The Perfect Homecoming (Pine River #3)

Luke drove Cooper up the sunny side of Mount Cielo as far as he could, then pointed out where the rock face looked as if it had been sheared off by a giant knife. It was unthinkable to be this high up at this time of year without two skis strapped to one’s feet, but the ongoing drought made it a perfect day for two men to play.

Luke apparently had the same thought. “Want to scale it?” he asked with a slightly maniacal grin—the sort of grin Cooper used to see on his partners. “I’ve got some gear in the back.”

“Can we get up there?” Cooper asked, peering at the trail.

“It’s worth a try,” Luke said. “But we better do it while we can. Dad says a front’s coming through tonight. This will be covered by snow tomorrow.”

“Let’s do it,” Cooper said without hesitation.

It was a hard go, especially when they had to crawl over an ice pack, but they made it to the rock face. Cooper went up twenty feet just to test the theory that it would work for some soft studio execs. They both agreed it was doable.

Everything Cooper saw in Trace Canyon was perfect for what TA had in mind. Everything he saw was perfect for him. This setting—outdoors, mountains, small mountain villages—was where Cooper felt most at home. He was most comfortable with himself in the wild, when he had nothing but his own strength and stamina to rely on. It was a contest to him—how far, how high, how hard could he go? He had not yet found his limit.

The wind was turning and coming out of the north when they headed down from Trace Canyon. When they reached the point where cell service kicked in, Cooper noticed he had a missed call from his partner Eli.

Eli was a year older than him, a year or two older than Jack and Michael, and since they’d been boys, Eli had always acted like the elder statesman of their group, the voice of reason among the unruly. Sure it’s a good idea to blow up a beehive? Really think you ought to aim that gun at Jack? To this day, Cooper valued his opinion. He called him.

“What’s up?” he asked when Eli answered his phone.

“Carl Freeman called today and he was mad enough to kick his own dog,” Eli drawled.

“That’s mad,” Cooper agreed.

“Says he can’t get hold of you. What’s going on?”

“I’ve been doing a little sightseeing,” Cooper said vaguely. “Emma has it. She just doesn’t want to admit it yet, which I explained to Carl. He needs to be patient. She’s going to give in if for no other reason than to get me off her back.”

“On her back, huh?” Eli said. “So the rumors about her are true.”

“Funny,” Cooper said, but Eli’s joke settled wrong in him. He thought about the way she’d looked that night on Elm Street, her eyes shimmering, her smile a little pert. She was everything a guy could want—or at least everything he could want—and her reputation didn’t feel right to him. There was a lot more to the story; he could feel it. But he didn’t say that to Eli.

“Carl’s a studio head,” Eli said, and yawned. “Patience isn’t his thing. What do you want me to tell him?”

“Tell him that I’ll have it by the end of the week.”

“I hope so,” Eli said. “He’s going to come at us with both barrels if you don’t. I’ll call him and talk him off his tiny little divorce ledge. So did you find any good spots for us?”

“Some great spots,” Cooper said, and filled Eli in on Trace Canyon.

When he hung up, Luke was looking at him with an inquisitive expression. “I realize I’ve known you for only a couple of days,” he said, “but I have to ask—what’s going on with Emma? Anything we ought to be worried about?”

“No,” Cooper said. “It’s a misunderstanding.” He explained to Luke that a mutual friend thought Emma had something that belonged to him and left it at that. He’d already said enough about Emma in front of Leo and had managed to get his back up. And besides, something Leo had said about Emma had intrigued Cooper, had made him think that maybe he didn’t really know her like he’d thought. It was the mention of her donation to the afterschool program. That, on the heels of hearing about her interest in the kids at the park, and the job she’d taken with Leo was all so . . . unexpected. Unbelievable, really, given her reputation across LA. These new pieces of information about her didn’t sound like a woman who didn’t care about anyone but herself. They made Emma sound like she did care and maybe, that she longed for something.

“Madeline thinks she purposely tries to antagonize,” Luke mentioned. “I’m not so sure about that. Sometimes, she pops off and says something off the wall, then looks surprised that she’s offended anyone.” He laughed, as if he found that amusing. “I may be wrong, but I just have a gut feeling about her. And God knows Leo can’t say enough about her,” Luke said, and grinned. “But then again, Leo thinks she’s totally into him.”