Lockwood Creek Book Two - This can be read as a stand-a-lone.
A Why Choose Story.
Maddy Lockwood was the Perfect Daughter and to save the Lockwood family she agreed to a marriage she did not want, but now she will learn the hard way that no matter...
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~ ~ Maddy ~ ~
Stomach in knots and armed with two bags of groceries, I headed inside the house pausing to kick off my pumps and walked through the kitchen. Dropping my keys and the bags on the table.
Thank heavens for central air. Breathing deeply, inside the house was much cooler than outside.
Looking down, my white t-shirt was streaked with dirt. Sucking on my lip, I wondered if I should head upstairs and change. No. That would likely raise more questions than I had answers to, and at least wearing my cut-off shorts and t-shirt looked like I'd been over at my parents' house mucking out the stables, which wasn't exactly a lie.
My stomach leapt hearing raised voices and every instinct since I stepped through the door was telling me to keep my guard up. It was his father's voice that dominated the conversation between them.
Darn it. This wasn't good and my shoulders sagged. I reckoned I could kiss goodbye to any ideas of Cooper being in a good mood.
Tiptoeing toward the hallway, I popped my head around the corner. Cooper's voice was muffled, but I heard his father mention Cooper's older brother, Walker.
Cooper was one of three children. The middle child. Walker, older by three years, was currently in Washington working for some up-and-coming senator hoping to prime his own political career. His younger sister, Annabelle, well let's just say she didn't think I was good enough for her brother, or her family and openly went out of her way to avoid me. Trust me, it was no loss.
Cooper's relationship with his father was tempestuous at best. Arnold Stanton was nothing short of ruthless, both with his business and from what I'd seen his family. He expected Cooper to take over the mantle when he retired.
He'd have his work cut out for him. The last thing Cooper wanted was to be tied down to a job...any job, but especially one that required him to use his brain and sit behind a desk. He'd been the star quarterback, and it got him all the attention whether it was from girls who wanted to be with him or guys who wanted to be him. He'd been the pride and joy of Lockwood.
Cooper had loved the attention and adoration and I never understood why he agreed to this shambles of a marriage. But perhaps he hadn't. Perhaps he was as trapped as I was?
The only difference being he seemed to enjoy making my life a misery.
Although at the start, he hadn't been like this—cruel, hateful, abusive. He'd been almost attentive and nice. Not that would have ever made me want to marry him, either.
With a steadying breath, I made my way back inside the kitchen and unpacked the groceries. Another ten minutes would pass before I heard the slamming of the front door and my husband found me washing vegetables because dinner had to be ready for six on the dot from his approved menu, not that I cared, because I'd long since lost the ability to enjoy the food I ate.
