Chapter 10 – Ramona
Chapter Ten
Ramona
“ R ight on time.” I smile as I pull into the staff parking lot of Matthison’s Farms.
I have precisely two hours and twenty-five minutes to have lunch with Alise and make my shift at The Pit Stop on time. Everyone keeps telling me I work too much, and they’re probably right, but I need to make sure I can take care of my mom and Darius. Her social security check and military retirement pay from my dad only cover so much. Thanks to my parents’ money savviness and the pretty awesome refinance interest rate we got on the house, all of our basic expenses are covered. But then we have to feed ourselves and a growing eleven, almost twelve-year-old boy, not to mention school supplies, clothes, hockey club fees, hockey gear, and anything else Darius might need.
Just as I’m about to turn over the ignition, my cell phone rings, the small display on my old-ass radio showing Alise’s number. I answer without even bothering to say hello. “I swear on everything that is holy, if you are calling to cancel on me…”
Alise and I have been planning our lunch date for weeks. Although Alise works a regular eight-to-five schedule with the occasional weekends, my schedule fluctuates from week to week. I’m always at Matthison Farms before the sun comes up to feed all the animals and take care of any other tasks Mr. Matthison has for me, but I’m usually finished there by dinnertime, though there is the odd occasion he needs me to stay later. Then I usually have to head right to The Pit Stop to work the bar. Tips are the best in the evening, so I pick up all the shifts I can. I need the money. That’s the only reason I’m heading in today of all days.
“No, I’m not canceling,” Alise responds, and I sigh in relief. “However, I need you to stay exactly where you are.”
“I’m in my car. You just want me to sit here?” Alise has asked me to do some pretty crazy things in our years of friendship, so this isn’t anything out of the ordinary, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a little worried about what she’s thinking.
“Your car? Where? Did you already leave the farm?”
“No, I was just getting ready to.” I glance down at my watch to check the time. “I only have two hours and twenty minutes before I have to be at The Pit Stop to start my shift.”
“That’s oddly specific, girlfriend.” I hear Alise mumbling something in the background. She must still be at work. No! That won’t work. She takes about fifteen minutes to get from the rink to the farm, and then it’s another thirty-minute drive to the restaurant. Even with the extra time I factored in for any unexpected curve balls, we’ll never be able to have a real lunch. Looks like we’ll be grabbing sandwiches from The Pit Stop and having a car picnic again. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. It’s obviously not the first time that Alise and I have spent lunch similarly, but today is special. I just wanted to do something different.
“Tell your overactive, worst-case scenario brain to calm down. Everything is going to be fine. We will not be going to The Pit Stop or just having lunch with Auntie at your place. Today is a special day, and I’ll be damned if everything doesn’t go exactly as planned.”
I pull in a deep breath, trying to stop my brain from spiraling out of control. I should’ve known that Alise wouldn’t do anything to jeopardize our plans today. “Wait. You aren’t coming?”
“No. I’m not, but don’t fret. If I’m right, and I usually am with these types of things, your lunch partner should be pulling into the parking lot right about now.”
“You’re diabolical.” I sigh as Cooper Hendrix climbs out of his truck and heads straight toward the farm entrance. Alise must not have told him I wasn’t working today.
The best thing about him not noticing me is being able to ogle him in peace. I thought he looked good in sweatpants and a crewneck, but Cooper Hendrix in a pair of dark-washed jeans, a mossy green long-sleeved Henley, and a backward baseball cap is drool-worthy. I never understood the appeal of Man of the Month calendars until right this second.
I discreetly brush the corner of my mouth, ensuring I don’t have any drool hanging from the corner of my mouth. “You could’ve given a girl some warning.”
I look down at the burnt orange corduroy pants I paired with my favorite waist-length, off-white, oversized sweater. I always choose comfort over everything else, but if I’d known Cooper was going to be coming with me today, I might have dressed differently. Wait, who am I kidding? Even if this was a date, which it isn’t, I’d have dressed exactly the same.
Since he hasn’t noticed me sitting in my car like a lunatic, I pull down the visor and use the vanity mirror to check my hair. I did something a little different today, choosing to pull my locs into two adorable space buns instead of leaving them hanging like I usually do. Special occasions call for special hairstyles, right? Now if I had followed my mom’s advice and not left the house without some makeup on… What I wouldn’t kill to have a set of false lashes, mascara, and something other than the clear lip gloss I keep in my car.
“Stop freaking out. You look beautiful.” Alise always knows exactly what to say, even when she has no idea what I’m actually doing. Well, unless she has hidden cameras somewhere in my car. I seriously wouldn’t put it past her if I was being honest, but I digress.
“Thanks.”
“You’re welcome. Besides, if I told you he was coming, you’d have left and hidden away at home or worse, gone to your shift at The Pit Stop early.”
“I would have done no such thing.”
“Tell that to someone who doesn’t know you. You freaked out when you saw him at the ice rink last night. Why should I believe that something would’ve been different today?”
“Umm…” I draw out the words, trying to think of a completely valid reason why I need to stay the hell away from Cooper Hendrix.
I glance down at the clock and over toward the entrance to the farm. Cooper hasn’t noticed that I’m here yet. I could easily slip out of the parking lot, and no one would be the wiser, except Alise, but she’d take that small tidbit of information to the grave.
“Stop calculating an escape route and talk to the man. I don’t think he bites.”
“You don’t think he does?”
“How am I supposed to know? That would be like having sex with my brother.” Alise makes a loud gagging sound for good measure.
“Too bad you don’t think that about all of your, I mean his brothers.”
That’s a small tidbit of information that I found out over one too many bottles of wine on my twenty-first birthday a couple of years ago. Alise has always remained tightlipped about the man who stole her heart, but I weaseled it out of her that night. Now if I could just figure out how to get Cooper’s help without telling him my best friend’s closely guarded secret, I’d be in business. She’s meddling in my affairs. It might be time for someone to meddle in hers.
“Touché. But we aren’t talking about me right now, are we? Just let him take you to lunch and whatever else he wants to do.”
There are several things I’d love to let Cooper Hendrix do to me, but alas, I have responsibilities. “I have to work.”
I’m grasping at straws and we both know it. Lunch with the man I’m uncontrollably attracted to should be number one on my list of priorities, especially today. What could go wrong if I played hooky for one day? Besides, today is a very special occasion. Why shouldn’t I spend it doing something fun? That’s an easy answer: Fun is for people without responsibilities. I can’t just call out of work on a whim.
“Nope. Took care of that, too. Patty is going to cover your shift tonight and tomorrow. You owe her big time.”
“First, why do I need tomorrow off? Second, how do I owe her anything? I’m not the one who asked her to cover for me.”
“Again, semantics. Go get your man and call me later.” Alise quickly hangs up before I can say anything else.
I pull in a deep breath, trying to calm my nerves. Okay, I can do this. I can have lunch with Cooper. Cooper Hendrix, who’s Darius’s hockey coach and apparently a big fucking deal to a lot of people. I may have googled him last night before bed. I wasn’t scared of whatever this connection was between us before last night, but I am terrified now. Forget worrying about him being out of my league; he’s in an entirely different stratosphere. Nothing good is going to come from catching feelings for Cooper Hendrix.
Okay. All I need to do is make it through lunch at one of my favorite restaurants and not make a fool out of myself. An hour and some change tops. I can do this. I squeak in surprise at the soft knocking on my window. I roll it down quickly.
“Hey, Beauty.” Goose bumps spread across my body at the rough growl of his voice as the breeze flows through my window. I suppress a moan as the smell of thyme, lavender, and something I can’t place fills my lungs. I would love to say that it’s the farm or some fancy car freshener I didn’t know I had, but that is all Cooper. Fuck, he smells good.
Instead of saying hello like a normal human, I raise my hands and wave slightly. OMG, Ramona, get your shit together. The little tiny finger wave is not even remotely cool and calm. I must look like a complete and utter lunatic, but instead of turning around and running back to his truck, he grasps my hand in his. His eyes remain locked on mine as he brushes his lips across the inside of my wrist. The feeling of his lips on my skin shoots right to my core. My muscles tighten as moisture pools between my legs.
“Hey,” I squeak, my legs clamping shut. I need something to relieve some of the tension in my body. Jesus H. Christ, what the hell is happening to my body? Just the feel of this man’s lips on my skin has my entire body ready to combust.
“I hope you don’t mind me coming to visit.” Cooper holds up a brown paper bag. “I have a promise to a horse to keep.”
“I’m sure Bluebell would appreciate it. She loves it when men keep their promises.” My cheeks pink as I shift slightly in my seat. Body, calm the fuck down. There’s no way I’m going to make it through an hour-long car ride and lunch with him this close. His smell, the gravelly sound of his voice, his lips… no, no. I’m not thinking about his lips.
“She’s in the barn in the back. I’d join you, but I have to go.”
“Go?” His entire face falls as he leans away from the car, shoving both his hands into his pants. “I won’t keep you any longer.”
Damn. Cooper looks as if I just stole his favorite toy and kicked his dog at the same time. He must have really been looking forward to giving those apples to Bluebell. Who am I kidding? I know that’s not why Cooper is here. Right now, I have two choices. I can leave him standing right here in the parking lot and head off to my perfectly planned lunch by myself, or I can ask him to come with me.
“Do you want to have lunch with me?” I ask in barely a whisper, not entirely sure if I want him to hear me or not.
“Excuse me?” He leans forward, his forearms resting on the door.
Fuck. I just got my traitorous body under control and here he comes again with his disarming smile and delicious smell. “Do you want to have lunch with me? Alise was supposed to come with me, but she obviously isn’t coming.”
I’m about to ramble, and I can’t seem to stop myself. It always happens when I get nervous. Cooper leans further into the window, his eyes locked on mine as my nerves kick into high gear. My skin heats as he continues to stare, crow’s feet appearing near his eyes as he smiles. This man seems to hang on to my every word. I should just leave before I die of embarrassment, but alas, I just keep fucking talking. Lord help me.
“I just want to make sure you know this doesn’t have to mean anything. I don’t think it’s a date or anything. That’s just laughable, right? I just really don’t want to eat alone, and everyone has to eat during the day. We’re just two people eating a meal at the same place. It doesn’t really matter that it’s my birthday?—”
Cooper silences me by laying his finger gently on my lips. “What did you say?”
My mind races back through everything I just said, trying to find exactly what he’s questioning. “That it doesn’t have to be a date,” I mumble, his finger still pressed to my lips.
He pulls his hand back, realizing his finger is still on my lip. “No. After that.”
“That everyone has to eat, so why don’t we do it together?” I’m paraphrasing obviously, but I want to be as concise as possible. The last thing I need to do is give my brain another tangent to grip on to, and I start rambling again.
“No.” Cooper reaches forward, running the tips of his fingers down the side of my face before gripping my chin with his thumb and forefinger, raising my chin slightly. His eyes search my face for something before a wide grin spreads across his face. “Happy Birthday, Beauty.”
My eyes drift shut as he leans forward, brushing his lips against my forehead. “Is this okay?”
I can only nod my head as he presses his lips gently against my skin a second time. I expect him to pull back immediately, but he lingers for a few moments. Who knew a kiss on the forehead could be so sensual? Or maybe it’s just because it’s Cooper doing the kissing. I’m starting to believe there isn’t a thing this man could do that I wouldn’t find attractive.
My hands ball into fists in my lap, trying to keep myself from reaching out to grip his shirt and pull him in. I want to bury my nose in his chest and wrap my arms around his waist. I want so many things from this man that I have no business wanting. It’s amazing and terrifying at the same time, and I’m powerless to stop it. Whatever this is between Cooper Hendrix and me, I’m just along for the ride, it seems.
A chill runs down my spine as he pulls away from me. The warmth his body provides slowly seeps from my bones. “I’d prefer to take my truck, if that’s all right. I’d have a pretty hard time fitting into your car.”
“Okay.”
“I’ll follow you home.” Cooper smiles down at me before planting another kiss on my forehead and turning toward his truck.
Wait. What? Cooper is already climbing into his truck when my brain finally catches up with what’s going on right now. I inadvertently asked Cooper to lunch and told him it was my birthday. And now he’s following me home so we can go to lunch together.
This was not the plan. We were going to drive to Nosh and Nostalgia—not the perfect place for a birthday lunch, but I’d make do with what I got. We’d drive separately so I’d be able to maintain my sanity and not jump his bones the first time he smiled at me. Okay, I have more self-control than that, but not much.
Cooper pulls up behind me, leaving me with no chance to make a dash out of the parking lot, hoping to lose him. I turn the ignition and put my car in drive as we head out of the parking lot to my house.
Where my nosy-as-anything mother is. Fuck .