Chapter 10
Chapter Ten
“ C oop, are you sure this is okay?”
Coop cast his eyes on Benji. “Absolutely. You need privacy. I know that you don’t think you need privacy, but you do.
You have got to stop all this nonsense and get back to life, and you got a damn short time to do it.
Your ass is going back to work in January.
It is November. There are not a whole lot of months between January and November. ”
Benji rolled his eyes. “I know that.”
“Don’t you roll your eyes at me, boy. I will pick them up and roll them back.
Trust me, you can have company at the tiny house.
You can do with it as you want. You can cook for yourself.
You’re always welcome to come up to the house for supper, but you’ve got to start functioning.
” Coop didn’t understand why this was so hard.
“It just feels like a lot.”
All of the sudden, Coop understood what it was that Benji was trying to say. Or at least he thought he did.
He wasn’t particularly good at this.
“Listen, this doesn’t mean you’re not taking care of those kids.
This doesn’t mean anything except that it’s time for you to be just you.
I am not trying to get custody of these kids.
I have the guardianship already, and that’s just so that I can sign for stuff.
You and I both know that I’m not trying to take these babies from you. ”
Benji nodded. “What about Brooks?”
“Brooks is staying here on the permanent. He’s buying horses for here.
Nobody’s going anywhere. Brooks is not looking to take anything away from you.
You’ve done good, but what we’re trying to do is offer you a chance to be an adult.
To go work and have a good time. Have your own little place.
” He got it, he really did—the whole taking care of responsibility part.
It came with cowboy protection. But that had somehow gotten tied up into ownership almost of these babies, which was not only creepy, it was stupid.
And he didn’t do well with stupid.
“Didn’t he build this house for you?”
“Yeah, I’m just trying to figure out why.”
Oh, for fuck’s sake. “Because he loves you, you dumb piece of shit. You’re his family.”
Benji’s expression went stubborn. “Well, him and Dad didn’t like each other.”
“Let me tell you a little secret. There’s not one person on earth who knows what two other people felt.
You know what you feel. And you might even know what your daddy said or what you overheard, but that was between him and your Uncle Brooks.
It wasn’t about you. It didn’t have nothing to do with you.
Mind your own damn business.” He felt himself building up a head of steam, but Brooks had been decent to the kid.
“Brothers can fight and still love their nieces and nephews. Brothers can fight and still love each other. God knows my brother and my sister and I have fought a thousand times and we’ve made-up a thousand times.
And just because y’all come from stubborn stock doesn’t mean that they wouldn’t have forgiven each other.
Hell, obviously your Uncle Brooks isn’t mad at him now. ”
Benji shrugged. “I guess.”
“No. I know. What was between the two of them wasn’t any of your business. And it doesn’t matter now at all, because your daddy is dead, and you’ve got an uncle here willing to be part of your family. Suck it up and take it.”
“Well, tell me what you really feel, Coop.”
He tilted his head. “How I really feel? I can do that? I think you’ve done a good job.
I think your daddy would be proud of you.
I think your mama would be proud of you.
I also think that it is a fool who does not take honestly offered help when it is given.
And you are not a fool. Now, do you want your little house painted blue or red? ”
“Not pink.” That was sure.
“That’s what your sisters wanted. Actually, Johnny voted for pink too.”
Benji snorted. “I want to know why the kids get a choice of what my tiny house is going to be painted as.”
“Because when you decide to move out of it and go live with whoever it is that you’re madly in love with, they’re going to use it as a playhouse. So they got a vote. Yours does count for more, though, if that helps.”
“Something that works with the rest of the place. Desert stucco color.”
He chuckled. “I thought turquoise.”
“Oh, that would be cool. No evil spirits for me, huh?”
“That’s it.” Coop clapped the kid on the shoulder. “And it’s probably warmer in there than in the house, anyway.”
Benji chuckled. “Well, it will take less to keep it warm, for sure.”
“So you’re good?”
“I am.” Benji shook his head. “I really like it. ”
“Well, make sure you thank Brooks.” He knew Benji had, but it had been grudging, at best. With a lot of stilted words.
“I will. I promise. Can I work for a bit, though?” Benji was way more interested in the interior than he was in painting the exterior.
At least there was already a little ramp in place.
He headed back up to the house, humming under his breath. His birthday had been awesome, and since then, he and Brooks had gotten along just fine. In fact, on occasion he thought he’d caught Brooks looking at him in an interested kind of way, and Coop had got to thinking about that a lot.
Like a lot .
He and Brooks had picked out the tiny house together, but it was Brooks who’d gotten it there before Thanksgiving had even rolled around, and he had to admit, he liked that the man did what he said he was going to do when he said it.
That was the cowboy way, and Benji was going to end up getting his ass kicked until he learned it.
The thought made him grin.
“What are you grinning like a monkey about?” Brooks asked when he walked into the kitchen.
“Benji. He’s going to learn real quick if he’s gonna work as a bullfighter, that things don’t go like he wants them all the time, and he can’t slack off.”
“Still wanting to pick out couches instead of painting?”
“Something like that, yeah.” Coop winked, then leaned on the kitchen counter. “What have you got going?”
“Well, I was wondering if you would help me go pick up a trailer while the kids are in school?”
“You get a line on one? Used or new?”
“Used for this. Just a two-stall open hitch. I’ll use it for local stuff.” Brooks shrugged. “If I decide to start doing deliveries longer distance, I’ll get a bigger rig. ”
Coop felt his heart drop into his belly. “You planning on being gone for long stretches?”
“Nah.” Brooks studied him, one eyebrow raised. “I’ll hire someone to do long hauls if it gets to that. Unless it’s summer and you and the kids want to come.”
Damn, that sounded oddly like they were a couple. Were they a couple?
They weren’t a couple.
They were just guys.
But he guessed they were co-parents, so this shit mattered.
“I like to go.”
“Yeah?”
“Sure. I mean, that was why I did what I did. God knows I ain’t got no desire to live out of a suitcase anymore, but for a week or whatever? A trip to Disney? I could do it.”
“Yeah, me too.”
They stared at each other for long moments before he pulled out his phone. “Let me just text Benji so he knows what’s what.”
“Absolutely.” Brooks grinned. “He worries.”
“I swear, that kid has more anxiety than anyone I know.”
“Not me, but I know a couple of internet influencers back in Australia. Those folks worry a lot.”
“Yeah?” He put his phone back after Benji sent a flame emoji back, which, what the hell did that mean?
“Yep. They have to look just so, and talk just right, and what if they lose a follower or two? Then life is over.” Brooks’s eyes were twinkling.
“Oh no! Never that.” He walked Brooks out and, to his surprise, Brooks went to the passenger side of Coop’s truck. “Yours won’t haul?”
“Yeah, but I can’t back a trailer up for shit without a couple of weeks of practice, and I don’t want to wreck things the first day.”
“Listen to you.” Coop chuckled, because really? He wasn’t the livestock guy, but he could drive a trailer like a son of a bitch. “We ought to pick up lunch while we’re out and about, sit down and have food at a restaurant where we’re just the two of us.”
Brooks’s eyebrow lifted. “Yeah?”
His cheeks threatened to heat, and he ducked his head. “Yeah, we got to discuss things like Thanksgiving and Christmas. I need to get lists from the kiddos. Especially Johnny. His stuff is picky.”
“Now, here I thought you just wanted to hang out with me.”
Coop rolled his eyes. “I’m not sure I’m ever going to get to just hang out ever again.
There’s a lot to do with this whole raisin’ kids thing.
And I was woefully unprepared.” He’d sort of stumbled onto it in like the most direct way.
He hadn’t had nine months to prepare, and all of a sudden he had lots and lots of mouths to feed and dressings to change and hugs to give.
Thank God they were all potty-trained, because otherwise he’d be teaching them to use the doggy door. Like the beagles.
But still. He’d sort of been doing his best.
“I don’t think you’re all that unprepared, man. You seem to kind of have your shit together.” Brooks’s glance held…what? Admiration? Warmth, for sure.
Maybe a little wanting, or was he making shit up?
He was probably just…what did they call it? Projecting?
He was too old for that nonsense.
“Oh, that’s just a lie. I’m just faking it.
I sort of act like they’re my team from when I was working all the time.
I make sure everybody’s got food and make sure everybody’s got their work done and make sure everybody gets to bed.
And that everybody has fun, but not too much fun, because that’s dangerous. ”
“Congratulations, you’re a parent.”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah.” His cheeks were hot now, but he had to chuckle and get with the program. “Get in the damn truck.”
They got themselves settled and headed out in short order, bouncing along the road heading toward town, passing Tygh’s place on one side of the road, the ranch on the other.