Chapter 33
Cooper
It took us nearly all night to get our largest herd back from a fence break and into another pasture in the dark.
Luckily, it hadn’t been long, and they didn’t get far, but exhausted is not a large enough word to describe the soreness of my back or my shoulders from roping over and over again.
Many cattle ended up getting themselves stuck in little patches of woods.
The dogs helped, but with hundreds of cattle, there’s only so much each of us can do.
Trudging up the stairs. The sun is coming up, and we’ll have to get up in a few hours, but at least I’ll get that.
Hopefully Naomi sleeps in later than she normally does because I need the time.
Creeping into the quiet house, I get my boots off and check on Naomi. She’s still sound asleep. Closing her door quietly behind me, I go across the hall to shower.
Once I’m cleaned up, I sneak into my room with a towel around my waist. The door creaks and I wince, trying not to wake Mae up.
I search for some boxers and shorts, wincing as I open the creaking drawer.
“Cooper?” Mae calls, her voice groggy with sleep.
“I’m here,” I whisper.
She sighs and rolls over without another word, falling back asleep. Once I get dressed and slip into bed next to her. I’m more awake than I was when I got home, and all I want to do is stare at her.
Her black curly hair is all over the place, and her lips are slightly parted, the top a little thicker than her lower, and the most kissable I’ve ever tasted.
This is it. This is how I want to wake up every morning.
Blood rushes in my ears with the realization and the reality of a ticking clock I’ve done everything to ignore.
If I don’t figure out how to get her to stay, then I’m afraid she might leave with half my heart.
The other half belongs to Naomi, but last time I checked, it’s hard to function with only half.
I need her to stay.
She sighs and opens her eyes. “Hi,” she whispers.
“I didn’t mean to wake you up. Go back to sleep,” I tell her, pushing some hair from her face.
“Everything go okay?” she asks.
“Yeah,” I tell her and pull closer. Her cheek rests on my chest.
“I’m glad you’re back,” she says.
“Did Naomi wake up?” I ask her.
“No,” she sighs.
“Good.”
She hums, and her breath evens out again.
“I think you’re it for me, stubborn,” I whisper and fall asleep with the woman of my dreams in my arms.
***
Warmth presses against my chest, and small kissing sounds bring me out of sleep.
I peek my eyes open to find Mae kissing my chest.
Lifting my head, she stops and smiles sleepily at me.
“Damn, that’s pretty,” I rasp.
“What?” she asks.
“You. This,” I say and bring us to eye level.
“Good morning,” she says.
“What a good morning it is,” I rasp.
She smiles and I slip my hand around the back of her neck, pulling her to my mouth. I don’t care that teeth aren’t brushed, or that I’m sporting what she likely already feels. Every cell in my body feels balanced with her right here.
“I’ve wanted to wake up like this since we fell asleep video chatting,” I tell her.
She kisses me and our noses brush.
“It is pretty nice,” she says.
I groan, pulling her tighter. She throws her leg over my thigh and whimpers at what she finds.
“It is morning,” I mumble.
She hums, and I press my thigh a little tighter between her legs.
A soft moan bubbles from her lips, and I swallow her other sounds with my mouth.
Her hand drags over my chest to my waistband. I grunt and kiss her again while I slip my hand beneath hers.
She startles at my touch, and I pause. “You okay?”
Mae nods, biting her lower lip. “Please,” she whines softly.
“My pleasure, stubborn,” I murmur against her lips.
“More like mine,” she whispers.
I chuckle and drag my fingers through her, and she sighs, doing the same. Fully awake, I watch her carefully, trying to keep my eyes open despite her warm hand. Her eyes catch mine, and everything shifts. Her mouth drops open and she winces.
I stop.
“Did I hurt you?”
She shakes her head.
“Show me stubborn, put my hand where you want it,” I tell her.
Her cheeks turn bright red, and she rolls her lips together, slipping her hand from my boxers and putting it on top of mine.
“I’ve never done this before,” she whispers.
I nip her chin, and she closes her eyes, moving my fingers in place of hers.
“I want to make you feel good.”
“You already do,” she sighs, and starts moving my pointer and middle fingers faster.
“There,” she sighs, lifting her hand.
I chuckle and kiss her. “No, no, stubborn, you've gotta finish the job.”
“Cooper,” she whines.
“Come on, baby,” I coax her.
She opens her eyes and keeps them locked on mine as she moves my fingers, turning my morning wood to blue balls.
A muffled whimper pops out, but those deep coffee-brown eyes stay steady.
My stomach twists and my heart leaps, seeing her vulnerable to me, and all I want to do is keep her, protect her. Love her.
“Daddy?” Naomi calls and knocks on the door.
Mae yelps and dives under the covers.
I hop out of bed and grab a pillow before answering the door. The last thing I need to do is scar my daughter.
I peek my head around the door and look down at her.
She frowns. “What are you doing?”
“Uh, nothing, just getting dressed. Give me a minute. I have a surprise for you.”
She perks up at that.
“Go to the living room. I’ll be there in a minute.”
“Fine,” she says, dragging the word out, and spins around.
I close the door, and Mae peeks out from under the covers.
“That was close,” she says, her voice muffled.
I chuckle and throw the pillow.
“That looks like a problem,” she says, pointing at my crotch and licking her lips.
“That is not helping,” I say, pointing at her.
“Sorry!” she whispers.
I fish out a fresh pair of jeans and pull a t-shirt over my head.
“Cooper?”
“Hmm?” I say, pulling socks on.
“I don’t have any … appropriate clothes.”
“Your PJs are fine, unless your boobs are hanging out. I never did get to see what was under that sweatshirt of yours.”
She drops the covers and sits up. She’s wearing a tiny little tank top and her hard nipples poke through.
My teeth grab my lower lip, muffling my groan. “I missed out,” I sigh, tossing her a shirt while I take deep breaths, willing my body to cooperate.
“Thank you,” she squeaks, and pulls it over her head.
“I’ll go out and then you come out after me.”
“I have to go to the bathroom,” she says.
“Good idea,” I say and pad into the living room.
She’s sitting on the sofa watching cartoons, and I lean over, kissing the top of her head. “Good morning, princess.”
“Morning, Daddy. What’s my surprise?” she asks.
Mae comes out of the hall, and I glance at her.
Naomi turns around, and her whole face lights up. “Mae! You got me the flowers!” she says.
Mae nods sheepishly.
Naomi runs up to her, talking a million miles a minute. I get our coffee started while she drags Mae over to the living room full of activities.
Since we were all up half the night and did most of today’s work, we have extra time, and I hope the guys don’t mind if I make myself late because I’m not missing this for anything.
I keep it simple with scrambled eggs and sausage. While I whisk the eggs, I keep an eye on the girls. Mae listens to Naomi intently as she gestures and swings her tiara around.
Mae glances over at me and catches me staring. I throw her a wink and pour the eggs into a skillet.
“Can I help?” Mae asks from behind me.
“Uh, sure, the sausage links are in the freezer. I hope that’s okay.”
“I don’t mind,” she says.
“Hey, Daddy?”
“Yes, princess,” I answer, stirring the eggs.
“Where was Mae when I got up because she didn’t come through the door?” she says.
I glance at Mae and she tries to keep her laugh in.
“Uh, she was in the bathroom,” I tell Naomi.
She looks between the two of us and makes a face. I’m not sure she believes me, but then she shrugs. “Can she stay?” she asks.
I look at Mae. “Can you?” I ask her.
She smiles between me and Naomi. “Sure, I can stay for a while.”
“Yay!” Naomi yells and runs to her room, only to come back with a book in her hands.
“Have you read The Magic Treehouse books? Me and Daddy have been reading them, and I really like this one because it has a knight and there’s a castle, and we’re not very far, but it’s really good and …”
I stare at Mae as she fixes the sausage and listens to Naomi ramble on about the book we’re reading, but I don’t hear anything with the blood rushing in my ears because I can’t stop staring at Mae.
She was willing to get out of bed in the middle of the night and be here for me and my daughter.
That’s not only a testament to her loyalty but to her character.
Mae is not simply special; she’s one in a million in my eyes.
She’s the one I want to wake up to every morning, the one I see a future with.
She’s the one I see pregnant with our child.
She’s the one who can give Naomi a mother who won’t give up when the going gets tough.
“Daddy, why are you making that face?” Naomi asks.
“Coop, the eggs,” Mae says gently.
I jump to the stove and stir our eggs before they burn.
“Naomi, can you help me find the plates?” Mae asks.
I almost tell her instead, but snap my mouth shut.
Naomi walks up and points to the cabinet she can’t reach, and Mae opens it for her.
“Could you set these on the counter?” Mae asks.
Naomi carries the stack of stoneware to the island while Mae gets the sausage from the microwave.
“Do you want water or juice?” Mae asks Naomi.
“Juice, please!” she says.
Mae finds the cabinet with our glasses next to the sink easily and gets a cup of juice filled for Naomi while I put scrambled eggs on each of our plates, then divide the sausage links up.
I hand Naomi her plate while Mae carries her juice and cup of coffee to the table. I take our plates and set them at the little table, and go back for my coffee.
Pulling a stool from the island, I sit on it to give Mae the other chair. I’m at a loss for words as they talk to each other, and my chest stings because I can’t seem to get my heart to go back where it’s supposed to go.
“She entertains herself a lot, doesn’t she?” Mae asks, watching Naomi work a puzzle.
I hum. “There aren’t a lot of kids running around here. We try to keep her busy, especially during the summer. My aunt tries to schedule plenty of playdates for her.”
“Are you sure this is okay?” Mae asks.
I frown. “What do you mean?”
“Me, being here, like this. I know you protect Naomi, as you should,” she says quietly.
I reach across the table for her hand and kiss her knuckles.
A blush blooms across her cheeks, and she glances at Naomi.
“I don’t see the point in waiting. If I hadn’t called you last night, we would have spent time together at the fair in a few weeks,” I tell her.
What I don’t say is I want them to get along, and the more time they have, the better it will be.
I want to see how they interact and how they work together.
“Cooper, are you using your daughter to bribe me?” she asks, with the corner of her mouth tipped up. I know she’s asking a much larger question.
“Is it working?” I ask her.
She tilts her head in a ‘you’re kidding’ look.
“You can admit it, Mae, she’s pretty cute, and therefore convincing.”
Mae snorts. “You’re right, she’s quite convincing.”
“That just means my plan is working.”
Mae rolls her eyes.
“Hey, thank you.”
“For what?” she asks.
“For taking care of my kid. I trust you with her.”
Mae smiles, but it doesn’t reach her eyes. She glances over her shoulder at Naomi. “I did nothing but sleep in your bed. It’s not a problem.”
“Oh, I liked that part too.” I grin.
She shakes her head with a small smile and pulls away, grabbing our dishes to take them to the sink.
“Princess, go get dressed. We need to get down to the barn,” I tell her.
Naomi grumbles and heads to her room.
“If I can find you some clothes, would you be open to coming down to the barn with us?”
Mae spins around and leans against the counter. She purses her lips, and I can see the questions and the hesitation shift in her expression.
“Stay, please?” I offer.
“I have work to do, and I need to get to the shop. I have to be consistent with store hours and I have to keep trying to drum up business, otherwise the shop won’t last the year.”
Checking to see if Naomi is in her room, I walk around the island and corner my woman, putting my hands on either side of her hips.
She leans back to look at me, and I kiss her quickly.
“I understand you have a ton to do, but would you be willing to give me an hour?”
Her brown eyes blink at me, and she nibbles her bottom lip. “An hour,” she says.
“You won’t regret it.” I plant my lips on hers, and she sighs into the kiss, but before we get going, I leave her to check on Naomi.
As I get to her room, she’s already strutting out in her outfit of the day: purple jeans, a green top, and red cowboy boots. Works for me.
Naomi struts past me and angles straight for Mae. “Do you like my outfit?” she asks.
Mae smiles and nods. “I do, it’s very on trend, with your color-blocking.”
Naomi grins and spins in a circle.
“Are you coming with us to the barn?” Naomi asks.
“I am. Is that okay?” Mae asks.
“Do you know Abe?” Naomi asks her.
Mae glances up at me. “No, who’s Abe?”
“He’s our donkey!”
“That sounds like fun,” Mae says, and looks at me with wide eyes.
I chuckle. “Abe is the worst.”
“No, he’s not!” Naomi yells and rockets out the door.
“Let’s head to Grandma’s. I’m pretty sure June has clothes lying around.”