Sometimes, Forever (Sometimes Moments #2) (3 page)

C
alling in sick was the best idea Cooper had ever had. He was sporting a hangover as bad as they came. After a morning of lying in bed and eating all the fried bacon he could stomach, he’d forced himself to shower and then, when he felt he was okay enough, he went for a run. His run had taken him around the Warren Meadows Park, the primary school his sister worked at, and then back home. As he sucked in deep breaths, mentally cursing himself for drinking so much last night, he headed to the fridge of his small kitchen. The home he owned wasn’t large. Two bedrooms and a study. Two bathrooms with a double garage. The kitchen had enough room to entertain a small dinner, but overall, it was a small house. It was all he could afford without getting into serious debt.

He loved the house.

He owned it.

He made the money to own it.

Cooper pulled the fridge door open and grabbed a bottle of water from the top shelf. His sister’s fiancé, Rhys, worked for a drink company. One of the many perks of his job was all the free bottled water and sports drinks one could ever want. Cooper had never asked for them. One day, they had shown up at his doorstep with a note from the company and Rhys. Once he twisted the cap off, Cooper spun around and stared at his lounge room. It wasn’t bare. A couch, a TV, a coffee table, some photo frames, and a couple of lamps. Yet it still didn’t feel right. As much as he loved his house and his possessions that filled it, it still didn’t feel like a home to him.

“Maybe I do need a dog,” he thought out loud.

He took a swig of water, and then set the bottle down as his eyes swept the cream walls.

“Maybe a beagle.”

Just as Cooper nodded at his decision to find himself a beagle, his phone began to vibrate in his shorts pocket. He retrieved it, noticing a number he did not recognise on the screen. Wiping the sweat from his forehead, he answered the call and put the phone to his ear.

“Hello?” he said, slightly unsure as he leant against the bench.

“Hi. Is this Cooper Hepburn?” a man with a deep voice asked.

Cooper quickly thought back to see if he recognised the voice. But he came up short. He didn’t know this voice, and he certainly didn’t owe anyone anything to have strange men calling him. He felt safe enough where he could confirm that it was he the caller was looking for.

“That’s me. How can I help you?”

“Oh, good. I’m Graham Scott. I’m the owner of Scott Family Lavender here in Daylesford. You sent in your resume last night. I was wondering if you wanted to do a Skype interview later this afternoon?”

Shit.

I didn’t think I sent it.

I already have a job …

That I hate.

“That sounds great. What time are you thinking?” Cooper asked. He tried to hide his excitement. He’d get a dog later if he got the job. If he didn’t … he’d get himself a dog.

Graham hummed. “I have to run into town and to the hotel here right now. I was thinking when I come back. Say around two? If you’re free.”

Cooper nodded even though he knew Graham couldn’t see it. “Two works for me.”

The lavender farm owner let out a sigh of relief. “This sounds promising.
You
sound promising. I have your Skype details here. We’ll talk at two. Nice meetin’ ya, Cooper.”

“You, too, Graham.” And with that, Cooper hung up.

Graham had said he sounded promising. He hoped so. Before he locked his phone, he did a Google search of Daylesford, and the images that came up had him smiling. It was beautiful. The lake was stunning in the pictures. It was what he needed to escape the bubble and his mother.

“Let me get this job,” he whispered.

2:00 p.m.

2:01 p.m.

2:09 p.m.

2:26 p.m.

Cooper stared at the clock on his MacBook as he sat impatiently on his office chair. Graham had said two. It was now quarter to three. He hoped Graham hadn’t hired someone in the time between their phone call and this supposed Skype video chat. It was hard to understand but Cooper believed that this job was meant to be his. He wanted it enough to believe it was meant to be. But life worked in funny ways. This morning, he had wanted a dog. Now, he wanted a job on a farm three hours away from where he lived. Suddenly, a rectangle box appeared on his screen, slicing through his thoughts.

Graham Scott requests a video chat.

He accepted immediately.

Then an image of a man with blonde hair and blue eyes took the entire space of Cooper’s screen. He had the makings of a beard as if he hadn’t shaved in a week. The bags under his eyes were evident, too.

“Hey … Cooper?”

“That’s me,” he said.

He exhaled. “Thank, God. I’m sorry. There was an emergency at the hotel and I had to get down there. Took much longer than I thought to fix. Right, I’m Graham Scott,” he said and then smiled at the camera.

“Nice to meet you. So how does this Skype interview work?”

Graham let out a laugh. “To be honest, you’ve already got the job. I spoke to your reference, Mr Jenkins, this morning. He said I’d be an idiot not to hire you. You have the degree, which most of the applicants had. But your old boss tells me you have the commitment and will to do hard labour, which makes you stand out. The job here is for a year and you’ll be working on your own most of the time. I’m getting married and I need someone I trust to look after this place while I’m on my honeymoon. You’ll be okay since I’ll be going during our quieter time of the year. But my fiancée has some questions for me to ask you if that’s okay?”

You’re a good man, Mr Jenkins.

Cooper nodded. “Go for it.”

Graham picked up a piece of paper that could be seen on the screen. “How do you feel about small towns?”

“Her question?” Cooper asked, brow raised.

“Yeah,” Graham confirmed. “Her father’s the mayor. Has been for years.”

“Never lived in one. But I like the idea of them.”

“Good answer,” a woman’s voice said.

Cooper stilled, trying to find the owner of the voice on his screen.

“What? It’s a good answer,” the woman said. Then she stepped into the camera view and smiled at him. She was beautiful. Blonde curly hair with bright blue eyes. If this was Graham’s fiancée, he had chosen an absolute looker. “Hi, Cooper. I’m Madilynne.”

“Nice to meet you,” he said.

Her smile turned into a smirk. “Right back at you. Good luck with the rest of the interview. You can’t go wrong here.” She set a hand on her fiancé’s shoulder. “I gotta get back to Peyton and the hotel. I like this guy. Don’t make him not want this job, Graham.”

“Let me know if she needs any more help since Nigel’s on holidays,” Graham said.

Madilynne nodded. “All right. I’ll let Peyton know. Bye, Coop!”

“Sorry about that,” Graham said once his fiancée was out of the video.

“Did she just call me Coop?”

“Means she likes you. Okay, we can save the rest of the questions for later. I just have one question to ask. This is from me. To be honest, I’m gonna base how I like you off your answer.”

Cooper became anxious. His heart beat erratically in his chest. His palms began to sweat.

One question.

His future was based on the answer he gave from one question.

Graham took a deep breath. “If you found a reason to stay past the terms of your employment, would you?”

“Are you insane?” Margot shouted, her voice echoing in his car’s speakers.

It was too late.

He had quit his job without a second thought. Cooper’s house was up for rent, and he was twenty minutes from Daylesford, country Victoria. He was terrible at goodbyes. Only because he never had to say them often enough. But when he got the call that he got the job as operations manager at Scott Family Lavender Farm, he decided to leave Warren Meadows and follow where life took him.

“I’m a very rational person,” he said, knowing that it would piss her off.

“A rational person doesn’t move three hours away to take a job that is a lot more work than his last and a pay cut. Cooper, you are working for less money!”

He laughed. “It’s not about the money, Margie. It’s about trying something new. I looked and Daylesford is really nice.”

“So is an Audi but you don’t see me blowing mine and Phil’s savings on one on a whim,” she scolded.

“This feels right,” he said, eyes still on the highway.

“That’s it. You’re insane. Mum is going to go insane. And then she’s going to make me go insane. What kind of heartless brother are you?”

“You’re being dramatic.”

“You’re being careless.”

“Daylesford could change my life,” he said.

She let out a short laugh. “Unlikely. But hey, it’s your life. Get ready to be bored with it. Small town? Seriously, Coop?”

To his left, a sign caught his eye. He wasn’t sure why, but he indicated to the left. He pulled over and put his car in park. “Seriously. I gotta go. I’ll call you later. I love you, Margot.”

“I love you, too, Coop. I love your insanity sometimes. Not sure how I feel about this particular time, though. I’ll call you later.”

Cooper hung up by pressing the ‘end call’ button on his steering wheel. He looked into the side mirrors to see no car coming, and he slipped out of his silver Range Rover. He rounded the car and stood in front of the sign with a smile.

Because he wasn’t wrong.

This.

This moment.

This decision.

Felt right.

Welcome to Daylesford, Victoria.

I feel like I know you. I’ve heard enough stories to know I would have liked you …