Chapter 10
10
Cooper
HE WAS AN ass. A dumb one with no sense of self preservation.
Or self-restraint.
If he wasn’t careful, Muriel would make good on her threat and he’d be the one on the business end of a cane before the night was over. But damned if he could help himself. The woman next to him was too sweet to be left alone in this den of vipers. And the threat dished out by the Bridge Bitches would only go so far and last so long.
Then every pair of Wranglers in the place would be circled around Isla, begging for the chance to end up on her bedroom floor.
Fucking ranch hands.
Even now they were sneakily eye fucking Isla from nearly every corner, watching her intently from where they hid behind bottles of beer and glasses of whiskey.
Luckily Muriel got a whack in on one earlier when the asshole tried to follow Isla to the bathroom. The howling that ensued is what pulled his attention to their little corner of The Creekery, helping him find them within seconds of stepping inside. It also helped set a precedent. Made it clear to everyone within earshot that the girls weren’t in the mood to be fucked with. So, for tonight at least, Moss Creek’s newest arrival wouldn’t be fed to the wolves.
She still looked uncomfortable as hell though, and it drew him in. Made him want to reassure her. Shield her from all the eyes and intention directed her way.
Leaning close, he lowered his voice. “You doing okay?”
Isla offered a little nod, her eyes downcast as they flicked his way. “I guess I’m just not used to all the noise in places like this.”
“It can get a little loud.” He braced one arm across the back of her chair—only to make the task of leaning easier—scanning the crowd as he added, “Especially in the spring and fall when the ranches bring in extra help to move the cattle around.”
Isla’s dark eyes finally met his. “So there aren’t always this many people in town?”
“Not this many ranch hands, no. They swarm the place twice a year.” He should have stopped there, but his mouth kept working all on its own. “And they’re notoriously pains in the ass.”
It wasn’t a lie. The department had trouble keeping up with all the extra problems that came with them. Most of the guys who did that kind of work were young and still acting like idiots. They came to Moss Creek for the extra money, but took advantage of everything else they could find.
And that included women like Isla.
Then they drove out of town, leaving behind any messes they made without looking back.
Isla’s expression turned even more hesitant as she took in the men milling around the bar. “Sounds like you have your hands full.”
“They’re not my problem tonight.” He’d pulled rank and didn’t feel the least bit bad about it. “Tonight I get to take care of you girls.”
“And how’d you manage that?” Gertrude eyed him suspiciously. “I thought we were on a rotation.”
“You’re only on a rotation when no one wants to be in charge of keeping you ladies in line.” He forced himself away from Isla, turning his focus to the women seated around them. “But you’re stuck with me because I’m not afraid of a little vomit.”
“Oh, it’s not gonna be a little.” Betty snorted. “We went out for Mexican before we came here.”
Isla’s skin paled a little.
“Are you kidding me?” He lifted his brows at the women. “You had her take you for tacos knowing Muriel was probably gonna hurl it all back up?”
He liked the women who called themselves the Bridge Bitches. They were actually some of his favorite Moss Creek residents. But right now he was considering making good on his own threat and cutting their night short. Taking each one of them home so they could think over what they’d done.
“I guess it’s a good thing you showed up when you did.” Gertrude met his gaze. “Now she can barf in your car.”
He wanted to point out that they didn’t know he’d be there when they were stuffing chips and salsa into their puke prone friend, but it was a pointless argument. These women were too old to give a single fuck what anyone said, and too stubborn to change their ways.
“No one’s puking in anyone’s car.” Cooper pointed at where Muriel sat. “No more drinks for you.”
Muriel’s mouth dropped open on a scoff. “You can’t tell me?—”
“I’ll let you play with the siren on the way home.”
“Deal.” She didn’t even think about it or try to negotiate for more.
Which was a little surprising.
Thankfully, the rest of the table also seemed fine with the arrangement—probably because now they wouldn’t have to deal with Muriel upchucking on any of them—and they went back to chatting. Leaving him to wait them out and pretend he wasn’t overly focused on the woman beside him.
Isla sat quietly, occasionally taking a sip of her drink, as she listened to the conversation going on around her. She didn’t seem to be having a great time, but she also didn’t appear miserable. At any rate, he’d be saving her from Muriel’s temperamental guts, so while it might not be the greatest first girls’ night ever, it certainly wouldn’t be the worst.
“Shouldn’t you be patrolling the area or something?” Betty lifted her brows at him. “No one else sits here all night monitoring our conversation.”
“I’m not monitoring your conversation.” He’d actually tuned them out right after making his deal with Muriel, his attention going somewhere more interesting.
Somewhere it definitely shouldn’t be, but he was having a heck of a time redirecting it.
“Mmm-hmm.” Betty’s eyes moved to where Isla sat at his side before fixing on his face. “We can handle things around here. Hovering is just going to get annoying.”
“I’m not hovering and I’m not monitoring.” He sounded way too fucking defensive. Because he kind of was hovering. And monitoring.
Just not any of them.
He was simply making sure his friend Isla was safe and comfortable on her first night out. He was serving as a deterrent for any ranch hands who might try to fuck it all up.
“Sure.” Betty took a drink. “Whatever you say, Officer Staks.” She gave him a conspiratorial wink. “Now go away.”
He huffed out a breath, aggravated he was being run off. “Fine. I can take a hint.” He was on his feet when Isla’s hand came to his arm, holding tight.
There was a hint of panic in her eyes as they moved over his face. “You’re leaving? I thought you said you were staying?”
A little of the irritation crawling up his spine eased at discovering she wanted him there. Leaning down, he rested one hand on the back of her chair as he brought his lips close to her ear so he wouldn’t have to yell.
So what he said would be just between them.
“I think the girls want you all to themselves for a little while, so I’m going to do a quick check around town and then I’ll be back.”
Isla nodded, her hand staying on his arm as she tucked her face close to his. “How long will you be gone?”
“Not long.” A smile tried to work onto his lips, but he smothered it, not wanting Isla to think he was enjoying her unease. That wasn’t what he liked about this moment. He just liked knowing he helped her. Made her feel better, more comfortable, in an unknown situation. “And if you need me, all you have to do is call and I’ll come right back.”
“Okay.” The tip of her tongue flashed out to swipe across her lower lip as her dark eyes held his. “Be careful.”
Everything seemed to go quiet. Like his brain filtered out all the noise. All the congestion. Left him with nothing but Isla’s soft voice giving him something he’d wanted to hear for a long damn time.
Be careful .
He had friends. His parents. They all wanted him to be safe, of course. But this was different. And it had him rubbing the center of his chest as he left Isla with the Bridge Bitches, hoping like hell they’d protect her the way he would.
After doing a quick pass through The Creekery to remind everyone who might be getting any wrong ideas of his presence, he stepped outside, scanning the sidewalks and listening for anything out of the ordinary. After learning the hard way that most of the shit that went down in Moss Creek on the weekends started here, the department made sure someone was on hand and ready to handle any issues that came up.
Leland had also been on site earlier, so he wasn’t surprised to see his friend’s cruiser still parked outside, engine idling as he sat behind the wheel doing paperwork.
Walking up to the window, he gave it a knock, resting his hands on the vest strapped to his chest as Leland lowered the glass. “Quiet out here?”
“Seems like.” Leland’s eyes went to the door of the bar. “How’s it going inside?”
Cooper turned, like he’d be able to see how Isla was doing through the exterior wall. “Crowded and loud, but no problems.” He faced his friend. “So far.”
“Hopefully it stays that way.” Leland’s jaw flexed. “Paige deserves to have an easy night tonight.”
He’d argue Paige deserved an easy night most nights. The woman had gone through a lot in her life and spent almost all her time running the business she’d inherited when her dad died.
“I can keep an eye on things out here if you want to take a turn inside.” He hated being away from Isla, so he could only imagine how Leland felt knowing Paige was in there on her own, fighting through another night of rowdy cowboys. “Just do me a favor and keep an eye on the girls. Make sure they behave themselves.”
Leland snorted as he climbed out of his cruiser. “I don’t think that word is in their vocabularies.” He started for the door, looking determined in a way Cooper hadn’t seen before.
Like he was plotting something.
“Hey.” He caught Leland as his friend’s hand hit the handle. “Don’t let Muriel drink any more. She had Mexican for dinner.”
Leland’s lip curled. “You’d think they’d learn.”
“You’d think.” Cooper leaned to peek through the gap as Leland opened the door, quickly scanning the space in search of dark hair and a sweet smile. But his friend moved too fast, and the heavy metal door closed before he could find what he was looking for.
And hell if he didn’t want to follow his buddy in just so he could get eyes on Isla. Make sure she was okay. Not miserable or uncomfortable or cornered by some fucking horny cowboy who?—
The door opened and he glanced up, expecting to see Leland coming out.
Instead, a set of dark eyes swept the street, stopping when they landed on him.
He started moving toward her, concern propelling him forward. “What’s wrong?”
Isla wrinkled her nose, peeking over one shoulder as she came down the step to join him on the sidewalk. “Promise you won’t judge me?”
“Never.”
The door to the bar opened again and an unfamiliar man in boots and a hat came striding out. His eyes were locked on Isla so it took a few steps for him to notice Cooper standing there. When he did, he stopped hard and fast, looking like a deer in the headlights.
Stepping closer to Isla, Cooper rested one hand on her back, angling a brow at the interrupter. “You need something?”
The cowboy looked from Isla to Cooper and then back to Isla. “I just...” He shifted on his feet then straightened his shoulders, pulling in a deep breath. “I just came out for some air.” He tipped his hat at Cooper. “Have a good night.” Then he turned tail and ran back into the bar.
Probably a smart move.
“I don’t blame him.” Isla smoothed back her dark hair. “It’s freaking hot in there.”
“I’m pretty sure that’s not why he really came out here.” He glared at the door, half considering going inside to make sure the prick knew to stay the fuck away from Isla. From any woman for that matter. Following a lone woman out of a bar into the night because you want to get her by herself was fucking predator behavior.
When he turned back to Isla, she was staring up at him, her brows pinched together in confusion. “Why do you think he was out here?”
Cooper snorted, positive she couldn’t be that oblivious. “He was following you.”
Isla huffed out a little laugh. “No. I can promise you he wasn’t following me.” She sighed, her eyes dropping to the sidewalk under their feet. “I’m pretty sure he hadn’t even noticed me until just a second ago.”
Cooper stared at her a second, thinking she was giving him shit, but the way she was acting was off.
Almost embarrassed.
“Is that what you really think?” He was trying to wrap his head around the possibility. That the beautiful, funny, sweet, smart woman he knew didn’t have a clue how fucking desirable she was.
Any man in his right mind would cut off an arm for a chance with her.
When Isla’s eyes finally came back to his they were filled with shame. She lifted one shoulder and let it drop. “Men love women who are sexy and successful and know how to flirt and have cleavage and wax all their hair off.” She gave him a sad smile. “That’s not me. None of it is.”
Cooper blinked as all the thoughts and arguments he had lined up fell like dew on a cool night.
Because all he could focus on was the newfound knowledge that parts of Isla—areas he worked hard to ignore—weren’t bare. Honestly, he didn’t care either way. It was the knowing that was the issue. His brain grabbed hold of the intimate tidbit of information and held on with a white-knuckled grip, refusing to entertain anything else.
“And that’s fine.” Isla took a deep breath. “It is what it is and it doesn’t matter anyway.” She shrunk back a little. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to dump all that on you.”
“No.” His need to reassure her snapped his thoughts back where they belonged. “You can dump on me whenever you want.”
She lifted her brows.
“That came out wrong.” Maybe his thoughts weren’t as back as he believed. “I’m not into scat.”
Isla tipped her head, brows lifting even higher. “Is that what it’s called when someone likes poop for sex reasons?”
Cooper scrubbed a hand over his face, rubbing at his head as it started to throb. “It is.”
He’d fucked this whole conversation all the way up. Instead of telling Isla how perfect she was, and that any man would be lucky to talk to her, let alone be with her, he was explaining one of the edgier kinks.
Isla’s lips pressed together. “And how do you know about this?”
For a second he started to panic, worrying she genuinely thought he liked when women shit on him. Then he saw the sparkle in her eyes. The tiny pinch of her lower lip between her teeth.
“Ha, ha.” He reached out to pull the sides of her coat together. “Very funny.”
She smiled up at him. “I don’t know. It doesn’t sound very funny. It sounds messy.” She wrinkled her nose at him. “And super unhygienic.”
“You know?—”
A rush of people clamoring out the door cut him off.
“Time to go. The Mexican food is hitting.” Betty was at the front of the pack, arms flailing as she led the group he and Isla were in charge of down the sidewalk toward where Gertrude’s Jeep was parked.
Shit. “She puked already?” Leland was supposed to cut Muriel off.
But Muriel looked relatively fine as she rushed past. Maybe walking a little funny, but not green around the gills.
Now that he was really looking, most of the group seemed to be moving a little… Urgently.
Gertrude brought up the rear, leaning against her own cane more than normal since she was in a hurry. She grabbed Isla with one hand, expression panicked as she looked his way. “Not puke. Other end.”