Chapter 23
23
Isla
HOLY CRAP, HOW could a day be so freaking long?
Isla dragged her exhausted butt out the back door of Grady and Evelyn’s house, pulling the bundle of her coat closer against the cold as she hurried to her car.
She’d stayed later than planned, having dinner with Evelyn, Griselda, and her grandpa since Cooper was at work. It sounded like a great idea at the time, but now she was running later than she’d expected. And she still had to go to her apartment to collect her mail and a few more changes of clothes. She’d been staying with Cooper since the night she went to The Creekery with Evelyn and Griselda. And while it was exactly where she wanted to be, it was occasionally inconvenient to not have all her stuff.
Opening the driver’s door, she fell into the seat and started the engine, immediately switching on the seat warmer. That thing was worth its weight in gold. Especially at times like this, when her car had been sitting outside instead of in Cooper’s warm garage.
After dropping her bag into the seat next to her and belting in, she backed out of her spot, using the yoga studio’s lot to turn around so she could pull out onto the road. It was darker than dark out—a stark contrast to living in the city—but she was getting used to it. Had learned to appreciate the sight of the stars and the brightness of the moon.
But damned if it didn’t make her nervous behind the wheel.
She drove slower than she probably needed to, but eventually pulled up behind her building. The Wooden Spoon was closed for the day, so there weren’t many cars in the lot and she was able to park right up front. Thank goodness, since she’d be carrying out a few bags and didn’t want to hoof it any farther than necessary.
Cooper seemed okay with her bringing more things over, so she was going to pack up a bunch of clothes and most of her toiletries. Enough she wouldn’t have to come back again for a few days.
Letting herself in the back door, she stopped off at the mailbox, opening it to pull out the stack inside. She started up the stairs, flipping through the envelopes as she went, pausing at one that looked plain and nondescript from the outside.
A smile spread across her face as she tore into it, sliding out the plastic rectangle inside to look over her very first driver’s license. She’d seen the photo it sported before—it was printed out in black and white on her temporary version—but it looked way better in color. Her hair was blown out and shiny. Her eyes were bright and her smile was wide. “I don’t look half bad.”
“You look great.”
She nearly shit her pants at the unexpected voice echoing through the stairwell. Reaching one hand out to brace against the railing, the other—along with all the mail it held—went to her chest, pressing against her racing heart.
Then her eyes landed on the culprit and surprise turned to irritation. “Eric? What are you doing here?”
It was weird seeing him again. Especially there. In a world she’d built all on her own. He looked…
Stupid.
“What do you mean, what am I doing here?” He seemed genuinely confused. “I wrote you that letter telling you everything. That I wanted you to come home.”
“Oh.” She winced. Not because she felt bad, but because the conversation was about to get very awkward. “I didn’t read it.”
Eric scoffed.
She lifted her brows, surprised at his reaction even though she shouldn’t be. Of course he thought she read the letter. He probably assumed she was sitting there pining away for him. Clinging to all those plans she’d made for them.
“I didn’t mean it like that.” Eric moved down a few steps, coming closer to where she stood. “I was just surprised. I thought you’d be happy to hear from me.”
“Oh.” Again, awkward. What in the heck was she supposed to say to this guy? Sorry you came all this way, but I found someone way better than you could ever be?
Actually… That might not be a bad start.
“When I didn’t hear from you, I figured something must have happened. Like maybe your grandpa didn’t give you the letter I sent. I decided I should just come get you myself.” Eric’s confidence and belief in his own desirability was astounding.
He genuinely thought she was about to go home with him, and that was…
Irksome.
Did he really think she valued herself so little that she’d run right back to a man who’d not only discarded her like she meant nothing, but had done it in such a mean and callous way?
Based on the way he was smiling at her, he totally thought that.
“Eric,” she started, buying a little time to come up with what to say next. A way she could get out of this without being mean.
“Whatever you want to talk about we can discuss on the way to my hotel.” His eyes moved around the stairwell, a hint of disgust pinching his expression. “I’m ready to get out of this town.” He snorted. “I can’t believe you actually live here.”
That had her rethinking her plans to let him down easy. “What do you mean?”
“I mean it’s shitty.” He leaned forward, voice incredulous. “There’s not even a Starbucks.”
“Are you really equating the niceness of a place with whether or not it has a Starbucks?” Was this guy for real? Had he always been this big of a tool?
Ugh. Probably. And she’d dated him for almost a decade.
“I’m saying there’s nothing here.” He came down two more steps, getting closer than she wanted him to be. “That’s why I was sure you’d want to come back to New York if you knew I’d take you back.”
This freaking guy. He didn’t just bring his confidence when he flew across the country. He also must have packed a carry-on full of audacity for the trip.
“Eric,” she started again, only this time she didn’t slow down. She kept going, no longer caring about awkwardness or being mean or letting him down easy. “You were a total waste of my time.”
Eric already had his mouth open, ready to say more pointless words, but they stalled out, leaving him gaping like a fish. “What?”
“I said, you were a total waste of my time.” Isla shrugged. “I should have dumped you a long time ago, but I’m such a creature of habit that I got caught up in the cycle.” She got caught up in the plan . “Then you broke it off, and I realized I wasn’t actually into you either.”
“You weren’t into me?” He said the words like they were foreign to him. Like they didn’t fit together in any sort of sensical way.
“No.” She shook her head. “So I guess it’s good you weren’t into me either.” She smiled, loving the look of befuddlement on his face. “Everything worked out.” Going past him, she climbed the stairs toward her apartment. Pausing at the door she turned. “Good luck with that whole surgeon thing. I hope it works out for you.”
She was actually indifferent about it, but it was a great way to let him know the conversation was over, and so were they.
“Are you fucking kidding me?” Eric’s tone was different now. Sharper. Angrier. “I’m the best thing you’ll ever have.”
She should have known it wouldn’t be that easy. With a sigh, she turned around to face him again. “No, you’re not.” She said it simply. Because it was simple.
He wasn’t the best. Not even close.
Eric started to sputter just as her phone began to ring. Digging it out, she ignored him as he started to yell, spewing things that sounded a lot like insults and reiterations that she wasn’t even that pretty and lacked sex appeal .
None of it registered. It wasn’t important.
She peered at the screen of her cell, frowning as Eric continued carrying on.
Why would Grady be calling her?
After connecting it, she pressed the phone to her ear, plugging the other one to block out the echo of Eric’s venom. “Hello?”
“Isla, Cooper’s been shot. He’s at the hospital in Billings.”
All the noise disappeared, replaced by a ringing in her ears. An endless toll that persisted as she raced down the stairs, shoving Eric out of her way as she went. It continued while she drove, foot heavy against the gas, oblivious to the darkness that usually made her uneasy.
Pulling up to the main entrance, she parked right in front of the doors—they could tow her for all she cared—grabbed her purse and ran inside, colliding with Grady’s tall frame as he came to collect her.
He pried the keys from her hand and passed them off to someone else, saying they’d take care of her car, like he thought she gave a shit what happened to it.
She didn’t. Nothing mattered but Cooper.
“Where is he? I want to see him.” She pushed at Grady. Why did it feel like he was holding her back?
The flash of another uniform caught her eye and she ran toward it, thinking whoever it was might lead her to where they had him.
“Isla.” Cooper’s voice was sharp. “He’s in surgery. You can’t see him yet.”
Turning to face Grady—her boss—she lowered her voice and stared him down. “Where. Is. He? I want to see him now.”
If she was really looking at Grady, she’d be able to acknowledge he looked tired. Worried. She’d see he was just as upset as she was.
Almost.
But she wasn’t really looking and she didn’t really care. Everyone in the world could fuck all the way off until she saw Cooper.
So much for all her claims of being sweet.
“I’ve got a room for her.” Devon—one of the men who worked with Cooper—came at them, walking fast. “Bring her over here.”
Grady practically picked her up and hauled her through the hospital, depositing her in a small room with a handful of chairs and a couple of small tables. He managed to get her into a seat and kneeled down in front of her, voice calm and even as he started to explain what happened.
But she didn’t want to know what happened. “I don’t care.” Isla tried to get up, but Grady gently pushed her back down. “All I care about is if he’s okay.”
Right then, Grady’s phone started to ring. He held up one finger, expression stern on her as he answered, putting it on speaker.
“Officer Haynes, this is Doctor Beckwith.” The voice was gentle but firm. “I wanted to let you know we were able to remove the bullet and stop the bleeding. Officer Staks is in recovery. They should be taking him to his room in the next half hour.” She gave directions to where Cooper would be, and the second she finished, Isla was on her feet, knocking Grady out of her way to dash from the room.
The elevator doors parted right as she reached them, like some sort of divine intervention. As if the universe knew she’d start dismantling the place with her bare hands if she didn’t get to that room as fast as possible.
When it reached the proper floor, she squeezed between the gap in the doors as soon as it was wide enough to pass through and followed the signs, only slowing down when she reached the room number Doctor Beckwith listed. Cooper wasn’t inside yet—it had barely been five minutes, let alone a half hour—but a clear plastic bag sat on the rolling table. Going straight for it, she yanked open the top, stretching the gathered edge to pull out a recognizable item.
She’d intended to press the fabric of Cooper’s T-shirt to her nose, but it was cold and damp in her hand. Pulling it away from her skin, a sob closed her throat. It was soaked in blood. Cooper’s blood. He’d been bleeding—hurting—and she’d been arguing with stupid-ass Eric. He’d needed her, and she hadn’t been there because she was so worried about getting her stuff and then telling her ex off.
“What the fuck is this doing in here?” Grady rushed in and tried to take the bag from her. “You don’t need to see this.”
Isla jumped up, swiping it away, clutching all she had of the man she loved to her chest as she darted to the other side of the bed. “Who shot him?” She was regretting not letting Grady explain earlier so she’d know who to hunt down. “Where is he now? Did you arrest him?”
Grady’s eyes shifted to where Devon now stood next to him. “No. We didn’t arrest him.”
She sucked in a breath, ready to raise complete and total hell. “Why not? How could you let him get away after he—” Another sob broke free. “After he?—”
“Cooper fired back.” Devon said it loud enough to be heard over her cries. “We don’t know exactly what happened yet, but the man who shot him didn’t make it.”
Her insides went numb. Frozen by a series of emotions she never expected to feel. Fear for Cooper. Regret that she wasn’t there for him when he needed her.
And an awful, terrible part of her that was happy a man was dead. Relieved it was him and not Cooper who was in a body bag.
Her knees gave out, sending her sinking.
“Catch her.” Grady and Devon rushed to her side, managing to direct her descent into one of the chairs lined beside the bed. They brought her something to drink and a pack of crackers she didn’t want, then went to stand in the hall, talking in hushed tones with a few other faces she recognized from the department.
Tossing the crackers in the general direction of her purse, she swiped at her eyes, drying the wetness still clinging to her lashes from tears she didn’t remember crying. She sifted through the items in the bag she’d fought to keep, tucking the ruined T-shirt to one side. Right beneath it was the long-sleeved button-up Cooper wore beneath his vest. Like the T-shirt, it was bloody and cut up the center. The slice ran right alongside the button placket. The jagged slash probably saved time, but it looked horrifying.
She started to wad it up so it could be tucked with the T-shirt, but there was something in one of the front pockets. After unbuttoning the flap, she reached inside and pulled out a small bag. It was made of pretty purple velvet, but too small to be useful for carrying anything substan?—
When she tipped it over into her hand, the most beautiful ring she’d ever seen fell out. Her mind was so muddled it took a second for it to register what it was.
Her chest constricted, threatening another fit as she slid the diamond onto her finger, barely able to appreciate the sparkling beauty of it through the ache in her throat and the burning in her eyes.
A commotion out in the hall stole her attention and brought her to her feet, the forgotten bag of Cooper’s items falling to the floor. Grady stepped out of the doorway as the foot of a hospital bed came into view. She was already moving, rushing toward Cooper as a smiling man pushed him into the room, a second man following behind them. Gripping the hand of the arm that wasn’t bandaged, she followed along as they moved.
“He’s still a little drowsy.” The man pushing the bed swung it around, aligning the side of it with the bed already in the room. “He might wake, but I’ll bet money he just falls back asleep.” He cranked down the rail of Cooper’s current bed, then the two men transferred him to the other, moving his IV and blankets at the same time. After lifting the rail of his new bed into place, they double checked everything and left.
Right as a nurse came in.
She introduced herself and checked Cooper’s vitals, explaining again that he might go back to sleep for a few hours, before promising to come back and check on him again soon.
After she left, Grady came in, along with the rest of the men who’d been waiting in the hall. They didn’t stay long, but every minute seemed to stretch out forever as she sat, holding Cooper’s hand, desperate for him to open his eyes. To see their gray-blue color and the crinkles at the edges. To hear his voice. To see him smile.
To tell him that he was the most important thing in the world to her. That she’d made plans for chickens and goats and horses and five kids with gray-blue eyes and dimples in their right cheeks.
That she wanted to move all her stuff into his home. Their home.
That she loved him and he better freaking love her back.