Wandering Heart (19 page)

There was a
long silence. A silence Angela hated. Why didn't he say something
about last night? Why didn't he just come out with it? It was a
mistake, and he was sorry. Didn't he think she could take it?

"Have you ever
seen a sunset like this?" he finally asked his voice low and
husky.

"A what?" she
murmured distractedly.

"A sunset." He
smiled gently, reaching for her hand and pulling her toward him. He
obviously wanted to share this moment with her. He was simply
taking the time out of a busy day to enjoy God's miracles. "This
must be one of the most beautiful places on earth."

Angela sighed,
noting the leaves beginning to grow on the trees once more, and
knowing spring was, at long last, here.

His closeness
shocked her senses. One minute he was saying he'd call Maxine, the
next he was pulling her close. Her nostrils filled with the sweet
earthiness of him. Her fingers tingled where he touched her hand.
Why did her body seem to come alive when he was near?

"Uncle Henry
and I used to sit out here in the summers, watching the sun set,
feeling the calm that settles over a place as night draws near.
We'd listen to the mockingbirds, and the constant trill of
crickets. And, every now and then, he'd get his guitar out and we'd
sing together. Josh really loved that."

Cooper glanced
down at her, and squeezed her closer. "He was a nice man, your
uncle. And you and Josh needed family, and Henry gave you that. I'm
glad."

This wasn't
what she wanted to talk about. It only brought up old memories that
hurt and she didn't want to hurt anymore. "What about you? You're
one to talk."

Cooper nodded.
"I know. That's why I went to Kerens today. We paid a visit to see
my mom and Brag."

"Really?" She
pulled out of his arms, and looked him straight in the eyes.
"That's great. Tell me about it. I mean, if you want to. Was it a
good visit?"

He chuckled, a
melodious sound to her ears. A sound she would never tire of. "It
was good." He paused, and then looked at her again. "They thought
Josh was mine."

Angela
reddened.

"I told them
all about you."

"Oh?"

"They really
liked Josh. Said he was so well mannered. Naturally, Josh sat there
and ate it all up. What a little ham. He opened right up to them. I
could tell Mom was crazy about him."

If only.

"So, did they
want you to move back home?"

"It wasn't
mentioned. A little late for that, I'd say. But at least we can all
talk now."

"I'm glad for
you, Coop."

"Yeah, me,
too." Then without warning, he pulled her gently against him, and
kissed her. It was the kind of kiss that stole the heart of a
woman, soft and warm, and searching.

And when he
lifted his head, he smiled; a finger dotted her nose. "I better get
some sleep if you want me to do an honest day's work tomorrow." He
winked, and headed for the bungalow.

CHAPTER
SIXTEEN

It was hectic
at the office, more so than Angela had bargained for. Greg was
preparing for his tour and the workload seemed to double. Night
work had increased instead of decreased. Angela put in more long
hours than she expected, but felt assured that the next week would
be better.

She came home
so late that Cooper and Josh had eaten and left her a plate in the
microwave. What had she expected? She told Cooper she wouldn't be
working late anymore, and here she was coming in after nine. But on
Wednesday, Maxine really caught her attention.

"I've just got
to show you what I bought for my date with Coop Friday night."

She bought a
new dress. Maxine spared no expense. Obviously she had every
intention of bedding Cooper Johnson. And she was making no bones
about it. The dress was gorgeously sinful.

Angela felt
something very ugly take hold of her. In all her years she had
never been jealous of another woman until now. And why not? She was
going to be thirty tomorrow and no one had remembered. Not even
Josh. Now this!

All day that
beautiful red dress, with no shoulders, and hardly any skirt to it,
clung to Angela's mind. She could just picture Maxine in it, and
Cooper's reaction. She couldn't blame Cooper. He was a man.

On Thursday she
woke with a start. Her night had been plagued by her dream lover
who had suddenly come to life. She got up early, made a beautiful
breakfast, and dressed in her nicest suit. No one seemed to notice
anything. Not even her son!

There were no
"Happy Birthday" wishes. That's all she expected, but they weren't
there. Everyone had forgotten her thirtieth birthday. It was bad
enough turning thirty, but, to have no one notice, hurt.

"Isn't that
your best suit, mom?"

"Yes, it is."
She smiled, satisfied that at least Josh noticed that.

"Why are you
wearing it today? Don't you usually save it for special days?"

Angela reddened
as Cooper and Josh stared innocently up at her from the breakfast
table. Grabbing her briefcase, she became flustered. "I just felt
like wearing it, okay? I've got to go. Cooper, could you run Josh
to school? I'm late already."

"Sure. But I
thought I heard you up early this morning."

"Yes, well, I
must have wasted time somewhere."

All day long
she was in a tiff. No one had remembered her birthday. Not that she
expected a lot of attention, but until at least Josh usually
remembered. She couldn't blurt out that today was her birthday and
she needed to feel good about it. Things just weren't going
well.

At the office,
Greg seemed ticked off about something. He was running all over the
place, muttering under his breath, snapping at her. And Maxine was
the worst of them all. All she could talk about was her fantastic
plans to get Cooper in her bed. Dear God, the woman wouldn't shut
up. The entire office knew about her ploy.

At lunch came
the clincher. She ordered a hamburger, like everyone else at the
luncheon with Senator Gallagher's table. It was loaded with
mustard, and with the first bite she spilled it on her suit.
Embarrassed to the limit, she excused herself. Maxine came to her
aid, but it didn't help.

"I'm going
home," Angela retorted almost angrily.

"Home? But what
about the luncheon? What do I tell Greg?"

"Tell him? Tell
him nothing. I'm going home. Today is my birthday, and not one soul
remembered. And that's okay, but I'm going home, understand? I'm
taking the rest of the day off."

What a shrew
she had become. This wasn't like her. She didn't recognize herself.
So she was a shrew; she was entitled sometimes. And this was that
'sometime' for her.

She tried to
calm down. She didn't know what was happening to her. Turning
thirty shouldn't do this to anyone. So, what was so bad about
thirty? Old maid! That was it!

She glanced in
the truck mirror, aware of the tiny lines that had formed about her
eyes and mouth. Though her skin was until smooth and creamy, she
couldn't hide the fact that she was getting older. She felt life
was passing her by and worse until, she would someday be alone.

Maybe if she
took in a movie she'd feel better. But movies no longer pacified
her. She needed to
do
something, anything but the usual
today. So, she went shopping. It had been a long while since she'd
been shopping, and she indulged herself in a whim over a pretty
little dress that seemed to beckon her from the store window. She
didn't stop there; she needed shoes. She bought two pair and a
handbag to match. She wore the dress. After all, her suit was dirty
she decided with not one shred of guilt. And it was her birthday.
With packages in hand, she decided to go home, it was getting late.
She practically flew into the yard, scattering gravel all over. She
never did that, but it felt good to let her hair down a little. No
one rushed out to see what was wrong. Not one soul. Nothing moved.
The air seemed stagnant.

She shrugged.
No one was home obviously. At least she could have a nice warm bath
and maybe even a nap before she had to face anyone. Right now, she
didn't want to face anyone. She was ashamed, and aggravated, that
something had got the best of her.

She opened the
screen door and slammed it behind her. She tossed her purse and
keys on the couch and was about to go into the kitchen to get a
drink of water when a crowd of people literally jumped out at
her.

"Surprise!
Happy Birthday!"

Oh Dear God, it
was a surprise birthday party, and after she had acted so ugly to
everyone. Her face suddenly reddened, her eyes filled with tears
and she ran, crying, to her bedroom, slamming the door behind her.
She heard the concerned voices, and then a soft knock at her
door.

Burying her
face in her hands, she sat on the edge of her bed and cried out,
"Go away, please."

"Not on your
life." Cooper's low voice seemed to fill the room as he came and
kneeled down in front of her, taking her hands in his. "Hey," he
said gently. "I didn't think a party would upset you so. You can
blame me. It was my idea. When Josh told me today was your
birthday, I insisted we do something big. I never dreamed it would
upset you. Hey, relax, I'll send everyone home."

Buried in
self-pity, Angela raised her head and looked at him with disbelief.
"Don't you dare send anyone home."

He half smiled,
half frowned. "No?"

"It's just that
I've never had a party before, and I certainly wasn't expecting
this one."

He frowned.
"You've never had a party before?"

"Well, not in a
very, very long time," she corrected, drying her eyes with the back
of her hand, like a child.

He smiled,
tipped her chin, and kissed her nose. "Then you're way overdue. Now
come on. Put on that famous smile, and let's go party. And by the
way, I like the dress."

He was
irresistible when he smiled, and his kiss did more than he could
know.

Josh was at the
door. "Is she coming?"

"Yes, honey,
I'm coming."

As she
re entered the room, everyone shouted again, and she let out a
nervous little laugh, greeting everyone with surprise and hugs.

Old,
frog-throated Ramsey came up to her and hugged her. "Now, you don't
really think we could let you turn thirty and not celebrate, do
you? This is an occasion that only comes once in everyone's life
and has to be acknowledged."

Angela
chuckled. "I guess. Although it's hard to realize anything good
about turning thirty."

Pat came up to
her and hugged her. "Frankly, I wanted to tell you, but they made
me promise. After all, a girl turning thirty is kinda private."

Angela laughed.
Maybe turning thirty wasn't so bad, when there were good friends to
celebrate with. The party was a complete success thanks to Cooper
and Josh. Greg and Maxine showed up about an hour later, bearing
gifts and champagne.

Someone brought
a fiddle and a harmonica, and music really livened things up. Cake
and ice cream were passed around, and Angela was asked to
dance by every man there.

Every man
except Cooper.

Perhaps he
thought better of it. After all, he worked for her and he was
obviously trying to keep things straight between them. He hadn't
offered her a declaration of love. He hadn't even mentioned the
other night. It was as if it had never happened. Maybe it was best
left that way.

Mid way
through the party everyone showered her with gifts. She opened them
one by one, giving each and every person a big hug or kiss, except
Cooper. He hadn't given her a gift. And yet, he had. He had thrown
the party. That was his gift.

Josh hugged
her. "This isn't much, but it's from the heart, Mom."

She grabbed her
son to her, and opened the small package. It was a handmade pair of
earrings, made of leather and shining tumbled rocks. The stones
were bright golden brown, and dangled from the leather.

"Did you make
this?" she asked in total surprise.

"Y…yes."

"It's
beautiful, Josh. I love it. I never dreamed you could do something
like this when I bought that rock tumbler for you." She grabbed him
and kissed him on the cheek.

He reddened.
"Cooper showed me how. We made it the night he told you we were
dissecting frogs. We dissected frogs the next night. I knew you'd
get all mushy."

Everyone
laughed.

After everyone
left, she picked up the dishes in the living room and carried them
into the kitchen. Cooper came to stand in front of her, pulling her
away from her task. "We'll have none of that, young lady," he
scolded.

"But I've got
to clean up the mess," she protested.

"Oh, no, you
don't. Josh and I will take care of it. You go sit on the porch and
enjoy the sunset." He put his finger on her lips when she started
to protest. "Go."

She chuckled
and obeyed. What had started out as a miserable day had become one
she would never forget. All thanks to one man—Cooper.

She listened
happily as Cooper and Josh carried on a light bantering in the
kitchen. Suddenly, her house felt so much like a home. She loved
the feeling. But how long would it continue? There was only one
problem concerning her tonight. What would happen if Josh got too
close to Cooper, and Cooper left? She was an adult; she would
manage somehow, but Josh?

She was half
asleep when Cooper came out to join her on the porch.

"Didn't mean to
wake you," he said as she straightened herself in the swing.

"I didn't mean
to fall asleep," she said with a chuckle, and straightened her
hair. "I took your advice and watched the sunset, and before I knew
it, I was gone. This was very nice of you, Coop. The party, I
mean."

He smiled. Her
toes curled. Partner came over and laid down at her feet. She took
her shoes off and rubbed his back with her foot. Partner grunted
and relaxed, spoiled to an affectionate rub.