her against him so she could feel the hard evidence of what his need for her was doing to him.
Instead, she turned to face him, her hair still held in place by that makeshift knot. He desperately wanted to see it loose and falling over her shoulders again. Taking a step closer, he dipped his head low to hers. The catch in her breath and the light sheen of perspiration on her skin had him curling his fingers at the damp nape of her neck.
He inhaled deeply, filling his head with her sweet strawberry scent as the words fell from his lips. “Stay with me tonight, Kelsey.”
Chapter Nine
The moment Cooper spoke, the heavens opened. The pounding rain on the cottage roof matched the pounding of Kelsey’s heart. Another round of booming thunder filled the air and she jumped.
His fingers massaged her neck while his thumb lightly trailed down her jaw to her collarbone. “Hey, it’s only rain.”
“I know.” A gust of wind came through the screen door bringing a damp, cooling relief to her heated skin. “Oh, that feels good,” she sighed.
He placed his other hand at her waist and pulled her closer, the folded blanket squashed between their bodies. “What feels good, honey? The rain or me?”
She looked up as bright flashes of lightning filled the interior of the cottage, allowing her to see the sharp contrast between his easy smile and the passion in his eyes.
Passion for her.
“Both.”
His mouth crashed down on hers, taking the rest of her words as his hands moved across her lower back. She matched the thrust of his tongue with her own and a rush of cool air hit her upper thighs as his fingers curled into fists, bunching her skirt. She grabbed his upper arms, needing an anchor to hold on to as a powerful swirl of want and need churned through her.
From the moment they’d met, she’d known this would happen. As much as she tried to fight it, something deep inside her told her this was meant to be.
Cooper Fortune was the man she’d been waiting for.
Without lifting his mouth from hers, he released his hold on her dress and it dropped back into place. A moment later her blanket disappeared. She heard a light thud as it landed nearby. Then his hands were tunneling into her hair and angling her head to deepen the kiss.
He fought to free the long strands from the knot. The faint sting only heightened her desire. A deep groan escaped his mouth as he succeeded, the long locks gliding through his fingers to lie over her shoulders.
“Damn, I want you. But if you’re not going to stay…” His words came in a jagged whisper as he slowly ended the kiss and stepped away from her.
He ran his hands down her bare arms until he reached her fingertips and even then, they gently tap-danced against the backs of her hands.
“Let me put that a different way. If you don’t want to stay…to be with me, I’ll crash out here on the couch and you can take my bed.”
His words made her heart flip over in her chest. “My place isn’t that far.”
“It’s raining, Kels.”
“I won’t melt.”
He nodded, breaking contact with her completely and his keys jangled as he pulled them from his jeans pocket.
“Here, take my truck. Park it near the stairs and you’ll be—” His gaze locked with hers as he held out the key ring. “Be inside your place in minutes. A little wet, but none the worse for the wear.”
Oh, but she would be worse if she walked away from him.
She took the keys from his outstretched hand, watching the fractured disappointment cross his features. With a flick of her wrist, she tossed them over his shoulder, hoping they’d find a soft place to land.
Cooper wrapped his hands around her and pulled her up against him. “Tell me.” His words filled her ear as he lightly sucked on the sensitive area of skin just below the lobe. “I need to hear you say it.”
“I want you, too, Cooper.” Her purse strap fell from her shoulder and she let the bag drop to the floor as she tunneled her fingers into his hair, saying the words aloud. For him. For her. “I want to stay. I want to be with you.”
He took her mouth again in a ravenous kiss as he backed her up against the wall and pinned her there, his hips pressing into hers. The hard evidence of his arousal had her rising up on her tiptoes so she could cradle him at the juncture
of her thighs. His hands moved to cup her breasts and she arched into his touch as more flashes of light illuminated the living room.
“The door,” she gasped, pulling from his kiss. “Someone could see us.”
Cooper nudged the front door with his boot, closing it. The loss of the cool breeze from the rainstorm ratcheted up the temperature inside the cottage.
“Oh, it’s hot in here,” she moaned.
“Baby, it’s about to get even hotter.”
He covered her mouth again in a carnal kiss as his fingers found the top button of her sundress. He slid the first one through the opening with difficulty. The second and third proved just as stubborn, but the feel of his calloused hands on her moist skin drove Kelsey crazy.
The longing to touch him in the same way made her blood boil as much as their dueling tongues. She tucked her hands beneath his bent arms. Mirroring his efforts, she easily undid the buttons on his shirt, not stopping until she reached the oversize belt buckle at his waist. She tugged his shirt open and placed her hands on his heated skin, nudging his hands and his mouth away to do so.
He slapped his open palms against the wall on either side of her head. A low groan filled the air as he held his body away from her, allowing her space to drag her hands from his flat stomach to his chest. She felt the hammering of his heart as she pushed his shirt off his wide shoulders.
“Damn, that feels good.” Cooper rested his forehead against hers, his words coming with choppy breaths. “You’re better at this than I am.”
“Not really.” She huffed as the cotton material caught on his sweat-soaked biceps and refused to budge. “This isn’t going anywhere.”
“Maybe I can help.”
With one movement, he jerked his shirt free from the waist of his jeans and ripped it open, sending the last two buttons scattering into the shadows.
“Cooper!”
“Ah, much better.” He tugged the material from his arms and dropped it to the floor. Then he placed his hands back on the wall on either side of her. “Now, it’s your turn.”
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