Chapter 25
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Cooper leaned back in the booth and smiled across the table at Julia. He felt tired but incredibly content. Beside him, Dean was excitedly reading off the list of all of the money they’d raised at the fundraiser that day.
“There,” Dean said with a sigh, coming to the end of the list. “That’s definitely enough to keep The Lighthouse Grill on its feet for now. I’m so proud of you chuckleheads.”
“This is amazing.” Alexis’s eyes were shining. “We really did it. Our fundraiser was a success.”
Julia nodded and smiled, taking a sip of her root beer float. After the fundraiser had ended, Vivian, the Owens siblings, and Cooper had gone over to the pub for celebratory sandwiches and root beer floats. Callie had taken Macey home to go to sleep, and Cooper felt grateful that he was able to stay with Julia and her family. He still wanted a chance to talk with her about the two of them, and what had happened the other day.
“It was wildly successful.” Vivian beamed at her children, and tears glistened in her eyes. “I’m so thankful for all of you, and the hard work you put into this fundraiser. Thank you. Thank you so much.” She looked at Cooper, and he smiled back at her.
“Of course, Mom.” Hazel wrapped an arm around her mother and hugged her sideways. “We love you and the pub. We had to put up a good fight.”
“And it sounds like we won that fight.” Julia clasped her hands together. “We don’t have enough money to make the pub’s finances carefree forever, but we definitely have enough to fill in the gaps of uncertainty that Dad left.”
“Thank goodness.” Hazel let out a long sigh. “I’m exhausted, but I feel so happy.”
“Me too.” Alexis smiled, and Julia leaned her head down onto her sister’s shoulder.
“I feel almost overwhelmed with happiness,” Vivian said, clasping her hands. “I’m so grateful to you all. Thank you for having this idea and for working so hard to put it into action.”
“Of course, Mom.” Julia looked lovingly at her mother. “We’re here to support you and make sure that you don’t need endless security for the pub. I’m going to make sure you have what you need.”
“Me too,” Alexis said. “You can count on it.”
“And me,” said Dean, nodding. “We’ve got your back, Mom.”
“Yes, we do.” Hazel smiled at her mother. “No matter what happens, you’ve got us to look out for you.”
Cooper felt his heart stir with happiness as he listened to the Owens siblings offer their support to their mother. He felt touched by how much their family loved each other, and he felt confident that they were going to succeed in keeping the pub afloat.
“Yes, you do.” Julia nodded emphatically. “We’re all going to help out however we can to sustain the pub’s legacy.”
“That’s right,” said Dean. “The dream you and Dad built together is worth preserving.”
Vivian’s eyes filled with tears and she placed her hands on her heart. “This place belongs to our family. I’m so glad you children care about it as much as I do.”
Cooper watched Julia smiling at her mother and he tried to catch her eye. She didn’t look in his direction, and his heart sank a little. It seemed as though she was always looking away whenever he glanced at her, and he felt as though that was evidence that she still felt awkward about the gift that he’d rejected. He wished that she was trying to catch his eye like he was trying to catch hers, and showing the same interest in him that she had in the past.
He was just getting ready to clear his throat and ask her what her next plans for the pub were, when the front door of The Lighthouse Grill opened and someone stepped inside.
“Well, well, well.” Dean eyed the person darkly. “Look who it is.”
Cooper turned his head curiously and saw that the person was none other than Judd McCormick.
Judd strolled up to the booth where they were sitting, looking as poised and confident as a peacock. “Good evening, folks.” He smiled his flashy, insincere smile. “I heard about your fundraiser today. I just happened to be passing by, and I thought I’d drop in and offer my congratulations.”
Cooper’s eyes narrowed at the other man. He had a feeling that Judd had in fact not been passing by but had driven over to the pub on purpose.
“Well, that’s nice of you, Mr. McCormick,” Vivian said, politely but coolly.
Dean, clearly less inclined to be gracious, cleared his throat loudly and glared at Judd as if telling him that his congratulations weren’t welcome.
“How much money were you able to raise?” Judd smiled, but his eyes glittered calculatingly. “I know not a lot of people in this town have much extra money.”
“We raised a great deal.” Julia’s smile was hard, and the look in her eyes was almost aggressive.
“Really now?” Judd’s eyebrows lifted in surprise for a moment, but then his smile returned and he seemed unfazed. “Well, Vivian, you’re lucky you have such great helpers in the form of your kids. I’m sure what they’ve done today is going to get you through the next few weeks and maybe even the next few months, but when you find yourself in financial trouble again, feel free to give me a call.”
“Now why on earth would I do that?” Vivian said. The look in her eyes was starting to look similar to the one in Julia’s.
Judd shrugged. “I hate to say it, but once your kids go their separate ways again, I think you’re going to find yourself with the same issues as before.”
Vivian squared her shoulders. “That’s none of your business, Judd. And furthermore, you’re wrong. That won’t be a problem. My kids aren’t going to be leaving me to fend for myself. We are family, and we’ve all agreed to do whatever we need to do to preserve the pub.”
Judd’s eyes narrowed. “Well, if you ever find yourself reconsidering my offer?—”
“No, Judd.” Cooper spoke up, looking the other man square in the eyes. “You’re the one who needs to reconsider your offer. I’ve worked out some of the landscaping details, and I don’t think the pub would be a good spot for the McCormick expansion. You’d be better off buying more square footage somewhere else—somewhere else that doesn’t involve destroying a restaurant that serves as a center of community in this town.”
“I—well—” Judd stammered, seeming to be at a loss for words.
Cooper found himself glancing at Julia, and his heart swelled when he saw that she was looking at him with a glow in her eyes.
“That’s my professional opinion,” Cooper said. “Honestly. And my personal opinion is that you should have learned your lesson by now. The location isn’t what makes this pub popular. It’s the food and the atmosphere and the people who run it. You can’t buy that. Take a hint from the way the fundraiser went today. The people of Rosewood Beach love The Lighthouse Grill. If you take it away from them, they’re going to want nothing to do with your brewery.”
Judd blinked. For a moment, he hesitated, as if he was trying to think of something to say. Then he swallowed, turned around, and left the pub.
“Three cheers for Cooper!” Dean laughed.
“I have a very good feeling that this time, he’s actually leaving for good.” Vivian was all smiles.
“I propose a toast,” Alexis said, lifting her glass of wine. “To The Lighthouse Grill.”
“To The Lighthouse Grill,” Julia echoed, holding her root beer float aloft. “May it have a long and prosperous future.”
They all clinked their glasses together, laughing and cheering.
“I have no doubt it will.” Vivian smiled. “Frank would have been so proud of you all today. So proud.”
They continued to talk and laugh as they finished their drinks and their sandwiches. Everyone seemed to be in holiday spirits, and a sense of relief and celebration pervaded the rest of the meal.
As everyone else lingered at the table to talk and sip what remained of their drinks, Julia stood up and picked up a few of the empty plates. She headed into the kitchen alone with the dishes, and after hesitating for a moment, Cooper stood up as well. He took a couple more empty plates and followed her into the kitchen. He was hoping to be able to catch a moment alone with her so that they could discuss what had happened between them the other day.
He pushed open the swinging doors of the kitchen with his elbow and saw Julia setting her dishes down next to a large sink. One of the cooks was bustling away at the stove, humming to herself as she cooked, and listening to unheard music on a pair of earbuds.
“Hey,” he said to Julia, almost breathlessly. “Do you have a second?”
Julia turned around hurriedly and pressed her lips together. She looked suddenly nervous, and for a moment he was worried that she was going to make an excuse and leave the kitchen without talking to him.
“Yeah.” She smiled almost shyly at him, and he noted that he still got swarms of butterflies in his chest when he was close to her.
“I want to discuss those tickets you offered, if that’s all right.”
Julia nodded slowly. “I expected you to still be thinking about that whole thing. I know I am. I think I was too hasty and I should have given it all more thought. I can’t expect you to change your whole way of life around for me. I know you’re a great father, and you take parenting seriously. Honestly I feel so embarrassed about the whole thing.”
He stepped up to her and took her hands. “No, Julia.” She squeezed his hands back gently, and he felt his heart rate pick up. “You shouldn’t feel embarrassed. This is new territory for both of us, and we just need to compromise to make this work. Our different ways of living don’t need to stop us from going out together; we just need to figure out how to adapt.”
She nodded, and there was a hopeful look in her eyes that hadn’t been there a moment before.
“And besides,” he continued, starting to smile, “I had a thought. I could ask Callie to come along on the day of the concert to watch Macey. She could sleep in your hotel room with you, and Macey could spend the night with me. It wouldn’t be exactly what you were thinking, but we would still have our time together and get to go to the concert together. And I would be doing what I need to do to feel as though I’m taking good care of Macey.”
He saw tears spring into Julia’s eyes, and she nodded. “That’s a great idea. A really great idea.” She smiled at him and laughed breathlessly. “I wish I’d thought of that. I’m sorry I didn’t.”
“You stop apologizing there, missy.” He grinned at her. “Besides, I feel as though I completely messed that whole thing up by reacting the way I did. We’ll be learning together.”
His eyes traced over her face for a few heartbeats, and then the words that had been beating around in his chest for a while spilled out of him.
“I’ve never really been interested in being more than a single dad. Ever since Macey’s mom died, I haven’t felt any interest in dating anyone, even though raising Macey alone has been hard. But… well, I like you a lot, Julia Owens. So if you’re willing to stumble around with me in the dark while we figure out how to do this, I’m game if you are. I want to see where things could go between us, because I think it could be pretty amazing.”
She took a deep breath, looking serious. For a moment, his heart skipped a beat as he wondered if she was about to tell him that she didn’t think things could work out between them. Then she grinned at him and nodded.
“I really like that plan, Mr. Harris,” she said.
His heart leapt up in happiness, and he was suddenly filled with excitement for the days ahead.
“I’m so glad you said that,” he murmured. “Me too.”
And with that, he drew her in for a kiss.