Chapter 19
Beatrix
That morningwhen I wake up, I forget that I’m in Cooper’s bed and wonder for all of ten seconds where I am and how I made it here. The night before comes flashing back to me, and my heart skips in my chest.
Right. The Rawlings Rubicon. I crossed it. More like leapt across it.
I lift my head just enough that I can see Cooper still fast asleep beside me, and I slip out of bed. I look to the floor for my clothes when I remember I don’t have any in here. My swimsuit was abandoned outside along with my coverup. I cringe. I’m not ready for the morning after with Cooper. I need time.
I can streak across the house. Lizzy isn’t home for a few more days, so I don’t have to worry about her seeing me running across the house naked from her dad’s room. But I have no idea if Ramsey or Garner are still in the house, and that would be more than a little awkward.
I spot one of Cooper’s T-shirts lying on top of a chair in the corner and reach for it. It’s better than nothing, and it’ll at least cover the essentials until I can get real clothes on again. I slip it on and sneak out into the hall, across the living room, and by the kitchen. Almost.
“Good morning.” It’s Ramsey’s baritone, and I stop in my tracks and give him something that I’m sure looks like half a wince and half a smile.
“Morning.” I try for a peppy tone and fail.
“They had an amazing season this year. Didn’t realize you were a fan.” He nods to my shirt, and I look down to realize it’s a Cincinnati Queens Guard hockey shirt.
“Oh. Uh… yeah. Anything Cincy related; you know.”
Ramsey’s green-gold eyes light with amusement that I’m playing along with this ruse. He takes a sip of his coffee, and I start to walk away before he speaks again.
“Decided to bunk up together after all, huh? Wish I’d known. Could have come up here when Garner started caterwauling. I don’t know what she was doing to him, but he seemed to be enjoying it in between sounding like he was on the brink of death.”
I burst out into laughter and shake my head. “Oh my god. It’s too early for those mental images.”
“Yeah. Especially before coffee. You coming out here to get some for you and Coop? There’s a fresh pot.”
“Oh, um… I’m just…” My brain stalls out, and I can’t think of a single good reason or excuse.
“Gonna be hard to do the fuck and run when you live with him, darlin’.”
The bluntness of his statement hits hard this early in the morning.
“It’s not that, it’s just—”
“That you’re sneaking out of his room before he wakes up on his birthday?”
“I didn’t think he was the type to want women to still be there in the morning.”
“You think you’re ‘women’ when you’re living in his house, and he lets you spend time with his daughter?”
“That’s only because I used to date his—” I stop short.
“I know you were his brother’s girl. Which is why if you care about him, you’ll get two mugs and go back in there.” Ramsey’s voice is just above a whisper, but it still feels like a threat on behalf of his friend. I raise a brow at his bossiness, and he matches it. It’s enough to make me reconsider, though, and my eyes drift back to the hall I just escaped from.
Ramsey’s probably right. It’s better to have the awkward morning after conversation than have a more awkward afternoon one. We could get this out of the way over coffee and move on with things. I slip past Ramsey, who’s still perched at the breakfast bar, and into the kitchen to grab two mugs.
“Good girl,” he whispers under his breath, and I look back to raise my brow higher at him, and he laughs and looks back down at his phone. When I slip back past him to Cooper’s room, he’s still wearing the bemused expression, and I shake my head at him, which elicits a low chuckle.
When I get backinto Cooper’s room, he’s just waking up, and he grins when he sees I have coffee.
“Happy birthday. Officially.” I smile as I hand him his favorite mug.
“You’re a lifesaver, Trixie.” He studies my shirt and his grin brightens. “And you look damn good in that shirt.”
“Ramsey asked me if I was a fan.”
Cooper winces. “Was he out there? Fuck. I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay.” I take a sip of my coffee and stare out the window. His house backs up to a patch of woods, but he also has a huge garden that runs the length of the back of the property, and I can see the landscapers already working out back this morning.
“So…” I can hear him thinking, and he sits up against the pillows, and I sit down in the chair near the bed.
“Last night was fun.”
“Oof.” His brow furrows.
“What?”
“I haven’t heard that one since college.”
I laugh and shake my head. “I’m out of practice. It’s been a while since I did the one-night stand thing, so give me a pass, please?”
“Is that what it was? One night? I thought we had a list.”
I grit my teeth and shake my head. “I don’t know if that’s a good idea. I mean, it feels complicated with everything. You trying to reform your image probably isn’t going to be improved by sleeping with the help?”
“You’re not the help.”
“I sort of am. Your PR help anyway. Kind of extra help around here. It won’t look good for you if people find out, regardless of what we call it. Let alone if Lizzy would.” I look up from my cup and his eyes search mine. “It didn’t take Ramsey much to connect the dots. It makes me nervous. With everything else going on right now, I just don’t know that it’s a good idea to keep it up. Even if I had a lot of fun.”
“So I have Ramsey to thank for it then. Noted. I’ll make him pay for that later.” Cooper’s playful smile returns.
“No. It’s not his fault. Just that in the morning, things feel different, you know?”
“I can respect that.” He nods, looking at me thoughtfully.
We fall into silence for a moment, and then we both start to talk at the same time before I laugh and shake my head.
“You go,” I say softly.
“I was just going to say, if you change your mind and still want some help, I’m happy to earn more badges.” He flashes another smile, and it melts my resistance a little. It makes me wish I met him first. Because if I’m honest, one night with Cooper was better than the entirety of my relationship with Rob. But that feels like a heavy thing to say when we haven’t even had breakfast yet.
“I’ll keep that in mind.” I look down at my coffee. “For the record… that wasn’t a line or something. That really was the most fun I’ve had in a long time…”
“Is that your way of telling me I’m better in bed than my brother?”
“I wasn’t going to put it exactly that way, but…”
“You should. It’s my birthday.” He grins before he takes another sip of his coffee, and my heart riots in my chest. I’m trying to decide exactly how much to tell him—how much to confess—when there’s a knock at the door.
“You two decent? Your gardener wants to talk to you.” It’s Ramsey.
“Be right there,” he calls back.
Cooper’s brow furrows, but he stands and grabs a pair of sweats and puts them on, apologizing to me as he makes his way out. I follow behind at a distance, curious about what’s going on but still not keen on being half-naked with his teammates still in the house.
When he gets to the door, the gardener’s already in the entryway, and he nods his hello.
“I’m sorry to get you up. We were just out there working, and I noticed there are footprints in the beds around the front and side. A few of the plants are crushed. We can fix it, but did you have someone working out there? You might want to tell them to be more careful.”
“Out where?” I ask, forgetting that I’m in what is essentially an oversized nightgown with messy hair. The gardener notes my appearance but doesn’t blink.
“I can show you guys if you want.”
“Yeah. I think we’d like to see.” Cooper flashes a concerned look in my direction and back at the gardener.
“Just give me a second.” I sprint to my room to grab shorts and tie up my hair before I join them on the porch.
We follow the gardener around the house with Ramsey in tow, and he points to tracks in the mud—a place where the flowers had clearly been tamped down under heavy boots. I look up slowly, hoping it’s not the window I think it is, and feeling my stomach tumble when I see it is. My window. The one I’d sworn I’d seen someone outside of the other night.
Dread climbs up my spine and wraps around my throat, making it feel tight and scratchy. Cooper’s eyes meet mine with sympathy before he turns back to the gardener.
“Thanks for showing us. If you can fix it up, I’d appreciate it. Just charge me whatever you need to do that. I’ll see what I can do about keeping people out of the beds in the future.” Cooper wraps an arm around my shoulder and walks me back to the house. Ramsey studies us as we pass him and then follows us in.
“You know who did it?” Ramsey’s brow is hard-set, and he and Cooper exchange a look.
“No.”
“Do you know?” He turns to me.
“I wish I knew.” I shake my head.
“Gonna fill me in?” Ramsey looks between us.
“Do you mind?” Cooper asks my permission, and I give it. He drains the last of his coffee and puts the mug in the sink before he leans on the counter. “It’s the reason Trix is staying here with me. She’s had weird pictures sent to her on social media. It’s been quiet the last week, or so we thought, except… she woke up the other night and thought she saw someone out the window. We both thought it was a dream.”
“But obviously it’s more than that.” Ramsey finishes the thought as Cooper’s brow furrows with worry.
“I can’t believe they’d come here. You’d think they’d be more worried about security with you being who you are.” I fold my arms over my chest, feeling vulnerable even talking about this.
“Do you have security?” Ramsey asks.
“I’ve got an alarm system. I don’t know how it didn’t trip.” Cooper shrugs. “I’ve never needed more.”
Right. Because I brought this into his life. Into his home. A home where he has a daughter who could be in danger too because of me.
“Maybe it’s time for me to move again. See about another hotel or an apartment.”
“No.” Cooper doesn’t miss a beat in his answer. “I’m not letting you out of my sight. If he’s bold enough to be following you like that. Coming outside the window? No way in fuck am I letting you be out there alone.”
“But you and Lizzy live here too.”
“Don’t worry about me. I can take care of you and Lizzy.”
“You got a gun?” Ramsey asks. “Because a security system won’t do shit if he comes through the window.”
“I’ve got one in the safe.”
“You need to get one that you can keep by your bed. I’ll send you some suggestions. Show you what I got. Hell, I can come stay for a while if you need. Or you can come to stay with me. I was planning on going camping for a few days, but I can change that if I need to,” Ramsey offers.
“I just wonder if I’m a liability. I couldn’t live with myself if something happened to you guys because of me.” I look worriedly at Cooper as my anxiety starts to bubble. My stomach is turning, and the anxious feeling is starting to spread. Cooper turns to me and takes my arms, rubbing them and giving me a reassuring smile.
“Trixie, listen to me. I want you with me. I want to keep an eye on you, and I appreciate you being worried about Lizzy. But Lizzy’s got that camp for the next few weeks, so she’s safe there. When she comes back before we go to the lake house, we can make sure things are locked down. But in the meantime, I’d feel better if you stayed with me.”
“I’m just worried.”
“I know. But I promise, I’ve got you.” Cooper wraps his arms around me, and I hug him tight.
“What if you come camping with me?” Ramsey pipes in.
I hear Cooper make a grunting sound, but then his head bobs back and forth like he’s considering it.
“Get you away from the house and out of the city for a bit,” Ramsey adds, looking between us.
“Hey. Maybe that’s not a terrible idea. It’s on your list anyway, right? We could get away for a few days. I can drive us separately so we’ve got the extra car,” Cooper adds.
I mull over the prospect of being stuck with these two in the middle of the woods. On the one hand, it’s not a terrible place to be. On the other…
“My friend was planning to come too. So you all don’t have to worry about me if you want to go off and do your own thing.” Ramsey smirks.
I watch Cooper flash him a look and the subtle shake of his head, and Ramsey frowns in return. His eyes fall to me with a question in them.
“Okay,” I agree.
The alternatives of telling Madison or running home or being alone at a hotel are all there, but none of them are great. They all have a laundry list of downsides, and if camping means getting away from here for a couple of days, it seems worth a shot. I’ll definitely feel safer with these two in the middle of nowhere than in a hotel in the middle of the city.
“All right. I’ve gotta stock up on supplies and pick her up. Then we can head out bright and early tomorrow if that works for you two.”
“Works for me. We can get packed and pick up some things too.” Cooper smiles at me. “This one’s never been camping before, so it’s going to be an adventure.”
“Never?” Ramsey looks at me surprised.
“Never.” I shake my head. Camping was not a thing in the Xavier household. The closest we ever got was glamping in Montana once, and there was a private chef and cozy mattresses with high thread count sheets. I don’t think it counts.
“Well, then we can give you the whole experience. Keep your mind off things here. Coop can teach you all kinds of things.” Ramsey grins and winks at me.