Finding Faith (6 page)

Although he hadn’t officially staked his claim, there was no one else good enough for Faith but him. He dared a motherfucker to try and step in and claim the woman he was quickly coming to realize meant more to him than he thought.
 

“Oh, really,” she laughingly exclaimed. “That sounds ominous.”
 

“Nah, once you’re in the special circle of trust, you’ll never want to leave,” he said. By now, he was sitting in a chair and Madison had left the room, probably bored that the conversation wasn’t centered on her.
 

“Oh...is that right?”
 

“Trust me,” he said as he stood and walked over to the foyer and stood in front of the stairs. “We’ll be there at eleven-thirty. I have to run some errands first. It’s my in-laws anniversary next week and I need to pick up a gift for them.”
 

“Oh, do you need any help,” she asked.
 

Pleased by her willingness to lend a hand, he was tempted to accept her offer to come along, but decided against it. “No, but thanks. I feel close to Heather when I do stuff for her parents. I know she’s there with me, helping me to pick out what’s best. It feels good to still be able to have that connection with her. It helps me to not forget what we had.”
 

Not noticing the silence on the other end of the line as he began walking up the stairs to shower, get dressed, and leave the house, he continued, “Okay, so we’ll see you in a few, okay?”
 

“Um, sure Cooper. I’ll be here. Bye.”
 

Cooper was a smart man. But like every man, he sometimes failed to look beyond his own needs and feelings. All he knew was that he now desired his neighbor. More than that, he wanted her for his own. Selfish though it may be, considering he still slept with a picture of his late wife next to his bed.
 

That didn’t matter to him. All he cared about were his feelings right now. And what he felt was that it would be a cold day in hell before he gave her up without a fight.
 

However, what he failed to realize was that he wasn’t free to belong to anyone. At least not yet. Having no clue as to why Faith’s voice had dropped an octave and the happiness he heard just a few minutes ago was no longer there, he ended the call.
 

“Bye, sugar. See you later.”
 

Cooper took in the scene in front of him and couldn’t help but feel good. The three of them sat in Faith’s dining room a few weeks later, their dinner plates full of food cooked by Faith. For some reason, the woman had gotten it into her head that he and Madison needed to eat Brussels sprouts.
 

It had taken her weeks of pleading and convincing to get him to even agree that she could make them for dinner one night. His nose wrinkled up as he leaned over his plate and took a whiff. For such little things, the smell was horrible and it permeated throughout the entire house.
 

There had been no way in hell he would agree to her making them in his kitchen. Even now, he still wasn’t sure how she managed to get his agreement that he would even eat the things. But, after all was said and done, he had made a deal. If she cooked them in her own kitchen, in her own home, then he would at least give them a try.
 

After all of her arguments and research on the healthy impact of eating a variety of leafy, green vegetables—which she fully considered Brussels sprouts to be—he hadn’t the heart to tell her he abhorred the things. If given a choice, he would rather go to the ballet than eat the crunchy, almost deformed looking, miniature cabbages.
 

As a result, he was committed to suffering in silence because he hadn’t wanted to disappoint her. It was his own damn fault.
 

Smiling brightly, Faith had sat in front of him as he speared his first sprout and lifted the fork to his mouth. Looking over at Madison, he gave her a wink as the little girl giggled. Wearing a smug look of satisfaction on her face, she stared at him intently. He knew she was waiting to gauge his reaction. Faith’s eyes never wavered, but he noticed that she was biting and nibbling on her bottom lip. He exhaled deeply. Why had he never noticed how sexy it was when she did that?
 

She had even stopped eating her own meal as she waited. Watching him closely as he took his first bite and chewed slowly, she leaned forward, anticipating his response.
 

“You love them, right?” Her question came just as he was mid-chew. Beaming with pride the entire time, she began eating her own food while he forced himself to continue chewing and not spit the offending food from his mouth.
 

On the other hand, if the speed of her fork entering her mouth was any indication, Madison seemed to love the things. Unfortunately for him, he knew it was simply too late for his taste buds to change.
 

Chewing quickly, he tried to get it down his throat as fast as he could without actually tasting the vegetable. Forcing himself to swallow the entirety of the offending piece of food, he briefly closed his eyes as his stomach fought the urge to rebel in horror. Taking a quick drink, he tried not to look like a recalcitrant child as he answered, “They’re good. I’ve never really tasted any like yours before. You definitely have a unique touch.”
 

Hoping she hadn’t seen through him to recognize the lie that had passed his lips, he quickly moved on to eating his grilled pork chops as if they were the best thing created out of a kitchen since...well, anything ever.
 

“I knew you would like them,” she stated in triumph as she took another bite of her own food.
 

“I like them, Ms. Faith,” exclaimed Madison as she entered the conversation.
 

“I’m glad you do, sweetheart,” Faith responded as she held up her hand for Madison to give her a high five.
 

Watching the two of them in action, he would swear that his little girl would claim to love anything Faith gave to her. Her growing affection for their lovely neighbor made him smile. He could also completely understand it, since he felt a growing affection for her as well. And day by day, it was becoming harder to ignore.
 

 

Opening the door at the sound of the doorbell, Faith admired the sight in front of her. Dressed casually in light brown shorts and a blue shirt, Cooper looked completely different than he did during the week. Faith liked what she saw.
 

“Hey, you two! I’m almost ready,” she said as she picked up her purse and a large blanket that she used for sitting on the grass.
 

“Come on, Faith! This is going to be so much fun!” Madison was giddy with excitement.
 

They were headed to the National Mall in the heart of Washington, DC. Today there was a huge kite event and they were joining the fun. People from all over would come and fly huge, colorful, and intricate kites all day long. It was a sight to see and Faith had been to the event a few times. Today was the first time she would see it through the eyes of a child.
 

“Alright, I’m ready!” Locking the door behind her, they all packed into Cooper’s truck and made their way into the city.
 

It was hard for the two of them to get a word in edgewise over the chatter of Madison’s voice. “I want to fly a big kite and then I want to run really fast and it’s gonna fly in the sky really high.” Her voice carried throughout the vehicle.
 

“Thanks for inviting us today,” Cooper glanced over at Faith briefly. Reaching out for her hand, he gave a squeeze.
 

Looking at their joined hands, her heart skipped a beat and her stomach started to flutter with nervousness and a bit of anticipation. Tempted to hold on to his hand a little longer, to maintain their connection, she placed her other hand on top of his.
 

“You’re welcome, Cooper. I think you two will have a great time.” Glancing back at Madison who had fallen silent for all of three minutes, “Madison will love it. It’s very exciting, even for me. I can only imagine what she’ll think.”
 

Coming to a turn, Cooper glanced down and smiled at their hands. Feeling a slight pull of his hand, she released him and placed her hands on her legs. Although she was tempted to be
embarrassed, she quelled the feeling. For all he knew, it was a friendly overture. How would he know that even a brief connection, whether it was grabbing the other’s hands, or a kiss on the cheek or forehead as they parted, drew her even closer to him
 

“Park over there by the World War II Memorial. The walk will do us good,” she told him, pointing in the direction of the memorial site.
 

“I don’t come into D.C. very often anymore. Heather and I used to come here for dinner quite often, or to the theatre,” Cooper said with ease.
 

She wasn’t even sure if he realized how casually he spoke about his wife in her presence. Noting that he did this quite often, she held her tongue, not quite knowing how to respond to what he said. A few minutes of silence filled the vehicle as he found a parking spot and parallel parked.
 

As soon as the vehicle stopped and the engine was turned off Madison began chatting away, “Faith, will the kites be really big?” In her excitement, Madison was unbuckling herself from her car seat without waiting for one of them to help.
 

“Hold on, princess. Let your dad help you. This is a very busy area,” she cautioned the little girl. All she needed was for something to happen on the one day that Cooper had agreed to spend the day outside of their neighborhood.
 

For the past few months, as they got settled into their new home, Cooper and Madison had been getting to know Faith. And Faith had been falling in love with Cooper. She had known it for weeks now, maybe even the last two months. Refusing to admit how she felt, she tried her best to keep her feelings hidden.
 

“Hey, Faith, are you ready?” His deep voice echoed throughout the vehicle. She was still sitting in her seat, buckled in, while they were both outside of the car. Cooper’s light blue eyes gave her a questioning look as he noticed that she had not moved.
 

Figuring that she would take advantage of the day given to her, she put a smile on her face and got out of the truck. Today was not a day to focus on the ‘what ifs’ and dissect her feelings for the sexy single father. It was all about fun, food, and flying kites today.
 

“I know the perfect spot for our picnic,” she announced.
 

Madison let go of her father’s hand and grabbed onto hers, “Faith, can I walk with you? Daddy has his hands full with our stuff.”
 

Glancing over her shoulder, she noticed that Cooper did indeed have his hands full. Blanket, picnic basket full of food that he had prepared for them, a brand new kite for them to open, and a big goofy smile on his face to complete the picture.
 

“Are you sure you can handle all that,” she laughingly asked.
 

Shrugging his shoulders, he looked at the stuff around him. “Of course, I can. Do you know, when I was in the Army, I could pack eighty pounds of gear into rucksack the size of Madison’s book bag? This is nothing,” he noted with a smirk. He turned on his heel and started walking toward the intersection in the direction of the Washington Monument.
 

“Okay, okay, Mr. I Can Pack Anything into a Thimble.” Looking down at Madison, she laughed out loud when the little girl starting shaking her head.
 

“Daddy, you always say that!”
 

Yup, she was one smart, sassy little girl. Faith loved it!
 

 

“Wow, I am worn out,” Faith flopped down on Cooper’s couch and laid her head on the back.