Page 16 of One-of-a-Kind Bride

“Yep, it’s time to destroy.” She turned to her grandfather. “You’re coming to the game, aren’t you, Grandpa?”

“When have I ever missed one of your games? I’ll be along in a little while. See you at the field,” he said, giving Cassie a kiss on the forehead.

“Love you, Grandpa,” she said, grabbing him around the waist and giving him a hug.

“I love you too, kiddo.” His eyes misted up. He was such a sucker for Cassie, but then, who wasn’t?

“Let’s get going.” Coop took Cassie’s hand, wondering how many more years she would allow him to do it. He sighed inside; his child was growing up way too fast.

*

Taylor hadn’t sleptso well in ages, and as she rose from bed this morning, her body and soul thanked her for the distinct change of scenery. From high-rise buildings to rolling hillsides. It sure made quite a difference in her demeanor. She yawned and stretched her arms over her head as she gazed out the window. The sun was just rising, casting a golden tint to the knolls beyond. Julie’s backyard was in full bloom right now with red and yellow roses, daylilies and an assortment of flowery scrubs. Further beyond, hearty bluebonnets blanketed the meadows where they used to play. A rooster cock-a-doodle-doo-ed and blue jays fluttered through tree branches.

Texas in the spring.

She dressed in her workout clothes, black pants and a teal blue stretchy top, and put her hair up in a ponytail. Back home, she usually worked out in a gym, but the day was far too glorious for staying inside. Once she tied her shoes, she descended the stairs quietly and made sure Muffy was nowhere in sight before she opened the front door and stepped outside, shutting the door firmly behind her.

She walked at a fast pace until her muscles warmed up and then began a slow and easy jog down the road. She was not a pro at running, far from it, her pace just comfortable enough for head clearing. Simone had been right, she’d needed to get away and now as the fog in her brain lifted, she was beginning to see an inkling of light filtering through. It was progress.

Ten minutes into the run, she rounded the corner on Main heading away from town, her eyes trained on the ground as all sorts of freeing thoughts filled her head. The roar of squealing brakes abruptly stopped her in her tracks, her heels digging into the broken road. As she looked up, she faced down the front end of a truck, the engine’s heat billowing out. The Silverado came to a careening stop, two feet from her toes. She began to tremble. Her heart pounded harder than it ever had before.

Coop climbed out of his truck and ran over to her. “Taylor, are you okay?”

Dumbfounded, she stared at him. “I think so.” She blinked several times.

“Thank goodness.” He seemed truly relieved he hadn’t flattened her like an iron on wrinkles. But he wasn’t half as glad about it as she was.

Once she got her wits about her, she met his eyes. “You almost hit me.”

“Dang it, I could have. Good thing I spotted you as I turned the corner. What were you doing running in the middle of the street like that?” His concerned expression turned to anger. “That was a fool thing to do.”

“You almost mow me down on the street and it’s my fault?”

“That’s just it, Taye, you came out of nowhere. It’s a good thing I saw you. You should be thanking me.”

She gave him the point of her chin. No way was she going to thank him. “You were going too fast.”

“I was going below the speed limit.” His blue eyes roamed over her, checking her out from top to bottom as if making sure she wasn’t going to die of fright or anything. “C’mon, I’ll take you back to Julie’s.” He headed back to his truck.

She wanted to stay put, to tell him her run wasn’t over yet and he didn’t need to rescue her again, but darn it. She was stupidly scared. Another half a second and she would have been roadkill. So, she buttoned her lip and slow walked back to his truck, making him wait.

Which he did because, basically, he was good guy. She climbed into his truck for the second time in two days, and sat quietly as he gave her a look, sighed deeply then started the engine again.

They were back at Julie’s in less than three minutes. He parked the truck and turned to her. “You gonna tell me why you were running down the middle of the street?”

“You gonna call me a fool again?”

“No.”

“You gonna think it?”

He half smiled and his grim face lightened up. “Maybe.”

“You!” She wanted to swat at him, give him a punch in the arm or something like she used to, but she wasn’t a kid anymore. So, she held back and then the words started spilling out, because this was Coop and he’d always been a good listener. “I wasn’t thinking about traffic at this hour. I was feeling unburdened and the road under my feet felt freeing. It’s not as if I can run like this in New York. It’s all so different. My frustrations lessened with every step and I guess I got lost in all that, until I faced down your big red hulk of a truck.”

“At least you weren’t wearing a wedding dress this time.” He didn’t need to point out the obvious and rub it in. “Good thing I had a double espresso this morning. Kept me on my toes.”

“And off mine.”

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