I go into the house and make him some lemonade and wait out on the porch for him to make his way back towards me.
He must have been out here for a couple hours. My aunt and uncle have quite a few acres. Not all of it is mowed, but a large area around the house and barn is.
Eventually, Cooper rides this way, moving too fast for comfort, and comes to a stop next to the house.
“Howdy,” he says with a smile on his face and his baseball hat pulled low. He’s covered in grass and looks genuinely happy to see me.
“What are you doing?” I ask him.
Cooper shrugs. “You mentioned it and I came by to see if you got to it, found you didn’t, so I thought I’d help you out.”
“I made you lemonade,” I say in a watery voice because the tears are about to break through the dam and I feel beyond stupid crying over cutting grass.
“Hey, what’s wrong?” he asks, brows drawn together as he leaps off the mower and pulls me into his arms.
“How do you have time to mow my lawn, and take care of Naomi, and be a cowboy?” I ask into his shirt that smells like sweat, grass, andman.
Cooper chuckles and takes the glass of lemonade. He downs it and makes a sound. “This is awesome, and to answer your question, when I was done being a cowboy, as you put it, I went to get Naomi, but a neighbor girl was over, and they we’re playing so I came over here while Aunt Dixie watched the girls. I guess she set up the playdate, and I probably forgot. So that’s why.”
I take a step back and reallylookat him in his cut-off t-shirt, Wranglers, and his cowboy boots.
“Did I make you cry because I mowed the lawn?” he asks.
I snort and wipe my face. “No, I’m crying because I don’t have to, and it’s a relief.”
He snorts and takes another sip of lemonade.
“Why is this so much better than any other lemonade I’ve had?” he asks.
“Italian lemons,” I sigh.
He inspects the glass like he can see the difference in the lemon juice.
“How can I thank you?” I ask him.
Cooper grins widely and wiggles his eyebrows.
I almost say, that won’t happen, but then he surprises me, as he usually does.
“You can tell me if you’ve thought anymore about throwing caution to the wind.”
I sigh and sit on the bench. “Have you always been this persistent?” I ask him.
“Only for the things I want. But I think you already know that.”
I nod absently. But if I’ve learned anything over the years. It’s that I have to protect my heart, especially as it is now.
“Would you like to stay for dinner?” I ask him. I was planning on leftovers, but I’m sure I could figure something out. It’s the least I can do.
“Let me call home to check, but I’m sure that would be fine.”
He dials his aunt, spinning his baseball hat backward before lifting the phone to his ear.
Oh boy.
He kicks at the gravel, and I stare at his bare arms and round butt. The man is a specimen. There is no other word for it. His body looks built and roughened from work — I know his hands are. He’s lean, not too beefy, and I can’t stop looking at him. His hair pokes out the back of his hat, and that mustache originally wasn’t attractive to me, but now?Now, I can’t stop looking at it and replaying every time it’s brushed across my skin. I was surprised how much I liked the way it feels.
“Keep staring at me like that and I might get ideas, stubborn.”
