A Cowboy To Come Home To. DONNA ALWARD
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in his way.
So he’d go in there and give her the cookies and get his jacket back and wish her well, and finally, finally, move on.
Resolutely, he shut the door to his truck and gripped the dish in sweaty hands. This was stupid, wasn’t it? A grown man going home and asking his mother to bake special cookies, of all things. She’d even remembered Melissa’s fondness for them. His pulse beat at his wrist and the muscles in his chest tightened with nervousness as he reached for the door. Dammit, he felt about fifteen years old and not anything like a man preparing to let someone go.
Amy Wilson stood behind the counter, a cordless phone pressed to her ear when he walked in. She looked up and smiled, and his pulse jumped again—not because he was particularly fond of Amy but because she was a notorious flirt and gossip. The last thing he needed was her overhearing anything he’d come to say.
“Cooper?”
He turned to his right and there stood Mel, dressed in a soft sweater the color of red wine and a pair of gray trousers. The sweater draped over her body like some sort of shawl, and it was utterly feminine and flattering. She held a finished bouquet in her hands, an arrangement of red roses, white carnations and baby’s breath. Her brown hair was caught up in some sort of clip that left little pieces sticking out. It was one of those casual, purposefully messy looks, and it suited her perfectly.
“Hi,” he said, so struck by the sight of her that he lost the few words he’d put together in his mind. Instinctively, he reached for his hat, then remembered he’d left it in the truck.
“Something I can do for you?”
“Um…”
She smiled, but he saw lines of tension around her mouth as her gaze strayed to the front counter. “Let me put this in the cooler.”
Amy hung up the phone and tore a piece of paper off a pad. “An order for a get-well arrangement, any color, no more than fifty,” she said. “For between five and six.”
“I can do that.” Melissa pushed open the sliding door to the cooler and put the roses inside. “The Carson arrangement is ready. Joe said he’d be in around three for it.”
Cooper shifted his feet as Amy’s gaze slid to him. “Something we can do for you, Coop?”
“I, uh…”
He felt Melissa’s eyes on him and wondered if he was blushing, because his cheeks suddenly felt on fire. “Sure. I’ll take…” Panicking, he scanned the fridge. “Sunflowers. One of those silver buckets with the sunflowers in it.”
“Sure thing.”
Amy moved to take it out of the cooler, but Melissa’s voice stopped her. “I’ll get it, Amy. You’re already late for your lunch break.”
“Oh, I can eat here, I’ve brought a sand—”
“You wouldn’t pick me up a coffee from the Wagon Wheel, would you? I’m not sure I’m going to make it through the afternoon without an extra shot of caffeine.”
Amy’s gaze slid between Melissa and Cooper. “Oh, sure. Just let me get my purse.” She retrieved her bag from beneath the counter. “See you in a bit.”
The bell jingled behind her.
“That was probably stupid. It’ll be all over the diner, within five minutes of her arrival, that you’re in here.”
Coop grinned. Amy wasn’t a bad sort. She tended to be unlucky in love and a bit vocal about it, but she wasn’t intentionally mean or vindictive. “Well, it’s probably better than having her eavesdrop.”
“Is there something to eavesdrop about?”
He held out the plastic container. “It’s a peace offering. For upsetting you the other night.”
She came forward and took it from his hands. “Is this what I think it is?” She peeled back the cover and he watched, fascinated, as she closed her eyes and took a deep sniff. “Peanut butter. These are your mom’s cookies, aren’t they?”
“I remembered they were always your favorites, and begged her to make a batch.” He grinned. “You only got half. Sorry.”
“I should have had Amy bring me milk instead of coffee.” Melissa smiled at him in a genuine, easy way. “Thank you, Cooper.”
The warm smile hit him right in the solar plexus, robbing him of breath. “You’re welcome. I was thinking about what you said and…I can’t change anything that happened. I just want to offer a truce, like you suggested.”
“Bygones be bygones, that sort of thing?”
He nodded. “I know you were affected so much more than me, Mel. I’m not disputing that. But the whole thing has hung over me like a black cloud. I know I can’t make things right, but will you please accept that I wish I could?”
She put the lid back on the cookies. “Oh Coop,” she sighed. “If it were only that easy.”
The door jingled and they were interrupted by Callum Shepard. Cooper stood back as the local farmer stepped up to the counter, a wide smile stretched across his face. Cooper was pretty sure he had never seen the normally reticent Callum look quite so happy.
“What can I do for you today, Callum?” Melissa tucked the dish discreetly beneath the counter. “You look like you’re in a good mood. Anything to do with the cupcake joint opening up down the street?”
For Pete’s sake, the man was practically bouncing in his boots, Cooper thought irritably.
“You heard about that?” Callum asked. “Avery Spencer’s opening it. She and Nell are moving here for good.”
The latest bombshell in town was finding out that newcomer and all around keep-to-himself kind of guy Callum Shepard had a baby daughter no one knew about.
“That’s great,” Melissa replied.
“We’re getting married,” he blurted out, and Cooper nearly choked on a laugh. The guy sounded both thrilled and scared to death.
“Congratulations,” Melissa said, smiling. “Have you already done the asking? Or is this wishful thinking?”
Callum finally seemed to chill out and he chuckled. “Sorry. It’s still so new. I asked her yesterday and she said yes. But it wasn’t planned, so today I’m surprising her with a ring. I thought flowers might be nice to go with it… .”
“Absolutely.”
Callum seemed to just realize that Cooper was standing there. “Oh, gee. Sorry. You were here first, Cooper.”
Coop grinned and held out his hand. “I’m in no rush. Congrats, man.”
“Thanks.” Callum gripped Cooper’s hand and he gave a shake of his head. “You just never know. A year ago the last thing I planned on was getting married and having a kid. Funny how things work out.”
“Isn’t it?”
Mel interrupted. “What were you thinking, Callum? Something simple, or a grand gesture sort of thing?”
He grinned. “Grand gesture. Roses?”
“Perfect,” she decreed. “A dozen, long-stemmed? Maybe in red and white. You can tell her it stands for love and unity.”
“That’d be wonderful. Thanks, Melissa.”
“It won’t take but a minute.”
Cooper watched as she deftly selected half a dozen of each color from buckets of roses in the cooler, then arranged them on a huge sheet of green-and-gold floral paper. In no time flat she’d added a touch of greenery and sprig or two of baby’s breath and had the bouquet wrapped up and taped and ready to go.
Cooper studied her as she worked. Melissa was good at what she did, and