My One and Only (Ardent Springs Book 3) (17 page)

Not long ago, their mother had suggested that Abby get some counseling, but she’d claimed to be fine. Based on what had just happened, Cooper intended to make the suggestion himself.

Chapter 18

So this was Cooper’s garage.

For some odd reason, Haleigh hadn’t expected it to be so . . . nice. The sign over the door read C
OOPER’S
T
OTAL
A
UTO
C
ARE
in big, bold letters, while a red neon sign in the window flashed the word O
PEN
. There were four gas pumps in front of the building, with the typical large canopy. Cars of varying shapes, sizes, and conditions filled nearly all open spaces down each side of the property, presumably waiting for attention. By the looks of things, Cooper would not run out of work anytime soon.

Though they’d exchanged a few flirtatious texts, she hadn’t seen him since the cookout, and took the opportunity of a morning off to pay a surprise visit. In truth, the visit was as much a surprise to Haleigh as it would be to Cooper, and her purpose for coming was twofold.

After spending every free minute of the last few days reviewing Carrie’s research, Haleigh really wanted to take on the shelter project. It wouldn’t be easy, and finding a suitable facility would be the first hurdle. Or rather, the second after procuring the funding. She’d already put in a call to a friend back in Memphis who knew everything about writing grant proposals and would hopefully be willing to offer advice, if not direct assistance.

But Carrie had been right that the old band camp property offered the best option in the area short of building from scratch. There was no way they could construct an entirely new facility that would provide even half of the housing space available at the camp. Not without a major benefactor. With so much of the town focused on raising money for the theater, their best route was to apply for as many grants as possible and use the funds awarded to buy the existing property.

Of course, the grant applications would require a full proposal, including the property they intended to use and the cost involved in obtaining it. According to Carrie, the asking price on the camp was significantly higher than the value, considering the distance from town and the condition of the place. No one had used it in at least five years. Nothing could sit empty for five years and be move-in ready.

Therefore, they needed a personal connection. An in with the owners. That’s where Cooper came into the picture. He knew everyone, so surely he’d know the proprietor of JW Property Management.

The second reason was, well, she just wanted to see him. Abby hadn’t spoken to her since Saturday night, and as stupid as it sounded, Haleigh needed a friend. Not that Jessi hadn’t been a cheerleader during this intense period of awkward silence, but she wasn’t Cooper.

With sweaty palms, Haleigh climbed from her car and forced her feet to move. Propelled by sheer will and a hefty dollop of lust, she reached the entrance to the garage, which was two bays wide with both doors completely open, and realized she had no idea where to go. Wasn’t there a rule about civilians walking into garages? As in, they shouldn’t?

“Can I help you?” a voice behind her said.

Haleigh nearly jumped out of her knickers as she spun on her toes to face a bearded giant wearing glasses with the thickest lenses she’d ever seen. They made his blue eyes look like dinner plates and must have weighed a solid pound each.

“Um . . . I’m looking for Cooper. The guy in charge?”

Well of course the blind lumberjack would know that Cooper was the guy in charge. What a stupid thing to say.

Looking her up and down, the man in filthy overalls leaned slightly right and bellowed his boss’s name. Haleigh resisted the urge to cover her ears. What he lacked in eyesight the man more than made up for in volume.

“What?” Cooper yelled from the bowels of the garage. She tried to locate the sound, but Haleigh couldn’t see anything other than a Buick with a raised hood.

“There’s someone here to see you!” yelled the least helpful man ever.

“Ask ’em what they want,” echoed back.

“Oh, for crying out loud.” Haleigh marched into the garage, ignoring the protests behind her, and found whom she believed to be Cooper tucked into the guts of the Buick from the waist up. “Is this how you greet all your customers?”

Cooper jerked, smacked his head on some big block-looking thing, and spewed an impressive stream of profanity before rising out of the machine. Rubbing his head, he looked as angry as Mabel the Charging Chicken until he realized who she was. Almost instantly, a goofy grin crossed his face. “Hey there, Hal.” He stepped around the front of the car, looking intent on giving her a potentially greasy greeting.

“Whoa there, big boy,” Haleigh said, holding up both hands to stop him. “Keep your nasty fluids to yourself.”

Glancing down at his overalls, he said, “You deal with nastier fluids than this, remember?”

“We are not going to compare our dirty work. Maybe I should have called first.”

“No,” he assured her. “This is fine. Let me get out of these overalls and we can talk.” Haleigh resisted the urge to help him undress. The smells of gasoline and exhaust fumes were great libido suppressants. “Come on into the office and I’ll slip these off.”

She followed him to a glass door at the end of the garage, but as they approached the exit, the burly greeter called to Cooper. “The sheriff’s office is expecting that car fixed and ready by five today.”

Grabbing a bottle of motor oil off the counter beside them, Cooper hurled it through the air. “Then you should stop standing around and get to work.”

Haleigh couldn’t decipher the mumbled response, but had no doubt it wasn’t pleasant.

“Do all of your employees question you like that?” she asked.

“Don’t mind Frankie. He’s been here since Tanner owned the place. Cranky as a badger in a box, but he can fix a transmission with his eyes closed.” Cooper nodded to the girl behind the tiny checkout counter before pointing Haleigh toward a back room that turned out to be a slightly cluttered but very professional-looking office. “Have we gotten a confirmation on that tire order?” he asked from the doorway.

“Ten minutes ago,” the girl answered. “I put it on your desk.”

“Thanks, Kelly.”

Closing the door behind him, he unsnapped the grease-covered outfit and dragged it down his arms. The T-shirt he wore underneath clung to his abs like a second skin. Haleigh nearly swallowed her tongue. When he’d tugged the coveralls over both boots, he hung them on a hook on the back of the door without looking and walked her way.

“Now, let’s try that hello again.” In less than a second, Haleigh found herself pulled tight against Cooper’s chest, staring up into eyes darkening to the shade of emeralds. “Hey, doc,” he said. “I missed you.”

And there was the kind word she needed. Feeling like a schoolgirl with her first crush, she gave her best smile in return. “How much did you miss me?” she flirted, unable to help herself.

“Telling you wouldn’t really explain it,” he quipped. “I’d better show you.”

Cooper had turned kissing into an art form. He started slow and sweet, but didn’t stay that way for long. Between his hands and his tongue and his powerful body, Haleigh couldn’t decide which part of him she liked best. And then she remembered that there were parts she hadn’t even explored yet. That thought turned her brain to mush.

When the backs of her thighs connected with something hard and unmoving, common sense kicked back in. She had a reason to be here that didn’t involve getting naked on Cooper’s desk, and though she wasn’t eliminating that from the to-do list, they needed to conduct business first.

Breaking the kiss, she said, “We need to slow down here. I don’t think we’re at the sex-on-the-desktop phase yet.”

“You’re right,” Cooper agreed, more readily than she liked. He could have protested at least a little. “When we do make love, it isn’t going to be in this ratty old office.”

The word
when
created a shiver of anticipation. Man, was she a goner.

“I really am happy to see you,” he said.

“I noticed,” she laughed. “I was afraid you’d be upset that I didn’t call first.”

Dropping a kiss on her nose, he said, “You never have to call first.”

The gesture was beyond sappy, but Haleigh ate it up like a kitten with a bowl of warm milk. “That’s nice to know.” Not wanting to start out with
Hey, can I use your connections
, she said, “How has your day been?”

Cooper lost the playful expression. “I had another surprise visitor this morning.”

“I hope you didn’t give them the same greeting that I got,” she said, unnerved by his sudden change in mood. “An unhappy customer?”

“An unhappy sister,” he replied.

“Oh.” Haleigh would have liked to come up with a better response, but she was too busy worrying about what might come next.

“Actually,” he said, “it’s good that you’re here. This way we can clear the air right now.”

“Clear the air?” Haleigh asked. “I didn’t realize the air had gotten foggy.” She should have known this was too good to be true.

Turning them around, Cooper propped on the edge of the desk and pulled her in between his legs. “Abby decided I should know certain things about you, about your history, before I got myself in too deep.”

Pulling her hands from his, she said, “Did she, now?”

“I don’t like the way she did it, but here’s a chance to tell your side.”

“So now I’m on trial?” This was not going to happen. Cooper was the one person who didn’t treat her like a criminal, and now he wanted to play judge and jury while she pleaded her case? No thank you. “Let’s just forget it.”

“Hal, wait.” Cooper caught her hand and refused to let go. “Why are you so mad?”

“You lied, Cooper. You said good or bad, and the minute you got the ugly truth, you spooked. Which is exactly what you said wouldn’t happen.”

“But I didn’t—”

Too pissed to listen to anything he had to stay, Haleigh ripped her hand away and charged for the door.

“Now wait a damn minute,” Cooper said, catching Haleigh before she reached the door. “All I’ve done was offer you a chance to have your own say. If I’d believed Abby and told you to get lost the minute you walked in, then fine. You’d have every right to be pissed. But if you recall, I didn’t do that.”

“I shouldn’t have to defend myself,” she growled, madder than he’d ever seen her. “Not to you.”

“Who said anything about defending yourself? Jesus, Hal. What do you think she told me? A few engagements and a drinking problem aren’t exactly felony charges.”

“Don’t do that.” Haleigh poked him in the chest. “Don’t make light of who I am and pretend it doesn’t bother you.”

“And don’t put words in my mouth,” Cooper said, poking her in the arm. “If by
bother me
you mean am I annoyed by what you’ve been through? Yeah, I’m bothered. If you mean am I ticked that your best friend would betray you, yes, I’m bothered by that, too. But if you think for one minute that I’m going to run the other way because you’ve actively avoided marrying someone, or tried to drown yourself in a bottle once or twice, you’re wrong.”

Like a tire driven over a nail, Haleigh collapsed, her forehead dropping hard against his sternum. “I wish it was only once or twice.”

“I admit,” he said, rubbing her back, “I don’t know what it’s like to fight off the demons you carry around. But if you’ll take some backup, I’m ready to fight with you.”

Her head rolled from side to side. “No. No no no.
That’s
why we shouldn’t do this.” A golden curl fell over her right eye as she looked up. “You shouldn’t have to fight anything. You deserve an easy life with a simple girl. A girl who doesn’t have enough skeletons in her closet to stock a Halloween store.”

Tucking the wayward strand behind her ear, Cooper smiled. “Simple is overrated. And boring.”

“Heartache and frustration are not an alternative to boring.”

Seeing that she was determined to push him away, Cooper offered a compromise. “How about this. I take you to lunch. You tell me about these bozos you were smart enough not to marry, and if you want to talk about the other part, that’s up to you. Either way, after I hear the ugly details, I’ll decide if I’m in or out.” He couldn’t tell if she looked relieved or defeated, so he pulled her close and whispered, “But here’s a spoiler. I’m in no matter what you tell me. Just so you know.”

She didn’t smile, but she came close. “Abby is so right. I do not deserve you.”

“Then it’s a good thing Abby doesn’t get a vote.” Cooper opened the door and allowed Haleigh to step through first. Before they reached the front counter, Ian stepped in from the garage. “Hey, cuz,” Cooper said. “I’m taking Haleigh to lunch. You want me to bring you something back from Mamacita’s?”

“Heck, yeah,” Ian said. “Get me four tacos and an enchilada.”

“Are you feeding a small army?” Haleigh asked.

“Nope,” he said with a grin as he patted his stomach. “Just a growing boy.”

“Boy is right,” Cooper agreed. “Let Frankie know I’m leaving.”

They didn’t make it a step before Ian asked, “How’s Jessi doing?”

Haleigh said, “She’s good. Busy with the baby. Thankfully, Emma is starting to sleep longer and scream less.”