Elizabeth Lee - Storm Warning

“And what kind of girl am I?” Ella Jane asked, her voice barely above a whisper. She held her breath as she waited for his answer.

“Real. Honest. You don’t hide behind makeup or worry about what anyone else expects or thinks.” A breeze blew between them, and he brushed her hair gently out of her face. “I never know what you’re going to say next. You always know when I’m full of crap. You amaze me. And you scare me a little, too.”

Ella Jane’s eyes widened. “What do you mean I scare you?”

Hayden shook his head, glancing up as if the words he needed might drop from the sky like rain. “I don’t ever know what you’re thinking. Well…sometimes I do.”

She laughed nervously, scooting a tiny bit closer to him on the tailgate. “Oh yeah? Like when?”

“Like when you’re thinking about kissing me.”

She scoffed, giving him a small playful shove. “Shut up.”

“Seriously. It’s cute. I love that you try to pretend like you’re not thinking about how bad you want to kiss me every time you see me.” With his trademark smirk, he leaned in and placed his forehead on hers.

“I’m not,” EJ whispered, shaking her head against his. “I’m not thinking about how bad I want to kiss you.”

“Oh yeah?” Hayden pulled back a few inches. “Then what are you thinking about?”

Pulling in a deep breath and gathering up all her courage, she met his stare and told the truth. “I’m thinking about how bad I want you to kiss me.”

That was all the confirmation Hayden needed. “Ella Jane Mason, I’m going to kiss you before this night is over. If you don’t want me to, you should say so. Soon.” His eyes looked like they were memorizing her mouth.

“If you don’t kiss me, after all that, then I’m going to be seriously disappointed.”

“Well we can’t have that,” Hayden said softly just before he leaned in and pressed his lips to hers.

Fireworks went off around them as they both fell headfirst in love for the first time ever.

SOME guys had all the luck. They were born into wealthy families. Seemed to be in the right place at the right time. And they always, always, got the girl.

Brantley Cooper was not one of those guys.

As he stood at the edge of the brush with a handful of vibrant flowers that reminded him of the girl he was finally going to confess his feelings for, he wondered why he couldn’t just for once catch a damn break.

Fireworks shot off in every direction behind the couple wrapped in each other’s arms.

All he could see was their silhouette in the darkness, but it was enough. Ella Jane and Hayden were attached firmly at the mouth. He didn’t know if it was the first time but he suspected it was.

He’d blown it. Chickened out when she’d needed him to man up and that was that.

He glanced over at them once more, hoping that maybe it was someone else sitting on the tailgate of her truck with Bitch Boy. But he saw the long blond hair. It was her. His girl in someone else’s arms. Kissing someone else’s lips.

Dropping the bouquet and letting the flowers scatter on the ground, he did the last thing he wanted to. Instead of barreling out of the woods and kicking Hayden Prescott’s ass, he did what his father said the bigger man always did. He walked away.

He walked right back to his truck and drove to town. Then walked right into Harwell’s Gas Station. Thankfully, when he walked up to the counter with a case of beer in hand, Harwell’s nimrod stepson, Brody, was working the register. The same nimrod that hadn’t ever taken the time to ask Coop, Kyle, or any other underage kid brave enough to attempt to buy beer for identification. Ever.

“Rough night?” he asked as Coop tossed a twenty down.

“Something like that,” Coop mumbled, not really wanting to get into specifics. Especially not with Brody.

“Wanna get high?” And there it was. Three words almost broke a smile free from Coop’s lips. Then he remembered EJ making out with Hayden Prescott. The urge to chuckle at the stoner who would probably work the nightshift at his stepdad’s gas station for the rest of his life was replaced with a pathetic sigh. Just like Brody would always get high and sell beer to minors, Coop would always be a farmer in a nothing town without the girl he really wanted.

“Umm… no. Keep the change.”

COOP really didn’t feel like going to the Masons’ the next morning. Hell, he didn’t even want to get out of bed. He’d spent the night drinking his sorrows away in the loft of his family’s barn.

Last summer he and Kyle had fixed up the old loft and turned it into their man cave. They’d hooked up a television and Coop’s Xbox, found a couple old sofas, and cleared out all the dust. Even let Ella Jane put a rug down and a couple throw pillows on the couches. It wasn’t fancy, but they loved it. He’d made a pretty good dent in the case of beer he had bought last night before he finally passed out.

Luckily, he’d remembered to hide the beer cans under the sofa, because as soon as the sun was up, his mom was out there waking him up. She would have been as mad as a box of frogs if she’d seen how much he’d drunk.

“I need you to run these jars back over to Millie’s. She’s making another batch of salsa and she needs them this morning. Can’t believe how fast that stuff sold at the farmers market last week.”

“Okay,” Coop reluctantly agreed, his voice still thick with sleep. His head was pounding, and despite what he’d thought last night when he was drinking, no amount of booze in the world would make him forget about seeing Ella Jane with another guy.

He hopped in his truck and headed over there. He hadn’t even bothered changing his clothes from the night before. It was still early enough that he might be able to avoid seeing anyone. He’d just leave the jars on the porch and haul ass.

He coasted up the lane and pulled to a stop in front of the house. Looked quiet enough. He slipped out of the truck and carried the box of jars up to the porch. He thought he’d been in stealth mode until he turned around and saw Hayden standing in front of him. He was surprised to see the little punk up this early, and from the dirt on his shirt, it looked like he’d been at it for a while already this morning.

“Oh, it’s just you,” Hayden offered up with his usual charm. “Thought you were the mulch delivery.”

“Just dropping off some stuff for Mrs. Mason.” Coop didn’t have the energy to argue with Hayden this morning. He brushed past him and headed back to his truck.

“You’re awfully dressed up for farm work this morning,” Hayden called out. Coop looked down at the khaki cargo shorts and blue polo he’d put on for Ella Jane last night. Hell, he even had on flip-flops.

“Feel free to mind your own business.”

“Sorry I asked.” Hayden threw his hands up. “Look. I shouldn’t have said what I said about the handouts thing. That was a low blow and I regret it.”

“Oh yeah? Losing sleep, are you?” Coop raised a brow. “My heart’s breaking for you, buddy.” Well, maybe he felt like arguing a little.

“Whatever. I could care less what you think. I’m a big boy. I can admit when I’ve taken something too far.”

“The only thing you’re taking too far is the game you’re trying to play will Ella Jane. Back off, man. Go back to your penthouse or whatever and leave her be.”

“You’re awfully threatened by me, aren’t you?” Hayden smirked. “What I can’t work out is, you’ve known her forever, right? But now that I’m here, suddenly this is the summer you get all worked up thinking you have some claim on her. You piss a circle around her when I wasn’t looking?”

Cooper breathed heavily through his nose, his broad chest rising and falling with each deep breath. He took a step closer, knowing how this could end but not caring. What did he have to lose? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. “You probably think she’s impressed by you. Your sunglasses probably cost more than my truck. But you know what the real difference between me and you is?”

“Enlighten me.” Hayden crossed his arms and waited for Coop to finish.

“The real difference is I work for what I have. From sunup to sundown, I bust my ass, and everything I have I paid for. Myself. What do you drive, Bitch Boy? A girly Mercedes or some shit?”

“Bentley,” Hayden bit out at him.

“Of course you do. And did Mommy and Daddy buy that pretty, shiny car for their little boy?”

Snorting as if the words didn’t affect him, Hayden shrugged. “Your point?”

“My point is, I’ve unloaded two tractors full of straw, mucked stalls, and plowed a thirty-acre field before you’ve even rolled your worthless ass out of bed. And while you’re working out, grinning at yourself in the mirror at the gym, I’m doing actual work. Man’s work. The kind that supports my family and puts food on the table. The kind of work that Ella Jane respects. The kind of work that can take care of her. So no matter what’s happened between you and her this summer, don’t for one second think I’m jealous of you. I don’t envy anyone who gets everything handed to them. I’m not impressed, and eventually, Ella Jane won’t be either. When you head on back home to Mommy and Daddy, I’ll still be here. And so will she.”

THE cold, hard truth ignited a flare of self-hatred inside of Hayden. And now he was the one who was jealous. Joe was right. He could practically see him and Ella Jane together. The thought made him want to hit something. Hard. And Cooper wasn’t done.