A Fallow Heart (Tommy Creek #2)(13)

When she finally noticed him, her gaze went wide but not from guilt or even horrified remembrance.

“Goodness, Cooper. What happened to you?” Her attention slid down his grease-coated arm with a hint of pity.

He sighed, glancing at the dark streaks marring the nicest shirt he’d owned up until then.

She didn’t remember. She was staring him straight in the eye and treated him as if everything between them was as it had always been: polite, distant, and lifeless.

Last night, his world had altered on its axis; he felt like a different person. But today she remained exactly the same, utterly unaffected and clueless about what she’d done to him.

“Looks like he took a dip in one of your oil drums,” Pretty Boy said, his eyes glittering with suppressed glee as he met Coop’s glower. “Y’all should charge him for that commodity he’s filching from you, but it’d probably feed the poor boy for a week.”

Jo Ellen, damn her, laughed. But she was the only one, thank God, because if anyone else thought Untermeyer’s lame-ass joke was in any way funny, Cooper would’ve lost all respect for the entire Rawlings family. Emma Leigh glanced at Coop over Untermeyer’s shoulder and rolled her eyes.

He almost grinned. Almost. But the broken organ in his chest pretty much prevented him from feeling any kind of joy. He’d be surprised if he could ever smile again.

“We better go,” Jo Ellen said abruptly and waved goodbye to everyone as she hooked her arm through Untermeyer’s and steered him toward the house, nearly yanking him along as if she sensed Cooper might kill her boyfriend if he lingered a second longer.

“I really hate that guy,” he growled under his breath as he watched them depart.

He hadn’t meant for anyone to hear him. But next to him, Caine snorted. “Join the club.”

Surprised to hear such spite coming from the thirteen-year-old, Coop whirled to gape at Caine.

“Caine,” Grady admonished with a suppressed sigh. “Zip it.”

“What?” Caine asked, all innocence and confusion. “You don’t like him either.”

“Well, don’t go spreading family opinion around in front of outsiders.”

Coop knew it shouldn’t sting to be labeled an outsider. He was an outsider. But to be so openly separated from the Rawlings plainly told him where he belonged; on the outside. Forever out of Jo Ellen’s treasured reach.

“But it’s just Coop,” Caine argued with his brother, making Cooper feel marginally better. “As much as he hangs around Em, he might as well be family.”

“Coop’s not a gossip,” Emma Leigh added, coming to his defense. “Besides, he doesn’t care what we think of Travis.”

Cooper sent Em a grateful glance.

“Whatever,” Grady said, dismissing his younger siblings with a roll of his eyes before he sent Coop a reluctant grumble. “No offense meant.”

When Coop waved off his apology, Grady nudged Caine with his elbow. “Let’s get a move on it. We need to have this sample at the office by noon so Dad can show it to the investors coming to lunch.”

As the two Rawlings brothers piled into the truck, Emma Leigh sidled next to Coop and waved them off. The front door of the house opened again. Jo Ellen exited with Untermeyer toting a hulking picnic basket, and the two strolled hand in hand to his Miata.

Coop couldn’t help but watch, his chest a raw, shredded mess.

Jo Ellen had been so into him last night. No girl had ever made him feel that good, that needed. He wanted to hate her for breaking his heart. But all he could feel was bitter jealously as Untermeyer paused to kiss her again before opening the passenger-side door and helping her into her seat.

“Well, holy shit.” Emma Leigh set her hands on her hips. “How long has this been going on?”

Coop pulled his gaze from the departing Miata to focus on Jo Ellen’s twin. “What?”

Em pushed at his elbow. “You’ve got a thing for the princess. It’s written all over your face.”

He let out a snort and frowned. “No.”

Emma Leigh lifted her eyebrows. “Wow. It’s that serious, huh?”

Busying himself with his already-soaked rag, Cooper ignored her and wiped an oil smear off his forearm.

She set a hand on his shoulder and squeezed. “Coop. Buddy. You know she’s never going to leave Travis, don’t you?” Her voice took on a grave tone. “She’s committed to him. And when Joey commits to something, that’s that for her. She’s in for life.”

His heart strained in his chest as he wished she had committed herself to him. He lifted his face to study Em. She looked exactly like Jo Ellen. And it wasn’t like she turned him off. She just didn’t turn him on.

Wondering why he couldn’t have fallen for her instead, he blew out a deflated breath and let his shoulders sag. “I know.”

“Aww, Coop. You poor thing.” Her eyes squinted sympathetically as she slipped an arm around him and squeezed. “What in the world happened last night when you brought her home?”

Staring off in the direction Untermeyer’s Miata had disappeared, Coop wondered the same thing. “I guess nothing happened.”



* *



In the passenger seat of Travis’s car, Jo Ellen repositioned the air conditioner vent to blow away from her. Travis always turned the fans on full blast and froze her to the bone. Sometimes, she swore he did it on purpose to show her that despite how much wealthier her family was than his, he by no means was the subordinate member of their relationship.