Cooper curled a finger under her chin and tipped up her face. “Let me pick up real quick, then I’ll get them for you. I’ll only be a minute.”
She saw him move away and knew he was gathering up the supplies left behind from the rushed mass exodus. “I can do that,” she said, using the glasses like a monocle.
He laughed at her. “I think it’ll get done quicker if I just take care of it.”
True enough, he was just about finished already. Joy had supplied bins for the crafts, so most everything just went back into those, sorted by paper, scissors, then markers, paint and crayons.
After he wiped off the table, Cooper took her arm. “Let’s go. I’ll take you to your cabin and get your keys, then I’ll get the glasses.”
“I can do it.” She didn’t want to impose on him, especially after he’d had such a busy day. “I still have one lens to see.”
He hesitated. “I’d feel better about it if I walked with you.”
There was that protectiveness again. “If you’re sure you wouldn’t mind, then I’d appreciate it. But we don’t need to go to the cabin. I have my keys on me.” Since she kept her cabin locked, her keys hung from a clip on a belt loop.
“Great.” His fingers wrapped gently around her arm just above her elbow. “Come on.” He led her through the building, pausing to talk with Daron and Joy to explain where they were going.
Daron laughed at her, but Joy was apologetic.
“It’s not your fault that I was clumsy.”
With Jack leaning against her hip, Joy said, “But you were helping me.”
“I had fun. The kids were great.”
Daron hoisted Jack up to his shoulders. “I’ll help her close up,” he said. “Go get Phoenix’s glasses before she runs into a wall. I want her hale and hardy tomorrow to help with all the cleanup we’re going to have to do.”
“I’ll start early,” Phoenix promised.
Daron groaned in feigned dread. “Give me until nine, at least.”
“Oh yeah, you have a hot date, don’t you?”
He nodded. “And I’ll probably need to sleep in.”
Joy rolled her eyes. “Go on, you two. We won’t be much longer, especially with Romeo here anxious to be on his way.”
Outside, they ran into Baxter, who’d stopped by to see if they needed anything else before he left for his home away from the park.
If he noticed Cooper’s hand on her arm, he didn’t mention it.
“Maris is doing okay?” she asked.
“Already closed up shop, and I saw her to her RV. She’s in for the night.”
Cooper thanked him, and then they started the long walk up the drive to the top parking area.
4
Coop struggled with himself every step of the way. The air was dark and thick around them, sounds muted by the night. The beams from the security lights didn’t travel far in the fog. It was only ten, but felt more like midnight. Though he’d worked all day, he wasn’t tired.
Far from it.
Beside him, Phoenix remained quiet, concentrating on where she stepped. The loss of her glasses gave him the perfect excuse to touch her, but with every heartbeat he was mindful of what she’d been through. Slow, he reminded himself. Considerate, cautious and slow.
Beneath the loose, long-sleeved shirt she wore, he felt the warmth of her arm against his palm.
He wanted to kiss her.
And he felt guilty because of it.
“Watch it.” He steered her a little to the right. “Daron was right. The park is a mess.”
“I cleared up what I could earlier, but with the wind still blowing, more branches are going to come down.”
“I know. Just as everyone helped out today, we can all pitch in tomorrow to get things back in order.”
“I imagine you’ll have your hands full with other things. Besides, I don’t mind the work. I like to stay busy.”
Without meaning to, Coop caressed her arm with his thumb. “It helps you to forget?”
Though she kept walking, a kind of stillness settled around her. When the seconds ticked by, he thought she might not reply.
Because he didn’t want to pressure her, he said, “I didn’t mean to—”
“Yes.”
Nothing else. Just that single word. The urge to pause, to pull her in close and hold her, burned inside him. But that was not what he did. No, he did something far worse. “I understand.”
She glanced his way. “Do you?”
Damn. He didn’t want to talk about his wife and everything he’d lost. Shaking his head, he sidestepped. “You’re in the right place. There’s never a shortage of things to be done here.”
She released a tight breath. “Daron told me about the sign.”
That made him huff a laugh. “I still owe him for that stunt.”
“It’s a good name for such a nice park. And if the sign is vintage—”
“Vintage my ass,” he muttered. Phoenix’s husky laugh unfurled some long-dormant emotion inside him. “You think that’s funny?”
Playfully, she bumped against him. “I think you’re too modest to enjoy having the park named after you.”
“I’m not modest.”
“Yes, you are, otherwise everything here would be named after you. Like the camp store would be...I don’t know, maybe Cooper’s Corner Store.”
He grinned. “What about the scuba shop, the beach and the lodge?”
“Let me think on it.” She nudged her shoulder against his again. “It is pretty awesome, you know, having the place named after you. You should be proud. It’s beautiful and so well run.”
“I hire good people.”
“Yes, you do.”
“That includes you, Phoenix.” He looked at her profile, at the way her dark hair trailed down over her chest. She had a stunning figure, like an old-fashioned pinup. Her large breasts and generously curved ass only emphasized the narrower dip of her waist. She had a body that made it damned hard for him to concentrate. “I haven’t missed what a great job you’re doing.”
“Thank you.” Oblivious to his carnal struggle, she playfully peered at him through the single lens of her broken glasses. “It’s more about you, though. You’re so good with everyone, always helpful and welcoming. I know the visitors appreciate it.”
“I’m not always that involved, but sometimes it’s necessary.”
“Right,” she said in a disbelieving drawl. “From what I’ve seen, you’re far from an absentee boss.”
“Well, I do live here,” he said by way of explanation. “Makes it hard to dodge people when I’m a resident.”
Her mouth twitched. “You can’t tell me you don’t enjoy it. I’ve seen you in action.”
Accurate. When he’d first bought the park, it wasn’t to mingle.
It was more about saving himself.
These days, though, he did enjoy the vacationers more often than not. He definitely loved the area, too, with the scenery, fishing, scuba diving and walks in the woods...
Huh. It occurred to him that while he’d been thinking of himself as the same old angry, aloof man, he’d actually changed.
Bemused by that realization, he said, “You’ve interacted with enough of the guests to know how it is. The majority of them are friendly, which makes the occasional jerk easy to tolerate.”
“True.” To avoid a puddle, she stepped closer to him. He breathed in the scent of her shampoo, and the subtler scent of her skin. “Thank you for convincing me to go to the lodge tonight. I actually had fun.”
She sounded so surprised by that. Apparently, fun hadn’t been on the agenda much lately. “Even though your glasses got broken?”
“Yes, even with that.” They reached the top of the lot. “I’m parked over there. The yellow Ford Focus.”
He started down the row of ten cars. Large sycamore trees continually shook rain off their leaves, sprinkling them with every step they took.
“I’m sure you could tell I had reservations,” Phoenix continued, “but the kids were great.”
“They liked you.”
“And you.” She smiled. “You’re a natural with them.”
He took that like a blow to the heart—and he knew she noticed. Here in the upper lot with the security lighting brighter, how could she not?
Fighting off things he didn’t want to feel, Coop said, “If you ever want to talk about it, I’m a good listener.” Focusing on her, on her needs, was so much easier than dealing with his own.