I spin away from Coop and I can hear his mocking laugh behind me as I get back into my car.
I’ll be damned if I’ll accept what he’s telling me. There’s no way in hell my grandmother made it so Coop could live in that house. He was just…just…well, he was just the gardener as far as I was concerned.
There’s just no way he’s anything else.
Chapter 4
And the catwalk calls…
Coop
I hear a car pull up in front of the house, see the headlights sweep through the living room, touching each wall as she drives around the circle, and my body tightens. It’s Eden, and I’ve been dreading and anticipating this moment for hours now. She’s been gone a long time. Far longer than it would have taken her to seek out her grandmother’s attorney.
I’ve been patiently waiting for her to come back, and I’m on my second beer as I’ve camped my ass on the living room sofa catching up on news and sports.
Fuck…when I woke up today, the last thing in the world I expected was for Eden Goodnight to come strolling back into town. The minute I laid eyes on her from across the yard, I recognized her. Her beauty was such that I would never mistake her for anyone else. As much of a surprise to me were the nasty feelings that started to well up inside of me when I saw her. I’d gone years hardly thinking about her unless I happened to catch her on the news or someone in town told me something about her or I may have thought about her a little when she was here ten months ago. But I really tried to keep my distance from those thoughts. I hadn’t ever read any articles about her, because I learned the hard way that it was painful looking at her beautiful face and body plastered in fashion magazines and knowing she was gone forever. I’d never make it through a movie where I’d have to watch her move and hear her sweet voice.
The sound of the car door opening and closing catches my attention and I pull my feet off the coffee table to push up from the couch. I down the rest of my beer and set the empty on a side table before treading across the gleaming hardwood floors to the front door. When I open it, I don’t even try to wipe the gloating expression from my face as I find Eden there with a large suitcase in one hand and a small travel suitcase in the other.
“Attorney tell you everything you needed to know?” I ask smugly.
“Yup,” she says with a grimace, and barrels past me. I have to jump back to avoid a large suitcase to my nuts. “Told me all I needed to know and nothing I wanted to hear.”
“Sorry to disappoint,” I mutter as I shut the door.
“Not your fault,” she huffs as she starts toward the sweeping staircase that leads to the second floor. “Not quite sure what my grandmother’s reasoning was, but it was her decision and I’ll respect it.”
“Here, let me help you with that,” I say as I dart forward and try to take the large suitcase from her.
Her head whips around at me and I swear she snarls like a tiger. “I can do it myself.”
I hold my hands up in surrender, then nod toward the staircase. “Then by all means.”
It’s painful to watch her huff and puff while struggling with the two suitcases up the stairs, but Eden’s a strong girl and ultimately manages just fine. I don’t say a word as she turns toward the circular wing that houses the master chamber, but rather follow along behind her quietly.
Eden steps into the spacious room with the large four-poster bed sitting right in the center of the circular floor. She sets the suitcases down with a grateful sigh and lets her eyes wander the room. I see what she sees as she turns to take it all in.
Photos of my family and me on the long dresser.
A pair of my jeans lying on the floor.
The closet door open and filled with my clothes.
A bath towel draped over the edge of the spiral staircase that leads up to the third-floor bedroom library and sitting room.
The master bathroom vanity littered with men’s deodorant, shaving cream, and my razor.
Eden turns on me and says, “Oh hell no. Just no.”
“It’s my room,” I advise her, wondering what is running through that beautiful head of hers. This room used to be her parents’, then it was her grandmother’s, and now it’s mine. “Been in it almost six months now and not moving out for you.”
Her gaze cuts over to the spiral staircase and she gives a heavy sigh of longing. I don’t blame her. That room up there is fabulous, filled with all kinds of books, chaise lounges, and plush Oriental carpets you can sink your feet into. It’s the best place to hang out in the house.
Without looking at me, Eden picks up her suitcases and walks out of my bedroom. I again follow silently and she goes where I expect her to…her old bedroom. It hadn’t changed since she left for college except for new bedding that Valeria must have bought for it. But it’s still the same bed that took our virginity, and I can remember that night as clear as if it happened yesterday. I’ve fucked a lot of women since Eden, can’t remember a lot of those, but I can remember that night we both gave it up to each other.
Eden walks over to the large closet and drops her suitcases again, this time without much care, and they thud, the smaller case tipping over. By the hunch of her shoulders I can tell she’s exhausted and confused, and I wish I felt more empathy for her, but I don’t. She left me and Newberry far behind. Even more, that was so long ago I just can’t be upset about how things have changed.
“I took care of her near the end,” I say quietly, and Eden’s body jerks slightly before she turns to face me. I continue. “She was really unstable. Not able to get around without a wheelchair. Couldn’t drive. I mean, she had hired help that would come in and bathe her and stuff, but I took her to her doctors’ appointments and came most days to keep her company. She had no friends, no one that cared to come visit. I did that for a very long time because I liked her and I felt sorry for her, but I didn’t expect anything in return. Providing me the life estate was as much a shock to me as it was to you.”
“Why?” she asks in a muted voice. “Why would you ever do those things for her?”
“Because Valeria ended up not being the grandmother you remembered,” I say with a shrug. “She mellowed with age. Was kinder. I think she was lonely and she didn’t have anyone.”
“She never said anything to me,” she says defensively.
“You never asked,” I retort.
“She wasn’t a grandmother to me, and you of all people know that, Coop. The day my parents died was the day I lost any type of familial love or support,” Eden snaps at me. “You have no right to judge my relationship or lack thereof with her.”