He finally spotted her and released the arm he’d thrown around Deidre-not out of guilt but to pass the reins over to the stable hand. “You should have gotten here earlier, Pipe. We had a great ride.”
“You’re a natural, Cooper.” Deidre’s praise was straightforward, without a hint of girlishness. “I can tell you spent a lot of time on horseback when you were a kid.”
“I never learned to ride pretty,” he said, “but I got the job done.”
Deidre gave him an open smile. “I think you ride very pretty.”
Piper wanted to barf.
For the first time, she noticed Noah. His high-end suede jacket and ironed denim shirt suggested he’d have been much happier behind a desk.
It quickly became apparent that Deidre had planned a very small house party-only the four of them. Piper didn’t need her detective skills to figure out that Deidre was playing matchmaker. Maybe she simply enjoyed fixing people up, or maybe she was hoping that Piper and Noah would hit it off so she’d have a clear path to Coop. But a relationship between Piper and Noah Parks would never happen. He was intelligent, and his squared-off profile wasn’t unattractive, but he didn’t seem to possess a shred of humor.
Coop gestured toward the field behind the garden. “How did your wheat do with all the rain this summer, Deidre?”
“I’m embarrassed to say that I don’t know. We have a tenant who farms the place. When my husband was alive, he knew everything that happened here, but I only ride and relax.”
“Sam loved the farm,” Noah said. “It was in his family for three generations.”
As they left the stable behind, Deidre talked about how she and her late husband had torn down the old farmhouse to build the new one. She spoke of Sam matter-of-factly. Deidre Joss was a woman who held her emotions close to her chest.
Noah fell in step next to Piper, and she did some not-so-subtle probing. “It has to be hard for Deidre. Losing her husband at such a young age. Snowmobile accident, right?”
“Driving too fast.”
“What was he like?”
“Sam? Easygoing, fun to be around. A little irresponsible. Everybody liked him. Hard not to. They were only married five years.”
“A good marriage?”
She expected Noah to freeze her out, but he didn’t. “They were crazy about each other, but she was the one who had to do the heavy lifting.”
They’d reached the house, and Deidre announced cocktails in an hour on the patio. “Coop, let me show you your room.”
Which wouldn’t be anyplace near Piper’s.
She washed her face and put on a little makeup but didn’t change from the slacks and sweater she’d worn to the Stars Complex. As she reached for her messenger bag to check her phone, she remembered she’d left it in her car and went downstairs to get it.
A light breeze ruffled the tree branches near the house. The smell of fall was hard in the air, a smell she loved. It was nearly dark, and the floodlights mounted on the corner of the barn shone on her Sonata, Coop’s Tesla, and the Lexus. As she walked toward the cars, she noted the Lexus’s license plate. ararat.
Overhead, an owl hooted and swooped toward a stand of trees beyond the barn. A wisp of memory tantalized her but wouldn’t take shape. She reclaimed her bag and texted Jen to find out if she’d returned Eric’s call. Then she made her way to the back of the house.
The three of them were seated around a blazing, stone fire pit. The patio had an outdoor kitchen with a built-in grill, a sink, and a tiled countertop. Garden torches illuminated the perimeter and cast a faint light over a swimming pool covered for the season. Noah was cross-examining Coop. “… and you’ve also gotten too much bad publicity. Forgive me for being blunt, but that’s a sign of bad management.”
“It’s a sign of bad luck,” Coop countered.
“You know I’ve been opposed to this from the beginning,” Noah said. “I’ve never liked the idea of trusting this large an investment to the whims of professional athletes who already have more money than they can spend. Yourself excluded, of course.”
“If that’s what the plan was, you’d be right, Noah. But you keep missing the point. Athletes retire young. Sure, some of them are more than happy to spend their time going through their money, but those aren’t the guys I’m after. I want the ones who are smart, ambitious, and out for a new challenge but not willing to bankroll themselves. There are a lot of them.”
Deidre stayed silent, taking in both Coop’s answers and Noah’s questions. “It’s too risky an investment for us,” Noah said. “We don’t know the industry, and we don’t understand the market.”
“Did you understand China’s market for water-purification systems when you made that investment?” Coop turned to Deidre. “Taking a few well-calculated risks makes business more interesting, doesn’t it?”
Deidre spoke for the first time. “I like the idea of diversifying into the so-called sin industries, even though Noah has raised some good points. The fact that he’s not often wrong has been my only hesitation.”
“This time he’s wrong,” Coop countered. “And, Deidre, as much as I’m enjoying your hospitality… and as much as I’d like to work with you, it’s time to make up your mind. I’ll give you another couple of days. Then I’ll have to move on.”
Coop didn’t want to move on. Piper knew that Deidre was the only partner he wanted.
Far from being rattled, Deidre smiled. “I don’t think we’ll need that long.”
“Piper!” Noah came to his feet. “Let me get you something to drink. Cocktail? Wine?”
“I’ll have a beer.” She walked out into the torchlight. “Whatever Coop’s drinking.”
“You and Coop appear to have a lot of the same tastes. It’s no surprise you like working together.” Noah moved to the outdoor bar. “That’s another question I have. You seem to be Coop’s confidante…”
Was it her imagination, or did he veil that last word with all kinds of hidden meanings?
He pulled a frosted mug from the small built-in refrigerator. “We know he was a great quarterback, but is he a great businessman?”
Deidre showed her first sign of impatience. “How do you expect her to answer that?”
“In her normal straightforward fashion,” Noah said. “Piper knows him better than either of us, and I’ve developed a healthy respect for her opinion. So tell us, Piper. Do you see Coop as a captain of industry?”
“I see Coop as being successful at whatever he sets his mind to,” Piper said carefully.
Noah walked toward her with a frosted beer mug. “But is running nightclubs what he should be setting his mind to? Tell us what your gut says.”
No. Absolutely not. Coop lifted an eyebrow at her, once again reading her mind. She took the mug. “I’m not going to second-guess Coop’s hopes and dreams, but I will say that you couldn’t pick anyone to do business with who’s more honest or hardworking.”
The housekeeper interrupted, looking flustered. The reason was immediately apparent as a pair of uniformed police officers followed her out onto the patio. “Deidre, these men are from the St. Charles police department.”
Piper came to her feet. Deidre merely looked curious. “What can I help you with?”
They ignored her to focus on Coop. “Mr. Graham, you’ll have to come with us. We have a warrant for your arrest.”
Noah stepped forward. “That’s ludicrous. On what charge?”
The officer regarded Coop grimly. “Sexual assault.”
19
The warrant had come from the city of Chicago. A woman had accused Coop of sexually assaulting her at the club last Wednesday night.
Deidre was regarding him with something like repulsion.
“Don’t be stupid,” Piper said harshly. “He didn’t assault anybody. He’s been set up.”
Coop gazed over at her, his expression unreadable.