The Perfect Homecoming (Pine River) by Julia London Page B

wrong?”
    “You’re so wrong you’re embarrassing yourself,” Emma said flatly.
    “Then who is he?” Leo asked.
    “Just a guy,” Emma said, and whirled around, intending to keep Cooper from moving any deeper into the house or conversation.
    But Cooper was one step ahead of her and had moved around her. “First of all, I’m not just a guy , I’m a man.” He looked directly at Emma when he said it, and the emphatic way he said man radiated down her spine and made her knees begin to quiver. “Yes, I did come with the intention of speaking to you.” He shifted his gaze back to Leo. “But not to apprehend her. I’m not a bounty hunter or a cop. But I do need to speak to her, if that’s okay.”
    “Man, that would be super cool if you were a bounty hunter, bro,” Leo said.
    “But he’s not, and he already spoke to me.” To Cooper, Emma said, “This is where I work. So. . .”She gestured firmly to the door.
    “Hey, what’s this ?” Leo exclaimed. “Is it possible that I could have been mistaken? I mean, the odds are totally against it, but this has all the markings of a lovers’ quarrel.”
    “No,” Cooper said in a manner that Emma found unsettlingly quick and firm.
    “Hey, it’s okay,” Leo said. “Emma and I aren’t together—”
    “Leo, shut up!” Bob shouted from the kitchen where, apparently, he was managing to keep up with the conversation.
    “Can’t, Dad!” Leo said cheerfully. “My mouth is the only muscle that works, and if I don’t use it, I lose it. Pardon, Mr. Jessup—you were about to tell me about this love affair?”
    “I’m about to stuff a sock in that mouth!” Bob yelled.
    “Ignore him,” Leo said. “He has a tendency to feel left out.”
    Cooper smiled. “I wish I had something interesting to tell you, Leo. I’m also in town to do some work.” He gave Emma a self-satisfied smile that only made her feel wobblier.
    “What do you mean, work? What work?” she demanded.
    “I think what Emma means to ask is, what kind of work do you do?” Leo offered helpfully.
    “She knows what work I do,” he said. “I have a company with some buddies called Thrillseekers Anonymous.” He explained TA to Leo, and added, “We’ve got a contract to stage a canyoneering event next summer for some studio execs, and I’m going to check out the area.”
    “That is sick, ” Leo said, his voice full of awe. “Dad, did you hear that?”
    “I did,” Bob said, appearing in the door that led to the kitchen, wiping his hands on a dish towel. “You ought to talk with my son Luke. He’s been all over these mountains. He could show you around.”
    “Oh yeah?” Cooper asked, perking up.
    “There’s nothing around here that he’d be interested in,” Emma said, throwing up her hands as if trying to keep the men apart. “You’re wasting your time, Cooper. Go to Telluride and look around. That’s better.”
    “Telluride,” Cooper drawled. “Where is that, exactly, Emma?”
    Bastard. She had no idea where it was, and he knew it.
    “No, no, Dad’s right for once,” Leo said as Bob ducked back into the kitchen. “There are loads of places around here to rappel or ride white water, or even do some of the swinging Tarzan stuff I saw on the National Geographic Channel. Luke would totally show you around and he’s probably done it all.”
    “I’d love to meet him,” Cooper said.
    “Then come over tonight. He’ll be here. Hey! Why don’t you come for dinner? Dad! He should come for dinner!”
    “Leo, for heaven’s sake,” Bob said, appearing again with Leo’s lunch in a repurposed half-gallon milk jug. It was two-thirds filled with the smoothie Emma had made before Cooper had shown up. “Before you go issuing invitations, you might ask the head bottle washer if there’s anyone available to make a dinner,” he said as he fit the jug into the apparatus he had welded onto the side of Leo’s chair.
    “Don’t let this jug of delicious liquefied fish and