Page 20 of Riverbend Gap (Riverbend 1)

An engine hummed closer, and headlights swept across the campsite as a vehicle made the loop of the cul-de-sac. The dark truck slowed directly in front of them, and in the driver’s seat, elbow hooked out the window, sat Cooper Robinson.

***

Cooper bit back an expletive. He’d felt bad about putting off Gavin this week, so he decided to swing by for that poker game. Figured if Gavin had a date with Kate, he’d be out somewhere.

But nope. He was here. And sitting right there beside him, face glowing in the campfire’s golden light, was Kate. No way out of this now. He had to at least stop and say hi.

Cooper gave a wave and pulled into the slot next to Gavin’s Sierra Denali—literally the only thing the man had taken from his marriage. Probably would’ve handed that over to Laurel, too, if she’d wanted it. Guilt did terrible things to a person.

Cooper got out of his truck and joined them by the fire, putting on his best fake smile.

Gavin stood. “Hey, Brother.”

“Hey.” Cooper’s gaze drifted to Kate. “Hi there.”

“Hi. Just getting off duty?”

“A while ago.”

Gavin pulled up a camp chair. “Have a seat. Join us.”

“I don’t want to interrupt. Just stopped to see if you were free for that game. Should probably head back to the office anyway, catch up on paperwork.”

“Doesn’t sound like much fun on a Saturday night. Sit down. We were just about to make s’mores, weren’t we, Katie? You can give us the lowdown on the crimes and misdemeanors of Madison County this week.”

“Well, just for a minute, I guess. Nothing out of the ordinary this week though. Everyone’s still talking about the girl on the edge of the cliff.” He smiled at Kate. “Clinic busy this week?”

“Oh yeah. Summer’s in full swing, along with the accompanying hiking injuries. One poor girl had a compound fracture of the ulna. Pretty gruesome. Had to send her to the hospital.”

“I guess that ended her hike,” Cooper said.

“And then some.”

“How’s the new nurse working out?” Gavin asked.

“She’s doing great. Getting her bearings. I think she’ll take some pressure off Avery.”

“That’s good,” Cooper said. “She’s had her head buried in that clinic for a year. What about you, Bro? Things been pretty quiet around here?”

“I don’t know if quiet is the right word.” As if on cue the guys down the road let out some drunken whoops. “But everyone’s behaving so far.”

It was mostly a family campground. But over the years Cooperhad come here a time or two to break up a fight, arrest someone for drunk and disorderly. Mostly on weekend nights when the campers sat around drinking.

“You get your plumbing taken care of?” Cooper asked Katelyn.

“Yeah, I ended up calling a local company. They had it fixed in no time.”

“What happened?” Gavin’s gaze toggled between them.

“My kitchen faucet sprung a leak. Cooper happened over to return my phone at just the right moment and helped me shut off the water.”

“Why didn’t you call me?” Gavin asked. “I do that kind of stuff around here all the time.”

“I didn’t want to bother you.”

“It’s no bother. Call me next time, okay?”

“Okay.” Kate gave Gavin a slow smile.