Finding Faith (5 page)

Smiling slyly at her after she finished her statement, she could tell that he knew exactly what had happened and why. Oh yes, she thought, he’s dangerous. Then again, maybe this was what she needed. Just some good old-fashioned fun.
 

“Okay. Faith it is. Then you’ll have to call me Cooper, and this one,” turning toward his daughter and pointing with his elbow, “of course, is Madison. Although my little social butterfly already introduced herself, which I will address with her later.” Glancing over at his daughter, he watched her as she slowly walked into the large open kitchen and mini dining area.
 

“Great. Cooper and Madison it is,” she responded.
 

Tilting his chin toward the stools situated on one side of the kitchen breakfast bar, he turned toward the stove, “Go on. Have a seat. Let me take a look at what you brought over for us.” As he proceeded to lift the lid and take in the smell of the pasta dish she had stressed over this morning, Faith felt a tug on her arm.
 

“Hi, little munchkin,” she greeted the blonde-haired little girl.
 

“Hi, Ms. Faith. I want to sit next to you. Help me.” Lifting her arms in the air, she allowed Faith to lift her and place on her on the seat right next to her. Cooper looked back at them, a curious glance on his face as he watched his daughter interact with her.
 

“Well, then I guess that makes it official. You brought us food, which smells delicious by the way, you ogled my body…”
 

Dropping her head into her hands, “I’m really sorry about that.” His laughter broke into her apology.
 

“Really, it’s okay.” Grabbing a towel to wipe his hands, he looked at Faith. “So, now that the official miniature welcoming committee has accepted you into our abode, I think we’re all settled. Would you agree?”
 

Looking down at Madison, she shrugged her shoulders, “What do you think, Madison? Are we ready?”
 

“Yes!”
 

Grabbing plates out of the cabinet and placing the casserole in the oven, he turned back to the two of them. “So, what do we want to do now?”
 

Madison raised her hand in the air and at the same time yelled out, “I know! I know!”
 

Her father pointed at her, “Okay, Madison, what would you like to do?”
 

Looking at Faith with a smile filled with little white teeth tinted with red from her fruit juice, she asked, “Do you like princess movies?”
 

Waking up to the bright sun coming through his bedroom window, Cooper yawned and stretched out on his king size bed. Picking up his phone, he read the messages from Faith that had come through last night and gave a sigh of relief.
 

It had only taken a few weeks after that initial meeting, and several instances of her coming to them first, before he and Madison changed things up. Pretty soon, they were the ones showing up at her door instead. After all, he was just being neighborly.
 

At least, that was the story he continued to tell himself as he tried to understand why he couldn’t stay away from her.
 

Cooper wondered how different his life would be if he and Madison had never met their lovely neighbor. After that first day of bringing them food and staying for hours as they got to know each other, even helping to put away some of their unpacked items, they had built a routine. Every weekend after that, there she was, at their door with food. It was like she was always feeding them, making sure they ate something new and different every time. Asking them what they liked, preferred, and absolutely hated.
 

He wasn’t sure when the weekends, and seeing Faith, had become so important to him. But it had. Over the past two months, his need to be around Faith had grown as much as his daughter’s. He was most relaxed when in her presence, even when doing the most mundane tasks. Whatever it was that was happening, he was willing to let it just ride. There was no need to rush anything and he wouldn’t.
 

Something about Faith continued to draw him closer to her whenever they came in contact with each other. Not sure what it was about her that kept him thinking about her at the most inopportune times, like when he was sitting in the middle of an operations meeting. Someone mentioned the word faith and he had immediately pictured her smiling face.
 

Honestly, he wasn't ready to consider the possibilities as to why she never failed to be far from his thoughts. He would tackle that puzzle another day. As for right now, he was just focused on enjoying the moment.
 

If only he could allow himself to let her in. Not many people knew the real him and it was hard to share that side of him with anyone. Every day he struggled with the demons that tried to tear him down. His time in the Army and serving overseas, the casualties of war by his own hands, and the death of his wife that still sometimes haunted him in his dreams.
 

The kid with anger issues had found his way into the military through a stroke of luck, or maybe it had been fate. Either way, it made him into a different man. Life in the military had been mostly good, but other times, not so much. After his marriage to Heather, and raising his beautiful little girl all alone, he had become a different man. It had taken him a while to get there, but Cooper knew that he was now comfortable in this new, buttoned up world around him. And he was okay with that.
 

However, Faith Douglas had come into his world and she had thrown him for a loop. She was almost the exact opposite of the type of women he normally would be interested in dating. If anyone had asked him a year ago to describe his ideal woman, he probably would have described his late wife. Now, after meeting Faith, he wasn’t so sure.
 

But based on her reaction to him over these past couple of months, it seemed that she considered him as only a friend. Not once had she ever given any indication that she wanted anything more than their friendly, flirty banter. That was part of the reason why it bothered him so much that just seeing her face would make him want to be around her, talk with her, and hear her voice even more.
 

Even his daughter was drawn to the nice lady who had brought them into her world from the very first day they moved into the neighborhood. It seemed that Madison had decided that there was only one speed when it came to Faith. Full steam ahead.
 

There was no stopping Madison when she wanted something. Within a week of meeting her, all she wanted was Faith. And when his little girl wanted to see Faith that was all that mattered. No longer willing to wait for Faith to come to them, she would wake up on the weekends and within minutes, would ask to go see the lovely Ms. Faith.
 

Telling himself that he was doing it for Madison, he would usually give in and they would head over to spend the day. As time passed, he began to notice that he was also starting to become excited at the thought of spending time with her. Each time he woke up on the weekends, he would lie there and countdown the minutes until Madison would come ask to call Faith and plan their day.
 

Her number was programmed into his phone, number three on the speed-dial list. He never failed to call and let her know that they were on their way over, just in case she had other plans. But never once had she said no or denied them. Which, if he had taken a moment to truly think about, would have told him more than he would have imagined.
 

Seeing her every weekend had become like second nature. It was just something that he had to do. Felt he needed to do. And today was no different.
 

This morning, waking up from a restless sleep, he wondered where Faith had been last night. After several calls to her cell phone with no answer, he had texted her asking where she was. There had been an uneasy feeling rolling around his stomach and he wasn’t happy at all that she hadn’t been picking up. When she finally did respond, his frustration had only grown. And then he got pissed off, because he wasn’t supposed to feel that way about her.
 

Picking up his phone again to look at the text messages from last night, he felt his back teeth begin to grind in frustration.
 

9:15pm, Hey Faith, you working late?
 

9:18pm, Faith, you’re not picking up. Everything okay?
 

9:22pm, Hi Cooper. Yes, I’m fine. I’ll be home a little late.
 

9:23pm, You’re safe? At the office? Faith, you can’t do that to me.
 

9:27pm, Sorry. Definitely safe. Tell Madison I’ll talk to her tomorrow. Nite.
 

Her messages had been vague and that had actually pissed him off even more. Where had she been? Not that she had to clear her schedule with him, but they had somewhat of a routine.
They spoke every night without fail. It wasn’t like Faith to simply ignore him and not call or let him know where she was. The last message had come through at almost midnight.
 

11:52pm, Hey Cooper, just letting you know I made it home safe. Talk later.
 

Rolling out of bed, he pulled on some pajama pants and a t-shirt before walking downstairs. Fulling expecting Madison to get in her request for them to see Faith as soon as she came downstairs, he pre-empted her and called before she came asking.
 

“Hello?” Her sleep tinged voice filled the line.
 

“Hi, Faith, it’s me, Cooper,” he said. Again, he wondered where she had been last night. The only thought he could come up with was that she went out with some friends from work. But why wouldn’t she just say that?
 

Sounds of her moving around in bed came across the phone and he wondered what she slept in. Was she the type to sleep in negligee or a nightshirt? If he showed up one morning without his customary call, how would she answer the door? Would her lips be full and pouty, her long, thick hair messy, as if she had just rolled out of bed?
 

“Hi, Cooper.” The rustling covers that could be heard made his body begin to respond to the picture that formed in his head. What the hell was that all about?
 

Clearing his throat to make sure he didn’t come off too gruff, “Madison and I were wondering if we could come over and make you lunch today.”
 

“Oh, you were? Um, why?”
 

Laughing at her surprise, he knew she was a keeper. Wait, a keeper for what? He wasn’t looking for a keeper of anything. Turning back to the conversation at hand and ignoring those wayward thoughts, “Well, because you always cook for us, or pick up something while you’re out. I thought we would return the favor.”
 

Feeling a tug on his shirt, he looked down to see Madison standing there in her superhero pajamas, her tiny feet straining as she stood on her toes. Her hands were folded together as if in prayer. A wide smile spread across her face, “We’re going to make you a dad-burger, Ms. Faith,” she yelled out.
 

Turning his attention back to the phone again, “Did you hear that?”
 

“I sure did,” she answered. “It’s nine o’clock now. What time will you be here?”
 

“How about eleven-thirty?” Thinking about the items he already had, he knew a trip to the store would be in order.
 

“Okay, that sounds good. I’ll be ready.” A yawn came through the phone. “Um, but what is a dad-burger?” She asked.
 

The huskiness of her voice continued to pull at him. Then again, he wondered why she was still asleep at this hour. Ignoring her question about the food, he asked his own, “You sound tired. Long week?”
 

“Yes, work’s been tough, but I can handle it,” she said.
 

“Okay, just want to make sure you’re not pushing yourself too hard. Those people don’t know just how good you are.” Maybe it wasn’t his place to tell her to rest, but he didn’t care about that. She was his friend and he was worried she was pushing herself too hard. “Make sure they understand just how much you do for them. Working late on a—”
 

“I had a date last night,” she interjected.
 

His breath left his body for a few seconds. Did he hear her right? “A date?”
 

“Yeah. Um, a lady at work set me up with her husband’s friend and we met for dinner last night,” she said. Her voice was somewhat low and hesitant as she shared this with him.
 

“I don’t…Wait a minute. Who were you with? Are you going to see him again,” he demanded to know. So, is this the reason why she hadn’t told him where she was last night?
 

“Cooper, why does it matter?”
 

There was no anger in her tone. He, on the other hand, was building to a slow boil. Fuck! A date? Why hadn’t she told him?
 

“Anyway, as I said, what’s a dad-burger?”
 

Asking her question again, he knew she was trying to get him off topic, which was probably a good thing. His reaction to her saying that she had a date last night didn’t make any sense to him.
 

“Well, a dad-burger is my very own recipe for making burgers on the grill. My recipe is so secret, only those in my special circle know the ingredients. Even then, they only know what I use, but not how much goes into the mixture,” he finally answered.
 

“Are you going to tell me? Am I in your special circle?”
 

If only she knew. “Do you want to be?”
 

“It depends, what do I have to do?” This time, the huskiness in her voice sounded different to his ears. Sleep was not the cause.
 

“Whatever I want,” he responded. They were getting into dangerous territory, but he liked the way things were going. Plus, if there was another man sniffing around, he needed to change that…quickly.