Leaving the coffee shop, the salt air felt lighter than when she’d arrived. She knew the road ahead was a mess of unresolved attraction and potential heartbreak, but as she drove home to Cora, she realized it was time to rewrite the secrets from her past and bring the truth into the light. The only catch was having to share the narrative with Cooper.
She could figure it out. She would. Cora deserved her best effort, deserved to know her father, however that unraveled. Life would never be perfect, but love soothed and healed. She’d always given Cora the best parts of her father without giving her a name. It was time to change that. And if at some point in the near or distant future, Cooper hurt their little girl, Scarlett would help her wade through the emotional grief.
CHAPTER 8
Cooper stood at the base of the Brookwell Island Lighthouse, squinting against the midday glare of the sun reflecting off the white-and-black spiral of the tower. He had spent the last week as Mr. Cooper, the friend who fixes things. The cumbersome title might as well be a restrictive suit of armor. But today, he’d traded the toolbox for a pair of swim trunks and a faded t-shirt. Today, he was joining Scarlett and Cora for a Saturday morning at the beach.
Cora danced up and down the path that wound through the newly landscaped beds at the foot of the lighthouse, skidding to a stop in front of the large historical marker. “Did you know they built the first lighthouse here in 1858?”
Cooper smiled down at her, his heart swelling with intense pride as he smoothed a hand over her hair. “I know now. Thanks for reading that to me, Cora.”
“Momma says history is a series of causes and effects. Like math, but with people. And more variables.” She leaned back and pointed up. “She says the top was blown up by one side so the other side’s boats couldn’t see the shore.”
“That’s right,” Scarlett confirmed.
“I can read all the markers, if you want, Mr. Cooper.”
He managed to smother the cringe. “That could be fun,” he replied. “Would you like to do that before or after we build a sandcastle?”
“After!” Cora spun around, her light sundress flying wide before she darted toward the surf.
“Careful!” Scarlett called after her. “Hope you brought your running shoes,” she teased as they hurried after Cora.
Cooper felt ready for anything, especially if that involved giving Cora the truth. Best not to push too hard. Yet. During the past week, whenever he hadn’t been at their house, he’d been running the numbers and weighing his options. When the time came to make his pitch for them to become a unified family, he would have to show Scarlett the numbers. He wanted her to be one hundred percent confident that he could take care of her and Cora right here in Brookwell.
Catching Scarlett’s hand, he feathered a kiss over her knuckles. “I’m game for the full beach experience.”
“We’ll see.”
He heard the challenge, and happily accepted. They caught up with Cora as she splashed in the rippling white foam at the edge of the tide line.
“It’s going out,” she declared, grabbing Cooper’s hand and pulling him back a step. “Watch.”
Cooper caught Scarlett’s eye over their daughter’s head. Scarlett wore a wide-brimmed straw hat and a simple black swimsuit under a gauzy white cover-up. She’d already slipped off her flip-flops. She looked relaxed, the persistent tension in her shoulders beginning to thaw under the warm South Carolina sun.
“You’re right,” Cooper said, dropping to a knee beside Cora. “How strong are you?”
Cora lifted her arm, bending her elbow to make a muscle. “Pretty strong. Why?”
“We need to choose a place for the castle,” he said. “It needs wet sand for a firm foundation.”
Cora frowned. “But I don’t want it to wash away too soon. What would happen to any fairies who moved in?”
“Fairies know about the tide,” Cooper assured her. “Probably better than we do. They’ll have plenty of time to play and plenty of notice to move on.”
“You’re sure?” Cora chewed on her lip.
“How about over this way?” Scarlett backed up a few more paces, navigating around a tide pool.
Cora scampered after her, and after careful consideration, declared it the perfect place for a fairy sandcastle.
“Look at that,” Cooper said with a smile. “Your mother is a very wise woman.”
Scarlett spread out their towels close enough to the construction zone to get a snack or water when needed, but well out of the way. She picked up a book, but Cooper felt her gaze, even behind her sunglasses. The rhythmic pulse of the Atlantic and the strong breeze off the ocean was the best backdrop for Cora’s focused chatter and giggling outbursts. He marked off the lines at her direction, resisting the temptation to point out that the grand scale might be too much to tackle. Instead, he simply enjoyed watching her play, piling up sand on one side while he worked on the other.
“The sand is too dry over here,” she muttered, her brow furrowed in that way that made Cooper’s heart ache with memories of his sisters. “It won’t hold the weight of the shell roof we planned.”
“Let’s improve the moisture ratio,” Cooper suggested, holding out his hand. Scarlett had been clear that Cora wasn’t to go further than the tideline without an adult. “We’ll scoop up some water to make building easier.”
