Rebels and Roses (Winslow Heights #2)

Chapter 5

5

“ I think it would be best for me to stay a few more days,” Tom said, not meeting Cooper’s gaze. “Am I cramping your style? I can make myself scarce tonight if you need me to.”

Cooper had come by the apartment to convince Tom to pack his small suitcase and accompany him to the airport where he could catch the next flight back to Denver. The younger man, however, had different plans.

Shit and double shit.

It was clear as glass that Tom didn’t want to face his almost fiancée, Erica. He didn’t want to deal with any questions or issues with their relationship. He simply wanted to hang out in Winslow Heights for a while, flirting with college girls and drinking beer at Tate’s.

That was his plan. He’d said that he needed a “vacation” to get his thoughts straight about what he needed to do.

Cooper thought he was full of shit. Tom wanted to act like a college kid again, and he was taking the opportunity to shed his adult responsibilities.

“Erica will be there when I get back,” Tom continued. “Besides, since I’ve been here this is the safest I’ve felt in months. I haven’t been this relaxed in forever. I get anxious at the mere thought of going home.”

“I admire your confidence, but are you sure Erica is going to wait around for you to decide to come back? That seems overly optimistic. She might be waiting but only to kick your ass. Pissing her off probably isn’t the way to stay in her good graces.”

Considering you’ve been cheating on her.

“It’s all good,” Tom replied confidently. “Like I said, being here has just been so freeing. I’m not burdened by worry and fear twenty-four hours a day. I mean…it’s okay, right? I can stay a few more days? If not…I guess I could get a hotel or something.”

If Tom had been rehearsing his puppy dog eyes, Cooper wouldn’t have been shocked. The guy looked so hopeful yet sad at the same time. He should let Tom go to a hotel. He could afford it, and Cooper didn’t want to be a part of the man’s hijinks with college girls.

“A couple of days,” Cooper heard himself saying. “Then you need to go home and face Erica. Holing up here isn’t healthy, and it sure as shit isn’t going to solve anything.”

“Thanks,” Tom said, his face splitting into a grin. “That’s great. Awesome. I won’t be any trouble, I promise. I’ll be like a mouse in the corner. You won’t even know I’m here.”

Cooper would know Tom was there.

Tom’s phone lit up, and he pulled it from his back pocket to check the screen.

“Shit,” he said, his face now pale and considerably less happy than he’d been seconds ago. Was that Erica calling asking where he was? “I need to take this. Sorry.”

Tom disappeared into the guest room where Zack still had a few things despite staying with Lucy most of the time. Cooper sat down at the kitchen table, flipping open his laptop. He was expecting an email from his editor about his most recent release. The publisher was still trying to press him about going out on some sort of “tour” of bookstores. He’d do a reading of his work in progress, answer questions, then sign books and shake hands while posing for photos that would end up on social media.

It sounded like hell on earth, frankly. Cooper had always been clear that he didn’t want his face out there. Anonymity suited him. He enjoyed being the man behind the curtain. Once his face was out there, he couldn’t control his own image anymore.

And if there was one thing a Winslow loved, it was control. He was as guilty as any of his siblings when it came to control. He wasn’t proud of it, but he also wasn’t actively fighting it either. As long as he wasn’t steamrolling everyone around him, it was fine.

He’d find some neutral, non-confrontational way to remind her that they’d all agreed that he wouldn’t be doing any book tours. Now or ever.

He was typing out his firm but polite reply when Tom returned, slightly out of breath and his face bright red.

“That was Fiona,” Tom announced. “She’s mad.”

“Mad?” Cooper echoed. “On a scale of one to ten, how mad?”

“Fifty. She’s furious.”

“You knew she would be when you stole her phone. Honestly, I’m shocked it’s taken her this long to call you.”

“She’s been calling for a while, but I didn’t answer until now.”

Evading her calls would simply make Fiona more pissed off as the hours ticked by.

“Why did you answer now? Wouldn’t it be easier to just give her back her phone and explain then?”

“I figured if she got really out of hand, I could just hand you the phone. I know you can deal with her.”

Jesus, Mary, and the camel. Did this guy take accountability for anything? He shouldn’t be shocked. He’d known the family and had married into it. This wasn’t a surprise, but apparently, he’d forgotten with the passing of time.

“Tom, I am not dealing with Fiona for you,” Cooper said using his firmest tone. “Or anyone, for that matter. You stole her phone. You deal with it. End of story. You had to know what you were getting into. Fiona has a temper.”

And Cooper had a little scar on his temple in case he ever forgot that fact. She’d thrown a plate at him during one of their marital blowouts. Afterward, she’d cried and said she’d never actually wanted to hit him. It had been an accident.

“She’s furious, that’s for sure,” Tom declared. “I tried to explain to her why I did it.”

“What did she say?”

“She said that I’m an idiot, and then she hung up.”

Based on Tom’s squirrelly behavior in the last twenty-four hours, Cooper couldn’t argue the point.

“Did she say anything else?”

“No.”

“Are you going to call her back?”

“Hell, no. I don’t want to be yelled at. I’ll just stay here and lay low. She’ll get over it eventually.”

“So let me get this straight,” Cooper said with a sigh. “Your plan is to hide out here until Fiona calms down? Is that correct?”

“Yes, I think it makes sense.”

“I think that you don’t know your sister very well.”

Dealing with Tom Kemp had frustrated the hell out of Cooper. He was a peaceful person, and he enjoyed the quiet solitude of his home.

That was gone. Temporarily, of course, but still gone.

But he knew how to release some tension.

Picking up his phone, he tapped out a text. He held his breath waiting for the reply which came only moments later.

Sweet escape.

Chuckling, he tucked the phone back into his pocket and grabbed his keys from the table.

“I’ll be out for the evening. If you’re hungry, you can go to Tate’s. Have him put it on my tab. Don’t wait up.”

He was headed straight for Jane’s apartment.

It was nothing more than a booty call.

Did the young people even use the term “booty call” anymore? Was she showing her age?

When Cooper had reached out to her about meeting up tonight, Jane hadn’t hesitated to say yes. She wanted to be with him, after all. She was past the age where playing hard to get sounded like a fun game. They were both adults, and they both wanted to get their freak on. It was that simple.

She wasn’t going to be embarrassed about having sexual needs. And boy, Cooper knew how to fulfill all her needs. He was damn good at it, too.

Jane was surprised to hear from him because as far as she knew his brother-in-law was still in town. Perhaps Cooper had been successful in getting Tom Kemp to the airport today, although in that case, she would have expected him to invite her to his place. He’d asked about meeting at her place which was unusual but not unheard of. There was more chance for them to be seen together at her apartment, but she preferred her bed to his. He had a lump in the mattress on her side that made it uncomfortable.

He probably knew it too, and he wouldn’t fix it so no woman would ever spend the night.

Shit, she shouldn’t be so cynical. They’d agreed that they weren’t going to get involved. Emotions and commitments weren’t on the agenda. It had worked for both of them, so why was she getting so weird about it all? This was what she’d wanted. What she still wanted. Right?

I am so not going to fall for Cooper Winslow. That’s a one-way ticket to heartbreak.

If she was foolish enough to get emotionally involved with him then she deserved the tears, buckets of ice cream, and sad country music that would be in her future.

Briefly, she had an image of herself sitting on the couch watching bad rom-coms while eating mint chocolate chip, wearing a ratty bathrobe with her hair knotted and greasy. Not a pretty sight. After she and her ex had split up, she’d let herself go for a few weeks, but she’d caught a glimpse of her pasty skin and ratted hair in the mirror one day and it had jolted her into action. She’d taken a shower and then headed to her hairdresser for a fresh style right away. She’d even bought herself a brand-new red lipstick, dark and vampy.

It had been okay to wallow in misery for a bit, but she wasn’t going to allow it to become a lifestyle. Not for her ex, and not for Cooper. No matter how charming, funny, intelligent, and sexy he was.

She’d showered after he’d called, rubbing on her favorite body lotion that smelled faintly of vanilla and coconut. After blowing out her hair, she’d put on a small amount of makeup. Just enough to look nice, but not too much that it looked like she was trying too hard. She wanted to look good but casual.

To his credit, he was a punctual kind of guy, and she heard the knock on her door at seven-fifty-nine. When she opened up, he was standing there with a folder and a bottle of wine under one arm and a pizza in the other. Her stomach growled as she inhaled the delicious aromas wafting from the cardboard box. Clearly, he’d stopped at Tate’s on the way for one double cheese special. To go.

“I brought dinner. Are you hungry?”

“I could eat. It smells amazing.”

She stepped back so he could enter, closing the door behind him as he headed into her tiny kitchen area. Cooper wasn’t a huge man - perhaps a bit over six feet tall - but he seemed to take up every bit of space between the refrigerator and the countertop.

The apartment wasn’t much. One big room that was the kitchen-living room combination, her bedroom off the living room, and a bathroom that was attached to a small walk-in closet. It was plenty for her needs, but she hoped that someday she’d be able to buy a house with a little backyard space. She’d love to have a flower bed and maybe grow some vegetables. Perhaps a dog, too.

He’d been there enough to know where she kept her glasses and plates and was already pulling them out of the cabinets while she flipped open the pizza box. It was still steaming hot.

Damn, he’d remembered.

Cooper always wanted the works on his pizza - mushrooms, pepperoni, sausage, onions, etc. She, on the other hand, liked a basic sausage and cheese.

He’d ordered half and half. He’d remembered. Shit, he wasn’t making this easy. Her loser of an ex-husband had never remembered what she liked on her pizza, because frankly, he hadn’t given a shit about anyone but himself. He couldn’t be bothered by the wants of other people. They were there simply to orbit around him, of course.

It hit her right in the solar plexus hard how much she’d overlooked in that relationship trying to make it work. That someone had remembered her favorite pizza toppings made her this emotional, she clearly needed to think about her standards when it came to men.

I’ve raised them. Some might say too high, but I’m not budging.

The next time she gave her heart to a man, it was going to be different. It was going to be more equal. They were going to be partners, working together.

“Jane? Are you okay?”

“What?”

She realized she hadn’t heard a word he’d said. He was looking at her quizzically, as if wondering where her mind had gone.

“I was asking you for a favor,” Cooper replied. “You don’t have to do it if you don’t want to. I know it’s a big ask. I wouldn’t do it, but you’re the only person I can trust with this.”

The only person? Really? What on earth could Cooper need from her that he couldn’t get from anyone else?

“Sure, a favor. What do you need?”

He placed his hand on the folder he had been carrying, now placed on the countertop.

“I was wondering…well…I hate to ask…it’s just that for some reason this new book has been really tough to write…and I just…I’m sort of…stuck…”

“Stuck?” Jane echoed. “On your book?”

He’d been working on it for a few months. She’d thought it was going well as he never talked about it.

“Stuck,” he revealed with a loud sigh. “I was wondering…and I know it’s a huge favor… But would you read through what I have? Maybe I’m so close to it, I can’t see what’s wrong with the story. A fresh set of eyes might help. I know it’s a big ask, and I know you’re very busy. You can say no, and it’s fine.”

Cooper wanted her to read his book and give feedback. Holy hell. She’d love to read it. He was one of her favorite authors. She’d never said that to him out loud, but he was brilliant. His plot twists were legendary in the mystery genre.

“I’d love to read it.”

“You don’t have?—”

“I want to read it. Seriously, hand it over,” Jane said, wriggling her fingers at him playfully. “Hand it over and no one gets hurt. I can’t wait to dig into this. Like right now. How far into it are you?”

“I think I’m at the midpoint.”

“You think? You’re not sure?”

She accepted the folder, opening it to see that he’d printed out what he had which almost made her laugh out loud. Leave it to Cooper not just put it on a thumb drive. He wanted her to make comments in the margins. She’d bet on it.

“I’m not sure about anything with this story. I’m in a quagmire, and I’m not sure how to get out. Any feedback you can give me would be much appreciated. I know you’ll tell me the truth. You know the genre inside and out.”

“What about your editor? Did you show it to her?”

“She’s great, but she’s not the answer,” Cooper replied with a definite shake of his head. “In the beginning, she was more honest. Now that I’m a big success, I think she feels she needs to stroke my ego a little bit. I don’t think she could tell me that the whole damn thing should be burned, and that I need to start again. You’d tell me that, though. If that’s what it needed. She’d be more worried about me making my deadline.”

“Wow, was it that bad? Do you think that’s what you need to do? Are you ready to toss about two or three months of work?”

“If I have to, I will. I just hope there might be something in there worth saving. I know you won’t spare my delicate feelings. You’ll be honest.”

“I’m not sure I like how you’re characterizing me,” Jane laughed. “I’m not one of those brutally honest people, Cooper. I do try to be tactful and nice.”

“You are nice, but I know that you’ll be honest with me. In a tactful way. But you won’t lie to make me feel better about myself.”

No, she wouldn’t do that. He was putting her in a difficult position, however, of possibly hurting his feelings if this was bad. This was his creative “baby” so to speak. She would be telling him that his child was ugly.

If the book wasn’t any good. She had a feeling it was better than he thought. He was a damn good writer, and there had to be something in here worth saving. Maybe a lot of “something” that needed to be kept.

“I won’t get mad or pissy,” he promised. “I need someone to tell me the truth. I’m too close to it. One day, I love it, and the next I think it stinks and I should join the French Foreign Legion and leave writing behind.”

“Is the French Foreign Legion a real thing?”

“It is, although to be fair, I’m not sure it’s a truly valid option for me. I don’t speak French, and I have issues with authority figures.”

“Then let’s hope this book is better than you think.”

“I do appreciate you looking at it.”

“Not a problem. I’m looking forward to it.”

With that settled, they sat on the floor around her coffee table with the pizza between them. Cooper had poured two glasses of wine. After eating her fill of pizza and a second glass of vino, Jane was blissful and content. This was exactly what she’d needed tonight to relax.

“Did you take Tom to the airport this afternoon?”

The pizza box was empty, and Cooper folded it up and stood to take it to her trashcan.

“No, he’s still here. He says he feels safe here and wants to stay a few days.”

“Are you okay with that?”

“He didn’t ask so much as tell me he wasn’t leaving. I don’t have the heart to toss him out, although I was tempted. If he goes in a few days, it will all be fine.”

“You don’t sound so sure about that,” Jane said. “No one would blame you if you’d tossed him out. He’s not your family, and from what you said, he’s not a friend.”

“Honestly? I barely know him,” Cooper replied. “Fiona and I didn’t spend all that much time around him. I feel badly for him. I can see he’s scared of something, but it’s not anything that I can help him with.”

“So, you’re letting him stay?”

Cooper held up two fingers.

“He gets two days. Two. Then I’m driving him to the airport whether he likes it or not. He’s got to go home and deal with his life. He can’t hide out here forever. I think I made that clear to him today. This is a temporary reprieve from reality. But it will always come bite your ass in the end. You can’t outrun it.”

“You’re being very nice about this.”

“Are you saying that I’m not a patient man?”

“You have lots of patience, but not so much with pushy people.”

“I’ve had a lot of experience with my dad,” Cooper laughed. “He’s the pushiest.”

Joel Winslow was, indeed, a pushy man. He was a veritable steamroller when there was something he wanted. He didn’t care if someone was telling him no. He simply didn’t hear anything but what he wanted to hear. Jane hadn’t had any personal experiences with him, but she’d heard enough wild stories to know that Papa Winslow wasn’t a man to be trifled with.

“What are you thinking?” Cooper asked. “You have a strange look on your face. Is it because I didn’t throw Tom out on the street today?”

“Well…yes,” she admitted. “I guess I’m just surprised, that’s all. You don’t seem to particularly like him so…”

She wasn’t sure how to put her thoughts into words. Cooper wasn’t a pushover. Far from it. He was laidback as hell, that was true, but he knew when to stand up for himself. For some reason, he was letting his ex-brother-in-law skate through.

“I don’t particularly like him,” Cooper admitted. “The entire Kemp family is a pain in the ass. High maintenance. Believe me when I say, it’s easier to just let him stay for a few days and then get rid of him at the right time. I’ve seen him and Fiona throw tantrums that would have made a three-year-old proud. I learned to pick my battles.”

It was sad, really. Jane had learned the same thing in her lousy marriage. Eventually, she’d stopped caring enough to argue with her ex Peter. It hadn’t seemed worth the trouble.

“Did you and Fiona argue a lot?”

It was a gamble - asking a personal question. Cooper didn’t talk about the past much. With her. With anyone. He was someone who believed in living in the present which she admired. But sometimes…she was curious. Just how had Fiona Kemp managed to get Cooper Winslow down the aisle?

“In the beginning? Some, but not all the time. Later, we argued almost constantly. Then she’d apologize and try and lovebomb me. Try to make it so I’d forget about how crazy and out of control she acted. She’d just laugh and say she’d been in a bad mood or something. Like her behavior was totally normal. I think that’s how we stayed together as long as we did. My normal meter was off. I thought I was the problem the whole time. I was no angel, though. Hell, I’m sure I’m not an easy man to be married to, but I think we both were lousy at commitment. She wasn’t blameless either. We both fucked up. There were times near the end I’d deliberately do something just to make her mad, and I think she was doing the same. It was a way to get a reaction out of the other person.”

This was more personal information than Cooper had ever revealed previously. She couldn’t deny that she was curious about his ill-fated marriage.

“You don’t have to tell me anything,” she said. “It’s really none of my business. I shouldn’t have asked.”

Even though she did want to know.

“I wouldn’t have answered if it bothered me. My marriage isn’t some big secret. I don’t talk about it because it’s over and done with. It’s the past. I don’t dwell on it or anything. Frankly, it was a mistake. I was younger and more optimistic than I am now.”

“You thought it would last forever?”

If he was going to open up to her, she was going to ask questions.

“I did,” he confirmed. “I wouldn’t have done it otherwise. I’m not the type to cross my fingers and just hope it will all work out. But I ignored all the red flags.”

“Red flags?”

Chuckling, Cooper shifted so that his back was against the couch, spreading his long legs out.

“Fiona’s family comes from money. I thought that meant we had something in common. Her old man is a lot like mine. Controlling, money-hungry, and kind of cold to his kids. I guess I thought we could bond over that. Turns out that wasn’t the case.”

“You didn’t have a lot in common?”

“We did to a certain extent. We both liked to travel, and experience new things. She didn’t mind roughing it either. She was happy to hike through jungles and sleep on the ground. Unfortunately, that’s where our commonalities ended. When we were done roughing it and back in the big cities, she wanted to go out and party all night. She liked drinking and dancing. She wanted to be with people every single minute of every single day and night. That was fine every once and a while, but I didn’t want to live like that for months on end. I wanted to get back on the road or just have a quiet night in.”

“Did you fight about it?”

“Loudly and often. The one thing I learned about Fiona was that she liked having her way. She didn’t spend much time thinking about other people. She and Tom have that in common. They take after their parents, so I guess they come by it honestly.”

“It sounds like a recipe for disaster. Peter was a lot like that, too. He had to have everything his way, right down to the color of our bath towels and the brand of toilet paper we used.”

“Eventually, it came down to that moment. You know the one…the so often talked about last straw.”

Cooper Winslow was so laidback Jane couldn’t imagine what his line in the sand would be.

Just what would make this man end a marriage?