her mind wander in that direction when the man’s sister was standing right beside her!
She didn’t have time for this ridiculous attraction right now, with her mother in the hospital and the weight of responsibility resting on her shoulders like a steam train.
“Sorry to wake you but I need my dog. Come on, Otis. Let’s go.”
With surprising agility, the dog scrambled off Cooper’s lap to the sofa, then hopped to the floor. He was at her side in an instant and she scooped up his warm weight, holding him close and trying not to think about where Otis had just been sitting.
She reached to close the door but Cooper’s sleepy question stopped her.
“How’s your mom?”
She paused, turning around with a sneaky suspicion that she would become very tired of that question during her time in Cape Sanctuary.
“The surgery went well, according to the doctor, but this was only the first step in a long journey to recovery.”
“Juliet has always been one of the toughest ladies I know. She’ll be okay.”
Everyone loved her mom. It was hard to avoid that realization, now that she was back in town. Juliet was something of a heroine around town, a widow who had lost her husband to a tragic accident and a daughter to addiction but still managed to face her trials with a smile and a generous spirit.
Her mom was amazing. Olivia agreed. She wished she could be half the woman Juliet was. Her mother would never have let one traumatic incident in a coffee shop completely paralyze her. If her mother had been there and had seen that unprovoked attack, she wouldn’t have cowered under a table. She would have been like the other customer who ultimately had come to the rescue. Resolute. Fearless. Powerful.
The complete opposite of her daughter.
“She is tough.” Olivia forced a smile. “She’ll need to be. I don’t know how she’s going to handle being sidelined for a month. That’s how long the doctor says she should plan to be away from the garden center while she recovers.”
“Oh. That will be harder on her than falling off a ladder,” Melody exclaimed. “What will she do?”
“Good question. I guess I’ll be sticking around for now, until we figure that out.”
“Oh yay! That means you’ll be here for longer than a few days.”
Melody looked thrilled at the idea but Olivia couldn’t read Cooper’s expression.
Before she could respond, Caitlin came in with Charlie on her back, which further confirmed Olivia’s suspicion that her niece must babysit here often.
The teenager stopped in the doorway, stumbling a little before she caught hold of the wall to maintain her balance. Her gaze was locked with Cooper’s.
“Oh. Hi, Chief Vance.”
“Hi again, Caitlin.”
He also had an odd look on his face and she wondered why for just an instant before she remembered. Caitlin was the spitting image of her mother. He had loved Natalie dearly, something Olivia had resented back in the day when she used to have a big crush on Cooper.
She was going on two hours of sleep over the last forty-eight hours and was afraid if she stopped moving, she would fall asleep. Once she had been able to recharge, she would be far more prepared to deal with this unexpected and unwanted resurgence of her childhood crush on Cooper Vance.
“Thanks again for watching Otis for me.” She smiled at Mel.
“Anytime. I mean that. My boys love him. Otis provided the perfect distraction for today.”
The slight note of determined cheerfulness in Melody’s voice made Olivia’s heart ache. She hugged her, aware Melody’s journey to healing just might be harder than the one Juliet was facing, then led her niece out the door toward home.
COOPER
Once while fighting a wildlands blaze at a base he’d been working at in Texas, Cooper had been caught in a flashover, a wild and out-of-control blaze driven by wind and weather conditions that reacted unexpectedly. He had been forced to use his emergency shelter until it passed over, leaving scorched earth behind.
This day, seeing Olivia Harper again after all these years, bore some striking similarities to the way he remembered feeling as he climbed out of the shelter. Hot. Stunned. Shaken.
What was that about? He wondered as he watched from Melody’s porch as she loaded her cute dog into her vehicle, then climbed in herself.
He had no idea what was happening to him. She was lovely, yes, with those hazel-green eyes and the soft smile for her dog that had made him wish she might aim it in his