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of the day and sweat your ass off.”
    At sixty-five, Thaddeus Gerhardt’s face and forearms had seen so much of the sun they’d wrinkled and dried out over the years, making the man appear worn and aged beyond his time. Even the whites of his eyes had lost their brightness and had long since faded to a dull grey. Studying him, Coop was reminded how hard the old man worked himself.
    Slumping his shoulders and dropping his face as he stabbed a sausage link and stuffed it morosely into his mouth, Cooper mumbled, “It wasn’t such a pressing matter.” He’d merely wanted to rush to the Rawlings mansion and steal Jo Ellen away from her dirt bag boyfriend. “I can probably do it this afternoon and bale the field this morning.”
    “I said do what you like,” his dad retorted with his usual gruff air. “As long as the grass is baled by the time the sun goes down, I don’t care what time you start.”
    Coop speared his father with a dry scowl. “But if I don’t start on it this morning, you’ll probably go and bale it yourself before I get to it this afternoon.”
    As his father frowned, his mother laughed. “He’s got you there, Thad. The boy knows his daddy only too well.”
    Thaddeus grumbled something under his breath and returned his attention to his breakfast, ignoring both his wife and son. But no matter how tough the old man tried to act, Coop knew his dad was one of the softest individuals he’d ever meet.
    As Loren seated herself and started her own breakfast of oatmeal, Coop chewed silently, watching his parents.
    He’d been an oops child, born when they were both in their forties after they thought they were finished having children. His two sisters were so much older than him; they’d already moved out and started their own lives. Brendel and Stacia were both married with five kids between them, and Brendel’s oldest son trailed Coop by only six months.
    He’d grown up instinctively knowing he’d someday be the one to care for these two when they grew too old to care for themselves. It made him protective of them.
    Realizing his father really would do his work for him if he didn’t do it this morning, Coop sighed and revised his plans. Jo Ellen probably wouldn’t be awake yet anyway. She would need to recuperate from her hangover. Then she’d have to contact Untermeyer and break it off with him. Cooper was being too anxious wanting to see her this early; that was all.
    So, as soon as he cleared his plate, he pushed his chair back, put his dirty dishes in the washer, and paused to plant a loud, smacking kiss to the crown of his mom’s head before he grabbed his hat and was out the door.
    He rushed, making sloppy work of the field. His dad would probably complain when he saw how much hay Cooper left lying in the field, but Coop was too eager and antsy to see Jo Ellen, he didn’t even care. He’d go over it again tomorrow…if his dad didn’t get to it first.
    He finished baling by late morning. His mom would have lunch on the table in under an hour. As Coop stored the tractor back in the barn and paused to unhook the baler, he debated with himself if he should wait until after lunch or head over to the Rawlings’ house now.
    He’d have less time to visit Jo Ellen if he left now, but he’d get to see her sooner if he didn’t wait until later. Then again, if he showed up over there so close to dinnertime, maybe the Rawlings would invite him to eat with them, in which case he’d have the rest of the day to spend with her.
    Mind made up, Cooper hopped into the shower as soon as he made it back to the house. Afterward, he tugged on some fresh clothes, his Sunday best. Finally clean and impatient, he started toward the big mansion.
    He couldn’t say guilt bothered him about being the reason Jo Ellen was going to break up with Untermeyer. He gained a spiteful satisfaction from it, actually. But vengeance wasn’t the consuming thought tumbling around in his head as he pulled into the Rawlings