It's In His Heart (A Red River Valley Novel) by Shelly Alexander Page B

a good idea for his summer school teacher and I to collaborate since I’m tutoring him.” She snatched her phone off the counter and thumbed at the screen. “I’ll have to rearrange a few things on my schedule, but it’s no problem to do that for Cal.”
    Oh, no. There wasn’t much he could do to stop her from invading his space in the cabin. She owned half the place, after all. But he wasn’t going to let her take over his responsibilities with Cal, even if she was trying to help. She could stick to tutoring his little brother. Coop and his father could handle the rest.
    “You have to rearrange your schedule?”
    She glanced at her phone. “Well, yes. Today is cleaning. Tomorrow is laundry. The next day is—”
    “You’ve got to be kidding me?” A schedule ? In Red River?
    She crossed her arms over her bare midsection, and the tank top pulled taut over her bustline. Coop’s tongue darted out to lick his lip and he bit down on it. Ow. That kinda hurt. But he had to stay focused.
    “You know what? It’s probably not a good idea for me to go with you. The point is to focus on Cal.”
    Fine by Coop. Mission accomplished. He didn’t want her at the conference.
    “I’ll just let Butch and Cal know that I can meet with his teacher on my own, if it would help.”
    Wait. But before he could inform her that there was no need for her to meet with Cal’s teacher, she stomped down the hall, into the bathroom, and slammed the door. The shower turned on.
    The toast popped up, and the smell of burnt eggs chaffed his nose. He snatched the pan off the burner. He stared at the empty hallway, then back at his browned eggs. With a deep exhale, he tossed the pan in the sink. Now she was even hogging the bathroom. Maybe one of her silly schedules would come in handy so he could actually have some time in the shower when he needed it.

C hapte r S ix

    Finally, the road dried out enough for Ella to drive her car into town. She tooled down Highway 578 through Carson National Forest with the sunroof open, enjoying the clear blue sky and crisp mountain air.
    She’d made good use of the five days she was homebound by cleaning and organizing the cabin. Butch called a few times to check on her and ask if she needed anything.
    So far, sharing a cabin with Coop hadn’t been the hurricane-force disaster she’d expected. Since he gave her a wide berth like he would a skunk on a country road, she’d had the place pretty much to herself, but it was time to get out and explore a little.
    She slowed her speed. With summer vacation season in full swing, the souvenir shops lining Main Street brimmed with tourists. Vacationers in comfortable tennis shoes, sun hats, and T-shirts from every university in Texas and Oklahoma ambled along the worn sidewalks and crossed at every intersection.
    Texans and Okies loved Red River. It served as a year-round playground where they could escape the harsh summer climates of their home states and enjoy the winter wonderland of the southern Rockies from November to March. There were probably more Texans in Red River than there were in Texas, and it kind of reminded her of home.
    Flipping the blinker, she sat at the four-way stop that ran down the side of Joe’s, where Butch offered to meet her for lunch. A two-story building with a red barn facade, it sported a neon sign that flashed its name and several brands of beer. A family wearing University of Texas paraphernalia moseyed through the crosswalk, giving her a friendly wave. She waved back, and they stepped onto the sidewalk, then she eased into the gravel parking lot behind the building.
    She got out of the car, and the fresh air filled her lungs, the atmosphere so crisp it almost crackled. She walked around to the front of the building and ascended the wooden staircase that bent to the right. Reaching the top, she stomped a little mud off her hiking boots against the planked, covered porch that lined the front of the restaurant.
    Ella walked into the