Cooper (The Family Simon Book 6) Page 9

“But you’re shivering.” His hands moved to her shoulders.

  “I know.”

  Silence surrounded them. But then she heard his breath catch at the back of his throat as his fingers slowly unraveled the blanket from her shoulders. It dropped to the floor, and her heart took off. She was pretty damn sure it was beating out of her chest. How it didn’t explode was beyond her. But right now, in this moment, Morgan was under some kind of weird spell. She wanted to look away from Cooper, but she couldn’t.

  Her chest rose and fell as his fingers moved to the edge of her sweater and when he tugged on her zipper, she closed her eyes. She wanted to run away or grab his hands and stop them. But she couldn’t.

  Fear clutched at her, and she might have whimpered. She felt the zipper give way. Felt cool air on her skin. Felt his fingers in her hair, loosening her ponytail until he managed to get it undone.

  He moved closer still—she felt the heat from his body—and she bit her tongue when his hands slid to her face and then to her neck. Her stomach was a ball of knots, and she felt queasy. And light-headed. And so damn scared.

  No one had touched her there in years. Not since the hospital. Not since the endless skin grafts. Not since Nathan.

  She couldn’t feel a thing, not surprising considering the nerve damage, and her knees wobbled a bit when he leaned close. “Am I hurting you?”

  She shook her head because she couldn’t answer, and when his hands cupped her face, she held her breath. Uncertain. Afraid. Weirdly excited. Cooper Simon had just got up close and personal with the ugliness that was a part of her. He’d touched it. And yet he still held her.

  Warm breath fanned her cheeks, and her lashes fluttered. She wanted to open them. To look and see for herself what was reflected inside him. But she couldn’t because she was too afraid.

  When his mouth slid over hers, her chest tightened and her knees knocked together. Her hands fisted his shirt, and she leaned into him, welcoming his strong arms as Cooper slid them around her, caging Morgan against his chest.

  At first his kiss was tentative. It was a light tongue. A nip to the corner of her mouth. A nuzzle against her cheek. But then he shifted, and she felt his hardness, even as something hot and wet bloomed between her legs.

  Cooper Simon continued his assault on her mouth, and good Lord, but the man could kiss. He was aggressive and yet restrained. He was hard and soft. He was everything in that moment. Her savior. Her anchor. He awakened a need inside Morgan that was painful, a need that had her drowning in a kiss that wouldn’t stop.

  It became too much, and she tore her mouth from his, wriggling until he had to let her go.

  Cooper was breathing hard, his face intense. She moved back a few steps and clutched at the ends of her sweater.

  “I…” She had to take a few extra seconds because she needed to calm the hell down. “I should go.”

  Morgan didn’t give Cooper a chance to say anything. She turned and headed for the foyer, grabbing her coat from the rack as she slid her feet into her boots.

  “Are you sure you’re okay to drive?”

  She nodded and didn’t bother turning around. She opened the door and hurried out into the night. Only when she was in the car did she look up at the house. Cooper’s silhouette filled the doorway as she cranked the engine.

  Without giving her vehicle a chance to warm up, Morgan reversed and sped away from the McLaren estate. She was still shaking. Still hot and bothered and way more confused than she had the time and energy for. She’d let Cooper Simon, a man she barely knew, touch her. He was a world-class playboy. Everybody knew it. Hell, it was all she read online when she’d googled him.

  She squirmed in her seat because she could still feel his lips on hers. As she approached town, Morgan slowed her speed, though her mind raced ahead like a junkie on crack. How could it not? How could the gray matter between her ears not be filled with things she had no business thinking about? Seriously. Cooper Simon had kissed her damn near senseless. What. The. Hell.

  She pulled into the driveway and cut the engine. Light flickered from the front room, and she knew her dad was either passed out in his chair, or he’d gone to bed and forgotten to turn the TV off.

  Next door, Mrs. Samuels poked her head out for a look and then retreated into her home, closing the door against the cold. Morgan sank back into her seat and put trembling fingers against her mouth. It was swollen and sensitive. Because Cooper Simon kissed me.

  He’d pulled her in and kissed her hard. But this was Cooper Simon, and she was…well, she was just a screwed-up girl from a small town with no business kissing someone like Cooper Simon.

  To make matters worse? She’d liked it. Heck, she’d liked it a whole lot. Her. The girl who didn’t like anyone touching her. That was reason enough for Morgan to be concerned. You know. On account of this being Cooper-the-man-whore-Simon.

  “Shit,” she muttered, touching her mouth again. Passion still thrummed through her, and she squeezed her eyes shut. There was also something else. Something that clutched at her stomach and made her feel sick. She knew what it was.

  Fear. Cooper Simon scared the ever-lovin’ crap out of her. And yet he’d awakened a part of her she thought was dead.

  How inconvenient was that?

  13

  “You were quiet today.”

  Cooper yanked his head from the window and glanced at his brother. It was late Sunday evening, and after a full day that included church service, Easter dinner, and more desserts than he cared to think about, Cooper was ready to head back to his place and call it a night. He wasn’t in the mood to talk, and he sure as hell wasn’t in the mood to discuss the reason he’d been quiet all day.

  “Tired, I guess,” he replied, rolling his shoulders. What a load of crap. He wasn’t tired. Hell, he was so far from tired, it was laughable. He was tense and fired up and about as calm as a kitten in a dog pen. All because of one kiss.

  One hell of a kiss.

  Maverick raised an eyebrow. “Bullshit.” His brother’s bullshit meter was on point, but Cooper wasn’t giving in. Not because he didn’t feel comfortable confiding in his brother—hell, Rick was the only one on the planet privy to a lot of shit no one else knew. No, it was more or less because he still didn’t know what to make of Morgan and this sudden attraction between them.

  Where had that kiss come from? And when the hell was the last time a simple kiss had pretty much knocked him on his ass?

  He frowned and shoved his hands into his pants pockets. He sure as hell knew it wasn’t just him. No woman responded to a touch and kiss like she did unless she was enjoying it as much as he had.

  “You gonna tell me what’s going on?” Maverick crossed the kitchen and opened the fridge. He grabbed a cold beer for himself, but Cooper shook his head. He planned on leaving soon, and a late-night beer wasn’t in the cards.

  “I’m good.”

  Maverick opened his mouth to respond but didn’t have a chance—thank God; the guy could be relentless. Their mother walked into the kitchen, a slow, gentle smile lighting up her face when she spied them. Her hair was loose, falling around her shoulders in soft waves, and without a stitch of makeup on, she was about as far from the jet-set life she’d led these past years as she was from the moon.

  “I was wondering where my boys were.”

  The hairs on the back of Cooper’s neck instantly stood on end. He looked at Maverick and could tell by the set of his jaw, his brother felt the same. There was something in Isabel’s voice, something in her expression, that had Cooper straightening.

  She smiled at him then, as if she knew what he was feeling, and ran her fingers through her hair before tucking a curl behind her ear.

  “You want a cup of tea?” Maverick asked.

  Isabel shook her head. “No. I’m fine. I was hoping to talk.” Her eyes were overly bright, and the lines around them seemed deeper. It could be that she was just overtired, but Cooper had a feeling there was more to it.

  Dread hit him
like a hammer straight to the gut. Maverick’s bullshit meter might be on point, but when it came to shit hitting the fan, Cooper had that one covered. He knew something was up, and whatever that something was, it wasn’t anything good.

  He took a moment and gave himself a mental shake. “You want to head to the family room?” he asked, watching his mother carefully.

  She nodded, her smile wavering a bit. “That would be nice.”

  Cooper and Maverick followed their mother to the family room, and, restless, Cooper didn’t sit but stood near the fireplace, watching Isabel carefully. She slid onto the sofa near him, and a soft sigh escaped.

  A shiver rolled over Cooper, and his hands fisted inside his pants pockets. Cold sweat beaded his forehead, and his jaw ached because his teeth were clenched too tightly.

  For several moments, there was nothing but the sound of the wind whistling against the house.

  “I thought you boys should know Teddy’s moved out.”

  Cooper remained silent, as did Maverick. He somehow knew Teddy wasn’t the subject of whatever the hell it was going on with his mother. The fact that he’d moved out? That was a bonus. He’d never liked the man but had learned years ago to keep his opinion of his mother’s lovers to himself.

  “You okay with that?” Maverick asked, leaning against the edge of the sofa. His brother glanced at Cooper for a second. It was long enough for Cooper to see fear and concern.

  Their mother moistened her lips, and for just a second, her face crumpled a bit. More alarmed than ever, Cooper began to pace.

  “It was a long time coming. I’m good with it.” Isabel patted the sofa. “Cooper, come sit with me.”

  Stopped dead in his tracks, Cooper exhaled and unclenched his fists before turning around. He sat beside his mother and waited for the hammer to fall.

  Again silence filled the air, and when she eventually spoke, her voice was low and intimate. It was a throwback to when he was young, and for a few moments, it took him right back to a time when a hug from his mom could make a skinned knee or a broken arm seem insignificant.

  “What is it that you do out there at your place on the water?” She smiled, her blue eyes shiny, and his heart squeezed. “I’d really like to know. No way would my boy spend all that time alone unless it was for a good reason.”

  He glanced at Maverick, who gave a small shrug and waited. Other than his cousin Jack, who’d found out by accident, Maverick was the only person on the planet who knew what his deal was. Well, other than his agent.

  “What do you think I do?” he asked lightly.

  A heartbeat passed. Isabel reached for his hand. Her fingers felt cold as they threaded through his. “I honestly have no clue, but I know whatever it is, it’s something important. Incredible even.”

  His eyebrows shot up. “Incredible?” That was not generally a word associated with Cooper Simon. Womanizer. Playboy. Heartbreaker. Those ones were familiar.

  She nodded. “It has to be incredible, doesn’t it? For you to go to all this trouble to hide whatever it is?” She squeezed his hand. “I’ve thought of asking before but figured you’d tell me when the time was right.” She paused, seemed to catch her breath, and his chest tightened. “The time is right, Cooper. I need to know.”

  There it was again. That thing in her voice that made him nervous. He cleared his throat and decided his mother was right. It was time to lay to rest some of the ghosts from his past. Not all of them, mind you—there were several he had a feeling would haunt him forever. But this one, this one small slice of his life? It was time.

  “Do you remember Mrs. Rebuk?”

  Isabel frowned for a moment and then nodded. “She was your teacher.” She paused. “Grade three?”

  Cooper shook his head. “Five.”

  His mother smiled. “Yes. She was a stunning woman. Strawberry blonde with an impeccable wardrobe and an affinity for Italian leather that I adored.”

  Cooper chuckled. The woman could have worn burlap for all he remembered, but leave it to his mother to remember the Italian leather.

  “I had a big crush on her,” Maverick quipped, settling onto the other side of Isabel. At Cooper’s sideways glance, he laughed. “What? She was hot and smelled nice.”

  “This is my story, Rick.”

  “Go for it.” His brother slipped an arm around their mother.

  “Yes, what is it about Mrs. Rebuk that’s so important?”

  Cooper half smiled. “She introduced me to Tom Sawyer and the Black.”

  “The Black?” she asked.

  “It’s a horse.”

  “Oh.”

  Cooper saw her confusion. “A book about a boy and an Arabian stallion who were shipwrecked and then rescued. They went on to win the big match race, and I just…” He stopped for a moment. “She read to us every day. One chapter after lunch recess. For me, that became the most important hour of the day. I lived for when she’d open up a book and bring the words to life. It was just after Dad…” He blew out a long breath and caught his brother’s attention.

  “After Dad died, I was not in a good place. I was lost and angry, and Mrs. Rebuk and those books centered me. In a world where everything was wrong and dark and sad, the words she read every day in that one hour taught me that there was still beauty and joy and wonder. They took me away from my own dark place, and I was on the racetrack when the Black won.” He paused for a second. “Those books gave me hope, and I grew to love the written word. When I got older, I began to write things down.”

  “Like a journal?” His mother’s voice was so low, he barely heard her. Cooper nodded.

  “At first. But then I started writing my own stuff, and it kind of took on a life of its own. In my second year of college, I published.”

  She jerked her head back. “A book?”

  Her surprise made him smile, and he nodded. “Yes. A novel.”

  “I had no idea.”

  He shrugged. “No one did. Not for a long time. In a world that was crazy, my writing was the one thing that was one hundred percent mine. It was the one thing I could control, and I went to great lengths to do that.”

  “And that’s what you do? You write?”

  Again he nodded.

  “But why would you hide that from me?”

  He didn’t really have a good reason for that. “In the beginning, it was about getting to the next level on my own. About not using the Simon name. I wanted to succeed, but on my own merits. And then when the success happened, I just found it easier to keep things on the down low. Our family is always in the news, under the microscope. It was nice to have a part of my life that was all mine. Not for public consumption.”

  She frowned, watching him closely. “So you write under a pen name?”

  “I do.” A secretive smile played around the corners of his mouth. “Have you heard of a guy named Lee Holloway?” His question was tongue in cheek, because he knew his mother knew about Lee Holloway.

  “Of course I have.” Isabel’s frown deepened. And then she whispered. “Oh my God. Lee Holloway. You are…Lee Holloway.”

  “Hey,” he said, more than a little uncertain. Her reaction wasn’t at all what he’d expected. “I thought you were a fan.”

  She glanced up. “I am. I just… I thought he was an old man.”

  Relief flooded Cooper. “That was my agent’s idea.”

  “Oh.” His mother tightened her grip on his fingers. “His books…your books. They’re just so damn emotional, and I…” She gulped in a big breath and shuddered, and there was a new understanding on her face. “Long Time Gone was about Holly, wasn’t it?”

  Hearing her name was like a gunshot to the chest. His body immediately tensed. Funny how the past still affected him. “Yes.”

  His mother slid her hands up to his shoulders and hugged him. “I’m so sorry I wasn’t there for you. I had no idea you were hurting so badly.” She rested against his chest. “After your father died, I was kind of lost. For a very long time. I used alcohol
and men to forget, and for that, I’m sorry. I had you boys to watch out for, and I didn’t do a very good job of it.”

  Something shifted then, and he glanced at his brother. His face was serious, and Cooper had a feeling the hammer was about to fall.

  Isabel extracted herself from Cooper and got to her feet. She took a few steps and then turned to face both her sons. She stood there for a long time, looking down at them.

  “You’ve both grown into the kind of men your father would have been proud of. I want you to know that.” She smiled as her gaze moved from Maverick to Cooper. “I see him in both of you, and I just wish…” Her smile faltered, and Cooper sprang to his feet.

  “Mom,” he said gently. “What’s going on?” Maverick got up and stood beside Cooper.

  She smiled at them and took one step forward so that she could nestle against both her boys.

  “I wish I’d been a better mother to you. I wish I hadn’t waited so long to get my house in order. I wish…” Her voice broke, and it was obvious she was very upset.

  “Mom?” Cooper couldn’t breathe. Could barely get the words out.

  “Sometimes things happen,” she whispered, her voice wavering.

  “What’s going on?” Maverick spoke thickly.

  She gripped his brother’s hand and offered a small smile. “Sometimes the things that happen can make a person look back and see the wrong in her life. And sometimes, if that person is listening, they get a second chance to make things right.” She exhaled slowly.

  “Four months ago, I was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s disease.”

  “Jesus,” Cooper whispered harshly.

  She reached for him. “It’s okay. I’m okay.” She glanced at both of her sons. “I’m one of the lucky ones. It was stage one, I’ve already had radiation, and my prognosis is positive.”

  “Why did you wait until now to tell us?” Maverick’s face darkened, and he glanced at Cooper.

  “It probably sounds silly, but I didn’t want either of you to worry. I knew my situation wasn’t dire, and for once in my life, I felt like I had to deal with something on my own. I came home from the doctor’s and told Teddy we were over. I had a lot of time to reflect, and what I realized was that ever since your father passed away, I’ve been merely existing. Using men as a buffer between myself and life. I’m done with that. It’s time for me to live my life the way I was meant to.” She paused. “To live my life the way your father would have wanted me to. I started cleaning house, and Teddy was the first thing to go.”