Page 7 of One-of-a-Kind Bride (Home to Texas #1)

“Sure, I’ll just chase him down the way I did Muffy,” she said, plate in hand.

She ran out the front door and caught him just as he was getting into his truck. “Wait up, Coop.”

He spotted her and leaned against the door, his hat plopped on his head, arms folded, casual as you please and waited for her to reach him. “Are you chasing me this time? Never thought I’d see the day.”

She looked him up and down, liking him in blue plaid and jeans a little too much.

He’d grown into a beautiful man. His comment, though, rubbed her the wrong way.

And you never will. She bit her tongue because he was widower now and not the same Coop she could tease endlessly.

“You forgot the cookies.” She handed him the plate and that was supposed to be that, until she added, “And just for the record, I’m not accustomed to chasing either men or dogs. ”

Shoot, had she really said that?

He grinned. “Good to know. Thank Julie for the cookies,” he said, climbing into the truck. “See you around, Taylor. And that’s a promise.”

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 . Treasures of 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 into the 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.”

“Yep, it’s time to destroy.” She turned to her grandfather. “You’re coming to the game, aren’t you, Grandpa?”

“When have I ever missed one of your games? I’ll be along in a little while. See you at the field,” he said, giving Cassie a kiss on the forehead.

“Love you, Grandpa,” she said, grabbing him around the waist and giving him a hug.

“I love you too, kiddo.” His eyes misted up. He was such a sucker for Cassie, but then, who wasn’t?

“Let’s get going.” Coop took Cassie’s hand, wondering how many more years she would allow him to do it. He sighed inside; his child was growing up way too fast.

*

Taylor hadn’t slept so well in ages, and as she rose from bed this morning, her body and soul thanked her for the distinct change of scenery.

From high-rise buildings to rolling hillsides.

It sure made quite a difference in her demeanor.

She yawned and stretched her arms over her head as she gazed out the window.

The sun was just rising, casting a golden tint to the knolls beyond.

Julie’s backyard was in full bloom right now with red and yellow roses, daylilies and an assortment of flowery scrubs.

Further beyond, hearty bluebonnets blanketed the meadows where they used to play.

A rooster cock-a-doodle-doo-ed and blue jays fluttered through tree branches.

Texas in the spring.

She dressed in her workout clothes, black pants and a teal blue stretchy top, and put her hair up in a ponytail.

Back home, she usually worked out in a gym, but the day was far too glorious for staying inside.

Once she tied her shoes, she descended the stairs quietly and made sure Muffy was nowhere in sight before she opened the front door and stepped outside, shutting the door firmly behind her.

She walked at a fast pace until her muscles warmed up and then began a slow and easy jog down the road.

She was not a pro at running, far from it, her pace just comfortable enough for head clearing.

Simone had been right, she’d needed to get away and now as the fog in her brain lifted, she was beginning to see an inkling of light filtering through. It was progress.

Ten minutes into the run, she rounded the corner on Main heading away from town, her eyes trained on the ground as all sorts of freeing thoughts filled her head.

The roar of squealing brakes abruptly stopped her in her tracks, her heels digging into the broken road.

As she looked up, she faced down the front end of a truck, the engine’s heat billowing out.

The Silverado came to a careening stop, two feet from her toes.

She began to tremble. Her heart pounded harder than it ever had before.

Coop climbed out of his truck and ran over to her. “Taylor, are you okay?”

Dumbfounded, she stared at him. “I think so.” She blinked several times.

“Thank goodness.” He seemed truly relieved he hadn’t flattened her like an iron on wrinkles. But he wasn’t half as glad about it as she was.

Once she got her wits about her, she met his eyes. “You almost hit me.”

“Dang it, I could have. Good thing I spotted you as I turned the corner. What were you doing running in the middle of the street like that?” His concerned expression turned to anger. “That was a fool thing to do.”

“You almost mow me down on the street and it’s my fault?”

“That’s just it, Taye, you came out of nowhere. It’s a good thing I saw you. You should be thanking me.”

She gave him the point of her chin. No way was she going to thank him. “You were going too fast.”

“I was going below the speed limit.” His blue eyes roamed over her, checking her out from top to bottom as if making sure she wasn’t going to die of fright or anything. “C’mon, I’ll take you back to Julie’s.” He headed back to his truck.

She wanted to stay put, to tell him her run wasn’t over yet and he didn’t need to rescue her again, but darn it. She was stupidly scared. Another half a second and she would have been roadkill. So, she buttoned her lip and slow walked back to his truck, making him wait.