Path of Destruction (Broken Heartland, #2)(26)

“I might have.” She smiled, pulling the strap of her backpack up on her shoulder. “I’ve got to get to class. They’ve already called my parents twice about me ditching. And for the record, my judgment is just fine,” she added, almost convincing Coop and, from what he could tell by the look on her face, herself.



Physics was the last class he felt like attending, so he took Ella Jane’s advice—even if she hadn’t literally meant it—and went to check on Cameron. He’d seen her go into the stairwell leading to the basement only to find an empty hallway when he made it down. The muffled sound of crying disclosed her location. A location she obviously didn’t want to be found in, but he went in anyway. There were only a few things in life that could get him to drop his tough-as-nails farm-boy facade and a pretty girl crying was one of them.

“Thought you said it was nothing,” he said, taking in the sight of her.

There she was huddled up in a tiny, dark room, in the basement no less, crying after she’d just claimed she was fine. Her face was streaked with tears as she stared up at him like a deer in headlights. The startled look in her eyes was practically driving him to wrap his arms around her and tell her that everything was going to be okay. But he didn’t.

Coop thought he had a good handle on the emotional rollercoaster ride of women. He’d been seated in the front cart for a lot of up-and-down rides lately. First with Ella Jane, and then his own mother, who for the life of her couldn’t fight back a tear at the mention of anything farm-related. But this girl. This girl was different.

He’d noticed it the first day he’d seen her. One minute, she was Miss Popular, strutting around on Hayden Prescott’s arm and going toe to toe with bitches like Raquel. Another minute, mostly when she was alone—or thought she was—he’d catch her about to break into a million pieces. At least with his mom and Ella Jane, he knew the triggers. He knew what was going to set them off. Cameron Nickelson had no switch. No fuse. No evident buttons to push. At least not any he’d found. Yet.

“What are you doing here?”

“I could ask you the same thing.” He slid an empty milk crate across the floor with his foot before taking a seat on it across from her. He placed his hands on her knees. She’d worn a pair of black skinny jeans today, but he could feel the warmth of her skin through the fabric. “You okay?”

“Not really.” She looked up into his eyes and shook her head as she sucked in a breath, a quiet sob slipping out.

“Don’t let Ella Jane get you all worked up,” he suggested, but he could tell that there was more going on here with her than just a hallway run-in with EJ.

“It’s not that. I mean it is, but...” She hesitated. Then she gave her head a firm shake and wiped the tears from her eyes. “It’s just been a really rough month, you know?”

“I sure do.”

“It’s just one of those days where it feels like nothing is ever going to get better,” she said. “I’m just so tired of feeling like shit all the time.” Her shoulders fell, like she’d just let a little weight off them.

Coop searched her face for answers, but got nothing. He wanted to press her more. He doubted that it was anything major.

Pretty rich girl who has the world at her fingertips. She’d been so lucky the night of the storm—survived and all. At least that’s what he’d heard everyone say in the hallways when she walked by. What in the hell could have her looking like her world had ended?

He smoothed his hands over her knees, reveling in the way she was watching his hands move. It had even been a conscious movement—only meant to be comforting—but he wasn’t going to deny the fact that it felt pretty good to touch her. She was gorgeous and he was a dude. It had been a while since he’d even thought about being with anyone. His affections toward Ella Jane lately had been strictly platonic and he hadn’t had time to even think about dating, or even just messing around, with anyone. His life was school and work. He’d started to think that that’s all it was ever going to be, but sitting there in front of Cameron, he let his mind wander for just a split second. Wondering if her lips tasted as sweet as they looked. The fact that she hadn’t shoved him backward and told him to get the hell away from her was a miracle in and of itself.

She cleared her throat and wiped her eyes, ending his daydream. The last thing he should have been doing was thinking about kissing this girl he barely knew.

“Whatever it is that has you so upset, it’s gotta get better,” he offered, hoping that it was true.

She started to smile when her phone chimed. She fumbled it from her back pocket. He didn’t miss the tremble in her hands as she pulled it to her face and her eyes went wide.

“A thunderstorm warning.” She looked up at him and repeated, “There’s a thunderstorm warning.”

Coop could feel the panic radiating off her as her legs shook beneath his hands.

“It’s just a thunderstorm,” he said, trying to soothe her.

“Thunderstorms are always first,” she continued without removing her eyes from the phone. “It’s never just a tornado. There’s always rain. Then wind. Sometimes hail. Then the tornadoes come,” she rambled, standing up and taking a few steps. She turned back to him. “The sky looked a little green this morning, right? I mean, it always has a weird color before a big storm. Like last time. The sky was like a pea-green color and we all just ignored it.”