“The world’s a pretty big place.” Elise walked the rest of the way into the store and bent down so she was eye level with the boy. “I’m sure there are a few better riders. Cooper here is pretty good, or so I’m told.”
Eva laughed. “That’s putting it mildly. So, really how did the interview go?”
“I...”
There she went again with the “I...” instead of just spitting out whatever it was.
“What brings you to AJ’s Outfitters?” Cooper asked, as if she hadn’t been in the store a million times. “You need some mining gear? Must need something special to drive in all the way from Two Mules.”
“I’m here for a job interview. I was just at the high school,” Elise admitted. “They’re thinking about hiring a social worker, and—”
“—you took the job?” Eva was nothing if not persistent.
Elise shot Eva a dirty look. “No, I told them I’d think about it.” To Cooper, she said, “It’s just that Two Mules will be laying off one of us, and—”
“If you take the job—” Eva got excited all over again “—we’ll get to see you more than a few times a year?”
Elise had been in his store over two minutes and not once had acted like he was anything but a storekeeper.
“If you came home, you might have to get close to people again,” he commented, working hard to keep his tone casual.
“I’m close to people.” She didn’t exactly snap at him, but her words had bite. “I’m just committed elsewhere.”
Cooper didn’t bother to tell her what he thought about her using the word committed. At one time, she’d known the meaning of the word. If she’d stayed true to it, they’d have been married four or five years, maybe have a kid or two. Come to think of it. Committed had two meanings. Cooper needed to be committed for still harboring feelings for her.
“It would be awesome if you came back home,” Eva gushed. “The ranch could use the help. We’re busier than ever. And, if you worked at the high school just think of all the good you could do for those kids.”
Wisely, Cooper didn’t contribute to this train of thought. Maybe Eva was right. He sure knew those kids at the high school needed all the help they could get. But he really wished some other knight—knightess?—in shining armor was showing up. Elise had not been there when Cooper needed her most. He couldn’t trust her to be there for Garrett.
Maybe he should look into getting counseling for Garrett. Cooper couldn’t imagine going through the trials of being a high school student without his dad being there.
Mitch Smith had been his anchor after Elise left. He’d dogged Cooper, getting him to work more, attend church functions even without Elise on his arm, and finally talked Cooper into putting away the engagement ring and going to college on the rodeo scholarship, only as a solo instead of a pair.
“Best thing you can do,” Mitch had advised all those years ago, “is remain a ship in the ocean she’ll return to.”
His dad had sayings for every occasion.
Cooper’s ship had sunk, risen, been attacked a few times, and now sported a couple of holes. But he was still sailing. Unfortunately, he was now so used to being solo he wasn’t sure he wanted the condition to change.
One thing for sure, he couldn’t accept Elise as anything but a deserter.
“Hmph.” Clearly, Eva wasn’t impressed with her sister’s evasive responses. “We can talk more tonight.”
“I might head back to Two Mules tonight. I’ve got the dogs to think of, plus I really need—”
“Your next-door neighbors love your dogs. You know they’ll take care of them.”
Eva turned to Cooper. “If you’ll just let me sign Timmy and Jesse up for tomorrow’s ride, we’ll get going.” Turning to Elise, she said, “I’m thinking there’s a reason why you’re here to see Cooper.”
To Cooper’s surprise, Elise didn’t protest.
“We’re having fried chicken,” Timmy said. “You’ll like it, especially if you use ketchup.”
Cooper winked at Timmy and took care of their registration. A moment later, the pair left and he faced Elise alone. If anything, she’d improved with age, more beautiful now than she’d been at sixteen when he’d gotten the courage to ask her out for a real date. Then, he’d had to bolster up the courage to ask her father’s permission.
“What can I do for you?” His words broke the silence, and he sounded very much older, detached, businesslike. Good. That’s the way he needed to keep it. She clearly didn’t want to stay in Apache Creek, which meant she didn’t miss the town or him.
“I’m sorry about your dad.”
He blinked. Not what he was expecting. She’d come to the funeral, sat in the back, shook his hand and gave him a hug that cold February day. He’d been so numb that he’d let her pretend to be just a distant friend of the family paying tribute.
There was nothing “just” about Elise Hubrecht when it came to Cooper Smith’s feelings.
“Thank you, we miss him, but we’re doing fine.”
He’d always been able to read her—and right now, he could see her skepticism. She didn’t exactly raise an eyebrow, but he could tell she wanted to. He kept waiting for her to move. She kept those glittering black eyes that missed nothing fixed on him and asked, “Garrett doing fine?”
“He’s having a bit of a hard time,” Cooper admitted, “but he’s in high school. Not a good time to lose your dad.”
He expected her to say there’s never a good time. She’d lost her mother when she was in elementary school. Her father found himself raising three girls alone. Many a night Cooper had heard his parents talking about how hard it must be for a man who was used to roping horses to switch to corralling daughters.
Cooper hadn’t understood. Now he did, as he watched his brother Garrett turn from a mostly easy-going teen with a typical know-it-all attitude to a teen with a chip on his shoulder and something to prove.
Just what, Cooper hadn’t a clue.
“I don’t think my news is going to make you happy, but you need to see this, all the same.” She came to the counter and set her purse down before digging into its depths. Soon, an iPhone appeared in her hand. It took her only a second to find what she wanted, a video, and then she handed him her phone. He tapped the start arrow and watched as his truck came zooming down a fairly steep incline—where no road existed—and then sped crazily across terrain never meant for tires.
Cooper didn’t realize he’d been holding his breath until he watched the footage of his truck destroying a portion of Karl Wilcox’s cotton crop. Dimly, Cooper remembered Jacob on the phone saying, “It gets worse.” Karl was a legend in the area for not practicing the Love Thy Neighbor mantra. He didn’t forgive or forget, at least not during Cooper’s lifetime.
“I was on my way to the school for the interview when I came across your brother and his friends.”
“And you chased them down and filmed them?”
“I did, and I convinced them to go to school.”
“I’m surprised the vice-principal didn’t mention that Garrett engaged in a little destruction of property when he was supposed to be in school.”
“I didn’t share this with any of the school officials.” Elise fingered a club advertisement on the counter.
“Why