A Fallow Heart (Tommy Creek #2)(20)

But no matter how much he commanded himself to stop looking for her, to stop thinking about her, to stop dreaming about her, he continued to do all three. He kept remembering how good she’d felt pressed against him. He kept hearing her throaty sound of pleasure when he’d kissed her. He kept seeing her eyes widen and then go unfocused as she came apart in his arms.

And thus, he kept searching for her every dad-gum place he went.

Making out with her outside her parent’s house had been the biggest sin he’d ever committed, and yet he feared it’d live to stand as the most amazing memory he’d carry to his death.

Coop sighed and dug inside his locker, all the while watching hers with one eye, where it was located halfway down the hall from his. He’d just pulled out his American History book and was searching for a pen when he caught movement from his peripheral vision. Curious, he lifted his face, and the air stalled in his chest. A moment later, his heart kicked into gear and his lungs heaved, sucking in oxygen.

There she was.

Facing away from him, Jo Ellen unlocked her locker and slowly opened it. Her long brown hair floated gracefully down her back, flowing and molding to her with every precious move she made. After a mighty heave of her shoulders, she began to extract book after book before carefully bending to pile each one on the floor by her feet.

Cooper blinked as he watched her lug out an English primer, fan through the pages—occasionally removing a note here and there—and then pile the cleaned tome on top of the last. Her actions bewildered him until she finished going through her textbooks and began picking the pictures off the inside of her locker door and stuffing them into her bag.

He straightened, mind racing. What in the world? Why was she cleaning out her locker? Had she remembered their night together and felt so disgusted she had to move as far away from him as possible? But wait. Why would she go through her books as if she was about to turn them all in? Was she leaving the entire school?

A needle of guilt and despair stabbed through him. Shame and misery, tangled with a huge dose of longing, clogged his windpipe. He couldn’t just stand there and watch her leave, but he couldn’t seem to move either. So he just stood there, watching her pack her things to leave.

As if sensing his stare, Jo Ellen glanced over her shoulder and froze when she saw him. Her face instantly drained of color, alarming him. Students strode by, passing between them. Conversations littered the air, echoing down the busy hall; but as far as Coop was concerned, there was only he and Jo Ellen. Realizing glistening wet, red skin ringed her eyes, he took a protective step closer. Tears were his downfall; he’d do anything, anything, to end her crying. But first, he had to discover what had upset her.

Before he could take a second step, his answer came.

“Jo Ellen?” Untermeyer appeared at her side.

Her eyes widening, she spun away from Cooper and gaped at her boyfriend. Cooper halted, thinking Pretty Boy didn’t look so swell himself. Two fists balled at his sides. If Untermeyer had done anything to hurt her, the dirt bag was as good as dead.

“I, um…” Untermeyer’s voice went hoarse and quivered. When he reached for her hand, she pulled her fingers away.

Cooper’s chest heaved with a great big surge of hope. What was this? Were they fighting? Was she finally dumping him? He should feel bad but he was too full of hope and anticipation.

“Please try to understand,” Untermeyer started, confusing Coop big time. No way would he break up with her. Would he? No, Pretty Boy was an idiot but no one could be that stupid. “I can’t just…this is more than I can handle.”

Handle? What—

“You stay away from her!” A new voice snarled.

Cooper jerked back, surprised. The intensity in the hall hitched up about a hundred degrees as Emma Leigh stepped between the arguing couple, grasped her twin’s arm, and pulled Jo Ellen protectively closer. Coop realized he wasn’t the only one watching their drama unfold anymore. Everyone else had either paused to gape or was turning their heads toward the trio as they passed. Not that the three mixed up in the tense moment seemed to notice.

“If I ever see you trying to talk to her again, I will personally remove your worthless testicles with a pair of pliers,” Emma Leigh growled.

“Em,” Jo Ellen tried in a weak voice, tugging on her sister’s arm but not succeeding in pulling her back.

“What do you expect me to do?” Untermeyer’s voice grew defensive. “Y’all are leaving anyway. What else was there for me to do?”

Leaving? It was true then; she was going away. A painful thump slammed against Cooper’s chest; but why?

“So you just thought you’d add to her misery by breaking her heart on her way out the door, huh?” Emma Leigh accused.

“I told her we could start back up once this was all over and past. It’s not like—”

“Don’t even try to justify what you did, you measly excuse for a—”

“Stop it!” Jo Ellen finally screeched. “Both of you. Just…stop it.” Her shoulders heaved as a dry sob consumed her. Covering her red face with both hands, she spun from the arguing pair and raced down the hall, brushing past Cooper as she fled.

He watched her go, and then glanced back at Emma and Untermeyer. He knew he should stick around and pull his gal pal off Pretty Boy in case she went for Untermeyer’s face with her claws, which looked to be her next plan of action. But seeing Jo Ellen so upset was more than he could take. Spinning around, he hurried after her, leaving every other gawking student to handle Emma Leigh in case she turned violent.