him before she stood by his table.
“Have you ever ordered anything different for breakfast?” she asked curiously, setting the plate in front of him.
Cooper studied the stack of five pancakes, the golden surface dotted with blueberries he knew to be fresh. His mouth was watering in anticipation of that first bite.
“Not for the past sixteen years,” he replied. “When you find something good, you tend to stick with it.”
“Some day you ought to go wild and try them with bacon,” she whispered as she refilled his coffee cup. She moved away as Marge called an order for pickup.
Cooper settled back to savor his breakfast. And visually savor Caroline. Some would say his interest in the young woman was because she was pretty. No, there was more to it than that. He just wasn’t sure he was ready to further explore those thoughts.
“That’s what I like to see first thing in the morning. A member of our esteemed law enforcement team sitting here stuffing his face with blueberry pancakes instead of out there fighting crime. Makes me feel downright safe.”
Cooper looked up. “Up yours, Spencer. I do this to keep my energy level up, so I can catch all those bad guys you’re worried about.” He waved toward the empty seat across from him.
Brady Spencer slid into the seat across from Cooper. He made a face as he stared at Cooper’s plate. “One day a breakfast like that will catch up with you,” Brady pointed out.
“You’re just jealous because I have a better metabolism than you. Comes from being more active than your average sedentary surgeon.”
Brady’s retort was interrupted by Caroline’s appearance.
“Would you like a menu, Dr. Spencer?” she asked.
Cooper noticed that Caroline’s usually bright smile appeared a bit strained. If he didn’t know better, he’d swear she was nervous.
Brady looked up and flashed the smile that quickened many a woman’s heart. “Just coffee, thanks, Caroline.”
She quickly set a cup down in front of him and filled it. She topped off Cooper’s cup before leaving.
Brady glanced at her. “Lovely woman.”
“You don’t want Eden to hear you say that,” Cooper advised him. “She’d have your hide for sure.”
Brady’s smile broadened at the mention of his new wife. “Nah, she wouldn’t damage anything serious. She’d just make sure I never looked at another woman again.”
Cooper thought of the Spencer men and the women who’d enriched their lives. He admitted, only to himself, that he wouldn’t mind finding a woman who could do that for him. He didn’t hold out much hope for it.
The last woman he’d had a relationship with had told him he was too serious. She couldn’t imagine him going out and cutting loose. He told her that wasn’t him, and if she cared for him, she’d take him the way he was.
She took herself out of his life the next day.
“So what brings you here?” Cooper asked.
Brady shrugged. “Just wanted to talk with an old friend. Anything wrong with that?”
“Depends on what that old friend wants to talk to me about.”
Brady glanced toward the counter, where Caroline was taking an order from old Henry Farris. He had to be at least ninety, but it didn’t stop him from trying to look down her blouse as he ordered his usual oatmeal and a bran muffin.
God love them, nothing ever changed in this town.
“What do you think the Woman of the River looks like?” he asked suddenly.
Cooper refused to rise to the bait. He used the side of his fork to cut off a bite-size piece of pancake, and brought it to his mouth. Brady, used to his evasion tactics, patiently waited.
“Laughing Bear knows more about that story than I do,” he said finally. “Why don’t you ask him?” He flashed a mock-threatening stare at Brady as the other man started to reach for a sausage. Brady shrugged and backed off.
“I would think the woman in the legend could have blondish hair and green eyes. What do you think?”
“I don’t think about it,” Cooper lied as he took another bite. He didn’t want to think about Caroline. He wanted his life to go back to the way it was. He especially wanted to consider his pancakes, which had fresh blueberries folded into the batter, the best pancakes in the world. As far as he was concerned, he rated them right up there with his first taste of coffee in the morning.
Brady leaned across the table. “I need to talk to you about something,” he said in a low voice.
Cooper read the gravity in the other man’s eyes. “How serious are we talking?” He also kept his voice low, so no one could overhear their conversation.
“Caroline came to the wedding with Marge,” he began. Cooper nodded, silently urging his friend to continue. “Sometime during the reception, Dad went inside the house. While there, he noticed Caroline standing by his desk, looking at a family picture.” His glance slid sideways to ensure the object of their conversation wasn’t nearby.
“Since she must have been invited, I can’t arrest her for trespassing.” Cooper said. “Do you have another reason for telling me this? Did you ever stop to think she might have been admiring the Spencer boys? Although with all of you falling into the marriage trap, the odds of her landing a Spencer are now zip.”
Brady shook his head. “Not likely. This one was taken when we were boys.” He paused and looked down at his hands, which were cupped around his coffee mug. “All I’m asking is that you see what you can dig up on this woman. Nothing heavy-duty.” Brady looked up at Cooper. “Dad wouldn’t ask you. You know how he is.”
Cooper certainly knew Elias Spencer. The older man and his three sons were like family.
And more than anyone, Cooper knew the story about Elias’s wife and how she’d left him and their sons. After all, it had been last fall when Brady’s brother Seth had asked Cooper to find information on their mother, Violet. The sad part was her leaving them in order to be with another man. Elias had never spoken her name again, until recently, and the Spencer brothers likewise acted as if they’d never had a mother. They had, however, discovered they had a half sibling out there somewhere. Apparently Violet had died in childbirth.
Still, Cooper balked.
“Why me? Why not ask her yourself?” he asked. “It still could have been something innocent. Lots of people like to look at family photographs.”
Brady shook his head. “Dad said there was a look on her face that had nothing to do with idle curiosity.” He glanced at his watch and quickly finished his coffee. “I’ve got to get to the hospital.” He started to rise, then stopped and looked at his friend. “Will you see if you can find anything out?”
Cooper didn’t tell him he’d had a few suspicions of his own about Tyler’s new resident. “There’s no reason for me to do it through official channels.”
“Hey, she’s single. You’re single.” Brady arched an eyebrow. “It wouldn’t hurt for you to get out a little more.”
“Now you sound like my grandfather,” he muttered into his orange juice. “Go on. I’ll do whatever I can.”
Brady nodded and headed for the front of the diner. He stopped at the register and talked to Marge for a few moments before leaving.
Cooper envied people like Brady, who could talk to anyone about anything. As for him, he was never much for small talk, so the idea of finding out about Caroline Benning wasn’t going to be easy. Too bad she hadn’t stolen something at Elias’s house. Then he’d have a good reason to haul her in for questioning, and he’d have a chance to find out everything