“You shouldn’t have bought a Jeep that originated in Michigan,” Tony told him.
Cooper looked around. Another set of his senior students had a car on a lift and were doing a brake job. “Anyone need any help?” he called out.
“Got it.”
“We’re good.”
Cooper waved his donut in the air. “In that case, I’ll be at my desk.”
“Thanks for letting us come in,” Kyle said.
“We’re good.” He indicated the classroom. “You know where I am.” As Cooper left the shop, he popped an AirPod in his ear and removed his phone from his back pocket. What looked like he was listening to music was actually him eavesdropping on the shop conversation as he left the room.
“He seems cool,” Tony said right as Cooper cleared the door.
“So far so good,” Kyle said.
Kyle’s words made Cooper pause.
From that point on it was rust this and plug that. Nothing incriminating.
It wasn’t until he stepped on the track field that he felt anything else that needed recording. None of which had anything to do with the case, and had everything to do with Claire.
He arrived late, which was expected on Fridays until the track meets started.
Claire was poised and ready in the last hundred yards of a relay race. She watched as the third runner pumped arms and feet as she rounded the corner.
Claire’s hand reached back, her legs bouncing.
Cooper walked to the side of the field to Coach Bennett. “Hey.”
Bennett shook his head. In each hand he held a stopwatch. “Watch this.”
“Watch wha—”
Bennett interrupted with the lift of his right hand toward the track.
The second Claire started to move, Bennett leaned forward.
The baton passed, and Bennett clicked one of his timers.
Claire took off, and the other teammates stopped to stare.
Cooper knew she could move, had watched her more than once, not to mention the last time she tackled him to the ground.
His lips pulled into a grin.
She was a powerhouse that didn’t let up until she was well past the finish line and Bennett was staring at both of his stopwatches with a huge smile. “We just found our last leg in our Varsity Girls Relay.”
The grin on Cooper’s face spread ear to ear.
And as he watched Claire catch her breath and walk off the track with her teammates patting her back, he realized the fine line they were treading.
Get enough attention, but not too much.
He was afraid Claire had just pushed over the line.
Cooper walked beside Coach Bennett as he made his way to Claire’s side.
She was hunched over, hands on her knees as she caught her breath.
“Not bad, young lady,” Bennett said.
Her attention found Cooper first and quickly moved on to the coach. “Thanks.”
“I’m putting you in this position for our invitational.”
“What?” Claire lost her smile and found Cooper’s eyes. “Really?”
“Maybe the one hundred, too.”
The coach diverted his attention and walked away.
Cooper glanced around, then leaned closer. “That’s not good.”
She stood tall and wiped her forearm over her brow. “I was holding back.”
Just then, two of the other girls from the relay bounced up to Claire and put their arms over her shoulders.
“You just flew!”
“So cool.”
Claire placed a fake smile on her lips and stared at Cooper. “I didn’t know I had it in me.”
CHAPTER NINE
Wearing a T-shirt and jeans every day had Claire searching for something a little different when she wasn’t at school.
With Jax at her side, they walked into headquarters at eight thirty for their nine o’clock meeting Saturday morning. Most days, Jax would drive separately, not seeing the need to arrive early, but Lewis was meeting her around the corner for lunch, and the plan was to stay with him until Sunday. The poor guy had been put on the back burner since their assignment began.
Jax stayed in the situation room, and Claire moved on to the surveillance room searching for coffee.
“Hey,” she said as she crossed through the doors.
She went straight to the coffeepot and was surprised to smell something fresh.
“Oh, hi.”
She glanced up to find an unfamiliar face watching the monitors. “Sorry, you must be new.”
And youngish. Late twenties, maybe early thirties. Looked like the typical Neil recruit. Still had the military haircut and shoulders that filled out a shirt. Easy smile, a good seven out of ten on the attractive scale.
“I’m Manuel,” he said, leaning over to shake her hand.
Claire moved the coffeepot to her other hand to shake his. “Claire,” she told him.
“You work for Neil?” he asked.
“Yeah. We have a nine o’clock briefing.”
Manuel didn’t offer more than a nod.
“This smells fresh.” She lifted the coffeepot.
“I made it about a half hour ago. I can’t stand stale coffee.”
Claire found herself smiling. “Finally, someone in this office that has taste buds.”
Her new coworker laughed and turned back to the monitors while she fished out a clean mug and poured herself her second cup for the day.
“Nice meeting you,” she said as she backed out of the room.
“You, too.”
At the whiteboard in the situation room, Jax was laying out their notes and pictures of some of the possible players they’d managed to identify.
Lars arrived next, and before the door shut, Cooper and Neil stepped in together.
“Wow, why are you girls all dolled up?” Lars asked before he sat down.
“Jax has a date,” Claire announced.
Neil came to a stop. “Not with one of the students.”
Jax made a motion as if she was going to be ill.
Claire laughed.
“What’s your excuse?” Cooper asked. “Do you have a date, too?” His eyes walked up and down her body. She was wearing a dress, which she didn’t often do unless she was painting the town with her best friend.
But sometimes, when she’d been cooped up too long and hadn’t been able to shop or let her hair down, or be something other than a girl trapped in a world she didn’t want . . . yeah, at those times she needed to get out. It was her release valve.
Jax started to laugh.
And laugh.
Claire followed Cooper’s gaze in Jax’s direction.
“Claire doesn’t date!”
The hair on her neck started to stand on end.
“I date.”
Jax leaned her head back and laughed. “No, what you do doesn’t classify as dating.”
Much as Claire wanted to disagree, she knew her friend spoke the truth. It wasn’t that she had an aversion to dating, there just didn’t seem to be enough datable guys out there.
“What the hell does that mean?” Cooper’s tone was anything but happy as he asked the question.
Claire was about to ask why he cared when Neil stepped forward. “Are we done with the chitchat and ready to work?”
“Technically this is my day off, and since I have homework, not even that.”