Chapter 11
11
Cooper
Lying on the couch, Haley is cuddled against my side as we watch a movie after dinner. Her head rests on my shoulder, and I use the arm around her to carefully run through her hair, the silky strands soothing over my hand.
I get the feeling tomorrow is going be a hard day at the gym, because the anger running through my veins at what she told me tonight has no chance at calming down until I beat the fuck outta something, namely a punching bag. I’m barely even watching the television, if I’m being honest, but having her safe in my arms is all I need right now.
Shifting around, Haley moves so that she’s facing me. I hold on and steady her as she moves to sit on my lap. Looping my arms around her waist, she drops her forehead to mine and then kisses me on the cheek.
“I’ve had a really nice night with you, Coop.”
“I’m glad, sweetheart.” One of my hands gently caresses her back until I’m cradling the back of her head in my hand, stroking my thumb along the back of her neck.
“Would you like to go with me to take Rome to the aquarium tomorrow? It’s supposed to be a nice day.”
“Of course. You don’t even have to ask,” I admit, and she grips my jaw as she drops her lips to mine. Our kiss starts out as slow and simple, but it takes no time for the passion to begin building. Without even realizing it, she’s moved her legs so that she’s now straddling me, and it’s only when she starts rocking her hips that I let out a loud groan and use my hands on her hips to still her motions.
“What are you doing?” she breathes, before kissing me harder, and rocking herself against my rapidly growing cock in my pants. The more she rubs up against it, the more my body gets heated and worked up.
“Fuck,” I groan, thrusting my hips up to meet her, and attaching my lips to the column of her throat. Biting down gently, I pull back to take her lips in a bruising kiss, eating at her mouth until we’re both breathing heavy and panting. “Fuck. Fuck , Hales, we gotta stop.”
“Coop.”
“No. No, sweetness, we need to stop.”
Wrapping my arms around her waist, I spin so I can sit her down next to me, and grab her face in my hands, running my thumbs over her cheeks.
“Coop?” her bottom lip trembles, and I lean forward to kiss her.
“You deserve more than a quick fuck or a dry hump on my damn couch, Haley. I want you, fuck do I want you, but it’s not going to start like this. Not after what you told me in the kitchen.”
She goes to interrupt, but I press my index finger to her lips to stop whatever she’s going to argue. “This is how a real man treats his girl, okay? I know you think you’re ready to be intimate with me in any way, but I’d never forgive myself if a few moments of frantic groping push you away from me.”
Her beautiful blue eye well up with tears, and I know I’ve got her. Because while she may be the strongest woman I’ve ever met, she’s also still so young and inexperienced. I’ll be damned if I let my fucking cock do all the talking and fuck things up.
“Okay,” she whispers, reaching out to run her fingers over my jaw and chin. “But I want full kissing rights, and I’m totally allowed to check you out whenever I want.”
Chuckling, I steal another kiss. “Kissing and checking me out are fully allowed. As long as I can do the same.”
“Of course.”
“Do you want to finish the movie, or should we go to bed? It’s getting late, and we have a full day at the aquarium to get rested up for.”
Haley contemplates it, but when she yawns seconds later, we both have our answer. With a laugh, we both stand from the couch, and she heads to her bedroom while I shut off the television and hit the lights before doubler checking the front door is secure. I go into the kitchen to grab a bottle of water, and then head for my bedroom.
Stepping in the hallway, I look in the open doorway of her room, and find her wearing an oversize tee while she hangs the dress she wore tonight in her closet. I find myself just staring at her, rapt with how beautiful she is, even doing such a menial task.
When she turns around and sees me staring at her, she blushes before moving into her bathroom. I follow after her, and just stand there watching her as she pulls her hair up into a bun on top of her head and washes her face. I don’t even leave as she brushes her teeth, and only after she wipes her face does she turn to me.
“Did you enjoy the show?” she teases, and I trace my index finger up and down her neck.
“I enjoy everything about you,” I say, voice husky and filled with desire. Grinning, she goes up on her toes to kiss my jaw, and then moves around me to get into her bedroom. I hit the bathroom light for her, and watch as she climbs into bed and settles against the pillows.
“I had a really nice time with you tonight, sweetheart,” I begin, going around the bed to kneel down next to where she’s lying.
“Me too, Coop. It was the best first date ever.”
Kissing her forehead, I smooth my thumb back and forth over where I just kissed her, and watch as her eyes flutter shut. I stay where I am until it seems like she’s falling asleep, and then I kiss her one more time before quietly moving out of the room. Pulling the door half closed behind me, I stand there for a moment before I whisper into the darkness.
“Good night, Haley girl.”
I’ve just finished dragging the tire over to the side yard at the station when Brax comes jogging outside. “Atta finished grilling the burgers, dude. Lunch is up.”
My stomach chooses that moment to growl, and we both smirk before hustling our asses inside. It’s been a week since my and Haley’s first date, and every moment since has been nothing but bliss. My off shifts were spent with her and Roman, and our day at the aquarium was a complete blast. Rome loved seeing all the fish, and he giggled uncontrollably every time one of the penguins shook itself off on the rocks.
Then Haley and I spend our evenings curled up on the couch together, watching movies or binge watching Supernatural, and talking about anything and everything, while also finding time to make out like teenagers. It’s been everything to me.
Brax and I make it into the kitchen as everyone else is, and we all gather around the massive table we all share our meals at. Chief comes to join us, but we’ve barely started to dig into our food when the bells go off.
“Single vehicle accident at Madison and Bellmore. All companies respond.”
Taking as large a bite as possible of my burger, we all run out to the floor and get geared up as fast as possible, before hopping in the respective vehicles. With Hollywood on my left, facing both Hayes and Fed, we all just sit in silence as we go racing to the scene.
Pulling up, we see a small sedan wrapped around a telephone pole, with sparks shooting down from the top. Grabbing for my walkie, I radio in to dispatch.
“47 to Main, requesting a power shut off at Madison and Bellmore. We got sparks and live wires, requesting backup.”
“Copy that, 47. Standby for assistance.”
I pull open the rig’s compartment door, and pull out a Halligan, before walking a wide perimeter around the car, trying to assess the situation as best as possible. Atta and Hawk are doing the same thing, and I see Myles doing his best to keep onlookers away from the scene.
It’s only a couple of minutes before the sparks go out, and my radio crackles. “Main to 47, power should be out. You’re clear to work.”
Chief begins shouting orders, and I get to work trying to get the driver’s side door open. “I got a female, unconscious and bleeding from the head.” Reaching in, I find her pulse. “Steady pulse, probably knocked out from the airbag. Fed, grab me the jaws!”
He comes running over moments later with the jaws in his hands, and he helps me get the door popped. As soon as I do, the stench of alcohol fills my nose, and I have to bite back my anger. She’s fucking loaded. Paramedics come over, and I’m getting the neck brace around her when Atta shouts from the back of the car.
“Chief! Get another fucking ambulance! We have a kid in the back!”
My eyes widen, because in my original assessment I didn’t see anything in the back. “What the fuck are you talking about?” I shout, working in tandem with Fed to get the driver out and onto the backboard.
“Young male, around five. He’s lying on the floor, and… fucking hell, he wasn’t wearing a seatbelt. Impact must have thrown him into the seat and onto the floor. Chief, tell them to hurry. I can’t find a pulse!”
The paramedics on site help us get the boy out of the vehicle, the sight of his bruised and crumpled body will never leave my memory, and I have to swallow back the bile. Damn it. If I had seen him, we could have gotten him out first, and we wouldn’t be waiting on a backup ambulance. Tears burn my eyes as I kneel down next to him and begin chest compressions, with Atta feeling for a pulse. It feels like hours, but is only a minute or two before the second rig comes flying on scene, the two medics running towards us with their jump bag.
“What have we got?” the male paramedic asks, and he pushes me out of the way to take over compressions.
“We found him in the back seat, we didn’t see him at first. He was on the floor, no seatbelt on. Driver is drunk and most likely didn’t force him to buckle up.”
I watch as they get him hooked up to the monitor and start an IV, and it feels like forever before they’re shouting clear, and his tiny body jerks into the air. It feels like my heart has stopped, watching this small boy fight for his life, and I feel a hand come down on my shoulder.
Turning to the left, I see Rhett holding onto me, and the rest of our guys are standing around the vehicle, watching intently as the medics do everything they can to save him. The sound of a steady rhythm breaks through the stillness of the scene, and the guys begin cheering loudly, my breath coming out in a loud whoosh. Rhett shakes me and gives me a hard hug, but I can’t find it in me to celebrate.
“Let’s get him to med. He’s not out of the woods yet,” the medic shouts, tucking the fluid bag next to him as they get him strapped to the backboard. We watch as he’s whisked away in a hurry, police arriving on scene as they leave. A couple of officers walk over to where Chief is, and he points towards the rig with the driver of the vehicle.
Good. Asshole has whatever is coming to her.
I finally calmed down from the call yesterday, with it being a fairly busy night and all, but as I stand in the bunk room getting my bag packed up, I can’t help feeling off. I have just gotten the last of my shit fit inside when Hawk comes into the room, still in his station gear.
“Chief just called a quick meeting in the briefing room,” he says, and I drop my bag on my bunk before following him into the room. Everyone else is already in there except for Hayes, who comes rushing in seconds after us.
“Everyone, take a seat please,” Chief says, and we all settle into chairs around the room. “I know it’s just about shift change, so I won’t prolong it. I just got a call from med. The young boy from the vehicle accident yesterday. Unfortunately, he took a turn for the worst upon arrival and he slipped away before they could do anything.”
A collective hush comes over us all, and my head drops to hang between my shoulders, tears filling my eyes.
Motherfucker.
“But we had him,” I croak out, looking up to see Chief with a grim expression. “We all heard his heart beat. We got him back, damn it.”
“Marchy,” Hawk begins, but I ignore him.
“What’s the condition of the driver?” I demand, and Chief’s eyes harden.
“Mild concussion, expected to make a full recovery.”
“Piece of shit,” I seethe, kicking the chair in front of me across the room.
“March.”
“There is a place in hell for someone who would drive fucking drunk and let their own child die, but walk away with barely a bump on the head. I swear to fucking?—”
“That is enough, March. Go home, your shift is done.”
“Fucking gladly,” I bite out, and as I hustle my ass to the bunk room, I fight like hell the need to break down. I’m walking out of the station when I’m stopped by my best friend, who looks like he’s been trying not to cry, too.
“Choir practice in an hour at Ruby’s,” he says, referring to our tradition at the bar. Anytime there’s a bad call and we need someplace to go, we go there and drown out our sorrows, and more than once Joey and Axel have had to get us all home in Ubers, or their own cars. But the idea of sitting in my bar after what we just learned turns my stomach.
“No, thanks. Text Axel, he’ll open up for you guys,” I say, and I walk to where I parked my SUV, tossing my shit inside before I climb in and start it up, flooring it and peeling away with a loud squeal.
The entire drive home I fight against the tears burning my eyes, and it’s only as I turn onto my street that I finally allow a few to slip down my cheeks. I don’t know what’s worse; the guilt of not seeing the boy fast enough, or the fact that we saved him, only for him to die anyway. And at the hands of his mother, no less.
I pull into my driveway, and after parking next to my girl’s car, I stumble from the SUV blind with tears and let myself inside. I’m seconds away from a complete meltdown and there’s only one place I want to be when that happens. Stepping into the living room, I find Haley sitting on the floor with Roman building a massive tower with blocks, and she looks up with a smile on her face when she hears me, but her face quickly morphs from happiness to concern when she takes in my appearance.
“Coop! What happened?” she asks, jumping to her feet. Haley runs over and the second she touches me, it’s over. My composure is gone, and as the tears fall and I begin crying, I drop into her arms and bury my face in her neck.
“I didn’t see him, Hales. I didn’t see him,” I sob, and she just holds me tight.
For a decade, Choir Practice was the only thing that got me through tough calls. But now, the only thing that will get me through this is being in the arms of the woman I’m falling in love.
I just need her.