Chapter 27
Chapter Twenty-Seven
C oop was chafing at how long the docs had given him before he could do heavy lifting or hard work. Brooks could see it every day.
He was so close to his big final checkup, though, so Brooks had the littles watching Coop like hawks.
They herded him around to keep him from doing something that would hurt him.
So did Suki, Thor, and Loki. That was kind of Disney-like, in fact.
Loki kept luring Coop into naps. It was kind of hilarious.
And when the kids weren’t around and the dogs were tired, it was on Brooks to keep an eye out now that Amanda and Dallas had gone back down to Texas…
When he came up from the barns and Coop was standing on the deck, looking at the work that was ongoing for the hot tub and pool, he snuck up on the man.
“You touch that prybar, and I will beat you.”
“Kinky!” Coop leaned back into him. “I’m bored, Brooks. I want to be better. I want to do things. I want to do you .”
He wrapped his arms around Coop, low on his cowboy’s hips so he didn’t hurt anything. “I want that too. As soon as you’re cleared. Orgasms can pull and tear things.”
“Ew.” Coop laughed. “I do know that, though, believe it or not. I had a broken rib once that I almost punctured a lung with because I was desperate to jack off.”
“And how old were you?”
“’Bout Benji’s age,” Coop teased right back at him.
“And now I say ew.”
“Right? I hear that. We won’t talk about sex and the kids in the same breath.” Coop sighed and kept leaning. “You want to… I don’t know. Play cards? Watch a movie? Be together alone for a couple of hours?”
“I do. I want to snuggle up with you and the dogs and that massive pile of pillows and hide with a movie and my bullfighter.” Brooks kissed the back of Coop’s neck, warm and damp and perfect. He loved the way his bullfighter smelled—Ivory soap and leather and something citrusy.
“Then let’s do that.” Coop turned and begged a kiss, those bright green eyes shining for him, gleaming as they stared into him.
He took that kiss, or gave it, or whatever.
He kept it gentle, but he put everything he felt into it.
Then he rested his forehead against Coop’s.
“I don’t know how it happened, Coop, but I fell in love with you hard, and it just keeps getting deeper.
So you have to not scare me like this again. Okay?”
“Yeah. I wasn’t trying to be a problem, but damn. This wasn’t in the plans.” Coop shook his head. “I’m not the world’s best horseman.”
“Yeah, but animals tend to like you. If Max gets worse.”
“No.” Coop patted his chest. “He needs you. He’s been neglected some, I think. His breeder was just getting ready to retire, and he hasn’t been worked enough. You’ll train him up a treat.”
“I’m gonna try. But the kids’ and your safety has to come first.” Brooks kissed Coop’s nose. “Now, come lie down with me.”
“Lucy’s going to be your horse girl.”
Brooks nodded, but he found Mason in the barns more often than not. The kid loved the horses. “She’s going to be a barrel racer. You wait.”
“You take that back,” Coop teased, limping to the bedroom with him. He was drooping way less these days, but he could still overdo, and they would just doze and kiss and watch a movie. That sounded like heaven.
“Did you hear that Bella’s going to go to work for Nathan at the restaurant?” Coop headed toward the bedroom. “She’s going to get her diploma online and work in the restaurant.”
“Yeah, Ricky told me. He’s going to stay in school.
They have a wicked trade program, and he’ll need that certificate.
” Ricky wanted to work with his hands, and Brooks was going to encourage it.
He’d be able to support his little family in a few years if he went that route, and he could always go to college then, while he worked.
Or not.
It was up to him.
Coop kicked off his slippers and slid right into bed. He was wearing sweats and a henley, so he was comfy. Brooks on the other hand, had to shed a few layers. He wasn’t getting in their bed wearing his jeans and sweatshirt, since they’d seen the inside of the barn today.
“Let me wash up. Two shakes,” he told Coop.
“I’m looking forward to trying that hot tub.”
“I bet you and the kids are going to be out there all summer. You in the bubbles, the kiddos in the pool.”
Coop chuckled. “Not you?”
“Nah…” he teased. “I got work to do. I’m not retired like some people.”
“Yeah, I’ve got to do the finishings in the media room, and there’s always going to be something for me to do now that I’m getting well enough to do it.”
Impatient man. “First we have to get through piano recitals, 4-H projects, the end of Girl Scouts. Not to mention the last robotics competition.” Johnny had decided to stay with Watson and was fast-tracking, but he was loving robotics and being a Cub Scout with the other eight-year-olds.
Mason and Mina were hanging on with the piano, while Lucy had told the teacher to kiss off.
The kids were settling, now that he and Coop were home, and the tears when Benji called came less and less often.
It was a good thing.
He got himself all cleaned up and slid under the covers with Coop, one hand sliding up along the sweet belly. The staples were gone, the scars still pink, but not swollen and hot now. Now the challenge was getting Coop to put a little weight on.
Coop nodded and hummed, shifting under his touch. “Yeah, and I’d like to see Benji work at least once. This season I’d really like to see him do his thing, so we might have to get us a sitter and you and me fly up north and check it out.”
“We could do that, or we could take the kids to see him…” There was something wonderful about thinking about a vacation with Coop, but he didn’t want a busman’s holiday.
He wanted to take Coop to Colorado and spend a long weekend in the mountains, just the two of them, together.
He already had arranged that with Kase and Ryder.
He had something important to ask his bullfighter then.
“I’m thinking about getting us a big fifth wheel, something we can take the kids camping in where we don’t actually have to sleep on the ground. If we did something like that, then we could just let Ricky and Bella stay here and deal with the animals. Take the other four on a road trip.”
Coop glanced at him, those green eyes dancing. “You’re not worried that Bella could get herself in trouble alone here with Ricky?”
“All right, smart ass. Like she’s going to get more pregnant.”
“Well, yes, in theory. That baby’s growing, so yes.”
Brooks pinched Coop’s nipple, and they both cracked up.
“I think that would be fun, though. I like being on the road some.”
Brooks nodded. He didn’t mind it at all. In fact, for the most part, there wasn’t a whole lot about his life right now he didn’t love. Kids home. Horses. And his Coop. “I’m not sure how I fell into like with you so hard.”
Coop grinned at him. “I’m easy to love, man. I’m super easy to love, I’m harder to like. So the fact that you fell, that’s a good thing.”
“It’s an amazing thing. I love you, Mr. Cooper Adams.”
“Oh, honey, I love you too. And our kids. And our life.” Coop sighed, going boneless against him. “Now about that movie…”