definitely more than scruff on his cheeks. It would feel all rough and prickly against my cheek if—stop it right now. What are you, a teenager in heat?
“Wow, that’s a big truck,” I said. Cooper cocked a brow and smirked.
“I get that a lot.”
Rolling my eyes, I bit back a laugh. “That came out wrong. All I meant was that I didn’t realize you drove a semi. I don’t think we have room in the parking lot for it. You could park the cab in the back, but there’s not enough room for the trailer.”
“No worries,” he replied. “I just borrowed it from a friend to carry my bike to town. I’ll be taking it back to him tomorrow.”
“I guess I didn’t realize you were a trucker,” I said, considering the big rig, wondering how he’d be able to do repairs if he was traveling all the time. Should’ve had him fill out an application, dumbass . . . “I guess you’re on the road a lot?”
“I’m taking some time off,” he said. “I’ve been doing long-haul routes for years. Came home a few weeks ago to find my wife had moved on, so now I’m working on a divorce. She lives down in Ellensburg, but I wanted a fresh start. Somewhere far enough away to have my own space, but close enough to see my kids more than twice a year.”
“How did you pick Hallies Falls, of all places? I mean, I can think of a lot of towns that might be better.”
All of them. All of them would be better, in my experience.
Cooper shrugged, offering me a grin that made my stomach clench.
“I passed through here a few years back with a friend, thought it looked pretty. When I needed a place to land it came to mind—simple as that.”
“So you’re only going to be here short term?” I asked, although I really didn’t have any room to criticize. Sure, I’d hired him to do work around the building, but it wasn’t like we had a contract or anything. I’d probably sell the place and go back to Seattle if Dad . . . Nope, wasn’t ready to think about that. Denial. Denial had served the women of my family well for generations. No reason to change that now.
“I haven’t decided yet,” he replied. “Depends on whether I find a reason to stick around, I guess.”
Whatever I might’ve said in reply died as a battered old Jeep Wrangler pulled up, parking along the street in front of the building. The door flew open and out climbed Talia Jackson. Her eyes snapped toward us, narrowing.
“Hey, baby!” she called, walking over to stand pointedly between me and Cooper. I watched as she wrapped herself around him for a deep kiss. Part of me hoped he’d tell her to fuck off. Instead he kissed her back, digging his hands into her flat ass. Then Talia broke free, turning to smirk at me.
Message received.
“Nice to see you, Talia,” I said, thinking of Princess Diana. Calm, cool, graceful Diana. Now I just needed to channel her, instead of going all Kardashian on Talia’s tacky ass like I wanted to. “I was just about to show Cooper his new place. Would you like to join us?”
She looked over at the building.
“I can’t understand why you’d want to live here,” she declared loudly at Cooper. “They’re a bunch of old people, and I’m sure they’ll bitch at you all the time just because you have a life.”
Dear God, were we really going here?
Inhale pink, exhale blue. You can do this.
“I’ll show you the apartment, and then you can get settled,” I announced, ignoring her. “Second floor, right behind the main house. That’s a good one, because it has its own separate entrance off the parking lot. Gives you more privacy.”
Cooper nodded, following me as I stepped off the wide porch and around the side of the house to the attached apartment building. There wasn’t much of a stoop on the stairwell, but it had a nice awning over the entry. Handy in the winter.
“It’s just one bedroom,” I said, unlocking the door. I pushed it open, and Cooper and Talia followed me into the living room. The apartment stretched across the width of the building, so there was light coming in from both sides. Across from the door was a dining area with a kitchenette.
“It’s all natural-gas heat,” I told him. “That keeps the utilities under control. The bedroom and bathroom are just through here.”