A Fallow Heart (Tommy Creek #2)(22)

Maybe her parents had found out Jo Ellen and Untermeyer were sexually active. Cooper shuddered, and told himself he wasn’t going to think about that ever again. Besides, she and Pretty Boy were over. It was time for him to step in.

Cleaned up and wearing the second best outfit he owned, Cooper parked and killed the engine. He stole a minute to panic. How in the hell he was going to manage this, he had no idea. But he was going to try for Jo Ellen tonight if it killed him. This just might be the last chance he ever had.

Wiping his sweaty palms on his thighs, he gathered up the things he’d brought and slipped from the truck. His heartbeat seemed to echo after each footfall he made as he moved closer and closer to the front door. It felt like the walk of doom, and he wasn’t sure why. But he kept going anyway.

The door opened as soon as he stepped onto the covered front porch. When Jo Ellen appeared, his insides brightened. Anticipation built.

“I think I got everything,” he said, lifting her bag, humiliated by how breathless he sounded.

She wouldn’t meet his gaze as she reached for the strap. “Thank you so much, Cooper. I really appreciate this.”

He nodded. “And Mama made y’all a plate of cookies when she heard you and Em were leaving.” He tilted them for her to see.

Jo Ellen gathered her book bag close, holding it tight to her chest as if she felt she needed an extra layer of protection from him. Still keeping her eyes lowered, she reached for the cookies with a soft smile. “Sounds like your mama. She’s such a sweetheart.”

Coop’s grin was quick. “Yeah,” he agreed, his heart singing. Jo Ellen liked his mama. Since he had a soft spot for Loren Gerhardt himself, her affection pleased him. “Thinks she can solve all the problems in the world with a hearty, home-cooked meal.”

Jo Ellen didn’t respond, and the silence became uncomfortable. But she continued to linger outside, which seemed promising.

He cleared his throat. “Jo Ellen, I think we need to talk about—”

“How far did we go?” she blurted the question, lifting her face to pierce him with an intense blue-eyed stare.

A little bowled over by her penetrating gaze, he forgot to answer her, even forgot to breathe. Then he blinked and licked his lips. “Pardon?” he asked, his voice hoarse.

She blushed and ducked her head, her silky dark locks veiling her expression from him. “The night of Bose Eden’s party,” she whispered. “How far did we go?”

Her words left him sucker punched and reeling as the air gasped from his lungs. He had to pause and clear his throat before saying, “You…you remember then?”

She whirled away to present her back to him, but remained on the porch. “Parts of it,” she finally admitted, her voice so low he had to strain to hear her.

Parts of it, huh. Cooper swallowed and rubbed his suddenly damp palms on his thighs. Which parts did she remember? Why hadn’t she said anything before now? Why was she saying something now?

He shook his head, not sure what to demand first. The shaky words that left his mouth were, “Are you…are you asking if we had sex?”

“No! No, of course not,” she reassured before she glanced over her shoulder at him and choked out, “Did we?”

His mouth dropped open. She looked so scared of the answer, he wasn’t sure how to respond. Would finding out she’d been intimate with him honestly traumatize her that much? Cooper wasn’t a vain person, but it would’ve been nice if the girl he loved didn’t appear so revolted over the idea she might’ve made his ultimate dream come true.

He backed up about five paces as she watched him until his spine bumped into a porch beam. “There’s only two reasons I can think you’re asking me this. It’s either because I was so bad at it, I wasn’t worth remembering…or you actually think I’m such an ass I’d take advantage of a drunk girl. Either way, I find myself insulted.”

Her eyebrows crinkled in confusion. “So…is that a yes or a no?”

He scowled. “What do you think?”

She closed her eyes and bit her lip. “I think I’m going to have a panic attack if you don’t answer me.”

Ire rising, he clenched his teeth. He wasn’t sure why he kept growing more and more upset and frustrated; maybe because she only remembered parts of it, or maybe because she actually remembered a little and had never said anything to him. “What do you remember?” he bit out.

“Cooper—” Her eyes searched his, pleading for a direct answer, but he wasn’t ready to deliver.

He held up his hand. “No, I’m curious. What do you remember? Do you remember the promise you made me?”

If she remembered the promise, he was going to flip out. But if she didn’t remember, then—

Jo Ellen shook her head and frowned as if trying to recall such a thing. “I made you a…a promise? What kind of promise?”

Unable to handle looking at her without wanting to roar in anger or burst out crying, he snorted and spun away, storming down her front porch step and needing distance, needing to hit something, needing—

“Cooper, please,” she cried.

It was the vulnerable catch in her desperate voice that made his boot heels grind to a halt. He pivoted and glared up at her, hoping he looked more pissed than he did hurt.

“Why’re you asking now?” he demanded. “If it was so important to know, why’d you wait all these weeks to approach me about this?”