The Newcomer (Thunder Point #2)(69)

Cooper laughed softly, stroking her back. “I bet you were not even close to being inadequate. Look at him now. He’s amazing. Austin followed him around like a puppy all weekend.”

“They were kind of cute together.”

“A few months ago you told me that you had this dream of having a kid of your own....”

“A silly thing,” she said with a shrug. “Let’s face it, Landon is as much my own as any baby could be. Don’t worry about that. That’s never going to happen....”

“It isn’t?” he asked. “You’ve given up on that?”

“I’m thirty-three with twelve years toward retirement responsible for a kid who’s going to be a senior in high school and then looking at colleges. I think the die’s been cast.”

“You never know. The right man could show up and then everything looks different....”

She laughed. “Hah. I’ve been taking care of myself and Landon for a long time now. It’s a habit and a personal priority—I support myself. I’ll always support myself.”

“Yes, you do,” he said with a smile. “I have an idea. Let’s sneak upstairs while Landon’s at the prom and see if...ahem...the right man shows up and makes things a little different.”

“You lobbying for another family, Mr. Cooper?” she asked. “You still have two customers.”

“I’ll kick them out,” he said, leaning toward her.

She let him have a chaste kiss, but she pushed him away. “When you’re closed for the night, I’ll sneak upstairs with you for a little while. But don’t get the idea you’re going to change my life.”

He grinned at her. “You know the problem with you, Commander Dupre? You just don’t keep an open mind. I could take you to bed and change everything. You could discover you just can’t live without me.”

She ran a finger down his scruffy cheek. “And the problem with you, Mr. Cooper—you think you can solve everything with good sex.”

His grin broadened. “It is good, isn’t it, Sarah.” It was not a question. “Well, one thing at a time.” He threw a glance over his shoulder at the couple down at the end of the deck. “Should I tell them it’s time for them to go?”

She lifted her glass and said, “Just get me another glass of wine and leave those nice people alone.”

Fourteen

In a place like Thunder Point there were several key locations to run into friends and acquaintances—Cooper’s beach bar, being one. In the time he had been here, Cooper had met a lot of people. The beach in general found people walking, jogging, fishing off Cooper’s dock, kayaking, just sitting on the sand or a handy rock, enjoying the view. The diner in town was a convenient gathering place, and so was the main drag through town.

But today was the first time he’d ever been called and asked to meet someone. Mac McCain rang him up and said, “You free to come over to Cliffhanger’s for a beer? There’s something to talk about.”

“Sure,” Cooper said. “As long as I can get back here before it gets busy this evening. Anything in particular I should prepare myself for?”

“Nah. Just bring your laid-back self.”

While Cooper was crossing the beach on his Rhino, maneuvering around the big rocks that dotted the landscape, he pondered that statement. Laid-back. Huh. That was the funny thing—he actually had not seen himself that way. At least not until he’d taken up residence in Thunder Point, which was, in so many ways, just a simple, easy place. There was no shortage of challenges. In fact, his closest friends were having the greatest challenges at the moment. Mac’s ex-wife had been lurking, making him wonder what she was up to and Gina was worried about her. And Sarah...ah, Sarah! She’d been worried about some work issue she had yet to share, but this talk of hers that she’d always support herself had an independent ring to it that made him nervous. And even with all that, Cooper couldn’t help but think that as long as they had this—the sound of the sea, the compact cocoon of a town and the reliability and loyalty of its people—things would work out fine.

Yes, he was now laid-back. Prior to this he’d always been a little high-strung, working things over in his mind, thinking too much or too hard. Worrying about what the future might bring or where it would lead him.

He parked the Rhino at Cliff’s and went into the bar. He saw Mac, the football coach and Cliff sitting at a table in the bar. He walked over.

“Looks like a board meeting,” Cooper said.

All three men stood. Mac put out his hand. Mac was in uniform and had a cup of coffee in front of him while the other two men were nursing beers. “Thanks for coming over, Cooper. Coach Rayborough, this is Cooper. He’s the newcomer here. Have you two met?”

“We’ve met in passing,” Cooper said, shaking the man’s hand. He hadn’t really thought of himself as the newcomer, but that was probably accurate. He was no longer someone passing through. He’d settled in, made himself a part of the town. It seemed as if every other place he’d lived before this, he’d always been thinking about where he’d go next. That had definitely changed for him and there was only one caveat—Sarah. “Of course, we’ve seen each other at games and around town,” Cooper added. Then he shook Cliff’s hand. “How’s it going?”