Riverbend gap, p.3
Riverbend Gap, page 3
She blinked. “What are you—?”
“Katie.” The voice came somewhere from the deputy’s right. “Thank God you’re all right. You are all right, aren’t you?”
She pulled her gaze away from the deputy and saw Gavin striding toward her.
She glanced back to the deputy—Gavin’s brother. It was all making sense now. But for some reason her stomach bottomed out at the realization.
Understanding also dawned in the familiar brown eyes that had offered her such comfort back on the cliff. The smile wilted from his lips.
Gavin nudged his brother aside and pulled her into the house. He surprised her with an embrace. Yes, they’d shared six dates, three kisses, and two tubs of popcorn. But Gavin wasn’t a particularly affectionate man. Then again she had nearly died.
It was his lack of physical aggression that had gotten him a second date. Not that he hadn’t been a perfectly good date. A little sad, a little cautious, but given his fairly recent divorce, who could blame him? She gave him a hug.
Gavin pulled back and gripped her arms. He stared at the bandage on her forehead. “Do you need to go to the hospital?”
For some reason her gaze slid automatically to his brother. Somehow she felt closer to him at that moment than Gavin. They’d just been through a catastrophe together. Of course it had . . . bonded them.
“I’m—I’m fine. Just a mild concussion.”
Gavin glanced between his brother and Katie. “Do you and Cooper already know each other?”
Cooper cleared his throat. “I, uh, stumbled across her while I was out riding.”
“He’s the one who flagged down help for me. I had no idea until just now that he was your brother. He sat with me while we waited and basically kept me from losing my mind.”
Her gaze met and held Cooper’s, and her belly gave a low, tight squeeze.
“I didn’t do much.”
“Oh man.” Gavin reached out a hand, and the brothers did that man handshake that ended in a shoulder bump. “Thanks, Bro. I owe you one.”
“No problem.”
“Katie.” A blonde woman approached—had to be Gavin’s mom, but she looked too young for that. She had a kind smile, blue eyes like Gavin, and a dimple in her left cheek. “Oh, you poor dear. Come and sit down. Avery, can you get her something to drink? I’m Lisa, by the way. This is my husband, Jeff.”
“Nice to meet you both. I’m so sorry I’m late.”
Lisa led her to the sofa. “Don’t be silly. We’re just glad you’re okay.”
Gavin settled beside her and took her hand. “Sure you’re all right? You seem a little shaken.”
“Of course she’s shaken, poor thing,” Lisa said. “What a terrible experience. Avery, come check her head.”
Katie smiled at her friend and boss. “I’m fine. I promise. The paramedics checked me out thoroughly. Just a mild concussion.”
Across the room Cooper stood, one hand cupping the back of his neck, staring at the floor.
How had she not realized who he was? She’d somehow missed his name. And the brothers looked nothing alike really. Gavin’s hair was black, his eyes blue. But they were both tall and built similarly, and she’d known Gavin’s brother was in law enforcement.
And of course Avery had mentioned Cooper before. Katie and Avery had been friends at undergrad school. They’d lost touch for a while afterward, but when Avery had reached out to her about a position at her clinic, Katie jumped on it. The rest was history.
It was all making sense now. Cooper was the eligible, uniform-wearing brother who turned all the women’s heads. She felt stupid for not putting two and two together. Then again, she had been a little, you know, distracted. Hanging between life and death.
Avery returned with a glass of lemonade, and Katie thanked her in a haze. The concussion must be messing with her mind.
“What happened out there?” Avery asked. “How’d you end up on the edge of a cliff?”
Gavin squeezed her hand. “You said on the phone it was a deer?”
Katie covered the basics of her accident, from the deer to the slide to the abrupt halt at the edge of a cliff, while the family listened intently.
“I had no idea what to do. I couldn’t get my door open, and when I tried to move, the car dropped. I was so relieved when Cooper showed up.”
His head snapped up at his name. She tried to think of something to say. Something about how grateful she was. Or how much his presence had meant to her. She grasped for the words, but they hovered out of reach.
Avery glanced between Katie and Cooper. “Good thing you were there, Brother.”
“Yes, it was.” Katie tore her attention from Cooper and turned a smile on Gavin.
“Well . . .” Lisa popped up from the recliner. “You must be hungry after your ordeal. Let’s get some food in your belly.”
* * *
It all made sense now. Katelyn was Katie—Gavin’s Katie—the friend Avery had set Gavin up with. So the woman Cooper was more attracted to than any woman he’d ever met was the same woman who was bringing Gavin back to life.
Cooper’s insides deflated like an old party balloon.
They settled in the dining room. In between bites of roast beef, he glanced across the table at Katelyn—Katie. But she seemed more like a Kate to him. Jeff had said grace, taking a moment to give thanks for her safety. After prayer the family quizzed her about her life. She kept her answers more general than she had on the cliff.
Cooper took some comfort in the level of intimacy that implied. Then he mentally smacked himself.
Gavin’s girl.
Once the polite inquisition was over, the conversation shifted to the usual banal chatter that accompanied family dinners. His mind still spinning, he struggled to keep up.
Kate didn’t live in Asheville as he’d assumed. She’d moved to Riverbend in May, hoping for a new start, following the death of her brother. She didn’t state the last part, but he pieced it together from what he already knew. She’d bought a house on Maple Lane, liked to bake, and grew her own herbs.
Stop thinking about her.
“You’ve had an eventful day off, Cooper,” his mom said.
Everyone turned his way, and Cooper’s face heated at his thoughts. “Yeah. It’s been a long day.”
“That’s my fault.” Kate offered him a sweet smile. “After I got banged up, I took a peek over that cliff. Definitely closer to Half Dome. Thank you for keeping that to yourself.”
“No problem.”
Avery frowned. “That must’ve been a harrowing experience.”
“I was on my way to a panic attack before Cooper arrived. He kept talking to keep my mind off of things.”
All eyes turned his way.
Gavin snorted. “Coop kept a conversation going? Is this some deputy superpower we don’t know about?”
“He’s not exactly known for his conversational skills,” Avery explained to Kate.
“He talks as much as he needs to,” Jeff said.
Avery chuckled. “And not one more word than necessary.”
“All that talking and you didn’t figure out who she was?” Mom asked him.
Yeah, he felt a little stupid about that. “Nope.”
Avery smirked. “There’s the one-word answer we’re accustomed to.”
Cooper scowled at her. Was dinner almost over? He felt like he was on the hot seat now, and he wasn’t a fan.
“Just goes to show,” Jeff said, “he can rise to the occasion when he needs to.”
“Well, he sure rose to this one.” A smile glimmered behind those blue eyes. “You’re gonna have to let me pay you back somehow.”
“Not necessary.” He definitely had to keep his distance. Which might be difficult if Gavin kept bringing her around.
The rest of the meal passed uneventfully, lots of talking and joking around. Cooper found it difficult to focus on anything other than the woman sitting across from him. The conversation went on long after the last fork hit the plate. Keeping up the pretense wore on him.
Finally, Mom tossed her napkin onto her plate and stood. “Who’s ready for dessert?”
“I could really use a sugar rush.” Avery joined her in the kitchen. “What did you make?”
“Cookies, and lots of them.”
Cooper and Katie exchanged knowing smiles. They already had inside jokes. And that’s when Cooper knew for certain—he was a goner.
“Good night, everyone,” Cooper said on his way out the door. He was the first to leave, but man. It really had been a long day. A long evening. Darkness had fallen like a shroud over the valley, and night sounds had begun in earnest.
“Finally.” Avery slipped out the door behind him and followed him down the porch steps. “I had to wait for you to leave—you blocked me in. I’m going to the early service tomorrow, and I still have to run home and grab a few things. I’m spending the night with Katie so I can check on her every few hours.”
“Nice of you.” They walked in silence, the gravel crunching under their feet and the oscillating buzz of cicadas swelling around them. Now that he’d escaped he was a little desperate to be alone with his thoughts, but he refrained from quickening his pace.
He was almost to his own car when she called out. “Hey, Coop? You okay?”
He stopped and turned. “Sure. Why wouldn’t I be?”
“I don’t know.” She approached, studying him under the moonlight. “You seemed a little . . . starstruck, I guess. With Katie?”
“What? No. She’s Gavin’s girlfriend.”
Avery had a way of looking at you that made you feel like she could see all the way down to your inner core. She was doing it now. “Yeah, that’s true. But you didn’t know that out there, did you?”
“I need to be getting home. I have an early morning too.” And plans to return Kate’s phone. He’d forgotten all about that. The mission no longer brought a sense of anticipation. It seemed ridiculous that he could’ve gotten attached so quickly. That never happened to him. But somehow he’d come to care for her on that cliff. Why couldn’t he have met her first?
“Well, good night, then.”
Cooper said good night and got into his truck. His emotions had run the gamut today. But he couldn’t deny that they’d just reached the lowest point. Kate was out of his reach—because he would never do anything to hurt his big brother.
6
A wave of dizziness rolled over Katie as she set the last mum into its hole. These poor flowers had been waiting a week to go in the ground, and she finally had a free day. She’d attended church this morning and made a quick lunch afterward. She might even catch a nap this afternoon—she had a bit of headache from the injury.
A breeze blew, stirring the wind chimes she’d hung from the eaves. Her earliest memory was of playing on a porch. It was before her mom had gotten really bad off. Before she and Spencer were taken away. She still remembered that small home, the scent of mown grass, and the tinkling of those wind chimes.
Katie tamped down the dirt around the mums, then surveyed her work. Pretty pink and purple blooms now bordered the walk in front of her house. Her tiny lawn needed mowing, but she was already pushing concussion protocol. Avery had stayed overnight and checked on her every three hours. She was a gem of a boss—and a friend.
The thought of Avery led her not to the clinic but to the Robinson family meal last night. Katie had been so nervous about meeting Gavin’s parents, but they’d been warm and welcoming.
And Cooper—what an unexpected way to meet Gavin’s brother. He’d flirted with her on the cliff and was probably embarrassed about that now. But no, he hadn’t meant anything by it. It was just his way of taking her mind off the situation—and it had.
Still, last night as she’d been trying to sleep, their conversation filtered back in pieces. Guilt nipped at her. She shouldn’t be thinking about her time with Gavin’s brother. On the other hand, wasn’t it normal to relive a harrowing event? It was the mind’s way of processing it.
It had probably been a little early in the relationship to meet Gavin’s parents—she and Gavin had only just become exclusive. Still six dates weren’t nothing. He was her first real boyfriend since college. Now that Spencer was gone, she had to make more of an effort. She craved attachment and let’s face it, she and Spencer had been a little codependent. That sure hadn’t done much for her love life.
Sweat trickled down her back. It was already a humid ninety-five degrees.
She gave the soil one final pat and stood, pausing a moment until the dizziness passed. Okay, she could take a hint. She’d take it easy the rest of the day—right after she watered her flowers.
As she entered the house the cool air brushed her skin, a welcome reprieve. She loved her new home, a little Craftsman-style bungalow. Loved having a house all to herself. Growing up at the Clemsons’ she’d always shared a bedroom with two or three other children. When she’d gone to Duke on scholarship she shared a dorm with roommates. And after college she and Spencer had shared an apartment in Asheville.
But this house was all hers. She hadn’t had to do much when she moved in. She covered the age-yellowed trim with a fresh coat of white and painted the walls cornflower blue. Now it was perfect. The entire house sported original wood floors, complete with the nicks and scars that gave it lovely character. Light poured into the kitchen from the back of the house, puddling on the newer granite countertops and gleaming off the white cabinets.
She reached into the hardware store bag and retrieved her new watering pail. The outdoor spigot wasn’t working, so she put the pail under the faucet and turned it on.
Water spewed out, hitting her in the chest.
* * *
Quick in, quick out.
Cooper pulled into the vacant driveway, grabbed Kate’s phone, and exited his truck. Empty flower flats and gardening tools lay next to the walk leading to the house. He hoped those had been there awhile. She should know better than to do yard work with a concussion.
A neighbor’s dog barked from the backyard. It was a nice street, only a few blocks from where the trail crossed through town. He rarely got a call from this neighborhood.
Kate’s sunshine-yellow bungalow with white trim looked like her: bright and homey. He envisioned her doing the yard work, blonde hair pulled into a high ponytail, a smudge of dirt on her cheek.
He scowled at his thoughts. Quick in, quick out.
The porch was barely big enough for the one chair and tiny round table topped with a flowering plant. He lifted his hand and knocked, his foolish heart pounding at the thought of seeing her. Stupid.
Gavin’s girl.
Maybe if he told himself that enough times his heart would buy in. He rolled his eyes at the thought. This was so unlike him. He’d never really been hung up on a girl. As Avery often reminded him it was usually the other way around.
He peeked through the window. It appeared that the light was on at the back of the house. Could just be the sunlight though.
If she wasn’t home he’d leave the phone on her porch with a note. Probably what he should’ve done to start with. He also could’ve left it with Jackie, the sheriff’s office’s administrative assistant, and had Kate come in and pick it up. But she didn’t have a car at the moment.
He knocked again, louder.
A muted squeal sounded. “Come in!”
He turned the handle and pushed open the door.
“Help!” Katelyn called over the sound of gushing water from somewhere beyond the living room. She let out another squeal.
He charged toward the sound. “Kate?”
“In the kitchen!” She mumbled something.
He made it through the living room in four quick strides.
Kate was on the floor, halfway inside the cabinet beneath the sink. Water spewed from the tap.
“Argh! This dumb, stupid—”
“Move aside.”
“It’s stuck.” She backed out, her hair hanging in wet ropes around her shoulders. “I can’t shut it off.”
He fiddled with the faucet, then took her place beneath the sink. The water valve was good and stuck. A moment later it finally gave, squeaking as he turned it. The water stopped.
He inched out of the cabinet and hunched back on his knees in the pool of water.
Kate squatted beside him, cheeks flushed, hair askew, her wide blue eyes locked on his.
And then they were laughing.
“You look like a drowned rat.” He ran a hand over his wet face.
“So much for my beauty shop hair.” She pushed the wet strands from her face, still laughing. “I don’t know what happened. I was just trying to water my plants.”
They grinned at each other, caught in the moment—at least he was. Drowned rat? The woman was beautiful, with the light streaming through the windows behind her giving her a golden halo.
Her gaze swept over his damp button-down and climbed back to his face. “You’ll have to stop coming to my rescue, Deputy Cooper.”
“Part of the job.”
“I think plumbing falls way outside the line of duty.”
She tilted her head. “You called me Kate.”
“What?” He blinked at her. “Oh. Sorry. Do you prefer Katie? Or Katelyn?”
She seemed to weigh the question. “No. Kate’s just fine.”
He stood and offered her a hand, relishing how small and soft it felt in his. He was reluctant to let go. And there was that thumping heart again. He towered over her. He’d been too shell-shocked last night to notice much of anything.
“Jeez. How tall are you anyway?”
“Six two.” He scanned her head to toe. “You must be all of five feet.”
She lifted her chin. “Five two, thank you very much.” She looked down at the puddles of water. “Ugh. What a mess.”
While she took a towel from a drawer, he grabbed the one off the stove. “You get the counter; I’ll get the floor. You should be taking it easy today.”
So much for quick in, quick out.
“How can one little faucet make such a big mess?” she asked.
“Tell me you weren’t out in this heat planting flowers.”
