He did, traversing the sandy path at an easy pace, slowing to check out the first set of ruins to their right before moving along. Natalie did her best not to ogle his long legs and narrow hips in his faded jeans as they trekked along. Or his broad shoulders in the dark blue thermal Henley. Or his …
She cursed under her breath and focused on the dried grass, yucca, and scrub brushes fanning out from the trail. The birds in the small trees and bushes lining the dry wash to their left sang along to the beat of their footfalls, throwing in cheerful trills and whistles to punctuate the chorus. The sun warmed her shoulders through her sweat jacket. This place must be an oven come summertime. How did the soldiers stand it way back when, especially if they were wearing wool uniforms with collars and cuffs?
“It smells good out here,” Coop said after they’d hiked along for a bit and the trail widened. “Clean and sundried.”
She guffawed at his attempt at inane conversation. Coop was never one to stand around and smell the roses back home. His nose was constantly sniffing out crime, his focus on the job 24/7 … even when on the verge of getting it on in a back alley.
He slowed so they were walking side-by-side on the trail. “You don’t like the smells of the desert?”
“I think you’re playing games today.”
“What sort of games?”
She didn’t answer for several steps, debating on if she really wanted to keep traveling down this path—the bare-her-soul one, not the trail to Fort Bowie.
After weighing the pros and cons, she continued on course. If Coop had driven all of the way down to Arizona because he thought she’d change her mind about taking their so-called friendship to the next level, she needed to set him straight. Or at least voice her feelings about the matter.
She’d had enough of this flirty game of his that left her breathless and yet pissed at the same time.
“Coop, what are you doing here?” she asked, keeping her focus on the trail in front of them.
“Taking a vacation,” he said after a pause.
Bull hockey! “You could have gone anywhere in the world on vacation and yet you came to southeastern Arizona.”
“Yep.”
She shot him a quick frown. “So you coming down here had nothing to do with me?”
The gravel crunched under their hiking boots for a few beats.
“I didn’t say that.”
She waited for further explanation, but he didn’t offer any, damn it.
They hiked along in silence, tension tightening her chest with every step forward.
“Okay,” she said, taking a calming breath before plowing deeper into truth. “What are we doing here?”
“Going to see an old fort.”
She scowled at him. “Quit fucking with me, Coop. You didn’t drive all the way to Arizona to ask me to come hiking. I want an honest answer from you.”
He looked off toward the west, his forehead drawn.
Nothing.
She bared her teeth at him and strode off at a faster pace, needing distance from the maddening man since the thousand-plus miles that she’d already traveled clearly hadn’t been enough.
“Natalie, wait,” he said minutes later, catching up.
“For what? For you to decide I’m not the flavor of the month again?” She jammed her hands in the pockets of her jacket so that she didn’t give in to the urge to pummel him until he told her what she wanted to hear.
What did she want to hear?
That was a good question. An actual answer from the non-detective version of Coop would be a good start.
“I’m sorry for what happened before,” he said, keeping her pace. “I was an asshole.”
Yes, he was. “Sorry for which part?” she pressed. “For kicking me to the curb as soon as duty called and leaving me half-undressed in a back alley like some two-bit floozy, or for shoving that damned bleached-blond bimbo in my face at the bar in Rapid?”
His face lined. “Nothing happened that night with her.”
Natalie scoffed. “I wasn’t blind. I saw her repeated attempts to lick the back of your throat.”
“I know.”
“And you let her run those scarlet nails all over you while I watched.”
“I did.”
She stopped, her face hot, her throat clogged with the same jealous rage that had choked her up that night at the bar. “You no-good son of a bitch.”
Dear Lord, it was a relief to quit hiding behind a polite smile and finally say that to his face.
He held up his hands. “Let me explain.”
“What’s to explain? You’re just like all of the other bastards who have fucked me over one way or another—the reason I’ve sworn off men for now.”
He flinched. “Listen, as soon as you left the bar that night in Rapid, I left, too. Alone. The other woman was a tool to keep you away.”
“Well, congratulations! It worked like a dream.” She started along the trail again, cursing him and all other penis-equipped members of the human race. “And you’re a tool for using that girl!” she shouted over her shoulder.
His footfalls on the gravel came closer. “I came to Arizona because I heard you left Deadwood to get away from me.”
He’d heard right. Who’d told him that? Violet? Harvey? It didn’t matter. “You shouldn’t have come here, Coop. I don’t know what you hoped to accomplish, but as far as I’m concerned any flames we had burning before are long doused.”
“No, they’re not.” He caught her wrist and tugged her to a stop, forcing her to look up at him. “Your lips say one thing, but your eyes don’t lie.”
Yeah, well her eyes were traitors. “What in the hell do you hope to accomplish here, Coop? And if your reply includes the word ‘vacation’ again, I’m going to punch you in the nose.”
He held her glare. “I want you, Natalie.”
Oh, that was hilarious. He could have had her hook, line, and sinker years ago. Now? He’d have
