Page 30 of Cooper’s Passion

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The sun was about to set over the Pacific Ocean, when Cooper drove into his uncle’s garage. Two other cars were parked there. Anita looked at the dark BMW and the smaller sportscar.

“Looks like your uncle and aunt are home,” Anita said as she exited the car. When they’d left to drive to Scanguards earlier, only the smaller sportscar had been parked in the garage.

“Looks like it,” Cooper replied and waited for her until she came around the car. “Let me introduce you to them.”

He put his hand on her lower back, and she took a deep breath, a little uncomfortable that Cooper had invited her to stay here without clearing it with his aunt and uncle first.

“Are you sure they’ll be all right with me staying here?”

“You worry too much.”

Cooper took her hand and opened a door leading into a corridor. They were still in the basement of the house. From here, a staircase led up to the first floor, while the two other doors in the corridor looked like they led to storage areas. One of them was open.

When Cooper opened the door leading into the foyer of his uncle’s house, Anita heard a baby crying. She cast him a sideways glance. “I thought you said they didn’t have kids.”

Cooper winked at her and headed for the back of the house. “Looks like we have a little visitor.”

Together they entered the large eat-in kitchen, where a man with dark hair cradled a crying toddler in his arms, while he tried to cook.

“Need a hand, Wes?”

The man turned around to them, a look of relief on his face. “Thank God you’re here. Can you take your cousin for a moment, while I puree his food?”

“Hey, Jacob.” Cooper wrestled the toddler from his uncle’s arms and swung him back and forth while making sounds as if the boy was an airplane.

Anita had a chance to cast Wesley a closer look. The man had handsome and charming written all over him. His blue eyes were penetrating, and his dark hair was longer than Cooper’s. But there was no way that this was Cooper’s uncle. He looked barely a day over thirty-five.

“Coop, don’t you wanna introduce us?” Wes asked as he spooned vegetables and cooked meat into the blender.

“Sorry, Jacob distracted me,” Cooper said with a grin, while he blew a raspberry at the little boy. Jacob chortled and clapped his hands, the tears forgotten. “Wes, that’s Anita, she’s working on a case with me. And she’s staying here, because something went wrong with her Airbnb. Anita, this is my uncle, Wesley.”

“Hey, Anita.”

“Hi, nice to meet you, Wesley,” Anita said quickly. “I hope it’s all right that I stay here. I didn’t want to impose, but Cooper said you wouldn’t mind, but I know he didn’t ask you ahead of time, so, if it’s a problem for you and your wife—”

“Anita, breathe,” Cooper interrupted.

Wesley smiled. “It’s totally fine with us. In fact, you’re the first woman he’s brought back here since he moved in with us over a month ago. I was getting worried that something was wrong with his sex drive.”

“Wes!”

The reprimand came from behind Anita. She whirled around, her heart pounding. She hadn’t heard the door open. A woman with red hair dressed in black leather pants, a tank top, and a leather jacket stood right behind her. She was about the same age as Wesley.

“Babe, you were wondering the same thing last week,” Wes said casually.

“Yeah, but I didn’t do it in front of Cooper and his, uhm...”

“He called her a colleague,” Wes helped, completely ignoring the fact that she and Cooper were in the room, “but honestly, I think she’s his girlfriend.”

“Really, guys?” Cooper said, shaking his head. “You can be more embarrassing than my parents, and that’s not easy.”

The redhead ignored Cooper’s comment and extended her hand to Anita. “I’m Virginia, Wesley’s wife.”

Anita shook her hand. “Nice to meet you, Virginia. I’m Anita. I hope it’s all right that—”

“We love having guests,” Virginia said. Then she turned to Wesley. “I’ve gotta go. There’s a last-minute council meeting.”