Chapter 12
12
Haley
“Hey Coop, I need to get Rome some lunch. Do you want anything?”
Shaking his head, he curls up tighter to me and I turn my head to kiss his forehead. “Not hungry.”
“You need to eat something,” I point out, and he just shakes his head again. “Fine.”
Untangling myself from him, I take Roman with me into the kitchen and busy myself with making us both mac and cheese. Buckling him into the high chair, I hand over a bowl of the pasta, and then leave him to go check on Cooper again. He’s sound asleep on the couch, and his cell phone is buzzing on the table. I go to check on it when it stops, before starting right back up again. Checking the screen in case it’s his family or something, I see Rhett calling him.
His best friend. Shit.
Not sure what to do, I set the phone back down and when the call ends, I see that he has over a dozen missed calls. When Rhett starts calling yet again, I take the phone back into the kitchen and answer it quietly.
“Hello?”
“Haley? It’s Rhett.”
“I know. Cooper is asleep, but I saw you keep calling so I didn’t want you to worry.”
There is loud noise in the background, and then it’s gone, so I’m guessing wherever he is, he’s stepping outside or away from the commotion.
“Yeah, we’re all worried about him. He skipped Choir Practice, which isn’t like him, and then he went radio silent on us all.”
“Choir Practice?” I ask, reaching into the fridge to get Roman a juice box.
“Yeah, it’s this thing we all do after a bad call. We go back to Cooper’s bar, Ruby’s, and we get trashed together to try and forget the bad call or shift we had. Normally, Coop opens the bar for us and he either joins in on getting shit faced or he keeps watch over us.”
“What happened yesterday?” I question, sitting down at the table next to Rome. “I know I’ve only known him a couple months, but I’ve never seen him like that before.”
“Like what?”
“He walked in the front door and just dropped to the ground. He was crying and shaking, and wouldn’t tell me what happened. We got comfortable on the couch but he wouldn’t let me or Rome out of his sight.”
Rhett releases a deep sigh. “We got called to a car accident. Drunk driver wrapped her car around a telephone pole. When Cooper assessed the situation, he didn’t see the five-year-old on the floor in the back seat. Car was wrapped around the tree, and with the way it was crumpled, it was hard to see in the backseat clearly. We got the kid to med alive, but he passed shortly after. Cooper left the meeting before Chief could tell him, but it was a subdermal hematoma.”
“A what?” I ask.
“It’s a brain bleed. The kid didn’t have on a seatbelt, so he hit his head during the crash. I guess they didn’t get even get a chance to pull him in for a head CT before he started seizing, and he was brain dead before they got him into surgery.”
“My God,” I whisper, leaning over to kiss Roman.
“So, I’m sure he’s working through a shit ton of guilt, and then grief over losing a child.”
“I wish he’d told me,” I say, letting a few tears slip down my cheeks.
“Yeah, that’s usually why Choir Practice helps. Gets the ugly out before we can face the pain. If he’d had time to work through it, I know he would have told you.”
“How are the rest of you doing? I assume you’re all at the bar?”
“Yeah, I stepped into the hallway to talk to you. Axel and Joey are both here and will make sure we all get home safe. Myles is currently showing Braxton how to pound tequila the most efficient way possible, so we’re all doing pretty good.”
I chuckle. “You sound pretty sober, Rhett.”
“Yeah. I was more concerned with my best friend being safe than letting myself pound the liquor. But if you’ll excuse me, there’s a bottle of tequila waiting for me at the bar.”
“Be safe,” I chide, and he laughs.
“Take care of Marchy, Haley.”
I end the call, and as I set the phone down on the counter, I see Cooper standing in the doorway. My heart starts pounding, but as he strides over to me, I notice the tears in his eyes.
“Coop,” I begin, but he simply puts his arm around my shoulders and yanks me into his chest.
“Thank you,” he says harshly, and I fight against my emotions. This poor man, what he must have seen. And to come home and be strong enough to show his emotions in front of me, to be vulnerable enough to know that what he really needed was me.
It’s humbling. And also confirms what I already know.
Cooper is a good man. The best kind.
“Will you please eat something” I ask, and he steps back with a sigh.
“Yeah. Who was on the phone? Rhett?”
I nod. “Yeah, your phone kept going off, and I didn’t want him to worry about you. I’m sorry for answering your phone, I just?—”
“I’m not upset, Hales. I appreciate you taking care of me like this.”
“How could I not? After everything you’ve done for me? Go sit, I’ll get you some lunch.”
Cooper kisses the top of my head and moves around me to go join Rome at the table. I see the first real smile come across his face when Rome tries to share his macaroni with him, and it warms my heart to see my son still so taken with him.
I know exactly how he feels.
Bringing Cooper a water bottle and a bowl of mac and cheese, I set them down next to him. He thanks me, but before I can get away, he pulls me down on his lap and hooks his arm around my waist. “Your mama is pretty special, huh, Romey?”
“Mama. Mama pwitty.”
I grin and ruffle Rome’s hair, and Cooper stares up me. “Yeah, buddy. Mama is beautiful.”
My cheeks heat, and I bend over to kiss him properly, smoothing my hands over his jaw as I do. “Such a sweet talker,” I tease.
“Nah. All truth, sweetness. I have no idea what I would have done without you today.”
Pretending to think it over, I point to where his phone is sitting. “Something tells me you’d be drunk and trying to help Myles teach Brax how to shoot tequila the proper way.”
“Oh no,” he groans, and then we both laugh.
“Rhett was going to find the tequila when we ended the call, so something tells me the party was about to get even crazier.”
“God, if him and Hawk try to outdrink each other, they’re gonna be wheeling them out in a barrel.”
“Are you okay?” I ask softly, and he shrugs.
“It was a hard call,” he states, and I rub my hand over his back.
“Yeah, Rhett told me about it. But there’s nothing you could have done, Coop.”
“And how do you know that?” he bites out, and for the first time the anger in his voice is apparent, and I have to force down all my past insecurities. One thing I know when it comes to this man, this is just Cooper trying to process the pain.
“He had a brain bleed that they didn’t know about yet when he was brought in. It doesn’t matter how fast you got him out of the car. He was brain dead before they could even get him into surgery.”
Cooper gnaws on his bottom lip, and I reach out to soothe him as best I can.
“They don’t know that,” he whispers, and I bow my head, before turning his face up to mine. “I could have saved him, Hales.”
“You did what you could, honey. Your job was to get him to the hospital alive, and you did that. Your team did that. But now you have to let it go, and find a way to forgive yourself.”
He sniffles, and his beautiful blue eyes fill with tears. I simply sit and rifle my fingers through his hair, and let him sit in silence. I can only hope that my words help him find some sort of peace, and he can start to let go of the guilt.
It was a fairly quiet couple days off for Cooper. While I still had to go to work today, I let Roman stay home, so that Coop could spend some time with him. While he woke up this morning and seemed in much better spirits, I could tell the weight of the call was still heavy on his mind. I FaceTimed him on my lunch break, and they were reading books in his bedroom.
I’m right on the verge of falling so completely head over heels in love with this man, and I can’t even find it in me to worry anymore. It was pretty much a done deal the night of the apartment fire. It’s been moving full speed ahead ever since.
Stopping at the store to grab some more orange juice, I quickly make the drive to the house. When I pull in the driveway, I see a black vehicle that I don’t recognize. Grabbing my lunch bag and tote off the back seat, I carry them inside and kick off my shoes at the door.
“Hales, that you, sweetness?”
“Yeah, it’s me.” Stopping in the living room to drop my bags, I carry the orange juice to the kitchen, before peering out the open sliding doors to the deck. Stepping outside, I find Cooper sitting on the deck while Roman wears a swim diaper and putters around on some water pad at the bottom of the few stairs leading to his yard.
Then I look back at Cooper, and notice a man I’ve never met sitting on the other side of the door. Not knowing who he is, I turn around so I can hold out my hand, but Cooper beats me to it. Coming over to wrap his arm over my shoulders, he kisses my temple before introducing us.
“Haley, meet Rhett Ferguson, my best friend.”
“It’s so nice to finally meet you,” I tell him, and before I can shake his hand, he stands to his full height and wraps me in a tight hug. He’s tall like Cooper, with tan skin, and he’s got that total dark eyed sinful look going on.
“Nice to meet you, Haley. I appreciate you looking out for my boy the way you have.”
“Anytime,” I laugh, and Cooper releases me to go down to Roman, and I stand there with Rhett, watching as they play together, Roman shrieking the whole time.
“I’ve never seen him lose it the way he did after that call. And now, he’s back to the way he usually is. He has you to thank for that, Haley. Whatever you’ve done the last couple days has meant more to him than you realize.”
Shrugging, I cross my arms over my chest. “I didn’t do anything but be here for him,” I say quietly, digging my teeth into the inside of my cheek. “I held him when he needed it, and I did my best to make him laugh when he got too down.”
“You’re good for him. He’s been my best friend since elementary school, and all that guy has ever really wanted is to be loved and to have a family. Looks to me like you’re well on your way to giving him everything.”
“I hope so,” I whisper. “Roman was brought into this world by one person who loved him more than anything, and someone who wanted nothing to do with him. Once I got on my own two feet and was able to move past it, I realized that all I wanted was him to have two people who loved him. I knew that even if I never found it, my boy would be okay. But Cooper and Roman together.” I point down to where Cooper is shaking Roman around the water pad, his clothes getting soaking wet.
“They’re magic together, and Roman loves him so much.”
“You bring out the best in each other. It’s obvious to anyone who knows Cooper. And I’m sure if you give us all time to get to know you, we’ll say the same thing about you.”
“Thank you, Rhett.”
“Anytime. Now, what do you say we go order a pizza for dinner and let these two play for a little while longer?”
Laughing, we head into the house where I offer him a beer, and together we sit down at the kitchen table and I get to know my boyfriend’s best friend. By the time Cooper and Roman come inside for towels, I find that he’s a pretty remarkable man himself. Not surprising, since Cooper holds all the guys at the station in such high esteem. I make a mental note to bake them some sweet treats and bring them by the station on their next shift.
Now that I have someone to take care of besides Roman, it’s time I start spoiling him.