Home Town Hero (Pink Springs 2)

“I’m sure if we leave now, we can still make it on time.” Paula keeps talking, but I’ve not said a word to her. Although I’m certain she doesn’t really care about what I have to say, only the optics I can provide by being on her arm around town.

“No thank you,” I say as I get up from the bench and walk to my patrol car.

“Cooper, can you give me a lift?” I hear her heels clicking behind me, and they really are impractical for this town.

“It’s against the law.” I get in my car and close the door as she starts to say something.

Maybe I should feel bad, but I’m too distracted by the sight of Juno and Luca together to think straight. Paula is a pain in my fucking ass, and she only responds to negative reinforcement. If I give her an inch there’ll be a wedding announcement in the paper tomorrow. So maybe I’m acting like a dick, but I know exactly how she operates.

Driving around to the back of the diner, I see Juno left her Jeep there. I circle back around and go a couple of blocks over so that it’s not obvious I’m stalking what they’re doing. After a few minutes I see them going in the back door of her new place, and Luca closes the door.

I’m frustrated as I turn the corner and go around the next block, trying to calm down. I need to clear my head, but this town isn’t big enough to hold my obsession with Juno. I drive away from downtown and toward the edge of the city, trying to put distance between me and my racing thoughts.

I know my brother, and I know he’d never do anything to betray me, but have I really done anything to stake my claim on her? I’ve kept her at arm's length, but it was to protect her. He loves to give me shit and tease me about going after her, but it’s all been in jest. He wouldn’t really go after her if he thought I was interested in her. Would he? Thoughts of them together flash in my mind, and I jerk the wheel to take me back toward downtown.

When I get to her parking lot, I see Joey, the pizza delivery guy in town, getting in his car and leaving. Now I’m imagining Juno and Luca all cuddled up having dinner together, and rage comes over me.

“Over my dead body,” I mumble to myself, parking the patrol car and getting out.

When I go inside, I slam the door behind me for good measure and then pound up the stairs. Her apartment door is shut this time, but I don’t bother knocking as I push it open so hard it knocks against the wall and tries to bounce back.

“What the hell, Cooper?” Luca asks from the corner of the room. He’s surrounded by about a million pieces of wood and tools.

“Looks like the only breaking and entering in this town is being done by the sheriff,” Juno says from the other side of the room.

She looks ten shades of pissed off, and suddenly the images of the two of them I’d conjured in my mind dissolve into nothing.

“I…um…” I stand there wondering how the fuck I got myself back in this same spot, but Luca only looks relieved as he stands up.

“It’s about time.” He hands me the screwdriver, and I take it dumbly. “See ya later, Juno.”

He goes to walk out, and she looks between us. “Wait, where are you going?”

“I don’t know how to build any of that stuff, but Cooper’s a pro.” He pats me on the back as he goes to the door and looks back. “Oh, and I got you the parmesan wings.” He winks at me before he closes the door behind me and leaves Judo and me alone in her apartment.

“That sneaky bastard,” she hisses as she stomps over to the pizza.

“What just happened?” I ask, looking over my shoulder and then down at the screwdriver.

“He baited you into coming over and putting together my furniture.” She holds out a plate of food with a scowl on her face. “Are you staying or not?”

Seeing all the boxes everywhere and the furniture in pieces, I scowl. “You really haven’t even put your bed together?”

“This pizza doesn’t come with a side of judgment.”

“Wanna bet?” She tries to scowl back, but I see the edges of her lips fighting a smile.

I walk over to where Luca was sitting and try to make sense of the mess he’s made. I’m quiet as I read over the instructions and see he was putting together the headboard. Why is it in so many pieces?

As I begin to assemble, a plate of food appears next to me along with a beer. When I look up to say thank you, Juno’s already in the kitchen unpacking a box. She looks like she’s trying to keep herself busy as she moves boxes from one place to another and then unpacks and repacks the same thing twice.