Today, Vowing to Be His Hero (Granite County) is the snippet I chose. Saint is a wonderful hero. I loved how he handled Cooper and the aftermath of all the abuse the small man endured.
Enjoy.
Cooper opened his eyes and sat straight up. Blinking, he tried to clear the sleep from them. Something had woken him up, but he didn’t know what.
A crunch drew his attention to a piece of paper lying on his lap. During his nap, he had buried his fingers in the soft material of a green plaid comforter and twisted it around his hands. Freeing his fingers, he picked up the paper and saw it was from Craig. Apparently his brother had to run to the grocery store and would be back in twenty minutes.
A thump from outside had Cooper stiffening in fear. He strained to make out any other noises over the hum of the air conditioner. It didn’t help that the windows were closed to keep the cool air in. Cooper was in one of the spare rooms in the back of the one-story farmhouse. There was another spare room down from his and the master bedroom across the hall.
Another dull thump had Cooper jumping. This one seemed to come from the front porch. Cooper’s heart started pumping erratically, and he couldn’t seem to catch his breath. One more thump, this one louder, had him pulling the covers up over his mouth. This one definitely came from the front of the house.
Cooper’s heart almost stopped completely when Craig’s birds, Pete and Lola, started making warning cha-cha-cha sounds from their cage. Cold, slimy shivers of fear slid down his back, causing Cooper to shudder. What was he going to do if it was Oliver?
The ring of the doorbell echoed throughout the house, and Cooper jerked so hard the only thing keeping him in the bed was the comforter wrapped around his legs. With a few tugs to the bedding, Cooper freed himself. Using his hands, he lifted his injured leg to the side until it was hanging off the bed. A lightning slice of agony lanced into his thigh. Whoever was at the door was now pounding on the thick wood.
Grabbing the crutches the hospital had given him, Cooper gritted his teeth against the pain and rose to his feet. If it was Oliver at the front door, he was not going to lie here like a helpless ninny and let him do whatever he wanted. Those days were over.
Unfortunately, it took strength to balance and use the crutches, and after all he’d been through in the last year, Cooper didn’t have any left. He pitched forward, caught himself, and pitched forward again. More than once, Cooper almost ended up in a heap on the floor.
Slowly he made his way out to the living room and stopped about three feet from the front door. Terrified, he couldn’t go any closer.
“Hello. Synn, are you home? Don’t tell me you asked me to come here and now you’re not even home?” The door shook when a heavy fist hit the wood.
“Who’s there?” Cooper’s voice was barely above a whisper, yet he had to close his eyes to endure the pain in his throat.
Cooper tipped sideways, but at the last second, he managed to catch himself with some fancy maneuvering using the crutches. The pounding stopped.
“Is someone there?”
Cooper’s body gave out, and he crashed to the floor onto his side. One of the crutches slid across the hardwood and hit the front door. Cooper lay there curled into a ball, his whole body shaking and enveloped in pain. He wondered how many stitches he had ripped open. Another trip to the hospital was the last thing he wanted.
“What was that?” the deep voice asked through the door. “Shit, okay, if someone is there, hit the door again.”
Cooper reached out and shoved the end of the crutch until it hit the door. The voice wasn’t Oliver’s, and he had mentioned Synn’s name. Cooper could only hope he wasn’t being played for a fool by letting on he was in the house.
“All right, I heard you. Ah fuck how stupid I am. There’s a window right there.”
A huge silhouette covered the front living room window located about four feet to the right of the door. A finger tapped on the window.
“Can you see me?”
Cooper’s stomach rolled, and his guts started cramping up. The idea of lying on the floor and taking a nap was starting to seem like a good one. Maybe when he woke up he would feel better and be strong enough to get up. In the past, it had worked.
“Hey.” The irritating guy at the window tapped on it again. “If you can hear me, move your fingers.” Cooper moved his hand.
“Good job. Are you Cooper?” the voice asked. “No. Don’t move. If you’re injured, we don’t want to make it worse. Synn asked me to pick up Crystal from Mrs. Peterson.”
Cooper raised his head. Joy filled him at the thought of seeing Crystal.
“Now don’t be afraid. I’m going to open the door and bring Crystal in,” the voice called.
There was a click, and metal popped. The front door opened, and a huge man carrying a cat carrier stepped into the room. The guy’s eyes narrowed, and the corner of his mouth twitched when he saw Cooper lying there. Setting Crystal on the floor, the man knelt down next to him. Cooper could see Crystal’s beautiful face through the silver wire door of the carrier. She opened her mouth and a meow echoed through the room. He reached out wanting nothing more than to hold her.
“Let me get her out for you,” the big man said.
Cooper knew now wasn’t the time to admire the stranger’s flexing muscles as he brought Crystal to him, but heck he was only human. Just as the man set Crystal on his lap, there was a noise from the other side of the room and Crystal took off. That’s when all hell broke loose.
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