скачать книгу бесплатно
“I should have remembered that it needs more than filling up with gas and having the oil changed on a regular basis,” she admitted.
In a matter of minutes, Cooper had his truck turned around to face Caroline’s car. He instructed her to wait for his signal while he attached jumper cables to his truck battery, then to her car’s.
“Okay, start her up,” he called out.
He whistled a victory tune when the little car roared to life. He yelled for Caroline to back off on the accelerator, and quickly took off the cables.
Cooper trailed behind Caroline who kept to a fairly sedate pace as they headed toward town. He doubted she normally drove this slowly. The sporty red Miata convertible didn’t look like a car that enjoyed staying at the speed limit.
“Why does someone who drives a car like that work as a waitress in a town that has little to offer anyone?” he mused as he watched her drive away. Normally, those kind of questions would raise a red flag in his mind. He’d see it as something he’d want to check out.
Temptation to run her license plate rose strongly. It was the best way to find out if she’d left any secrets in California she wouldn’t want anyone to know about. Except his sense of honor was stronger than his curiosity. If the lady ran a stop sign or exceeded the speed limit, then yeah, he’d do everything by the book, along with running her plate and checking for outstanding warrants. Until then, he’d have to find other methods in his quest to find out just who Caroline Benning was.
“I COULD HAVE WALKED HOME from the garage,” Caroline protested after Cooper had bundled her back into his truck and headed for the Kelsey Boarding House.
“No reason for you to when I’m driving past the house.” He pulled up in front of it and stopped. He climbed out and helped Caroline out of the truck.
“Thank you,” she said sincerely. “You saved me a long painful walk back to town.”
“Just part of my job.”
“You were off duty,” she reminded him.
“Cops are never off duty,” Cooper explained. He took a deep breath and seemed to look off into the distance. “The spring dance is next Saturday night. I was wondering if you’d like to go.”
She blinked in surprise. “You’re asking me out?”
He instantly backpedaled. “Look, if you’re going with someone else…”
“No,” Caroline said just as quickly. “No one else has asked me, and yes, I’d like to go with you.”
Cooper nodded. “I’ll pick you up at six-thirty, then,” he said gruffly as he turned back to his truck.
Caroline strolled up the walkway, listening to the low rumble of Cooper’s truck as he drove away.
“You wanted to keep a low profile,” she told herself. “You knew it was best that you let the people get to know you while you got to know them. You have to be careful not to step over that self-imposed line. But going to the dance will give you a chance to see more people.” She gave the dozing Sam a wide berth as she opened the front door. The cat opened one eye, then closed it as if Caroline offered no threat to his peace and quiet.
Anna walked out of the parlor. “What are you doing here? I thought you went for a drive.” She looked surprised by her boarder’s dusty appearance. “What happened to you?”
“I was, but the battery went dead,” Caroline replied. “Luckily, Deputy Night Hawk drove by while I was walking toward town. He jump-started the battery, then followed me back to Carl’s Garage. Carl’s putting in a new battery.”
“Just one of those times when cars are more trouble than they’re worth.” Anna nodded in understanding. “It’s a good thing Cooper drove by.”
Caroline headed for the stairs. “Yes, it was.” She paused when she reached the first step. “Anna, does Deputy Night Hawk date a lot?”
“Cooper? He keeps his love life pretty much to himself,” she chuckled. Then she noticed the expression on the younger woman’s face. “Why do you ask?”
“Because he asked me to the spring dance. I have got to clean off this dust. I feel as if it’s in my teeth,” she confessed, running up the stairs.
“Caroline!” Anna called after her, with no response. She quickly turned around and headed for the rear of the house. “Johnny!” she called out to her husband, who was in the backyard bent over a lawn mower.
He looked up, his screwdriver in his hand. “I don’t care what you say. I know I can fix this damn thing.”
Anna rolled her eyes. “That’s what you said about the toaster. We ended up buying a new one. This is something entirely different.” She walked swiftly over to her husband and lowered her voice as she gave him the news. “Cooper just asked Caroline to the spring dance.”
He raised an eyebrow in surprise. He grabbed a rag and wiped the grease from his hands. “Did she say yes?”
“Since she just told me he asked her, I’d guess she accepted. Not to mention she couldn’t look at me after she told me about it.”
Johnny raised his eyes heavenward. “The man doesn’t have a chance.”
“None of that!” She playfully swatted him. “And no teasing her about it, either.”
“No worries there. But I will ask him if his intentions are honorable.”
“You will not! This will be the first time that child has gone out since she arrived here. I think she’s nervous about it as it is.”
Johnny returned to his task. “I don’t know why you’re worried about Caroline. It’s Cooper who’s a goner.”
Chapter Three
If Caroline hadn’t already known that the spring dance was a major social event for the citizens of Tyler, she quickly learned. No matter where she went, it was the main topic of conversation during the week before the dance.
She was looking forward to the evening because it would give her a chance to meet more of the townspeople in a relaxed atmosphere. She remembered her father saying it was easier to get people to talk when the surroundings were congenial.
Caroline was determined to mingle as much as possible. With Cooper as her date, she knew she had the perfect opportunity to meet people she hadn’t seen in the diner. She might even be able to ferret out a little more information about the elusive Deputy Night Hawk.
She’d already learned that just because he asked her to the dance didn’t mean his manner toward her would change all that much when he came in to Marge’s for breakfast. She wanted to assure him his face wouldn’t crack into a million pieces if he smiled.
It was turning into a campaign for her to find a way to get him to smile.
Arranging blueberries in a happy face on his pancakes didn’t do anything other than solicit a quizzical look.
“The least you can do is appreciate those little touches that make your breakfast special,” she told him.
He picked up his fork and poured warm syrup over his pancakes. “Believe me, I do appreciate everything you do.”
His orange juice served in a borrowed Flintstones glass only had him commenting that Marge must be getting low on glassware.
“What are you doing?” Alice asked one day.
“That man has a smile in him somewhere,” Caroline insisted. “I intend to find it even if it kills me.”
“It just might happen with the way you’re going at it.” The other woman shook her head. “Honey, Cooper doesn’t smile. At least, he doesn’t smile the way you and I do.”
Caroline leaned against the counter. “Then how do you know if he’s in a good mood?”
Marge chuckled from her corner, where she’d been unashamedly eavesdropping on their conversation. “That’s easy, hon. When Cooper’s in a good mood, he doesn’t shoot anyone.”
Caroline threw up her hands. “Well, that’s a comfort! Everyone knows as long as he doesn’t pull out his gun he’s laughing on the inside?”
The two women nodded. “That’s about it.”
“Then the man will just have to learn it wouldn’t hurt for him to smile on the outside.”
Marge and Alice exchanged looks that said Caroline would have to learn something herself.
Caroline stiffened when she noticed two men walking into the diner. They chose a booth near the rear, in her station. She snagged two coffee mugs and one of the coffeepots and headed for the booth.
“Gentlemen,” she said crisply, holding up the mugs. “Coffee?”
“Yes, thank you,” Elias Spencer said, barely giving her a glance.
The other man, who Carolyn knew worked at the bank, took a moment to look her over thoroughly. She didn’t know his name and she didn’t care to. “Definitely,” he said.
She mentally poured his coffee in his lap while she filled both mugs. “Do you need a little time before ordering?”
“Two eggs, over easy, hash browns crisp and my bacon crisp.” Elias’s tone matched how he wanted his food.
“What would you recommend, darlin’?” the other man drawled.
“Enough,” Elias snapped at the man. “The girl is trying to work here. Either order or don’t.”
“I’ll have the same thing.”
Caroline nodded and walked away to put in the order.
After all this time working in the diner, this was the first time she’d waited on the illustrious Elias Spencer, since he usually sat at one of Alice’s tables. Caroline had met him at Jenna and Seth’s wedding and wasn’t too sure she liked the man even if she knew him to be her mother’s first husband. She knew her mother must have loved the stern-looking man at one time, so there had to be something special about him. But she’d also left him to marry Caroline’s father.
Elias appeared so stiff she thought his spine would snap from the pressure. Not that his sons were any different. Quinn seemed to be the only one who hadn’t carried on the tradition. When she looked at Elias this morning, Caroline thought the man seemed bitter. She didn’t think he smiled any more than Cooper did, although he did seem to unbend a little when he was around Lydia Perry. Maybe there was hope for the man yet.
It was tempting to blow that stiff-necked manner sky-high by suddenly asking him why he’d divorced her mother. She’d love to hear that answer.
Instead, she was the picture of the perfect waitress. Elias’s dining companion had given up trying to charm her. Good thing, since she would have dumped coffee in his lap for real if he’d tried anything.
Later, Caroline was clearing the table when Elias stopped back. He looked hesitant when she glanced up.
“Was there a problem, Mr. Spencer?” she asked formally.
“No, everything was fine.” He dropped a couple of bills on the tabletop. “I’d just like to apologize on behalf of my colleague. There was no reason for him to act that way.”
“Don’t worry about it. Perils of the trade,” she quipped.
He nodded. “I just wanted you to know I don’t hold with that kind of behavior.”
“Thank you.” She smiled. “As for your colleague, tell him if he tries anything else, next time he just might find himself wearing his coffee instead of drinking it.”
Elias’s somber face broke into a smile. “I guess you’ve had to learn to handle just about anything that comes your way.” He nodded and walked away.
The dishes forgotten, Caroline watched his exit. The opening was there. She could have easily slipped it in. Maybe even gotten some answers she’d been looking for.
The only thing that bothered her was the knowledge that Elias knew things about her mother that Caroline had no hope of knowing.
After work, she walked over to the library in search of reading material. On her way out of the library, she ran into Jenna Robinson Spencer, Seth’s wife, who now moved slowly due to her blossoming pregnancy.
“Jenna! Look at you! I swear, you look ready to pop,” Caroline said, giving her a hug, which wasn’t easy with her belly between them.
She rolled her eyes. “Let me tell you, as far as I’m concerned, right now wouldn’t be soon enough.” She patted her abdomen. “You know how you can buy those turkeys with those little red pop-up thingies? I’m positive I got a defective thingie because it definitely forgot to pop up to say I’m done.”
“I’ve always heard the last month feels the longest,” Caroline said with sympathy.
“Every day seems like a year,” Jenna declared dramatically.
Caroline could easily tell the other woman was tired. Looking at her, she could understand why. “Still, before you know it you’ll have those beautiful babies.”
“Let’s see if you say the same thing when it’s your turn to carry around a couple of baby elephants for what seems like forever,” Jenna told her.
“Considering my serious lack of a social life, I don’t think that will be happening anytime soon,” Caroline said.
“I’m sure I said something to that effect. Look where it got me. Well, time for me to waddle off.” She grimaced. “Just tell me I don’t look like one of those inflatable clowns that just pop back up when kids punch them.”
“Not even close. I’ve heard of some restaurants that serve a cabbage soup that pregnant women eat and they’ll go into labor the same day,” Caroline said helpfully.
“Tell Marge to put it on the menu and I’ll be right over,” Jenna said over her shoulder.
Sensing Cooper was in the vicinity, Caroline turned around and looked up the street. She found him in front of the drugstore. He was crouched down next to a little boy who was crying. A bicycle lay nearby on the sidewalk. Cooper had one hand on the boy’s shoulder, and while she couldn’t hear his words, she guessed he was saying something to reassure him. She watched as he pulled a handkerchief out of his back pocket and wiped the boy’s eyes, then urged him to blow his nose. Cooper stood up, picked up the bicycle and set it upright. He continued talking to the boy as he guided the bike onto the edge of the street. He helped him onto the bike and kept it steady until the boy felt confident to go on his own. The little boy grinned at Cooper as he managed to make his way down the street without too much wobbling.
At that same moment, Cooper’s head snapped upward and his nostrils flared as if he’d caught a scent in the wind. His head swiveled until he looked across the street. Straight at Caroline. There was no change in his expression as he nodded his head in greeting. She nodded back.
She remained frozen in time as she watched Cooper climb back into his vehicle. A moment later, the engine rumbled to life and the Blazer headed down the street. During its progress, people would look up and call out Cooper’s name, punctuated with a wave of the hand.
She noted he returned each greeting, but not once did a smile crack his lips.
Caroline forced her legs to move. With each step, her resolve to see Cooper Night Hawk smile strengthened, until it was pure steel.
“YOU ARE TAKING the new woman to the dance,” Laughing Bear announced from the bathroom doorway.
Cooper stood in front of the mirror adjusting his tie. He hated the things with a passion and wore them as little as possible. He swore under his breath and started to pull the tie free from his collar. Then he remembered. The ladies in town made few rules, but maintained them religiously. One of them was that their men dress up for church and for the dances.
“Have you been consulting the Spirits lately or just hearing the gossip in town?” he asked his grandfather.
He shook his head, his shoulder length gray hair shifting with each movement. “One day you will understand the Spirits’ plan for you and you will regret that you doubted them.”
Cooper turned away from the mirror and followed his grandfather into the large room that was a combination living room, family room and dining room all in one. His cabin was built for comfort instead of looks. In the winter, it was warm and snug, and during the summer heat waves it was cool, even outside on the wraparound porch.
“Aren’t you going to the dance?” He noticed the older man’s more casual attire of a plaid shirt and jeans. As he looked at his grandfather, he realized the man’s hands had grown more gnarled from his arthritis and his face showed cracks and wrinkles of a life well lived. He also noticed the older man’s walk wasn’t as steady as it used to be.
It saddened Cooper to think the day would come when the older man wouldn’t be around to remind him to honor his ancestors and tell the story of the Woman of the River and what she meant. For some time, Laughing Bear had been convinced the woman would return and come into Cooper’s life, as she had come into the Sauk chief Black Hawk’s.
