The Perfect Homecoming (Pine River #3)

He closed his eyes, but he kept seeing all the items Emma had—had what, stolen?—fall from that worn leather bag. He kept seeing the way she sorted through the things, looking for the box, tossing aside this tie clip, that pen, a tie. His first reaction had been disgust—it wasn’t a great leap of logic to figure out how Emma had come by those objects.

But what sort of person did that?

He was trying not to be judgmental about it. A lot of people in Los Angeles slept around and, in fact, Cooper had a couple of partners who had fallen into that category before they’d married. God knew Cooper would be a hypocrite to think he was somehow better than that—he’d been through his share of women in his life.

But there was something very disturbing in taking things from one’s conquests like little trophies.

Cooper woke up cranky and tired. He didn’t want to go skiing, but he was too much a guy’s guy to let Luke down. He’d do it, he’d go, he told himself, and then he’d get the hell out of Pine River. He’d take that goddamn medal back to Carl and tell Michael or Jack they had to handle the event up here. Not him. He was going to put the distance of space and time between him and the girl who had, against all odds, crawled under his skin to bite him.




Luke was in a good mood when he picked up Cooper and chatted on the way to the ski valley about everything and nothing. Fortunately, his enthusiasm for the day didn’t require a lot of interactive conversation from Cooper beyond the occasional grunt of agreement or a yes or no.

He couldn’t push Emma from his mind.

She was a beautiful, gorgeous, puzzle of a woman. Cooper had never been the type to think too long about personalities or idiosyncrasies. People were what they were, and he never bothered to examine it. But Emma? How weird, how unhappy, how extraordinary could one woman be? He wanted a woman as beautiful as Emma to be reasonable, to have all those things going for her that would make her a perfect mate.

And why did he want that? Why did he need ordinary? Wouldn’t that bore him after a time? Didn’t it always? Jill was pretty and accomplished and a great hostess (which she’d pointed out to him more than once) and would be a great mother. And yet, there had been something missing for Cooper in that relationship. Jill’s perfection held no intrigue for him.

Emma Tyler was the other extreme, however, and not in a good way.

There had always been something about her that had set her apart from all the other gorgeous blondes in LA, but who would have guessed it was something so bizarre? She’d seemed secure to him before this week, but now, he’d describe her as floating without a rudder.

He was granted a reprieve from the endless loop of thoughts in his head when they reached the ski area and strapped on the sticks. It was great snow, great runs, and it was a good and solid diversion from the strange week he’d spent in Pine River. At the end of the day, he and Luke dined on steaks and beer and relived every turn on every run.

At the end of the meal, Luke brought up Emma. “Maddie said you were out at the ranch yesterday,” he’d said as they waited for the check. “That you and Emma came together and left together.”

“Yep,” Cooper said.

“So did you get what you came for?” Luke asked, looking down.

Cooper got more than he had come for, so much more he didn’t even know what he had now. “Yeah,” he said. “She had it.”

Luke looked up. “What now?” he asked. “Are you leaving our little slice of heaven in Pine River?”

Cooper thought of the moment he’d opened his eyes and seen Emma standing at the living room window in that shirt, and the way she’d climbed on top of him, the soft look in her eye that was so different than anything he’d seen from her yet. “I’m going back to LA in the morning,” Cooper said. “A couple of days there, and then I’m off to Texas to help my mom with the holidays.”

“Bummer,” Luke said. “There should be some good snow between now and Christmas. Hey, if you’re back this way at the end of the year, I’d love to have you at our wedding.” Luke smiled. “I should qualify that by saying that I’m not actually authorized to extend that invitation . . . but I think I can pull a few strings.”

Cooper laughed. “Thanks. But I doubt I will make it.”

“Nevertheless,” Luke said, waving a hand. “It’s going to be a small wedding. I’ll put you on the list just in case.” He reached for his wallet as the waitress deposited the check.




The next morning, Cooper was up at dawn, eager to get out of the Beaver Room and Pine River. He figured that if he reached Denver by three o’clock, he could catch a flight to LA and still make cocktail hour at Marnie and Eli’s house. It was a four-hour drive to Denver; he had plenty of time.

Cooper packed up the rental car and headed out on Main Street. At the end of the street, he turned right, toward the old Aspen Highway. The route took him past the city park and the bench where Emma sat in the afternoons, watching the kids.