The Cowboy SEAL by Laura Marie Altom

Author:Laura Marie Altom
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Romance
ISBN: 9780373755387
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2014-10-01T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twelve

“I’ve been thinking...” Cooper said to Clint. It was a sunny Thursday afternoon, and for once, the temperature hovered in the low sixties and there wasn’t a breath of wind. “How about the two of us ride out to the catfish pond?”

His dad grunted, which Cooper would take as an affirmative.

“You want to wear your pj’s, or one of those swanky new sweatsuits Peg brought for you?”

“R-real c-clothes.”

Cooper laughed. “If by real clothes, you mean a nice, worn-in pair of Wranglers, sorry, but Peg would have my hide.”

“R-real!” his old man roared.

“Okay... Let me see what I can find.”

Since Millie was busy with the laundry, Cooper took the stairs two at a time to reach his father’s old room. Opening the door was like opening a tomb, then stepping back in time. Nothing had changed since he’d last been there, kissing his mom goodbye before running out the door on that fateful night.

She’d sat at her dressing table, brushing her long hair. Every night, she’d faithfully counted one hundred strokes, then braided it before going to bed. Thinking of her only made his heart ache, so Cooper did what he’d grown best at—compartmentalizing his pain. He next fished through his dad’s dresser for a pair of jeans and a red, plaid flannel shirt. Next came socks and his work boots. He spotted his dad’s worn black-leather Stetson hanging on the back of the door, so he grabbed that, too.

Arms laden with Clint’s duds, he damn near ran into Millie as she dashed up the stairs with a load of folded towels.

“What’re you doing?” she asked.

“Man stuff.”

“That doesn’t sound good.”

He shrugged. “It’s a nice day. I figured Dad could use some fresh air.”

“Probably.” Her expression was unreadable as she rose a step higher than him. In the process, she accidentally brushed the length of her body against his. The sensation jolted his system. He wanted her. He couldn’t have her. End of story.

Had she felt it, too? She stood staring, her kissable mouth partially open, eyes wide, breathing halted.

He had to get away from her before he went and did something stupid like tossing the damned towels down the stairs then pushing her up against the wall and kissing her till she begged for more—or maybe that would be him doing the begging? Either way, it couldn’t happen, so he mumbled a goodbye, then carried on with his mission.

Back in his dad’s room, he found Clint struggling to sit up, but in the process was coming dangerously close to falling out of bed.

“Whoa... Slow it down.” Cooper raced over to help. “At the rate you’re going, you’re only going to get hurt, and then Peg’s going to hurt me.”

“H-help...” Clint had spotted the clothes Cooper had piled on the foot of the bed.

It took twenty minutes of tugging and wrangling to get his father dressed. The process was no doubt embarrassing for Clint and humbling for Cooper. All his life, he’d been not afraid of his dad, but intimidated—no, that wasn’t even the right word.

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