I was always content to stay in Bell Buckle. As much as I hate it at times, I love this place. It’s full of heritage and landmarks. It’s a place where your kids can run outside from sunup to sundown and you don’t have to worry.

We didn’t have cell phones when we were kids; we had neighbors. That mentality is still strong here. I always hoped I would have kids that could experience a childhood even half as fun as mine.

Cooper takes a second to think and then shrugs. “I don’t know. When Presley left, it wasn’t a choice anymore. Someone had to take over on the farm, and that someone was me. I was angry about it for a while, but this is my life. Whatever choices I made, I don’t regret. I work hard and have a good life. I’m just hopin’ for the rest of things to fall in line.”

“Yeah,” I say on a sigh. “Hey, I meant to ask you, has Wyatt said anything about Angie? I called over there today, but she didn’t answer.”

“He’s at that family fishing thing so I haven’t heard anything. I know this pregnancy has been tough on her.” Cooper takes a swig of his beer. “I told him to take some time off to stay home, but he knows we’re shorthanded since one of the ranch hands left. I keep pushin’ him to take care of his family.”

“You know Wyatt . . .”

Family is everything to us here, but so is honesty and integrity. Wyatt is stuck between the two things he deems the most important. And to an extent, the Townsend’s are family. All our families are very deeply intertwined.

The timer dings, and I shoo Cooper out of the kitchen. I need to get the pie in while we’re eating so that it will be done in time. I open two more beers, put the pie in, drain the remnants in my first bottle, and plate our dinner.

“Here we go.” I sit the plate and beer on the table.

“This looks amazing, Gracie.” My heart sputters. Cooper never calls me Gracie. Trent is the one who started it, and he’s the only person that ever says it. I freeze and try to get myself under control, but Cooper grabs my hand. “Did I say something?”

I shake my head and I try not to let my nerves ruin tonight. “No, you didn’t do anything. Let’s eat.”

Cooper doesn’t release my hand, and my eyes go back to him. “Don’t lie. If I said or did something you need to tell me.”

He deserves to know why I became an ice sculpture. This is the stuff he mentioned and I need to be open. “No one else calls me Gracie but Trent.”

He leans back, clearly a little uncomfortable. We’ve done so well for the last thirty minutes, but once again, Trent manages to wiggle his way in. Thankfully, it isn’t literal this time.

“I’m sorry. It just came out.”

“Please, don’t apologize.” I take his hand. “It’s just that no one ever says that, and it took me by surprise. I’ve been having a lot of fun tonight, and I would like us to finish our dinner and then the God awful movie you picked.”

Cooper’s body relaxes a little. He shifts, rests his other hand on mine, and nods. “All right, but you’re going to choke on those words when you see the movie.”

“I doubt that,” I tease.

“You’ll see.”

I shake my head and pull my hands back. Cooper grabs his fork and knife, and we dig in. Dinner is nice, we talk a little about the farm and how he wants to change a few things. There’s a lot more to Cooper than I ever knew. I always knew that he was smart, but he has some ideas that are inspiring. He explains a little about the project Presley’s working on, and I go into some of my plans for next year. We talk long after our plates are empty and beers have run dry.

“Ready for the movie?” he asks in one of the very few lulls in conversation. I glance at the clock, realizing we’ve been talking for well over an hour. Time flew by, and we didn’t have any time where it was weird or we didn’t have something to talk about.

“I should clean up.” I start to grab the plates, but he grips my wrist.

“Leave it. Live a little. Let’s watch the movie and then we can take care of the dishes.”

He releases my hand, and I put the plate down. “Okay.”

It’s so not in me to do this, but different is good sometimes.

Cooper pops in the DVD before turning with a grin. “You excited?”

“Curious.”

He chuckles and sits on the couch. Both of us sit on each end, I’m not sure what the hell is supposed to happen, so I’m going with better safe than sorry mentality. “I won’t bite,” he says as he drapes his arm over the couch.

Jesus. Here I go.

I scoot closer as Cooper watches me with an open arm. My butt hits his leg, and he adjusts himself so we’re even closer. My throat goes dry as my body rests very much against his. I can’t tell if I’m uncomfortable or the nerves are because of how attracted I am to him right now. I’ve never been blind to Cooper, but he’s always been—brotherly. Between today and now dinner, things shifted a little. He never once made me feel small or as if I was just Presley’s friend. He talked to me like a woman.

Tonight has felt good, and this feels good, too.

The movie comes on screen, and I can’t hold in the laugh as I tilt my head so I can look at him. “You did not!”

“I thought we could use a repeat.”

“Goonies never say die!”

Cooper’s other arm rests on my knees, and he holds me tight. When we were kids, Presley and I were so obsessed that we wore the VHS out. We would run around the house, searching for the gold and pirate ship we believed were hidden somewhere. Cooper would tell us we were naive, but it didn’t stop him from looking with us.

I nestle in, not thinking about the fact that he’s Cooper. He’s a man that I’m on a date with, one who I also find attractive. The movie plays on as we stay cuddled together. We both laugh at our favorite parts, and I jump a little when Ma talks about cutting out their tongues, which makes him laugh against my ear. The heat from his breath sends a shiver through me.

I try to cover it over by playing with my hair, but Cooper doesn’t miss it and tightens his arm a bit.

My head lifts a little and our eyes meet, causing a knot to twist in my stomach.

There’s no mistaking what’s burning in his green eyes. The heat is clear, and he wants to kiss me.

I should move my head and stop it.