“Thank you,” he says, and leans back into the pillows, pushing his hair back from his face. “I don’t know if this is good or bad, but it feels like … a weight has been lifted.”
I crawl over him and sit on his lap. “Why is that?
“I will always do whatever needs to be done, but I think it’s because I found you. It’s always been important to me that I find a woman who can be a good mother to Naomi. Someone she can lean on. Maybe I won’t completely fail her.”
I smile and grab his face. “You put a lot of faith in me. I’m not perfect. But bumps in the road and continuing to try are far from failure.”
“I don’t want her to feel pushed to the side when we have kids,” he whispers, and won’t look me in the eye.
“We’ll cross that bridge when we get there, though it is possible that sibling may come sooner rather than later,” I say, and giggle.
Cooper’s eyes widen, and he leans out of my hands. “Oh, that wasn’t. Oh, shit.”
I snort and shake my head. “You’re stuck with me now.”
He grins with blushing cheeks. “Good thing there’s no one I’d rather be chained to.”
I chuckle playfully, pushing his shoulder. But the mere opportunity sobers me and I wonder what could have been going through Rebekah’s mind to make the choice she did. “I think she did the best she could. She knew that was you.”
“I would like to think that’s what was on her mind, and I don’t know this for sure, but I think I was the easier option. If she took Naomi to my parents, they would have asked her endless questions. But taking her to me, who was a twenty-four-year-old cowboy and didn’t know boo about kids, yet had plenty of women to help me, she hedged her bets and went with me.”
I rub my chest because my heart hurts for Rebekah. I don’t know what she was going through, and I’m sure leaving Naomi couldn’t have been an easy decision. Then again, I don’t know the woman, but I want to give her the benefit of the doubt.
“Maybe we should talk about something else. I’d rather not think about my sister while I’m lying here naked with you.”
I huff and shake my head. “What did you have in mind?” I ask him.
He shrugs and grabs my left hand, turning it back and forth. “Have you thought about our future much?” he asks.
My heart twists and stomach leaps with excitement. “There’s a lot going through my mind, Coop, but we just got back together a couple hours ago.”
He shrugs. “No time like the present.”
I hum. “Okay, well, I’ve been thinking about how I’m going to make the job thing work and keep the shop running.”
He grins and shakes his head. “It’s a lot to handle. But I’m here, you don’t have to do it alone.”
My eyes burn. “You have no idea how good it feels to hear you say that.”
“Do you want to know what I’ve been thinking about?” he asks.
“I’m not sure I do.”
He laughs and then levels his gaze on me, eyes darkening. Then he rolls on top of me, so we’re eye to eye, nose to nose.
“I’ve been thinking about you,” he says.
I huff. “That’s a lot.”
He kisses me again. “I used to feel guilty about it.”
My heart skips a beat, and I pucker my lips. “What are you saying?” I ask him.
He hums and kisses my neck. “I felt like Naomi should be the only one on my mind, and not to say she wasn’t. But you’ve buried yourself in there. There was no getting you out.”
“Sorry?”
He smiles from ear to ear. “I’m not. There’s enough space for both of you.”
