“Oh, um…I should probably help Coop with the bags.” Mac glanced over at him.
“Nonsense. He’s a strong boy. I’m sure he’ll manage.”
When his mother started back toward the house, Mac stammered a bit before catching up with her. “Oh, uh…o-okay. I’d be happy to help.” As she followed his mom up the porch steps, she shot him a doe-eyed look from over her shoulder.
Coop nearly laughed out loud at the terrified look on Mac’s face. With a wink and a smirk, he turned away, leaving the complicated woman to deal with his sweet, but sometimes overbearing, mother on her own.
If they were going to be together for the long haul —and he was bound and determined to make that happen—Mac was going to have to learn what being a Cooper was all about.
* * *
“Is this enough, or do I need to keep slicing?” Mac held the knife steady and waited to see what Coop’s mom wanted her to do.
“I think that’ll be plenty. Here.” Cheryl handed her the platter of meat and cheese. “Why don’t you go ahead and set this on the table, and I’ll put those onions over here with the tomatoes.”
Doing as she was told, Mac took the platter from the woman’s hands and carried it over to the round, wooden table next to the section of windows in the corner of the room.
“You have a beautiful home.” She made her way back over to start gathering the condiments.
“Thank you.” Coop’s mom smiled. “The land originally belonged to my in-laws. Shortly after Sean was born, they offered to sell a portion to Sean’s dad and I for a heck of a price. Of course, we knew we’d never get land like this that cheap anywhere else, so we went straight to the bank, secured the loan, and bought it. Over the years as they got older, we started purchasing even more of their land. Acre by acre, until we got to where we are now.”
“How much land do you have total?”
“Two hundred acres.”
Mac made a low, whistling sound. “That’s a lot of land.”
“Not as much as some, but we do all right. It gives us the privacy we enjoy, plus there are a couple of ponds on the property where Robert and the kids like to fish.”
“Not you?”
“Nah.” Cheryl shook her head. “I get too bored sitting and waiting for a fish to bite. The deal’s always been, they catch it and clean it, and I’ll cook it.”
She couldn’t help but smile. “Sounds like a pretty good deal to me.”
Coop walked into the kitchen from the back door. “Bags are all upstairs, and Dad’s on his way from the barn.” His eyes met hers. “You two got everything ready, or have you been too busy talking about me?”
Mac shook her head. “Sorry to disappoint you, but we have better things to talk about than you.”
“Oh, really?” He sauntered up to her, her heart skipping at the hungry look in his eyes. “Such as?”
“Your mom was telling me about how she and your dad bought this land from your grandparents.”
“That, they did. What else did you talk about?”
“Fishing.”
He grinned. “We catch it. She cooks it.”
“Don’t forget you have to clean it, first.”
Coop’s smile grew wide, his eyes shining in a way she’d never seen before. It had to be this place. He was home with his family, and he was happy.
I’d love to give him that someday. A home and a family.
Taken off guard by those mega-serious thoughts, Mac cleared her throat and looked away. “We, uh, have some ham and turkey on the table. Oh, and there’s cheese, too.”
“Did you say your father was coming?” Coop’s mom asked.
