A Fallow Heart (Tommy Creek #2)(42)

She couldn’t ignore his presence, especially when Dex abandoned them in a hall and slipped into the maternity ward. A minute later, he lifted the blinds and waved their attention to a corner, pointing out a tub with the nameplate reading Clayton Glen Pratchett.

Behind the chicken wire glass, the baby on the breathing ventilator kicked and screamed. His face turned a deep red as he let everyone know he did not appreciate his breathing treatment.

Jo Ellen wiped at her eyes, reveling in the sight of new life. “Well, it doesn’t sound as if anything’s wrong with his lungs.

Beside her, Cooper chuckled. “He sure is an active little critter, isn’t he?”

She glanced sideways at him, surprised by his interest and enthusiasm. She liked what she saw, liked his large and steady presence beside her, liked his warmth still invading her limbs. A craving filled her to step closer and press against him so he’d loop a supportive arm around her shoulders.

But he kept a respectful foot of space between them and slid his hands into his back pockets as he watched Dexter and a nurse crowd around the infant bassinet to soothe Clayton Glen.

“I think the boy just wants his mama,” he interpreted. When Jo Ellen didn’t answer soon enough, he turned his attention to her. His grin dropped when he found her watching him. “What’s wrong?”

She licked her lips, pushing aside the ache in her chest. “We should probably leave the new family to their privacy. It’s been a long night. They need their rest.”





Chapter Twelve


In the cab of Cooper’s darkened truck, the long ride back to Rio’s bar for Jo Ellen’s car started awkwardly. He drove an older model Ford pickup, which still possessed one of those long bench seats. She couldn’t help but wonder if a lady friend ever sat in the middle of the seat, knees constantly bumping the gear shifter so she could get as close to him as possible whenever he took her out on the town. Jo Ellen knew how warm it was to sit flush against him; her body was still tingling from the contact.

Yet his tempting allure only made her more leery. She was no good at the dating thing. It was safer to stay away, especially when she found someone who interested her; the more she liked a man, the more it hurt when he left her.

A lonely shiver passed up her spine. She huddled next to the passenger’s side door and stared out the window at the black night.

Cooper glanced over. “Are you cold?” He immediately reached out to tone down the A/C.

Instead of telling him she actually felt a little warm, she rasped, “Thank you.”

He cleared his throat. “So you’re staying with your parents while you’re in town?”

She nodded. “Yes.”

Not a very forthcoming answer, but she didn’t know what else to say. She wanted to encourage the conversation, but words escaped her.

He didn’t ask anything else, probably assumed she didn’t want to talk, which only made her feel worse. Yes, she wanted to steel her emotions against him but she didn’t want to alienate him completely. She still had ten years’ worth of guilt to apologize for.

By the time they rolled into the bar and grill’s now-empty parking lot—save for her hybrid—shame gnawed at her conscience.

When he geared into park, she rotated toward him and blurted, “Cooper, I owe you an apology.”

She could see his eyebrows arch in the glow of the dash lights as he met her gaze. “You do?” Surprise and confusion coated his voice. “Why’s that?”

“I…” You came back to Tommy Creek to make things right with everyone, Jo Ellen. So spit it out, already. “I’m…I just…” Mercy be, she really sucked at this. Sighing out her defeat, she ran a hand through her hair and muttered, “I don’t know how to deal with you.”

As soon as the words passed her lips, she flinched, not sure why she’d gone and revealed that to him.

“You…” He sounded even more bewildered as he fumbled with his words before managing to ask, “Why? Have I insulted you in some way?”

“No!” She rushed to assure him. “No, it’s not that at all.” Then she shrugged, though she knew exactly why he unsettled her. “Just the opposite actually. You’ve been too nice, and I don’t deserve it. I…there’s just so much uncomfortable history between us, so many unresolved loose ends. You know things about me only my closest family knows. And you’ve kept my…my teenage issues private for me all these years.”

“Jo Ellen.” He blew out a long breath, sounding exasperated if not a trifle insulted. “If you’re afraid I’ll blab—”

“No!” Yet again, she was quick to calm him. “No, I know you’re reliable. I just…I mean, you…God, you must think I’m a total slut.”

His eyes actually widened as he sputtered. “Not at all.”

She narrowed her gaze unable to believe him. “Not even after that night?” she insisted. “I know I came onto you. And I was probably already pregnant. I remember reaching for your…your…and you pulled my hand away, stopping me.”

As he flushed and coughed into his fist, she felt her own face grew hot. Ducking his head, he mumbled, “I didn’t stop everything you tried.”

The heat that had just filled her cheeks drained out immediately. “Oh my God. I gave you a hand job, didn’t I?”