Champion (Studs in Spurs) (10 page)

“Um, sure. I can do that. I don’t have any work tonight. If you’re sure.”

“Of course, I’m sure. I’ve got all those clean dishes. Might as well use ’em.” He led the way to the kitchen, glancing back at her as he set the dish on the counter.

Her cheeks pinked at his comment. “Sorry that I kind of took over uninvited yesterday.”

As if today she had been invited? If only he could wrap his head around what her goal was. The mixed vibes she gave off weren’t clear. He didn’t know whether she wanted to take him to church to save him or take him to bed and screw him—maybe both. The strangest part was he was starting to suspect he might not fight her on either one.

“It’s fine.” Cooper shrugged, wrestling his wandering mind back to her concern about busting in on him to clean and cook.

Since he’d been waiting on her to arrive, he figured he must not mind the uninvited company as much as he thought he would, or as much as he would if it had been anyone else who’d shown up at his doorstep two days in a row.

He reached for the handle of the fridge and glanced back at Hannah. “Want some sweet tea?”

She raised her brows. “You have sweet tea?”

“Yeah. I made it fresh last night.”

“Um, sure. All right.”

At her expression of doubt, he laughed. “I moved away from home and started living on my own when I was sixteen. It was either starve or learn how to do lots of things.”

The least of which had been how to make the perfect, homemade sweet tea. He put the sugar in while it was piping hot so it would dissolve. Some folks he knew were adamant about not chilling it in the fridge, but Coop liked his tea cold so he could drink it without adding any ice. That way the flavor didn’t get watered down.

Of course, he hadn’t bothered to make tea in years. Beer had been his choice of beverage to quench his thirst and whisky his choice to blur his mind and dull the pain, both physical and emotional.

“I didn’t know that about you.”

“That I could make tea?” he asked.

Hannah smiled. “That too, but no. I hadn’t realized that you’d moved out and were on your own so young.”

He shrugged. “I was riding the pro circuit full-time at seventeen, so it wasn’t like I was alone for long. Back then, on the road we’d cram as many guys into a single hotel room as we could without getting kicked out.”

Strange as it seemed, those felt like the good old days. He’d been poor as dirt and living hand to mouth. Back then, he juggled paying for fuel and lodging and food with whatever was left over after covering the entry fees to ride.

Christ, he missed those days, back when he had more friends than he could count and a good dose of blind faith. He knew things could only get better and they had. He’d reached the top and realized that once he did, there was nowhere to go except down.

Cooper glanced up and realized Hannah was watching him. “So, what do you need me to do with this thing?” He tipped his head toward the lasagna.

“Does your oven work?”

He let out a short laugh. “I guess we’ll find out, won’t we?”

“You don’t know?” She raised her brows above those eyes he wouldn’t mind staring into for a few hours…or days.

Cooper yanked his mind off that image and shook his head. “Nope. Generally, I’m not here baking pies or cookies or whatever people make in their ovens. If it can’t be fried in my cast-iron skillet, I usually don’t bother eating it.”

She shook her head. “And yet you’re still in perfect shape.”

He was surprised, as much at the unexpected compliment as how her gaze swept over him. “Perfect, huh? Do you need glasses, woman?”

“Not quite yet, but probably soon enough.” Hannah shot him a cocky look over her shoulder as she flipped the dial on his oven. “It’s cooked, but it’s going to take a little while to heat through.”

“Okay.” Of course there was the microwave, but Cooper didn’t feel the need to mention that. She was the chef here, but more importantly, only a stupid man would cut the evening short on purpose. Though he had been known to be stupid in the past, he was finally learning.

“Oh, I forgot.” She spun towards him. “I’ve got a salad in the car.”

“A salad?”

“Yeah. Nothing special. Just tossed lettuce with tomato. And cucumbers. And some dressing.” Hannah shrugged, but Cooper saw through her ruse to make light of it. She’d planned an entire dinner for him and her. Or at least for him, but she didn’t look as if she was going anywhere now, so maybe this was some sort of a date.

“You buy too much of all that stuff too?”

“Yup.” She nodded.

His lips twitched at her answer. Her guilt over lying sounded loud and clear to him. “A’ight. I’ll run out and get it from your car.”

“Okay. It’s in a bag in the backseat. Grab the bread too.”

“Bread too. Got it.” He smiled broader.

Yup. It seemed she had the whole meal covered, and he wasn’t going to argue with her over it. He’d accept her food. It was the rest he couldn’t accept, because he had a feeling what would come next.

If he was right, first Hannah would lure him in with the meal. Before he knew it, he’d be tempted to share much more with her than just food. He only hoped he was a strong enough man to resist an enticement that great. Maybe after he was fueled up on her home-cooked dinner, he’d have the strength.

Of course, Hannah’s lasagna could prove that the best way to a man’s heart was through his stomach. Good thing he was pretty sure he didn’t have a heart. He just had to keep his dick in check and he’d be good.

He opened the door of her car and found the bag. Opening it, he saw there was indeed a salad in a plastic bag, all made and ready to go. And there was the bottle of dressing, as well as the bread she’d spoken of, all wrapped in foil and smelling of garlic, that he supposed she planned to bake.

Accidentally bought too much, his sweet ass. Hannah was monumentally bad at lying, and he liked her even more for it.

Christ almighty, he could love this woman, if he believed he was capable of that emotion. If he had something more to offer her than an overgrown ranch and a man past his prime, he might even give it a try.

Chapter Nine

Hannah swung the car into Cooper’s drive for the third day in a row. The closer she got to the house, the more her heart sped. This was crazy. Stalker kind of crazy. He was bound to know she was lying, showing up at his house twice with the same excuse—that she had too much food for just her to eat alone.

She needed to come up with something better. As her brain spun, the brightness of the fresh white paint on the railings of the porch caught her attention. He’d done more work on the place.

He was taking pride in his home. That had to be a good sign. As was the fact she’d found him sober, clean-shaven and dressed in decent clothes yesterday even though she’d arrived unannounced. He was taking pride in himself as well.

Maybe she was a fool for still chasing after this man at her age. It might amount to nothing but embarrassment for her, but she couldn’t help but think that her sudden reappearance in his life had knocked him out of the hole he’d fallen into. If nothing else came of all this, that at least would make it worthwhile.

The front door swung wide and Cooper swaggered onto the porch. It was too late to turn tail and run now. Besides, what would she do with the gallon of chili sitting in the cast-iron pot on the floor of the passenger side? As it was, it was more than the two of them could eat tonight.

If he hadn’t already, he would soon figure out her plan. She intended to fill his freezer and make sure he was well fed. Well, that and spend more time with him.

Hannah cut the engine and braced herself. One of these days he could very well tell her to get lost. Send her home, food or no food. Hell, he’d sent her away the night they’d kissed and his hand had been up her skirt at the time. Why she thought now would be any different just because she came bearing chili, was beyond her.

Swinging the door open, she pasted on a smile. Her heart racing, Hannah stepped out onto the gravel and glanced at the man on the porch. “Hey.”

He stepped to the top of the stairs and dipped his head in greeting. “Hey, yourself.”

“So, I uh made chili and I brought you some.”

“Did you now?” The corners of his lips crooked up higher in a smile.

“Yup.” She moved toward the passenger side and opened the door.

Cooper hopped down the steps and came toward the car. “Let me help you with it. Knowing how you like to cook enough for an army, I’m sure it’s heavy.”

She glanced up, caught his grin and had to smile herself. She wasn’t fooling anyone, but maybe it didn’t matter.

Judging by Cooper’s broad smile and the way he’d dug into last night’s lasagna, he didn’t mind. She hadn’t minded last night’s shared meal either.

She hadn’t been there for very long. Considering she’d been uninvited, she hadn’t wanted to overstay her welcome. She had left right after they finished eating and had done the dishes. But their short time together had felt far more relaxed than the first time she’d shown up. As if he’d expected her to come and hadn’t minded her intrusion all that much.

They’d talked, mostly about the one thing they had in common—her son. She told Cooper what Skeeter had told her during their daily phone call. About how things were going at Riley’s place.

Hannah had probably been at Cooper’s less than two hours total, but it had been nice. Too nice. She shouldn’t get used to it because who knew when it would end?

Not arguing with him about carrying in the chili, she stepped aside so Cooper could get to the pot. “It’s right there on the floor.”

He bent to grab the cast-iron pot filled to the top, lifted and let out a groan. He raised his brows as he looked up at her. “You shop for a whole side of beef for this thing?”

“The big-size package of ground beef was on sale so…” She shrugged.

Grinning, he shook his head. “A’ight. Let’s get this inside and on the stove.”

“Let me grab the corn bread.”

“Corn bread?” He cocked one brow.

“Can’t eat chili without corn bread, now can you?”

“No, I guess not. No more than you can eat lasagna without garlic bread.” He smirked.

“Exactly.”

Cooper shook his head and turned toward the porch. “Watch the rails. Paint’s still drying.”

“Okay. Will do.” Grabbing the basket of corn bread off the seat, Hannah tried to quell her fluttering heart.

All the changes in the past few days weren’t lost on her. Cooper was slowly but surely fixing up the house. He’d smile now when he saw her rather than frown. He didn’t argue with her attempts to make sure he was well fed. She hated to say it and jinx herself, but things were going well. So far, so good.

Keeping away from the railing, Hannah followed him up the stairs and into the house.

Cooper set the pot on the stovetop and turned on the burner. “Something to drink?”

“Sure. Thanks.”

“Beer? Or sweet tea?” He paused with one hand on the handle of the fridge waiting for her answer. She hesitated long enough, Cooper finally let his hand drop and turned fully to face her. “Hannah, I’m not an alcoholic. Yeah, I drink more than I should, but I can have one beer, or even two, and stop there. You don’t have to worry. You and I can have a beer with our chili. It’s not going to send me on a bender. I promise you.”

That was exactly what she’d been afraid of. Finding him completely sober these two days had made her happy that he was getting his life together, but it had also made her wonder if it was all-or-nothing with him. If he had to be stone-cold sober, or drink until he passed out.

“That’s fine. I’ll just have tea.”

“A’ight.” He opened the fridge and took out the tea and a beer.

She tried not to react but knew most times every thought she had showed on her face. She accepted the glass of tea he poured for her. “Thanks.”

“You don’t believe me.” His lip lifted in a sneer as he pried the cap off his bottle.

She decided the best course of action was to play dumb. “Don’t believe you about what?”

“You know about what. But it doesn’t matter, because I’ll prove you wrong.” He set the bottle down with a clunk and braced his palms on the table to lean toward to her. “You working at the hospital tomorrow?”

Her mouth had gone dry from nerves over how near he was as he bent close to her. Hannah swallowed hard before she answered, “Yes.”

He nodded and then straightened up, grabbing his beer as he did. “Fine. You show up here bright and early on your way to work and I’ll cook you breakfast.”

“Cooper, you don’t have to do that. That would be insanely early. Before seven.”

“Yeah, I do have to do this. I want you to see I’m telling the truth, and short of you spending the night here to witness it, you coming over tomorrow morning and finding me bright-eyed and bushy-tailed is the only thing I can think of that will prove it to you. I can have a couple of beers and stop. I promise you.”

“Okay.”

He scowled and shook his head. “You’ll see, Hannah.”

Her very short answer must have made Cooper think she didn’t believe him. Little did he know it was the idea of her staying the night there with him that had her heart pounding so hard she couldn’t manage to say more.

Did she believe him? With every fiber of her being she wanted to.

“Okay,” she repeated and moved toward the stove. “I’m gonna stir this so it heats through.”

“Fine. You do what you need to do, and I’ll do what I have to.”

She could see he hated that she doubted him. His scowl remained firmly in place as he took a slug of beer. What he didn’t realize was that she had lived with a drunk for a long time. She’d heard all the promises before. Heard the lies too. It wasn’t fair to judge Cooper based on Steven’s behavior, but that had been Hannah’s life for so many years, it was hardwired into her to expect the worst.

She’d found Cooper and his place battered and bruised around the edges, but she was just as broken. The only difference was her damage was much older and only on the inside where no one could see it.

“So you gonna be here in the morning?” Cooper made it sound more like a dare than a question.

“Yes.”

He nodded. “A’ight then.”

The jovial atmosphere was good and broken. Now the pall of doubt hung in the air between them. The responsibility for that lay square on her shoulders because she couldn’t hide her feelings well enough. Maybe that was all right though. She’d hid too many emotions over the years. It was good she couldn’t hide anything from Cooper.

This atmosphere didn’t bode well for a pleasant meal however. She’d have to fix that. “So Skeeter called me today and was telling me about the training he’s doing over at Riley’s. Apparently, all the guys are now taking daily yoga classes.”

His gaze shot up. “Yoga? Who exactly is doing this?”

“Chase Reese is running it, but the guys there are Aaron Jordon, Garret James, Mustang Jackson and Slade Bower. And of course, Skeeter too.”

“Mustang and Slade are doing yoga?” Cooper raised his brows.

Hannah smiled at his reaction. “Yup. Apparently, Chase is kicking them all into shape.”

He shook his head. “Tell that kid of yours I’d like to see a picture of this yoga class.”

“How about I try and get you a video?”

Cooper chuckled. “You do and I’d love you forever.”

Her pulse raced at hearing those words from Cooper’s lips, even in the context of a joke. She tamped down her juvenile response and nodded. “Then I’ll have to see what I can do about getting one.”

“When’s that touring pro event he’s riding in?”

“This weekend.”

“In Springdale?

“Yeah, I think that’s what he said.”

“You going?”

“I can’t. It’s my weekend at the hospital. I tried to switch with someone, but we’ve got a nurse out on maternity leave so staffing is extra tight.”

Cooper nodded. “I might just check it out myself.”

God, how she wished she could go with him. Then again, retired or not, Cooper was still a former champion and a good-looking man. The groupies would probably be all over him, and she wasn’t sure she could handle seeing that again.

“I think Skeeter would love to see you there.”

“Well, I don’t know about that, but maybe if I watch the kid in competition, I can figure out what’s gone wrong with his riding.” He took another sip from his bottle.

“That’s a very good idea.” Things were well on the way to being back to normal. Or at least the way they were last night, before she’d doubted him. As the fear that she’d find him passed out or hung over when she arrived in the morning settled in her gut, she turned to him where he sat at the table. “This is just about hot enough to eat. Can you grab me two bowls and spoons?”

“Sure thing.”

As he stood, she eyed the level of liquid inside his bottle, but the glass was dark and she couldn’t see. It didn’t matter anyway. After she left tonight, he’d either drink until the fridge was empty of every beer inside or he wouldn’t. Only time would tell.

When she glanced up, she saw by the expression on his face and how he shook his head that he’d caught her looking at the bottle. “You better be here tomorrow morning, because I’m gonna be up and waiting on you, and I won’t take kindly to being stood up.”

Swallowing hard, Hannah nodded. “I’ll be here. I promise.”