Cooper is the kind of man you throw it all away for.

“I don’t know.” I look around at everything but Cooper. “This is crazy. You’re perfect and I’m broken.”

He pulls me on the couch and leans back. “You’re not broken. You’re confused, and I get that. I’m not trying to make things worse for you.”

“Then why are you asking me out? Clearly, I’m not as strong as I thought I was.”

If he knows I’m confused, then why try? It doesn’t make sense to me. He’s good-looking, owns his own business, and has everything a girl could want, but he keeps pushing for something with me. It seems nuts.

Cooper smiles and grazes his thumb across the top of my hand. “Have you ever wanted something and couldn’t have it? And then it’s so close, just within your grasp but not quite there. Either you can surrender or keep reaching. I’m not a man who gives up.”

“And when you grasp this, and it’s cracked or not as shiny as you thought it would be, then what?”

My house phone rings, and I hear the machine answer. “Grace, it’s your mother. Listen, I need you to come over here and help your daddy out today. His hip is givin’ him trouble and he’s a stubborn mule who thinks he can work through the pain.” My mom lets out an annoyed huff. “If you can get here quickly that would be great. I tried you on your cell phone, but you didn’t answer. Call me back.”

I look to Cooper and quickly explain. “I’m sorry, but I really do need to help them. My father doesn’t understand he shouldn’t be workin’ on the farm like this.”

“I’m free for the day. Let me come help.”

“What?” I ask with surprise.

“I do know my way around a farm.” Cooper stands and puts his hand out. “I’m sure you could use some extra help. There’s never a short list of things to be done.”

He’s right. I do what I can when I’m over, but there’s a lot that I can’t. My father taught me to ride horses, not woodwork. If he’s willing, it would be a lifesaver. “Are you sure?”

“Hurry your cute butt up before I change my mind. We’ve got work to do.” Cooper grins, and I place my hand in his.

“All right.”

I stand and pull him in for a hug. It’s sweet that he’s willing to go over there with me, especially after the morning we’ve had. I don’t know what I’ve done to deserve his friendship, but I’m so thankful.

We ride over to my parents’ house and find my father in the barn. “Hi, Daddy.”

“Gracie Lou!” Daddy calls out from the other side of the barn. “There’s my beautiful girl.”

“Mr. Rooney.” Cooper steps forward and shakes his hand. “Good to see you, sir.”

My dad chuckles, “Cooper Townsend, what brings you here to our home?”

My father looks at me and then Cooper. Oh, Jesus. If my father has to pick a side in this, he will be team Trent. It isn’t that my dad doesn’t like Cooper, but he loves Trent. I mean loves Trent.

They’ve gone fishing, hunting, shooting, and God knows what else together. I don’t know what it is that bonds them, but they’ve always gotten along. My father has never been quiet about wanting the two of us to be married and refers to Trent as the son he always wanted.

I hope bringing Cooper here wasn’t a mistake.

“Daddy, Cooper’s here to help out with some of the things you need done. We were talkin’ when Mama called, and he offered to come out here to get more accomplished than I can do on my own.”

“Well,” he pats Cooper on the shoulder, “that’s awful kind of you helpin’ my little girl. I appreciate the assistance, son.”

“Sure thing, Mr. Rooney. I’m happy to help.”

Daddy gives a very long list of things that he’s trying to tackle, and I try to keep my composure. He prattles on about broken engines, a fence falling down, and the siding he needs to replace. There’s no way he could’ve gotten half of this done. Between the mess at the store and the disaster on the farm, I’m going to have to talk about this with them sooner rather than later. They can’t keep letting things get this bad without any help.

“I’ll get started on some of the fence issues if you want to work with your dad,” Cooper offers.

“You’re so sweet. Thank you. I’ll come find you in a bit.”

Cooper heads off with tools and a plan while I try to supervise Daddy a little. He climbs the ladder and inspects one of the loose boards.

“Hand me that hammer, would you?”

“Sure thing.” I grab the tool, place it in his hand, and observe him for a moment. The last few years have aged him. His once jet-black hair is now mostly gray, his gait is a little slower, and he looks tired. Not that I can blame him. Running a farm is hard work. It’s long days, unforgiving weather, and a lot of headaches. We’ve sold off acres of land over time, which allowed Daddy to scale back, but I know he wishes he had a son to pass it on to.

“So, now you and the Townsend boy are dating?” Daddy says as he bangs the nail.

I knew this was coming. “We’re friends, Daddy.”

“That’s not what I hear.”

My mother and her big mouth. My father lives in a world of working on the farm and watching golf. He has no time for gossip. If this is what he’s hearing, then there’s only one source.

“I think you heard wrong.”

“There’s nothing wrong with my hearing darlin’. As much as I wish that had gone first,” he mumbles, “then maybe your mama wouldn’t nag me so much.”

I giggle. “I think she’d find a way.”

“Probably right. That woman would hire one of those planes that writes messages in the sky if it meant me doin’ what she wanted.”

It’s cute how happily they irritate each other. “You know you’d be lost without her.”

He grunts. “Don’t ever tell her that.”

“It’ll be our secret.”

My dad continues to fix the board, and I breathe a sigh of relief.

“Cooper, huh?” he asks as he climbs off the ladder.

I guess I’m not out of the woods.

“It’s not like that. I don’t know if we’ll be more, but he’s a good man. He came out here to help you on his day off.”

“Uh-huh. So, you gonna fix things with Trent?”

He walks over to the tool bench and sits. This can’t be good. He’s hunkering down for a real conversation.

“He doesn’t love me. How do you fix something like that?”

He jerks his head. “You know, it’s not always easy, but you have to fight, baby girl.”

“It’s not that simple. I can’t force him to become an adult.”

My father took it the hardest when Scarlett died. He felt like he failed his little girl, and he became extra protective of me. I think he also likes that Trent is a protector. Daddy respects the law and knows that Trent upholds it, not breaks it.

My father leans forward and touches my cheek. “I reckon you can’t. You’re a smart girl, and you’ll know who’s right for you.”

Therein lies the issue, I don’t know what’s right. My heart and my head don’t ever agree when it comes to men.

I smile and touch his hand. “I get my smarts from you.”

He winks. “I know it. You get your fight from your mama. That woman can argue herself in or out of anything. Enough talkin’, let’s get back to work.”

“I’m going to check on Cooper and help him with mending the fence. You all right in here?”

Daddy scoffs and waves his hand. “Don’t you worry about me. I’m as strong as an ox.”

He’s a mess.

I start to walk out toward the field where Cooper is working—with his shirt off—and let out a heavy sigh. Why can’t the man keep a shirt on? I think about how he didn’t hesitate to come out here. He actually offered to spend the day working on our farm. Not many men would spend their day off doing hard labor, let alone have it be their idea.

My father was right. I do know who is the right man. I don’t know if I can let go of the other one. My mind drifts to last night and this morning. How I felt being in Trent’s arms. How he said things I’ve been longing to hear.

I take my phone out of my pocket and send a text to Trent.

Me: I know you’re with your family, but we should talk about what happened today.

They do this trip every year, and one of the rules is no phones unless it’s an emergency. This doesn’t qualify as one.

“Hey!” Cooper calls out when he sees me.

I wave and start moving in his direction. “Hey, how’s it goin’?” I ask as he wipes sweat from his brow.

“Good. I’m about done here. I wanted to help your dad on gettin’ his tractor workin’. I think it might cut down on some of the other things he’s let slide. If we have some time, maybe we can get the horses some exercise?”

“You really don’t have to do that.”

Cooper tosses his shirt over his shoulder and laughs. “It’s either that or we’re workin’ here a few days a week.”