It's In His Heart (A Red River Valley Novel) (25 page)

C
hapte
r
T
wenty-
F
ive

Coop couldn’t find enough time with Ella around to actually get out his e-reader and learn to use it. He’d charged it at Joe’s last week, but that was about it. He certainly didn’t want anyone there to know he’d bought erotic romance novels. If even one person found out, the entire county would know within the hour, and Coop would never live it down.

Finally, when Ella left with the girls to drive to Santa Fe and insisted she didn’t need him to buy a car, he had the cabin to himself. He got out the device and turned it on. A colorful screen popped up, and then he was stuck. He touched the screen over a few icons, but nothing happened. Coop still didn’t understand what was wrong with a real book, but whatever. Technology. Go figure.

He read a few of the directions, always a struggle with his dyslexia, but it seemed fairly self-explanatory, and before he knew it, Violet Vixen’s books were downloaded and ready to go.

And holy hell, Violet Vixen had some imagination. Nothing prepared him for the wordy aphrodisiac that jumped all over him. On every. Single. Page. Hence, the term “erotic romance.”

Wow. You learn something new every day.

Now he understood the female craze over these books. Men had been viewing similar material in one form or another for generations. A few Super Bowl commercials had been so provocative they had shocked Coop in the past, all geared toward men. So why should women live by a different standard?

Something bit at Coop’s conscience. Hadn’t Ella said that very thing at Joe’s not too long ago? But she also said she didn’t read the books, so how would she know? Why would she even have an opinion on the matter?

Probably just an educated observation, because Ella was very well educated and wicked smart. Way too smart to read erotic romance novels. She probably read encyclopedias just for the fun of it.

He skimmed through several more chapters, steam virtually rising off each page. Seriously? He wondered if Ms. Vixen was married, and if so, how did her husband handle all this? It would have to affect his career negatively. How could he not be embarrassed at work? Maybe that’s why she kept her true identity a tightly guarded secret. He’d searched the net for a picture or some sort of hint as to who she was, but couldn’t find anything.

Why he was so interested, he wasn’t exactly sure. He just had a gut feeling that kept prodding him on.

Coop looked at his watch. He still had several hours, but with his dyslexia, reading was a slow, painful process, so he started to skip over sections of the book. He wanted to finish before Ella got back, because he may not have much time alone once she returned. Three books was a lot of reading to get through in a few hours, especially for him.

He’d promised her he’d meet her at Joe’s for dinner when she pulled into town with her new set of wheels, so he needed to get busy.

Ella called Lorenda’s cell number. “Hey, I’ve got a brand-spanking-new Xterra. Have car, can travel. Where are you guys?”

“We’re still standing in line at the bookstore,” Lorenda huffed. “I swear, I’m buying these three e-readers for Christmas. I’ve already downloaded my copy of
Rio Grande Romp
, and I’m reading it as we speak. Well, not really, because I can’t read and speak at the same time, but you know what I mean. Sheesh, these crazy women are making me crazy, too. Hold on.” Lorenda said something stern to Brianna and Miranda, then got back on the phone.

“Sorry, our so-called friends are trying to wrench my reader away, and I almost had to fight them for it. They’re lucky I’m not a violent person. Now they’re insisting we read it out loud on the way home, so Donna can drive and still hear the story.”

Ella laughed. “I’ll come suffer along with you, Lor.” It’d be interesting to see the crowd in action and eavesdrop on some of the conversations anyway.

Lorenda gasped. “Oh, my God, a catfight just broke out toward the front of the line.”

“It’s getting violent over there?” Ella asked, a little alarmed, because really, this was sort of her doing.

“Yeah. If the bookstore runs out of print copies, they may have to call out the SWAT team. One rather unstable-looking lady threatened to take hostages.”

“Oh, my,” Ella murmured into the phone.

“Seriously, get over here with your Taser. We might need it.” Lorenda laughed. “I’m thinking of using it on my own friends if this goes on much longer. I’ve never seen women act so insane. Except the day after Thanksgiving, when large-screen TVs are on sale. And wrapping paper.”

Ella laughed. “You’re right. My mom and grandma get vicious when gift wrap and bows go on sale. I’ve seen them throw down with other women half their ages over half-price gift bags.”

“Oh, a security team and Channel Twelve News just arrived,” said Lorenda. “Now it’s a party.”

Ella’s anxiety level spiked. “Tell you what. I’ll make a coffee run for all of us.”

“Throw a little bourbon in mine. I need it,” Lorenda joked.

“Be there in twenty. And when we get back to Red River, dinner at Joe’s is on me.”

It was the least she could do, because the frenzy going on at every bookstore across the country and the exponential downloads that had already occurred around the world equated to dollar signs for Ella. Unbelievable. Who would’ve thought it? Definitely not her. She was really just goofing around when she opened a blank document and started typing in the first story. She’d just been trying to fill the lonely hours of boredom and trying to get her mind off the lovely man who wasted away in the bed she was sitting next to. The first two books had been her fantasy of Bradley miraculously recovering, and what she’d do with him if he did.

The end of the third book was based on the spark of a new relationship she had imagined
if
she and Coop ever slept together, which they hadn’t at the time. The lead characters in both books stayed the same; it was just Ella’s muse that changed. The excerpt for the fourth book that was included at the end of book three was her real-life fantasy come true with Cooper Wells; she’d just changed the setting. Instead of their cozy cabin in Red River, the lead characters had multiple encounters in a doctor’s office. Her book’s heroine was an uptight high school librarian who visited a chiropractor for headaches. What transpired in his office would make Hugh Hefner blush. That’s what women seemed to find so exhilarating about the story—the naughtiness of getting it on in an exam room with other patients waiting.

Guilt washed over her.

It had made for a great teaser. It was so good, so sexy, so intimate that women would be foaming at the mouth like rabid dogs for the fourth book
,
High Country Heat,
to be released. But it had been a risk. If Coop ever read it, he’d know she was Violet Vixen. He’d have to know because there was no doubt whatsoever about the physical details of the first time they made love. Especially since she mentioned the hero’s sexy birthmark located in the most intimate of spots—a distinctly shaped birthmark that the heroine loved to explore up close and personal. If that ever got out, it could hurt his case and his already-damaged reputation.

It wouldn’t get out, though. How could it? They hadn’t even told anyone that they were sleeping together yet. Oh, some of their close friends and Butch had guessed. It was hard to miss; the way they looked at each other, their body language screamed “We’re getting it on all the time, every chance we get.” So far, they’d all tiptoed around it, probably guessing that Ella and Coop themselves weren’t even sure where it might lead.

So the only other person on earth who knew the steamy details of their incredible sexcapades was Coop, and he didn’t read erotic romance novels. From what she could tell, Coop didn’t read much at all. A fact she frowned on, until she found out about his dyslexia.

Ella thanked the salesman who had just made a sizeable commission off her, got into her new, paid-for-in-cash four-wheel drive, and headed to the nearest coffee shop.

Life was good.

So why did she feel like a hornet’s nest had just been shaken up inside her stomach?

C
hapte
r
T
wenty
-
S
ix

Ella tried the landline again, but Coop still didn’t pick up. Strange. She told him she’d call when she was on her way with a more accurate ETA. He said he’d keep the handset at the cabin with him, or she could reach him on his cell if he was already in town, but both went straight to voice mail.

Well, Coop wasn’t the greatest at checking messages.

Still. An uncomfortable feeling jabbed at her insides.

Butch and Orland sat at the bar, Dylan working the evening shift. They hadn’t seen or heard from Coop either.

Andy and Hank had joined them, and they all gathered around a table, the ladies discussing the first two chapters of
Rio Grande Romp
that they had read out loud on the way back to Red River.

“Told you they’d get back together,” Miranda said with a smug laugh.

“They’re not exactly back together. They had sex again, but they’re not back together,” said Brianna.

“They did it in his office on the exam table, with a room full of patients sitting in the waiting room. I’d call that back together,” huffed Miranda.

“I’d call it malpractice,” Hank said. “What kind of doctor would do something like that to one of his patients when he was just supposed to be adjusting her spine?”

Donna snorted. “I’d say he adjusted her, all right. In several places.”

Hank rolled his eyes. “I still don’t understand why you ladies read that trash. Seriously, if a doctor did that kind of thing in real life, he’d lose his license. Maybe even go to jail.”

Ella’s stomach did a flip.
Oh, my God.
What had she done?

The front door of Joe’s slammed open, and Coop stormed toward them.

Ella froze.

His look of thunder and anger and hatred was directed solely at her, and she knew. She just knew. A deep, jagged pain crawled from her stomach up into her chest and crushed her heart into dust before Coop could even speak the first word. He didn’t have to, because she had already guessed what he was going to say.

“How could you?” Coop stopped short in front of their table, glaring at her as if she were the only person in the cavernous room.

The entire place went quiet, and all heads turned in their direction. The world melted away, and it was just Ella and Coop and his awful stare of contempt. He was so indignant, so scornful, so obviously betrayed, that he wasn’t using his head. His emotions had taken over, and his stare was a little crazed.

“It’s you. You’re Violet Vixen. And you didn’t have the decency to tell me.”

Every woman at the table gasped except Ella. Probably out of disbelief that Coop could accuse her of something so ridiculous, at least in their minds.

“Coop . . .” Ella stood slowly, cautiously.

“You used me for material for your ridiculous books. You knew what it could do to my case, and you did it anyway.”

Ross stood. “Back down, buddy. I think you’re out of line.” Ross’s entire countenance bowed, his fist contracted like he might coldcock Coop.

“Ross, it’s okay,” Ella said without taking her eyes off Coop. Coop needed to blow off some steam, get it off his chest, and she didn’t blame him. But this wasn’t the place, and he’d already said too much.

“Why don’t we go outside, Coop?” Ella asked, her voice cautious.

Coop’s brow wrinkled. “I’m not going anywhere with you.”

“Ella’s not Violet Vixen.” Donna blew out a blustery breath. “What’s wrong with you, Coop?”

“Ask her yourself,” he challenged Donna without his eyes leaving Ella.

All eyes turned toward her.

“It’s true.” She looked at Coop. “Not the part about me using you, but the part about me being Violet Vixen.”

Gasps rounded the table again, and murmurs rippled through Joe’s like a human wave at a major league baseball game.

“
You’re
Violet Vixen?” Lorenda said, clearly in shock.

“That’s so awesome. My friend is Violet Vixen,” said Brianna, more in awe than anything else.

Miranda whistled. “You really are one bad-ass chick.”

Ella raised a hand to hold her friends at bay. Now wasn’t the time to deal with them and their onslaught of questions. Her first priority, her first concern, was Coop.

“Coop, no one knew.” She tried to find words, but they all seemed shallow. His life, his future, his career was hanging in the balance, and she’d just given incriminating intel to the enemy camp that could send him away for a long time for a crime he didn’t commit.

The erotic scenes in her book had flowed onto the page after the first seductive dance they’d shared at Joe’s. Why had she done it? She’d known it was dangerous, but sex with Coop had been so good. He’d coaxed her out of her shell and made her feel so sensual. She’d acted out a few of her fantasies with him, and tried to live a little dangerously for once in her life.

Her boring and predictable life.

“No one knew? That’s all you have to say for yourself? What about my birthmark, Ella? And the mole under my eye? Every woman I’ve been with will know it’s me once they read that excerpt. Didn’t you think of that?”

“No one knew until
now
,” Hank murmured, crossing his arms over his chest. “And it seems to me that that’s on you, Coop. I’m not fond of those books, but you’re the one that just announced it to the world.”

Coop looked like he wanted to slug someone. Anyone. The muscle in his jaw clenched and released in cadence. “At the post office you said you didn’t want to be at the mercy of others, but you sure as hell don’t mind me being at yours, do you?”

“No! No, that’s not what I meant.” Ella took a step toward him, but he backed away. “I, I . . . you don’t like needy women, and I didn’t want to chase you away. I didn’t want it to end.” Her voice was an urgent whisper.

“You couldn’t come up with more original material on your own? You had to use me as your sex toy to find new material to write about, since Bradley’s dead?”

That hurt. A small cry caught in Ella’s throat. “Coop, I never did any of those things. Not with anyone but you.”

“Is that why you came to Red River to begin with? To get me to fuck you so you could finish your damn books and make a fortune at my expense?”

Ella’s eyes filled with tears, and all the air rushed from her lungs. “I’m sorry—” She choked on a strangled cry. “I didn’t think anyone would find out.”

“I think that’s just about enough,” Ross said.

Butch walked over to the table. “What’s going on here?”

“Wait.” Donna was still trying to catch up. “You two are sleeping together?”

Lorenda rolled her eyes. “What planet are you on, Donna?”

Coop’s expression turned to repugnance as his eyes stayed locked on to Ella. “Not anymore.” Then he turned to Ross. “She’s all yours, pal. Maybe you can be her muse for book four. She really likes it on the kitchen table.”

Ross took a step toward him, but Butch got between them. He looked at Coop with a deadly stare. “What’s this all about, son?”

Coop looked around the table. Every person there wore a horrified expression.

“Nothing, Dad. I’m done here, done with everyone.” Cooper Wells turned on his heel and strode out the front door, leaving an ocean of gaping mouths and one heartbroken bestselling author in his wake.

A week later, Ella packed up a few more of her things. She’d allowed herself to get so comfortable at the cabin that her belongings were tucked in drawers and on shelves throughout the place. But most of her things had migrated into Coop’s bedroom.

She sighed and ran a hand over the soft, rumpled quilt on his bed. The one she’d grown so fond of sleeping under while wrapped around him like bark on a tree. She couldn’t remember when his messy habits had stopped annoying her and gave her a sense of comfort and belonging instead. Their clothes, their belongings, had mingled and mixed until they blurred together. His and hers had become theirs.

It would take some effort to sort through every room and gather up her things, so she started in Coop’s bedroom. Maybe it would be easier if she finished with that room first, the room where they’d made so many good memories together. She boxed up everything of hers that she could find, took one last look at the bed they’d so easily and comfortably shared, and closed the door behind her.

In her room, she got down on her hands and knees to search under the bed, just to make sure she didn’t overlook any of her possessions. Until a week ago, she hadn’t slept in there for a while, not since Coop had insisted she move into his room and share his bed every night. There was something under the bed, but she couldn’t see what it was, exactly.

She went looking for something long and slender that could reach that far up under the bed. In the hall closet, she found Coop’s baseball bat and returned to her room to fish out whatever was there. When it finally caught on the end of the bat and she was able to pull it out, she sat back on her feet and choked back fresh tears.

In one hand she held the bat that Coop had used to defend himself the night she arrived. In the other, she clutched the shoe he’d dug out of the muddy ditch she’d gotten stuck in that first night. It was clean now, and she tossed it into a suitcase.

She wandered down the hall and returned the bat to its home in the closet.

Coop hadn’t come back to the cabin since that day at Joe’s. Instead, he sent Cal to pack a few clothes for him. Cal tried to make excuses for his older brother, but Ella told him it was okay. She was fine. Cal left with an apology.

The worst part was Winston. Okay, maybe not the worst,
worst
part, but Winston had been a slobbering sad sack since Coop left and took Atlas with him
. I guess Coop was tired of both him and his dog being sex objects.

Ella found Winston moping in a corner on top of Atlas’s favorite squeaky toy. She bent down to scratch him behind the ears. “I know how you feel, buddy.” Winston gave a pathetic whine. “You’ll just have to find another companion. Maybe a cute Great Dane next time.” She chuckled, but Winston just stared wistfully at the wall.

A knock sounded at the door, and Ella left the packing for later.

“Hi.” She let Lorenda in. “What’s up?”

“I was elected to see how our favorite author is doing,” Lorenda said.

Ella’s brow arched.

“Okay, I told the other gals to stay away. They’re not exactly the most tactful bunch of ladies I’ve ever known, and I didn’t want you to get upset.”

Ella’s brow rose higher.

“Okay,
more
upset. They’re really worried about you, and they sent comfort food.” She held up a sack from the Red River Market and unloaded two pints of Blue Bell on the counter, along with plastic spoons and napkins.

“What flavor do you want?” asked Lorenda.

“Cookies ’n Cream. Is there any other?”

Lorenda took the lids off, shoved a spoon in each one, and handed Ella a container. “Cheers.” They bumped pints.

“I’m doing fine. Really.”
So not doing fine.
“Do you know how Coop’s doing? He won’t answer my calls.”

“He’s kept a low profile. Miranda’s seen him at work, of course, but everybody’s giving him a wide berth. He’s not saying much. He mostly just stews quietly.”

Ella sighed. “Well, I’m almost done packing, so I can leave any day now.” Ella scooped a chunk of ice cream into her mouth and talked with her mouth full. What the heck? She was guilty of much worse than talking with her mouth full and wallowing in self-pity.

“You sure you have to go?” Lorenda asked. “I mean, maybe you should stay until you and Coop can settle things.”

Ella shrugged. “In case you didn’t notice at Joe’s, Coop settled things right there.”

“He’s just angry because he cares about you. People lash out when they’re hurt. Maybe he’ll listen when he cools down.”

Ella shook her head. “I don’t think so. I mean, can you blame him? I’ve probably ruined his life.”

“People make mistakes, Ella. He’s certainly made his, and you didn’t hold it against him.”

No. No, she didn’t, and she could have.
But still . . .

Lorenda shrugged, snagging another bite of ice cream. “Well, he didn’t seem to mind all the great sex until he read it in print.”