Chapter Six

Cooper

"Should we wake them up?" I glance toward Iris and grin. Bryan and Shanna have been passed out for the past two hours and they show no signs of waking. Can't say I blame them, though. I feel bad they aren't going to get much of a romantic getaway. Even with the drama, I'm still jealous of Bryan. He has what I've wanted for so long. A wife, kids, a family… a life.

"I guess we're going to just let them sleep. The girls are already down so now all we have to do is keep an eye on them." Iris closes the door gently and we tiptoe down the stairs and back into the main living room.

Large picture windows frame the main space. They look out onto the lake and a distant mountain range. A sectional sofa sits in the center of the room with a large TV mounted above the fireplace on the wall.

A few hours have passed since we had our fun earlier and I'm not sure where we're at. I know where I am, but Iris has been quiet since our escapade, and I'm worried she's having second thoughts.

"So," I say, sitting on the couch, "what can I interest you in? We could watch some TV or I think there are some games in the closet. It's been a while since I've played Monopoly, but I bet I can still give you a run for your money."

She laughs. "Yeah, the last time I played Monopoly with you was zero fun. You played to the death and owned every piece of property on the board."

"That's the point." I grin as I say, "I like to win."

"Is it? I thought the point was to have fun." She wraps her hair to one side of her shoulder and settles onto the couch next to me, leaving distance between us. "Maybe we should talk."

I swallow hard. Talking means serious discussions and I'm not ready for that just yet. I'm stuck on making bad decisions and asking for forgiveness later. "What about?"

She shrugs. "I don't know. Is it weird that Alaina just left? I feel kind of bad for her. Maybe we should've taken her to the station."

"You hated her a few hours ago."

"That was before. Now I feel bad."

"She was super rude to everyone. Even Bryan and Shanna got sick of her. I don't feel bad, and you shouldn't either."

Iris looks away then back again. "Do you date a lot?"

"Not at all. Haven't in years. You?"

She shakes her head. "Not really. No one seriously since high school. I'm pretty sure that makes me a giant loser."

"You're not a loser." I scruff my hand down over my beard. "I wonder if we're doing this all backwards."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I think we're supposed to talk like this before I finger you on the kitchen counter."

A grin spreads onto her face. "Is that right? What else are you supposed to do beforehand?"

"Ugh, I think we're supposed to discuss the future."

"You know my future. I'm opening the shop and praying it works out."

"I know you want the shop, but what do you want with life?"

"You mean like a family?"

I nod.

She sighs. "I know I want kids. At least a couple… maybe three. Oh, and a cabin. I've always wanted a cabin that overlooks The Evergreen Family Tree Farm."

"Oh yeah? That place is gorgeous, but you want to overlook a tree farm?"

"Oh my God… yes! Can you imagine sitting out on a big wrap-around porch come December looking down at all the snowy trees with our kids playing in the house behind us? Kids, I mean my kids. Just kids… not ours. Whatever! You know what I mean."

"You don't want that with me?"

She sighs. "You know I do, but I don't know how to make it happen."

"We rip the Band-Aid off and we go about our lives."

"Really, though?" She huffs. "Bryan would never forgive you and then what? I was talking to Collette, and it got me thinking of something."

"Collette knows you have a thing for me?"

She rolls her eyes. "You have a thing for me too."

"Okay. So, Collette knows I have a thing for you as well?"

She nods. "Yeah, but not Kenzie. She only knows that I've talked about you for years. She doesn't know about you being into me, though I didn't tell Collette not to say anything."

I smile. "Okay… so that's half the family. What did they say about it?"

"Nothing damning. They're just worried about Bryan. He's the loose cannon in our situation. He's not likely to take this well at all." She leans back and sighs as she says, "I worry his anger will go beyond your friendship. Bryan works on the board for the town, right? He approves all the permits that come through Rugged Mountain. That means, he could not only give you trouble with the family, but also professionally. You've worked so hard, Cooper, to let that happen."

I glance away, thinking over the right response. My knee jerk reaction is to say that I don't care. Sure, it will be hard, and I realize I'll have a lot of apologizing to do, but I love his little sister. It wasn't planned, and I didn't ask for it. It just happened. If he can't understand that, then… he can't. Living without Iris isn't an option. "That would be hard," I finally say, "but I think he'd forgive us."

She tilts her head to the side. "Why do you think that? He's still holding a grudge against the neighbor because he looked at me funny four years ago. We didn't even date, and I had no feelings for him at all."

"Well… maybe it's because of that. You do have feelings for me, and he loves both of us. He'll see it our way."

"And my mom? We're totally glazing over the fact that she's extremely traditional and will be totally skeeved out that I'm dating someone twice my age. I can't stress her out this year. She's going through so much since my dad passed."

"Does the age thing bother you?"

"No! God no! I love it. You're like my everything. You know what to say, how to act, who you are. Guys my age are clueless. They do that thing where they make women feel like shit, so they don't leave. They don't understand romance, and they can't lead to save their lives. I hate it, but my mom won't see it that way."

"If we give her time, she'll come around too."

"You have a lot of faith in something you know nothing about."

"I know I've loved you for years and that's all I need to know at this point."

She bites back a smile. "What do you want with your life?"

"You. Your dreams. A family. A Christmas morning with kids running for the tree and you holding coffee, curled up on the couch next to me, ready to watch a life we've built."

She drags in a deep breath. "What about work? I thought you were chained to your laptop."

"There'll need to be some readjusting there… for sure. I need to hire a few people and learn to delegate tasks instead of taking everything on myself, but I'll do whatever it takes for that life, Iris. That's what I want more than anything."

A tear rolls down her face and I reach out to catch it.

"Why are you crying, baby girl?"

She shrugs. "I don't know. Probably because I know how much I want this too and I know deep down that it can't happen, not like we want it to."

She looks away as the baby monitor hums. "I think it's time for Sienna to eat. Can you warm up a bottle? I'll go grab her before she wakes up Shanna and Bryan."

I nod and stand from the couch, wondering if this is the closest I'll ever get to being happy.