SUBJECT: Why are you a hag?
TO: Cooper Chance, Ford Chance
FROM: Palmer Chance
SUBJECT: STOP CHANGING THE CAKE
TO: Palmer Chance, Ford Chance
FROM: Cooper Chance
SUBJECT: JUST BECAUSE YOU USED CAPS, DOESN’T MEAN I’ll LISTEN
TO: Cooper Chance, Palmer Chance
FROM: Ford Chance
SUBJECT: Re: JUST BECAUSE YOU USED CAPS, DOESN’T MEAN I’ll LISTEN
Enough.
We have a week until the party. Get your shit together. Show up for Mom and Dad and then we can go our separate ways. Think you can handle that?
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
LARKIN
Cooper: Meet you there at noon.
I glance up from the text that Cooper sent me an hour ago, just to make sure I got the time right. It’s two minutes past noon, and he’s nowhere in sight. The island is pretty quiet today: not much traffic toward the store, which is the main draw, and the lunch crowd is fairly sparse as well. Surprising for a summer day. Maybe the locals are lucky for the reprieve, because I know tomorrow it will probably pick up. It always does. With some of the best hiking trails in the area and the popularity of the original Watchful Wanderers store, Marina Island is easily a top-five summer destination in the PNW.
It’s been an eventful day, to say the least, but Cooper texting me still came close to being the biggest surprise. I was about to ask Ford about it, but Cooper told me not to tell Ford about us meeting.
Granted, this is not something I would normally keep a secret from Ford, especially now that we’re . . . dating. Yeah, we’re dating; I can’t even fathom that change in events right now. But after Ford battled through emails with his siblings this morning, I thought that Cooper might be looking for some insight on how to mend things with his brother.
At least that’s what I’m hoping.
If I can be a helping hand in the matter, then I will.
I glance at the time on my phone again and then look up toward the harbor, where I spot Cooper jogging toward me.
“Hey,” I say when he gets closer.
“Sorry,” he says, slightly breathless. “Someone’s car stalled out on the ferry, which made for a backlog of cars trying to get off.”
“Not a problem at all.” I nod toward the sandwich shop. “Want to take a seat?”
“That would be great.” We walk to one of the picnic tables behind the shop, next to the air conditioner. It will make for a noisier meeting, but it seems like Cooper wants some privacy. When we take a seat, he swings his backpack from his shoulders and pulls out his water bottle. He takes a sip while removing a tablet from his backpack, and my mind starts to reel with what he could possibly want from this meeting. “Thanks for meeting with me,” he says.
“Of course. When I got your text, I was tempted to ask Ford what was going on.” I wince. “He showed me your emails this morning.”
Cooper rolls his eyes. “Of course he did. Palmer is such a pain in my ass. She has the baby-sister nagging down to a science. But that’s not why I want to talk to you.”
“It’s not?” I ask, slightly confused.
“No. I want to talk to you about the rebranding for the store.”
“Oh, Cooper. I don’t think that’s a good idea,” I say, my thoughts immediately going to Ford and how angry he’d be about this.
“Hear me out.”
“I don’t know, Cooper. That’s something I think you should talk to your brother about.”
“I tried, but he won’t listen to me.”
“I know, he told me. Ford has his reasons, and I wouldn’t feel right going behind—”
“Please, Larkin,” he pleads. “I need someone to listen to me. He won’t, and I don’t want to get Dad involved, so you’re my next-best option. Just hear me out, okay?”
“I don’t know . . .”
“Larkin.” His eyes, which perfectly match his brother’s, bore into me, pleading, begging. The silver of those irises might belong to someone else, but they have the same effect on me as Ford’s. “Please. Please be the one who listens to me. That’s all you need to do—just listen.”
Damn it.
I look off to the side and try to weigh out my options. I don’t have to do anything. I can just listen like he says and then maybe bring it to Ford. Listening isn’t going to really hurt anything. And from the way he’s pleading so passionately, I know what he has to say must be important. And he’s gone to such great lengths to talk to me, even taking the ferry out here.