Stepdad Surprise Read online

  Peaceful morning, serene lake, sun peaking over the horizon, still air, and scores of fireworks to blow the snot out of all of it. Yep, he was pretty happy.

  Coop caught himself smiling as he lugged the bins, so he went ahead and gave into the urge to whistle. Why not? He was doing what he loved, and later today, he’d be sharing it with the woman he loved. And then tonight he had plans for Jackie and Kalli…

  Plans which would make them a permanent part of his future.

  So why not whistle? Things were looking bright.

  When his phone rang in his back pocket, he didn’t think much of it. Probably Andrew, with a question about that evening’s show. So he took the time to gently lower the bin he was holding beside the rest, before fishing his phone out of his pocket.

  Huh. It was Will’s number.

  “What’s up, cuz?” he asked.

  On the other end, Will blew out an exasperated breath. “Took you long enough to answer. Where are you?”

  There was something about his cousin’s voice which made Coop straighten, a frisson of worry tickling his chest. “I’m down at your boathouse, setting up for tonight’s show. What’s up?”

  “Okay…” Will sounded like he was walking around. “So, I was up early with Reddy, and I got a phone call from Jennifer.”

  “This morning?” She must’ve been in early.

  “Shush, this is complicated enough. Okay, so, Jennifer called Wade, who didn’t pick up—poor guy’s probably sleeping in shifts with Maddie, thanks to my new nephew—that kid’s pretty cute, yeah? So anyhow, she called me because she knew I had your number.”

  Coop was lost. “Why did she need to talk to me?”

  “She called me, to call you, to tell you that Angela—the spa manager, Jackie’s boss—called her, to tell her that Jackie got a call yesterday.”

  “That’s a lot of calls.”

  “That’s not the bad part.” Will took a deep breath. “Apparently, the call Jackie got yesterday really upset her. Like, bolt-out-the-door-in-a-panic upset. Jennifer said that Angela said that Jackie turned white as a ghost talking to this dude, and ran out to get Kalli.”

  Coop had thrown a heavy-duty blanket over the bins of fireworks to protect them and was already digging his keys out of his pocket as he hurried to his truck. “Did she get the baby? Is she still on the ranch?”

  “I dunno,” Will said, “But Jennifer checked with Dina, who says she was still in her room as of last night.”

  Which meant she could’ve run during the night, if she was willing to do that with the baby. Or she could be getting ready to leave right now. Coop climbed into his truck and wedged the phone between his chin and shoulder as he roared out of the boathouse parking lot.

  “Thanks, man. I’m on my way to her.”

  “Do you know what got her so spooked?”

  There was only one man Coop could think of whose phone call could cause Jackie to freak out like that, to be so worried for her daughter, and the implications were downright nasty.

  Ivan.

  If Ivan knew where she was, that meant he could be on his way here right now. Coop pressed the accelerator closer to the floor.

  “Yeah,” he said quietly, knowing his cousin was still waiting for a response, but not wanting to break Jackie’s confidence.

  After a pause, Will said, “Good. I’m glad you’re going to check it out. Remind her we’ve all got her back. All of us here on the ranch stick together, and we’re her friends.”

  He was right: River’s End Ranch was like a big family, and Coop was glad to know she hadn’t run off yet. Here on the ranch, they could protect her.

  Will cleared his throat. “Good luck, man.”

  As Coop screeched to a stop in front of the bunkhouse, he said, “Thanks, Will,” and hung up.

  He jogged inside and went right to the front desk to ask Dina which room was Jackie’s. In all the time he’d spent with her, he’d never been to her room. That was her space with Kalli, and it was already cramped enough. But today he was going up there, cramped space or not.

  He took the stairs three at a time and was soon standing in front of her room. He knocked lightly—resisting the panicked urge to pound on the door—and when she opened the door with Kalli on her hip, looking like she hadn’t closed her red-rimmed, bloodshot eyes all night, Coop’s knees went weak with relief.

  “You’re still here!” The observation burst out of him with all the air in his lungs, as he rested a hand against the jamb to support himself. “Thank God.”

  The way she glanced up and down the hall—worried, scared—told him his guess had been right.

  “Did Ivan call you?” he asked gently.

  When she teared up, he was almost sorry he asked. Instead of apologizing though, he reached for Kalli. The baby had obviously just woken up—she was still in her jammies—and went to him willingly.

  “Can I come in?”

  Jackie bit her lip, but nodded and backed into the room, allowing him to enter. It wasn’t until he was inside—the room was a standard Bunkhouse room—that he saw the pile of luggage. Everything which must’ve made the room her own—Kalli’s toys, their utensils, little hair bows—had been packed and was ready to go by the door.

  Coop dragged his gaze away from those three meager bags and met Jackie’s red, tear-filled eyes. Her hands were clenched in front of her, and his heart ached for her terror.

  “I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I wouldn’t have left without saying goodbye. I wanted to run, but last night—” She broke off and shook her head, then took a deep breath and started again, “Angela reminded me I have friends now, and if I did leave today, I couldn’t go without saying goodbye.”

  Coop examined her, glanced once again at the luggage pile, and decided he believed her. “Thank you.” He nodded and sat down on the unmade bed, reaching for the diaper and cute romper Jackie had obviously laid out for her daughter. Laying the baby down, he quickly and efficiently began to change her. “So what’s your plan?”

  From the corner of his eye, he saw her shrug and begin to pace. “I don’t know. I thought I’d get a bus ticket to Spokane, maybe head all the way to Seattle. Or south into Utah or something.”

  When she stopped speaking, he looked up to see her biting her lower lip.

  “What’s wrong?” Without looking, he snapped up the romper’s crotch, irritated that Jackie thought she had to run away again.

  She shrugged. “I don’t…” A deep breath, then she tried again. “I don’t want him to hurt you to find out where I went.”

  His brows shot up in surprise. “So you think you’re protecting me by not telling me where you’re going?” He didn’t give her time to answer. “Well, you’re not. Whatever this Ivan brings, I’m going to protect you. Why is he coming?”

  While he waited for her response, he grabbed the pair of mini red cowboy boots—Jackie said they’d been hand-me-downs from another baby at the Kids’ Korral—and managed to shove the baby’s squirming feet into them.

  Jackie still looked unsure about giving him any details, so he propped Kalli upright on the bed, and reached for her hand. “Sweetheart, talk to me,” he said gently. “What happened?”

  Taking a deep breath, Jackie gave in to his persuasion, and sank down onto the bed beside him. “He hurt Father George, the priest who helped me so much. Like, really hurt him, hurt him until Father told him where I’d gone. I don’t think he would’ve betrayed me like that otherwise.”

  His blood simmering already, Coop put his arm around her. “I know he wouldn’t, sweetheart. Father George is a good man.”

  She nodded. “I know. So if Ivan hurt him that badly, he must really want me. He’s on his way here now.”

  This didn’t make sense. Coop knew—from her stories—that Ivan was an evil man, but to be this determined to find her that he’d resort to physically harming a priest? What was he missing here?

  “Sweetheart,” he began hesitantly, “why is Ivan coming here? Do you think he
wants Kalli?” The man was technically the baby’s father.

  But Jackie laughed, a hopeless bark of laughter. “He never once admitted Kalli had anything to do with him— When I got pregnant, he even suggested I’d cheated on him. No, he’s not coming for her, unless it’s to hurt her to get to me. He wants…” She took a deep breath, and he felt her holding it. “He wants to hurt me. For revenge,” she finished quietly.

  Coop was eyeing Kalli, who was chewing on her own foot. “Sounds like maybe there’s more to the story you haven’t told me.”

  She snorted quietly, staring at her hands in her lap. “Before I left Chicago, before I even left the hospital, I called the cops. There’s an anonymous tip hotline, and I knew Ivan was wanted for drugs and his business dealings with the Brotherhood. So I called and told them about him, and the apartment, which was a safehouse for Ivan’s associates.”

  When she began to wring her hands, drawing the fingers tight against one another, Coop reached over and covered them with his free one. “What happened?” he prompted quietly.

  She shrugged helplessly. “I guess they picked him up, but he—or someone—made bail. It sounds like he expected to go back to his life, but the Brotherhood has cut him loose. And…” Another deep breath. “And he blames me for ruining his life. I guess I can’t blame him. I set out to do it to pay him back for everything he’d done to me, and to keep him busy so I could leave town. But now he’s hurt a good man” —her voice caught on a sob— “and he’s coming after me.”

  Coop tightened his hold on her. “Listen to me,” he said intently. “He can come after you all he wants, but he’s not going to get you. You’ve already made the decision to trust your friends here at the ranch—trust me—to protect you, and I will. We will. Okay?”

  Long, torturous moments passed before she finally lifted her gaze to him and nodded. In her eyes, he saw her fear and worry, but also determination. The determination which had protected her daughter all these months—before Kalli was born, even. Jackie would do what was right.

  “Good,” his whispered. Then he let go of her hand to reach around and snag Kalli just as the baby was crawling for the edge of the bed. He pulled the squealing little girl into his lap. “Now, today is the Fourth of July. I don’t know if Ivan is going to show up today, but there’s going to be hundreds of people here celebrating…including a lot of Riston’s police force. You’ll be safe, and I’d like you to trust me to keep you safe. Can you do that?”

  Her gaze dropped to her daughter, who was patting his chest and happily cooing. When she looked back up at him, she was smiling slightly. Not a lot, but it was there. “I love you, Cooper Weston.”

  He smiled in return and pulled her to her feet. “Good, because I love you, Jackie Novak. Are you ready for some breakfast? I thought I’d take my two favorite ladies to breakfast at the café, then you promised to help me set up for the show. Remember?”

  Jackie halted in the middle of reaching for the small backpack she used as a diaper bag. “I don’t know.” She bit her lip again. “Do you think it’ll be safe?”

  He took the bag from her and slung it over his opposite shoulder, then pulled Jackie in for a hug with the baby between them. Kalli lunged for her mother, who wrapped her arms around the baby.

  “Jackie,” he said seriously, “this is the Fourth of July, and you’re about to experience the coolest tradition of the year.” He pumped his fist enthusiastically. “Let’s go celebrate your independence! From fear!”

  She snorted with laughter and allowed herself to be pulled out of the hotel room. “Did you think that line through in your head?”

  “Absolutely not. I’m brilliant at impromptu action-movie-hero lines like that.”

  She began to giggle. “Oh yeah? And where’d you learn to change a diaper, Mr. Action Movie Hero?”

  He smiled. “Oh, one picks things up, you know.”

  When she laughed in earnest, the band around his chest began to loosen. He’d call Kelsi’s husband Shane, the local sheriff, and let him know Jackie’s fears, but there’d be a lot of police around today anyhow. Plus River’s End Ranch’s own guards—Charley would be another good one to alert. Even if Ivan did make it to the ranch—and Coop wasn’t convinced he would—he wouldn’t be able to hurt Jackie and Kalli.

  Not when they were surrounded by people who loved them.

  CHAPTER TEN

  July Fourth turned out to be surprisingly fun, despite Jackie’s bone-deep terror of the night before. Having Cooper with her made Jackie feel…calmer. More at peace.

  Safe.

  It was like his promise to protect her—him and the rest of her friends at River’s End Ranch—made her calmer. Despite knowing the extent of Ivan’s evilness, and how dangerous he could really be, Jackie felt as if maybe Cooper could keep her and Kalli safe.

  He took them to the café for breakfast, as promised. Jackie’s appetite came back with a vengeance, and she joined Cooper in ordering one of Bob’s breakfast specials, snickering at Cooper’s whispered stories about Bob’s orneriness.

  Kalli sat proudly in her highchair and ate scrambled eggs and toast—well, she dropped a piece of toast, butter-side down on the floor, and she ended up wearing most of the eggs, but she was so proud of herself, it was hard to be irritated.

  Besides, what baby doesn’t look adorable smeared in grape jelly?

  Kelsi, Cooper’s cousin, waddled out of the kitchen to ooh and ahh over Kalli, declaring her almost as cute as her own sixteen-month-old twin girls. She and Cooper got into a good-natured argument over it, and Jackie was surprised when he chose Kalli over his own family for the cutest-baby-on-the-ranch award.

  All the laughter really helped Jackie relax, and by the end of the meal, she wasn’t peering over Cooper’s shoulder, looking for strangers. Instead, she was enthralled by his plans for the big firework display that evening, and even helping him sketch out his ideas on a pair of napkins, using the red and blue crayons meant for the kids’ menu.

  As they were heading towards the front to pay, Cooper stopped to speak with another couple. Jackie was distracted trying to keep Kalli off the floor—she could walk a little now, but preferred to plop down on her bottom to crawl—but finally looked up and realized he was talking to Charley Easton, the head of security on the ranch. Charley was already in uniform, and introduced Jackie to her husband, Tristan Quarles, who used to work for Pulaski Construction, same as Cooper.

  Jackie nodded politely, and breathed a little sigh of relief when she heard Cooper telling Charley about Ivan’s threat, and saw Charley taking it seriously. Then the baby was off again, and Jackie had to lunge to keep her from chewing on a stool at the counter.

  An older woman sitting on that stool turned down to smile kindly at the baby, and Jackie blinked when she realized it was Jaclyn, the crazy fairy lady.

  “Hello, dear,” said Jaclyn kindly. “I see you took my advice.” She nodded to Cooper and winked exaggeratedly.

  Jackie pressed her lips together to hide her smile. Had it really only been a few weeks since Jaclyn had sat in the spa and lectured Jackie on accepting a date from Cooper? Well, she hadn’t said Cooper exactly, but looking at her smirk now, it was obvious she’d known.

  Or the fairies had told her.

  So Jackie just nodded politely and said, “Hello, Jaclyn. Your hair is looking lovely.”

  It obviously hadn’t been what the older woman had expected, and Jackie was rewarded with a perplexed look. As she and Cooper headed outside to his car—the baby dangling over one of his wide shoulders—Jackie saw Jaclyn pat her hair and huff happily.

  And that’s why Jackie was smiling by the time Cooper pulled up to the lake.

  The water was gorgeous, the little ripples reflecting the morning sun like a multi-faceted, moving crystal. There were already jet-skiers and a few canoers out, and Cooper pointed out the whitewater crews getting ready for their first runs of the day.

  “Two years ago, this whole place was in shambles. My cousin Will
is in charge, but he’s got ADHD or something, and couldn’t concentrate enough on the management side, so he hired Ellie…and then married her, to keep her around,” he joked. “Their son is Kalli’s age, but Ellie went back to work managing everything, so now the Aquatics Program is a well-oiled machine.”

  He introduced her to some of the staff at the boathouse where he was setting up, and no matter how many times she plopped Kalli down on the blanket under the tree and went to help Cooper wire the mortars for that evening, the baby would scoot herself towards the ice-cold water.

  Jackie eventually gave up trying to help and, laughing, resigned herself to chasing after her daughter all day. Cooper didn’t mind and kept up a running commentary whenever Kalli stopped near him, praising her attempts at walking.

  It was a fun way to spend a morning, and whole chunks of time went by where Jackie wasn’t thinking of Ivan and his threat. Of course, when she remembered, the thick ball of anxiety would bloom again suddenly in her stomach, and she’d glance around frantically, ashamed she’d forgotten the danger to her baby.

  But out here in the warm sun, surrounded by laughter and excitement, it was hard to remember to be scared.

  Cooper will keep us safe. Even if Ivan does show up, he can’t do anything here.

  River’s End Ranch was a safe place.

  Coop did his best to make the holiday enjoyable. He could tell Jackie was still worried, but as the day went on, she seemed to relax more. By lunchtime, he had most of the fireworks ready, so they took a break, and he treated his two ladies to lunch at the café again.

  One of these days, I’m going to get a car seat so we can take Kalli into Riston for lunch.

  The idea of his truck—built for construction work—with a car seat and baby toys strewn around made him smile. He patted the pocket of his jeans, making sure the little package from the jeweler was separate from the smoke bombs and firecrackers and the launch remote.