She smiled, despite what had happened. “If I’d had time to react, I guess it would have scared the shit out of me too.”
He smiled at her, and her heart melted. Damn, the man was one sexy Cooper. The mummers of voices around her made her aware of the crowd they’d collected.
Connie came running to them, tears running down her checks. “Oh, Honor, are you all right? Thank God Jackson was walking by when that happened.” The inn was near his office, so it made sense he’d be around. “I have no idea how that fell. I keep my pots far away from the ledge. Oh, Honor, I’m so sorry.”
Honor gave the woman a hug, ignoring her hurts, and squeezed tight. “I’m fine. Jackson’s the hero here.”
Jackson grunted and pushed Honor away slightly. “I’m just lucky I was here when I was.” He turned toward the crowd. “We’re fine, give her some space.” At the sound of his stern voice, some of the gawkers left, and Honor ignored the rest. “Let’s get you inside so we can look at your palms.”
Honor shook her head and pulled away. She needed to put some distance between the two of them. It was clear that even after eight years apart her feelings toward him had never changed.
“I’m late for meeting with my aunt. I can clean them up there. Thank you again for pushing me out of the way, and I’m sorry I yelled at you.”
He lowered his brows and put his fists on his hips. “Don’t thank me and don’t apologize, but are you sure you’re okay to be driving?”
She nodded. “I’m fine. I don’t want my aunt to worry, but I need to go. I’ll help you clean up everything when I get back, Connie.”
Connie shook her head. “No, dear, I’ll get it. You just be careful.” The other woman hugged her then went into the inn, presumably to get something to clean the mess.
“It will get cleaned. Go, Honor,” Jackson said. “If you’re too busy to take care of yourself, then you’re too busy to take care of others. Drive safe to your aunt’s.” He turned then, his hands still fisted as if he were angry or… maybe as though he were trying to hold himself back from touching her.
The latter seemed like her own imagination though since he was Jackson and didn’t need her.
He never had.
Leaving Jackson on the sidewalk, Honor got into her car without a backward glance and made her way to her aunt’s place. She’d been to Holiday countless times as a child to visit, but hadn’t been back for eight years. The last visit had been when she’d been finishing graduate school and wanted a break. Her aunt’s warm home, filled with flowers and the scent of lemon oil, always made her feel as though she could stay forever and escape her problems.
Not that escaping her problems had helped in the past, but now she was here to face them head-on.
On that last visit, she’d met Jackson. Yes, during all her other visits, she’d known about the sexy Cooper brothers and had sighed and swooned with the rest of the female population, but that last visit was where she’d been more than a sideline.
She’d been twenty-five, he thirty, and they’d had the best summer she could have imagined. They’d dated and slept together. Even though it was a summer romance, they had been old enough to know the consequences of what they were doing and had set barriers in place so, when she left, it wouldn’t hurt to do so.
God, she’d been an idiot.
She’d fallen in love with him and had told him so, saying she’d stay in Holiday and work there doing something else without her graduate degree so he could keep his new practice.
Hell, she’d about died when she’d said that to him.
Honor parked in her aunt’s driveway and closed her eyes.
His whole face had closed off, and he’d pushed her away, telling her to grow up and leave so she could fulfill her dreams. She might have walked away, but he’d pushed her first.
Though it had hurt like hell, now she knew he’d done it for her own good. If he hadn’t been cruel—whether he’d meant it or not—she’d have stayed and ruined her chances at her career. She might have even resented him for letting her give up her life for him.
He hadn’t even introduced her to his brothers when they’d been together. She should have known it had only been for the summer like they’d planned and not for a lifetime like she’d hoped.
At twenty-five, she’d been a young idiot. Now, at thirty-three, she was ready to learn from her mistakes and get on with her life and her duties—without Jackson.
Her heart did that annoying shudder in her chest, and she shook her head.
Nope. She didn’t need Jackson, and her damn heart would just have to get over him like she’d been doing for almost a decade.
Honor made her way through her aunt’s front door and ran a hand through her hair, wincing as she remembered belatedly that she needed to clean the cuts and scrapes from sliding across the sidewalk when Jackson has pushed her to the ground.
She held back a shudder at the thought. Sadly, it wasn’t the almost dying that made her want to wrap her arms around herself. No, it was the memory of Jackson’s warm weight along her body as he protected her.
Damn man.
“What the hell happened to you, girl?” her aunt Clementine said as she strode into the foyer, her bright red hair in a uniquely coiffed hairstyle.
There was nothing usual about her aunt. The woman screamed unique. With the bright Crayola-red hair, the not-overdone but blatant makeup and form-fitting outfits, her aunt looked as though she should be in Vegas, not in a small town in Montana.
No one really understood Clementine, and that’s how Honor liked it. The woman was herself no matter the cost, and people seemed to respect her for it—even if they didn’t say it.
“I fell,” Honor said simply as she walked into the kitchen, Clementine on her heels clucking like a mother hen.
“Sit down at the table, and I’ll take care of your cuts,” her aunt ordered, and Honor obeyed.
Really, there wasn’t a point in
not
doing what her aunt said.
“It wasn’t that big a deal.”
Liar
. “I was walking out of the inn, and a flowerpot fell from a window above me.” She paused for a split second. “Someone pushed me out of the way, and I hit the sidewalk. Hence the cuts and scrapes.”
Clementine raised a brow at her hesitation on the word
someone
but cleaned out her wounds without a word, as if she were trying to find a diplomatic way to say what needed to be said.
Okay, diplomatic probably wasn’t the right word considering the type of woman her aunt was, but at least Clementine was trying.
“You could have been killed, Honor,” her aunt said as she finished up.
Honor repressed that annoying shudder and shook her head. “I was fine.”
“Yes, because
someone
saved you. I wonder who that could be.”
Honor rolled her eyes. “You’re the Ivory Queen, not a witch or a mind reader.”
Clementine raised her chin. “Oh, we’ll discuss my being the Ivory Queen in a moment, dear niece, but first I want to know what you think about that very handsome dentist.”
Honor rubbed her temples. Dear Lord, she never could get anything past her aunt no matter how hard she tried.
“Jackson is just a…well; he isn’t a friend, is he? He’s just there. What happened was a long time ago, and we’re both over it.”
Liar
.
Wow, she was doing great at lying to herself today.
Her aunt waited for more then let out a sigh. “If that’s the way you want to play it, then fine, Honor. It’s going to come back and bite you in the ass, but whatever.”
Honor snorted. “You know, most aunts don’t curse like a sailor in front of their nieces.”
Clementine raised a brow. “Well, most aunts don’t have to deal with the politics and duties of reining in thousands of tooth fairies. As it is, I’m tired, and we’re going to need to open a new warehouse soon so we can store all those baby teeth.”
Honor frowned at her aunt’s words. Clementine had never once said she was tired or sick or anything other than strong and vital. She looked at her aunt’s face and noticed a few wrinkles around her eyes that hadn’t been there before.
“I’m sorry I was gone so long.”
Clementine gave a sad smile. “You left because your heart was broken. I understand, dear. Yes, you could have started your duties as a tooth fairy earlier, but you’re here now. We managed just find without you, though I’m glad you’re here.”
“I left you having to find another person to watch over the territory assigned to me. That can’t be forgiven so easily.”
Her aunt shook her head and poured them glasses of water with strawberries and mint—nothing too acidic for their teeth. “Brent took care of your territory just fine. Honestly, we don’t even need two fairies so close to each other since he handled the work easily, but we like another person in Holiday because that’s where the Ivory Queen always resides. Or at least, has since Holiday was founded.”
“Well, I’m back, but I don’t want to step on any toes, you know?”
Her aunt smiled and took a sip of her water. “You won’t. Brent was fine when I told him you were returning. Honestly, now he’ll have more time to move on with his life and live normally.”
“Wait, has he been neglecting his own happiness because he had to do my work?” Shame filled her again, and she set down her glass.
“Shut up. You needed time to grow up and find something you love to do besides teeth. I get that, Honor. Fairies usually don’t start working until their mid-thirties anyway—that way they have time to live their lives normally before they do things magically. You were only starting early because of who I am, not because you necessarily wanted to.”
“I’d made a promise though, and I broke it.”
Her aunt clucked her tongue again and took another sip. “You left so you could grow up and nurse a broken heart. If you’d stayed—even after Jackson—you’d have resented everyone for it, and that wouldn’t make a good tooth fairy, would it?”
Honor shook her head.
“That’s right. Fairies need to love what they do because like Christmas, Easter, and all the other holidays children love, they need the tooth fairy to show them that their dreams and hopes can come true. We’re the ones who show that bit of magic and take their teeth—and a copy of their favorite memories—with us. We leave a coin… well, more these days because of inflation, to show the children that people are thinking of them. We then implant the memories in their parents’ minds to let them think
they’re
the ones doing it, hence bringing them closer to their children.”
Honor smiled as her aunt went through the reasons her kind existed. “I love you, Aunt Clementine.”
Her aunt snorted and turned her head, but not before Honor caught the misty look in her eyes.
“You’re back now, and you get to relearn how to make children’s dreams come true. I know you have other plans with the camp you’re setting up with the town, and I’ll be there to help if you need it. Don’t let your past and fears ruin what you could have, Honor.”
Honor stood up and hugged her aunt, not surprised when Clementine hugged her hard right back. Her aunt might act gruff and curse like a sailor, but she was still her flesh and blood.
Speaking of….
She pulled back and sighed. “Tucker’s pissed, by the way.”
At the mention of Honor’s brother, Clementine laughed. “That boy is an idiot. I love him, don’t get me wrong, but he’s an idiot.”
“He didn’t want me to come back. It took all I had to stop him from coming here and kicking Jackson’s ass when I left. Thank you for that.”
Clementine rolled her eyes. “Tuck needed to know why you were leaving in such a hurry. Big brothers need to protect their sisters, even if it annoys them. It’s in their blood.”
“Well, I practically had to tie him down. Now he’s pissed because he thinks I’m coming here to get back with Jackson. Yeah, like I’d prostrate myself, begging for scraps. No, thank you. That’s over. Oh, and Tuck’s mad that I’m joining the family business. He might know about magic, but he doesn’t like it.”
Much like someone else she knew.
Not that he’d ever told her that, but Clementine had mentioned it.
Clementine sighed and poured herself some more water. “I don’t know where I went wrong with that boy.”
“Considering he was raised by our straight-laced, magic-hating parents, I have an idea,” Honor said wryly.
“At least you came out okay,” Clementine said with a smile. “And don’t worry about Tucker. I’m sure he’ll turn around.”
Honor grinned. “I keep telling you that you’re not a mind reader or witch, yet you keep acting like one.”
Her aunt fluffed out her too-red hair. “What can I say? It’s a gift.”
Honor snorted and brought her aunt into another hug. She’d needed this. She’d needed to come home to Holiday, even if Jackson didn’t want her there. She had a job to do—two in fact—and she couldn’t wait to get started.
Hiding from the eldest Cooper brother, however, might make things a bit difficult.
Good thing Honor was up for a challenge.
Chapter 3
Jackson poured the rich brew down his throat and closed his eyes, savoring the taste. He might act like a clean-cut business man, but hell, a good beer seemed to make anything better after a long-ass day.
Since he’d spent the past two days trying not to think about a certain woman, he thought he deserved a beer or three.
Springsteen belted from the speakers as people played pool in the back under dim lighting. Others sat at the bar, either alone with their drink or talking about whatever was on their mind.
The Cooper brothers sat in their booth in the back corner of their local dive, Eddie’s, each with a beer in front of him. They didn’t get out as much as they liked, but Jackson was glad they got the chance tonight.
“Do you remember when we used to do shots on these nights?” Justin asked, his eyes closed as he leaned his head against the back of the booth. “I know we don’t do whiskey anymore because a certain brother of ours had an
incident
.”
Jackson held back a shudder as his stomach threatened to revolt at just the memory of that night of the whiskey shots. Thank God he wasn’t that guy anymore.