Page 15

Their eyes met and held for a moment and then he gunned the engine and drove off.

Over the years they’d played the promise game, hiding their promises in the little box Coop had built Taylor after that first summer. It was supposed to be her treasure box, but it served a better purpose housing their end-of-summer promises. Treasuresof a different kind.

It was old news now, a silly pastime from their childhood.

But promises still meant something to Taylor. And she had no doubt they meant something to Coop too. She also had no doubt she would be seeing a lot of Coop while she was back in Last Stand. There was absolutely no escaping it.

*

Coop walked intothe barn, otherwise known as Cooper Construction’s workshop and found his dad using an electric chop saw to miter the edges of the new baseboard he was installing in the parlor. Now that Grandpa Joe was retired, the guy found more than enough projects to do around the house while Cassie was in school. Sometimes, his dad would work alongside him too.

Coop never once regretted giving up his life in Los Angeles, managing the business end of a flourishing building company, to move back home. Last Stand meant a slower pace of living, more time with his daughter and, most importantly, it meant being with family. Namely his dad. Cassie needed the stability and she loved riding horses, playing baseball, helping him out on weekends. It didn’t make up for losing her mother, but it had eased the pain somewhat. For him too.

His dad shut down the saw and looked his way. “Thought you were coaching the game today?”

“I am. I’m running a bit late, is all.”

“That have anything to do with Taylor Preston coming back to town?”

Coop stared at his pop. “What? How’d you hear so quickly?” Sometimes, he swore his father was clairvoyant or something. And sometimes, small towns were just too damn small.

“You just told me.” His dad grinned and focused on the next plank of baseboard he was readying to cut. “Didn’t figure it’d take you very long to reconnect with Taylor.”

“We didn’t reconnect. Heck, I found her on the road chasing down Muffin and helped get her back to Julie’s house.”

“That explains the puppy dog look on your face.” His dad chuckled thinking himself very funny. He aligned the wood at a forty-five-degree angle and turned on the saw again, making the next cut.

Thoughts of Taylor in that wedding gown filled Coop’s head again. She looked beautiful in that thing, and exasperated too. Chasing a pup in a wedding gown? Who would’ve thunk it? Certainly not him. When he first spotted a bride taking off like there was no tomorrow, he’d thought it curious, wondering what she’d been running from, or who. When he’d come eye to eye with the girl underneath all that snowy white material and discovered it was Taylor, old feelings returned, sort of biting him in the butt. A sense of déjà vu had set in. He’d daydreamed about marrying her so many times in his young life, that it had all seemed surreal when he’d come face-to-face to her in that gown.

“Pop, ancient history, remember?”

“You know what they say, history has a way of repeating itself.”

His dad meant well. He didn’t want Coop to be alone the rest of his life, but he’d honestly made peace with it. He had Cassie, his dad and a good business that afforded him time to coach his daughter and be home for dinner every night. After Francine died, he didn’t think he’d know a truly happy day, but he’d come through on the other side, because he had to. For Cassie. But that didn’t mean it hadn’t been difficult, it hadn’t destroyed him inside. Hadn’t made him ward off relationships.

So his dad, and Julie for that matter, were way off base.

He wasn’t going to get involved with any woman right now, especially one who’d already broken his heart once.

“Daddy, I’m ready.”

Cassie entered the barn in her orange-striped Tigers uniform. Wearing her usual blond braids under a ball cap, and a big smile, she was the brightest spot in his world. “Hey, Cass. You ready to give those Cardinals a day to remember?”

Cassie locked her hands, put out her arms and took an air swing with an invisible bat. “They don’t stand a chance,” she said.

“I like that spirit, Cass,” Grandpa Joe said. “But remember, don’t get overconfident. Sometimes, the other team might just surprise you.”

“That’s what Coach says too,” Cassie replied.

“Yeah, well, that’s because we’re related.”

Cassie giggled.

“But it’s true,” Grandpa Joe said. “Just play your best game, that’s all anyone can ask.”

“Coach says that too.”

Coop put his hand on Cassie’s shoulder and gave a squeeze. She was the best part of him and Francine and he was reminded of it every day. “I think it’s time to get to the field.”