Chapter 29
Logan
Cooper’s stay in the hospital went well.
Gage visited him a few times for moral support.
I’d gone with twice and the poor kid looked like he’d just walked barefoot through Hell and forgot to stay hydrated.
Detox was the literal worse, from what I’d heard, and he did seem to be the poster boy for it.
He was healing, though, and determined to muscle through it.
I think Gage was very proud of him for sticking with it and not complaining.
Gage was still wrestling with some demons, and sometimes he’d just sit quietly, staring at nothing.
I let him think and process, offered an ear if he needed it.
Still, it seemed the two brothers were slowly trying to repair their relationship.
Gage and Cooper actually texted each other now, like siblings should.
Eight days after his admittance, Cooper was able to come home. Gage had been set to get Cooper, until something went very wrong at work. He’d been torn about it, but I assured him, I could get Cooper. He swore he’d be back as soon as he could manage it before hightailing it out the door.
He tackled that situation while I picked up Cooper. I didn’t want Gage stressed again about trying to be in two places at once. He’d been stressed to the point of breaking when Cooper had the accident, and I was grateful he’d leaned on me enough to avoid crashing.
Cooper looked better than the night of the accident, at least. Bruises were clearly healing, and he wasn’t shaking from withdrawals anymore. I knew they’d given him meds to help with pain, inflammation, and some antibiotics. The hospital had handed them over with the discharge papers.
Cooper rode shotgun, a little loopy because of the pain medication and staring at me for some reason. I mean, I was handsome, but still.
“Hey, Logan. You love my brother?”
“Very much,” I said, amused by his question. “Why?”
He made a happy sound. “Good. Most people would have thought twice about staying with him after seeing our mom that night. She was being so…” He grimaced and sighed. “Anyone would rethink a relationship realizing they’d have to deal with her.”
“My parents are worse. Trust me, your mom’s not a deterrent.”
“Oh. Good.”
“Has she called you today?”
“Like, three times. I told her I wasn’t coming back to the house. I muted her calls after I told her because she lost her mind. Kept offering bribes, promising a new car, shit like that.”
“She normally bribes you to stay with her?”
“Yeah. I tried moving out once, but I couldn’t hold down a job, so I lost it. The apartment, I mean. Had to move back in with her.” Cooper sat in silence for a second before admitting, “I didn’t actually want to work there. I got the job to spite her.”
“Could be why it didn’t work out, yeah.”
“But I realize now, that’s the wrong attitude. I mean, that’s not what you would have done.”
“How am I your yardstick?”
“Because you succeeded, man. You made it. Despite the shitty parents, you achieved your goal, and you’re dating my brother to boot.”
He wasn’t wrong—I had achieved what I’d set out to do.
But he also didn’t seem to realize that keeping all I’d achieved meant I made that choice again, every morning.
I chose to get up, be responsible, go to work, do the things required to keep this life of mine.
Well, he’d learn. I shifted topics. “You realize your brother is a catch?”
“I ain’t blind, dude.” Cooper did this little snort-giggle.
“He’s qualified in two fields, makes good money, plus he’s tall and handsome.
I’ve seen girls lose their minds trying to get his attention.
They’re always so deflated when they learn he’s gay.
It’s great he met you. He needed someone in his life who takes shit from no one. ”
A very accurate assessment, actually. For all that Cooper didn’t seem to be paying attention, he clearly was. “What do you want, Cooper? Aside from getting clean, what are your goals?”
He snorted. “I ain’t got any. Could be why I turned out like this.”
Ah, yes, that would be part of the problem. I’d had motivation, my goal, to spur me forward. If he didn’t have anything driving him, he’d never be able to truly set himself straight.
“So you’re saying you don’t want your own Gage?”
Cooper paused and seemed to think about my question. I turned onto Gage’s street, only a minute away from his house now.
When Cooper spoke again, he sounded wistful. “You think I can do that? Become someone worthy of a person so amazing?”
“Cooper. Do remember I was just as screwed up at your age.”
“Oh. Right.” He gave me a shy grin.
I winked. “Food for thought. You need help getting into the house or you good?”
Gage had called in a favor from one of his crew, and they’d swung by and changed out the locks for something that took a code, which made life easier. No unnecessary hot-potato-keys.
“I, uh…” Cooper gave himself a visible shake. “Yeah, I’m good. I know where everything is. I think I’m just going to go in and sleep, honestly. It’s hard to sleep in hospitals.”
“Okay. You call if you need something. I’m just doing paperwork today, so I’m not really working.”
“Oh, sure. Thanks, Logan.”
I let him out, made sure he got in through the front door, then reversed and went to the bar. I did have some paperwork to do, which should take an hour or two. Hopefully I could have lunch with Gage afterward.
The bar didn’t open until 11:30, so I had a couple of hours yet until people started appearing.
I chose to check some stock first, make sure I had what I thought I had before I started putting in orders.
We were a bit low on some of the craft beers, so I made notes to put in another order for delivery.
Then I sat down and did payroll—the usual business stuff.
My phone lit up with a text, and funnily enough it was from Zar. Picking up my phone off the desk, I read the message through properly.
Zar: Hey, you at the bar?
I typed back: I am, why?
Zar: Let me in
Let him in? Wait, was he here? Only my cooks were here so far, prepping ingredients in the kitchen.
Curious, I got up and went to the front door, and sure enough, there he was.
I’d never seen Zar in a cop’s uniform before, and I had to admit, it suited.
No wonder Asher had fallen for him. I unlocked one of the doors and waved him in.
“Hi there. Didn’t expect to see you today.”
“I bet. I was driving past and saw your Jeep in the parking lot, figured I could talk properly about a few things.”
I eyed him warily. “This isn’t a shovel talk, is it?”
Zar settled back on his heels in a classic cop pose and regarded me as if intrigued my mind had gone there. “Honestly? I don’t think I need to. You look at Gage like he’s the epitome of everything you’ve ever wanted. A man who looks at his lover like that, he won’t betray him.”
“He is the epitome of everything I’ve ever wanted.” I was glad people could clearly see my feelings. “I fully plan to propose, when the timing’s right.”
“Yeah?” Zar lit up with a smile. “I’m delighted to hear it. I realize we don’t know each other well, but whenever I’m around you, I see the potential of being really good friends. We just need more time for our friendship to gel, I think.”
“I’d love to be friends. DnD the other week showed me Gage has amazing friends.”
“They really are. Here, sit with me for a second. I want to run a few things by you.”
“Sure.” I pulled up a chair at the nearest table and dropped into it.
Zar did the same, then leaned an elbow on the table, getting comfortable.
“So. First, Gage read us in on how you handled Cooper and his mother. Thank you. Those two are an unending source of frustration for Gage, as I’m sure you’ve realized.
If you can straighten out Cooper, it’ll take a huge burden off Gage. ”
I lifted a staying hand at this. “No one can straighten out Cooper but Cooper. You can advise, love, and support someone, but you can’t change them.
Cooper got the scare of his life and absolutely doesn’t want to end up like his friend.
He’s determined to pull himself out of it.
He is using me as an example, he’s made that much clear, which is fine by me.
I think he relates to me better because he knows I’ve been down this road, so I’m not going to judge him for screwing up. ”
“Just being there relieves a lot of the burden for Gage. Ash said he was downright perky on the phone even as he was asking for the locksmith, so that told me a lot.” Zar shrugged.
“Just wanted you to see the facts, that’s all.
And I offer my support, because if Cooper has finally seen the light, I’m all for supporting the kid. It’s about damn time he did.”
“Fair enough.”
“Now, to the other topic. Your sister’s birthday is in two days?”
“Yup.”
“Gage told me a little about your parents, and how they’re basically controlling assholes, but give me a better idea of what they’re likely to do.”
So he could brace himself for it? I’d ask the same in his shoes.
“My father’s the physical type. I’ve never seen him hit a woman, but he punched me in the face once.
He likes to get in people’s faces and shove them backward, keep them off balance.
I don’t think he’ll be able to do it to you, though.
You’re a bit taller, and you’re definitely in better shape. ”
Zar stared at me for the longest moment. “He’s punched you?”
“Years ago, man. I was being a little snot and told him to his face he was the worst father on the planet. He socked me right in the mouth. To be fair, I punched him back. Knocked him on his ass, too. This was before I had therapy, so it felt good to see the stunned look on his face, as if he just realized his son was strong enough to punch back.” Honestly, it still felt good. Therapy could only do so much, I guess.