leg was throbbing. He needed a shave and he had no doubt his eyes reflected his pain and his lack of sleep. Damn this stupid wheelchair and this stupid injury and everything else that suddenly made him feel like less of a man in her presence.
He hadn’t been with a woman in a long time, but he needed to get things in perspective. A single mom with ties to the community—any community—wasn’t for him. And the sooner he made that clear to himself, the better off he’d be.
Unfortunately, his voice came out a bit gruffer than he intended when he said, “You shouldn’t have met me at the airport.”
* * *
At that, Maxine stepped back and recrossed her arms, not sure what to do with her hands. “Well, it’s a little too late for that, now, isn’t it?” She’d driven all the way down the mountain to meet his flight and the man acted as if they were bothering him? What a tool.
A gorgeous, masculine tool with soft green eyes that made her heart bounce around like one of Hunter’s water balloons trapped inside her rib cage.
Even with him seated in the wheelchair, she could see the man was tall and well-built. But just because he was attractive didn’t mean she was any more at ease around him. In fact, that throbbing in her heart had her feeling all kinds of uncomfortable.
She’d already been on edge meeting this Gunny Cooper guy for the first time. And now, as he and Hunter were making a spectacle out of themselves in the middle of the baggage terminal, she didn’t know where to look or where to stand.
One traveler had pulled out a cell phone, probably thinking he was recording some soldier’s emotional homecoming, which meant there would be video footage of them on the internet within hours.
And what was with the “Call me Cooper” line? Could the guy be any more macho? Who went only by their last name? She understood military personnel and people who played team sports often went by their last names, but not in polite society.
Polite society? Geez, now she sounded like her former mother-in-law, Cessy. It was just that she wasn’t Cooper’s teammate or his squad leader.
Why was she already so damn frustrated, anyway? She wasn’t annoyed with him for being in town or even for not communicating with her about the whole transportation plan. She wasn’t even annoyed with him for having such broad shoulders or piercing eyes or hands that had made her own feel small and delicate.
Okay, so maybe that bugged her a little bit.
But hugging her son as if he were a loving father returned from the battle? Come on. Hunter was her child. She’d birthed him and raised him, and this testosterone-fueled stranger was acting as if he loved the boy more than she did.
“I just meant that I didn’t want to be a bother or inconvenience anyone,” he said as he reached up to ruffle Hunter’s curly head again.
How could she detest someone who looked at her son with such affection? Why couldn’t he have just said that in the first place instead of being so abrasive?
“Don’t be crazy,” Hunter said. “Of course I was going to be here to meet my best friend for the first time. I told my mom that I didn’t care if she grounded me or if I had to ride my bike all the way down the mountain, but I was going to be here when your plane landed. No matter what.”
“Sounds like your mom has her hands full with you, kiddo.” The man helped Hunter as the boy struggled to lift the weight of the Marine Corps–issued duffel bag.
Did he just imply that Maxine couldn’t handle her own child? Her eyes narrowed at the remark.
“Hunter, leave his bag alone. It’s way too heavy for you.” She didn’t want Hunter dropping the guy’s luggage and breaking something valuable. All she needed was a lawsuit.
“Oh, he’s a tough kid, Mom. He can do it.” Cooper smiled at Hunter. Wait. Had a grown man just called her Mom? Of all the patronizing insults! And was he purposely trying to override her authority with her own son? She’d hardly said anything at all to him. So why was the guy being so antagonistic?
Before Maxine could protest, Cooper began maneuvering his wheelchair himself as Hunter matched his wheeled pace toward the taxi stand, forcing her to trail behind, which probably suited Mr. Marine just fine. If he could’ve actually walked, he probably would’ve been leaping into a cab by now since he seemed so intent on getting away from her.
“Uh, hey guys,” she called out as her boot heels clicked on the floor as she jogged to catch up with them. “Where are you going? What’s the plan?”
Cooper used his hands to stop the wheels, then tried to execute some sort of turning maneuver, probably so he could face her. But he must not have been as experienced as he’d hoped because the brake handle caught midturn and it took him a few good thwacks to disengage it.
It served the show-off right.
“Well, I’m supposed to report to Shadowview by fifteen hundred hours so I can complete my admission paperwork. They said they’d send an ambulance to transport me, but I’m feeling fine so I think I’ll just hail a cab.”
The gray pallor of his skin was heightened by dark stubble along his jawline, and the man looked anything but robust. In fact, he looked as if he was in a world of pain. Of course, being the macho marine he clearly thought he was, he’d probably rather pass out or die before admitting it to her. She almost whipped out her phone to call for an ambulance right then and there, but her son’s words interrupted her.
“You don’t need to take a cab,” Hunter told him. “My mom’s car is super roomy. And since you can sit up just fine, you can ride with us. We’ll take you to the hospital. Besides, it’s on the way to Sugar Falls anyway.”
No, no, no. Please say no, she willed him.
The man who called himself by his last name finally got his chair turned around just then and squinted those green eyes at her, as if trying to decipher the workings of her innermost thoughts. He must have read her mind because he lifted the corner of his mouth in a smirk that seemed to issue a challenge, and replied, “You know what, Hunter, that’s a good point. I’d appreciate the lift.”
Seriously? There was no way Cooper could possibly believe hitching a ride up the winding mountain road with her and her chatterbox son would be a wise decision. It was pretty obvious that he didn’t like her, so why would he want to confine himself in a vehicle with her for the next thirty minutes? Unless, of course, he was accepting the invitation—which Hunter had no business offering—just to rattle her.
Maxine decided then and there that Cooper had to be the most contrary man she’d ever met. And the most attractive. But she’d never let him know that. And she’d be damned if she would let him think he was making her uncomfortable. Instead, she’d play the game his way. And she’d do it better.
Just in case he planned to stick around after his recovery—God forbid—then it was better to put him in his place now and let him know that she was calling the shots. It was petty and childish, for sure...but Gunny Heartthrob had started it.
She pulled the keys out of her purse and dangled them as she said, “Great, then it’s all settled. I hope you don’t mind women drivers.”
