The Perfect Homecoming (Pine River #3)

Cooper smiled. “Maybe she is.”


“Whatever, I have to give the woman props when it comes to my brother,” he added with a shake of his head. “We don’t pay her a dime to come around and sit with Leo, you know? But she comes every day, and it’s a great help to my dad. Not that he’ll admit it,” he said with a lopsided smile, “because Dad likes to think he’s the only one who can take care of Leo. But she really has been a big help. She takes Leo outside and watches movies with him and reads to him. She makes sure everything is clean because Leo’s immunity is not great. She does a lot for him.”

Cooper silently considered that. It was all so curious, as if two different women were inhabiting that beautiful body.

“So when are you heading back to LA?” Luke asked.

“Soon,” Cooper said. “But not for a few days yet.” He still hadn’t settled on how, exactly, to get the medal out of Emma. Maybe because he’d been enjoying the great outdoors too much to worry about Carl’s problem for a bit.

“Great! If we get the kind of snow my dad says we’re supposed to get, the best skiing will be up at Wolf Creek. We’re close enough we could drive up early one morning and get a few runs in if you have time.”

Cooper grinned. “I think that could definitely be arranged.” It used to be this way with the guys of TA. Impromptu, spur-of-the-moment extreme weekends. It had been routine for so long. But now, Cooper couldn’t remember the last time they’d decided at five o’clock on a Friday they were going to drive up the coast and do some windsurfing. He missed that more than he’d realized.

Yes, Cooper liked Luke a lot.

They chatted about some of the crazier sports they’d been involved in on the drive back to Pine River. Thick clouds were beginning to roll in, blanketing the valley in a dull gray light. As they neared the turnoff to Homecoming Ranch, Luke said, “Why don’t you come up and join us for dinner? Libby and Sam will be there with Madeline and Emma. Maddie is making lasagna. She isn’t much of a cook, but she makes a mean lasagna.”

“I’m empty-handed,” Cooper said, lifting his palms faceup. “And I’m dirty. I’ve been scaling rock faces.”

“We’ve got showers,” Luke said. “A surprising number of them, actually. I’ve got a clean shirt you can borrow. As for the empty hands, I picked up some beer today. It’s in the back of the truck.”

“I’ve imposed on you enough, Luke.”

“This has been no imposition, are you kidding?” Luke scoffed. “I haven’t been up in the mountains in a while. Come on, it will be a good time,” Luke said. “And did I mention? Emma will be there, too. Maybe you can get back the thing she has.” He grinned.

Cooper laughed. “I guess I’m in,” he said, and frankly, he was grateful for the invitation. Anything was better than going back to the Beaver Room.




When Luke pulled into the drive in front of the house, Madeline bounded out onto the porch, but halted on the top step. Cooper opened the passenger door, and her face lit with delight. “Hey!” she said, hopping down the steps. “What a nice surprise!”

“Hello, Madeline,” Cooper said.

“I invited him for dinner,” Luke said, coming around the back of his truck. He planted a kiss on the top of her head. “Hope you don’t mind.”

“Of course I don’t mind,” she said, poking Luke in the ribs. “It’s lasagna. That’s all we ever eat around here. Come in, Cooper! Libby and Sam are in the kitchen.”

Cooper cleaned off his boots as best he could, then walked in to meet Libby and her boyfriend, Sam Winters. Sam was a deputy sheriff, he said, and looked a little like Luke—big, muscular, and trim. He had the shadow of a beard and dark golden-brown hair that was longer than was stylish. He was quiet, and he didn’t say much, but Cooper could see how much he adored Libby.

Libby practically leapt into Cooper’s arms. “I can’t believe it!” she said breathlessly, hugging him as if they were cousins instead of slight acquaintances. “Cooper, right? Is it okay if we call you Cooper?”

“Let him breathe, baby,” Sam said low.

Libby laughed and pushed her dark corkscrew curls out of her eyes. “I hope you like lasagna. That’s all Madeline ever makes.”

“It’s not the only thing!” Madeline protested from the kitchen.

“Cooper is going to shower in the guest bath,” Luke said. “I’m going to grab a shirt for him to borrow.”

Cooper and Sam chatted about all the places Luke had taken Cooper today as they waited for Luke to return with a clean shirt. Once Sam understood what Cooper was doing in town, he was very interested, too. “I don’t know how you feel about fly-fishing, but I can show you some of the best waters in Colorado for it.”

“Oh, please, say you’ll go with him, Cooper,” Libby begged. “Then I don’t have to.”

“You don’t like to fish?”