Chapter 7
7
Cooper
To say the last fourteen hours or so have been a mind warp is an understatement.
As soon as we got back to the station after finishing up that call, I immediately called Ax and Joey to let them know I needed to duck my shifts at the bar this week, and they both offered to run to Target for me this morning and load up on baby gear. Then a couple guys at the station started a phone train to round up some clothes and such for Haley.
We stayed for overhaul, and while her apartment has no fire damage that they saw in their first look, the smoke and water damage destroyed just about everything in there. I managed to sneak out a couple of what looked like favorite stuffies and blankets of Roman’s, and I found her purse, too.
I was able to get Roman’s few items cleaned in our communal washer and dryer, but her purse isn’t fabric, and I was unsure of how to clean it, so I left that be. I figured at least having her wallet and license would bring her some sense of peace.
After grabbing our breakfast, I make the short drive back to my house. Haley’s hand is still firmly clutched in mine. She hasn’t said much, but she has been coughing an awful lot. I’m glad they gave her a rescue inhaler, but I’ll make sure to keep an eye on her.
It doesn’t take long before we turn onto my street, and we’re pulling into my driveway. It’s a simple ranch style house, three bedrooms and two bathrooms. I got it at a great price around three years ago, and I spent about a year renovating it in my spare time with my family’s help. It may not be much to some, but it’s home.
“This is your house?” she asks, and I nod before turning to her.
“Yep. And for now, it’s yours, too.”
“Thank you,” she says softly, and I just nod. Grabbing the food, I get down from my vehicle and move around to get Roman out of his car seat. I can see how slowly she’s moving, so I can imagine that between her chest and the aftermath of everything that happened, she’s exhausted and sore as hell.
She offers to carry the food as I slide Roman out, and I let her and get them both inside. “Why don’t we eat, and then I can give you the tour?” I suggest.
“Okay.”
We walk through the small foyer and to the kitchen at the back of the house, where I have a small round kitchen table and chairs. Haley sets the food down, and I grab some paper plates from my pantry and bring them over. With Roman settled on her lap, we dig into our breakfasts, and she simultaneously feeds him as well.
I want so badly to make small talk with her, to pretend like this is a date, and that the elephant in the room isn’t her currently being homeless with only the clothes on her back. Deciding that maybe this is the right time to do it after all, I stand from the table and move to the counter where I had her purse placed.
“Hales? So, I stopped by the apartment this morning, and it’s a total mess. But I was able to get this for you?” I offer, carrying it over to the table. Her eyes fill with a touch of happiness for a moment, and when I pull Roman from her lap, she makes quick work of rifling through it.
“Thank you, Cooper. How much damage is there?” she asks, putting the bag down on the seat next to her. Roman is still content with me, so I motion to her so she can finish eating.
“They had OFI on the scene, and it’s looking like faulty wires in one of the other apartment’s electrical panels. I decided to look around your place, and there was no fire damage, just a lot of smoke and water. Your apartment was the last one untouched, the fire was in the wall of the hallway, and if they hadn’t gotten the hose on it when they did, you’d be looking at a much worse situation.”
“Was anything salvageable?” she asks softly, and I hate the sheen of tears in her eyes.
“Not much, I’m sorry. I’m sure we can go back for some of it, like dishes and cookware. But by the time they release the scene, everything will stink of mildew and will be ruined. I do have a small surprise for you, though. Whenever you’re done, I’ll give you the tour and show you.”
Haley takes a couple bites of her breakfast sandwich and grabs her coffee. “I’m ready. Rome is gonna need a nap soon, and then I’ll need you to run me by the bank, if you don’t mind? I might have to take out a small loan, but I need to replace his stuff as soon as I can. We’ll need to go grab my car, too.”
I force myself to remain neutral, and I stand from the table. Tossing Rome up onto my shoulders, I take her on a walk of the house. Off my living room is the sliding glass doors where I have a massive back deck that leads to a fairly decent sized backyard. I take her down the hallway that leads to my bedrooms and bathrooms.
Just as we step into the spare room, I feel my phone buzz with an incoming call, and I check to confirm that it’s Axel. Putting my little buddy down, Haley stands with him as I answer my call as covertly as possible.
“Hey, bro,” I greet.
“We’ll be there in 3 minutes. Does she know yet?”
“Just about.”
Ax laughs. “Dude, you’re so fucked. Living room?”
“10-4.”
I end the call, pocket my phone, and look back to Haley and Roman. “Sorry, my younger brother. Anyway, this is the room you guys will be staying in. My third bedroom has been used as storage since I had to repave my garage, but I’ll work on getting stuff out of there so Rome can have his own space.”
“Oh no, that’s okay. We can share since it’s only temporary.”
“It’s not a problem, Hales.”
Pushing the door open, I usher them in and Haley takes in the space. I always kept this room simple; queen bed, dresser, attached guest bath with a full shower. I used my nicest spare sheets and blankets when I cleaned this morning, and she turns to me with the first genuine smile I’ve seen since I arrived on-scene last night.
“This is great. Thank you, Cooper.”
“Now, about the surprise I have. You two take a seat and I’ll be right back.” She does as I say, and Roman immediately bounces up and down on the bed. I hustle back to my laundry room, where I left the stuffed animals and blanket. I hold them behind my back and walk back to where they’re waiting for me.
Stepping inside, I smile at her. “So, technically I have three surprises, so bear with me. This one is for Roman, and the next one is for you. And my brothers are on their way with the third.”
“Cooper, you don’t?—”
I cut her off as I pull the items out from behind my back, and Roman comes launching himself at me. I only just catch him, and he climbs into my arms.
“Ma-mun!” he cries, grabbing the monkey from me and burying his face in it. I look over to see Haley fighting tears but smiling. “Fank.”
“You’re welcome, kiddo.” Pressing a kiss to the top of his head, I hold onto him for just a couple more seconds before depositing him back onto the bed next to his momma. I hand over the other stuffed animal and his blanket, and he happily grins at me. Going over to the closet, I pull the door open and step inside. Pulling out the oversized laundry basket, I carry it over to Haley and set it down on the floor in front of her.
“What’s this?” she asks, and I crouch down next to it.
“Brax and Silas started a phone train late last night, and we got some clothes and stuff rounded up for you. I know that not everything may fit well-- I had to guess on what I thought your size was when we put it all together-- but we wanted you to have some stuff to help.”
Haley’s eyes widen in shock, and they fill with tears before she reaches down to slowly start sifting through some of the clothes in the basket. I know it’s all overwhelming for her, and the most important thing I’ve learned about her in these weeks is that she’s not one for handouts or charity. She works hard and is afraid of being a burden to anyone.
It’s obvious in her not wanting me to make extra room for her to have a separate space from Roman, and the fact that she was clearly living in a makeshift bedroom back in her apartment. I may not know the whole story, or what brought her here to Nashville, but I’ll be damned if I sit back and don’t get to be a part of the upcoming story she writes for her and Roman.
“Cooper, this is too much,” she tries, but I shake my head to cut her off.
“It’s not,” I insist.
“It is. I don’t?—”
“You don’t what?” I ask, reaching out to gentle her shaking hands. “Deserve a warm bed for you and your boy? To have the community you’ve become a part of to help you?”
“That’s not it,” she whispers harshly, and a single tear trickles down her cheek.
“Then what is it?” I ask softly, using my thumb to wipe the streak off her face.
“I’m not used to this,” she tells me, sniffling before scrubbing her face. “Jensen is the only person I have ever had in my corner my entire life. And now, in a matter of twelve hours, except for Roman, I may have lost everything in my possession except for the clothes on my back. I know we’ve been talking and becoming friends, but I’m essentially a stranger to you, Cooper. And now, I’m sitting in a house with a place for me and my baby to live, and you have clothes for me, and you saved Roman’s favorite?—”
Her rambling is cut off when the sound of my garage opening has us both looking up. Sheepishly, I look up at her and give her my sweetest looking smile.
“What? What else did you do?” she asks, sitting up straight, and I only stand up so I can drop a kiss to her head, and then Roman’s.
“Stay here. I’ll be right back.”
Jogging out to the kitchen, I step through the side door that connects to my garage and find both Axel and Joey unloading stuff from the back of Axel’s F-150. And when I say unloading, that’s what I mean.
“Damn, did you guys clean out Target?” There are at least a dozen bags, and I can see a cardboard box peeking out from the corner of his tailgate. Stepping forward, I see that it’s a portable crib, and there is still another couple boxes next to it. “What are those?”
Joey speaks first. “We got as much clothing as we could without going overboard. We got blankets and sheets for the portable crib. They had full size ones, but you said he’s like sixteen or seventeen months old, and we didn’t know what kind of crib to get. We got three boxes of diapers, wipes, and then some toys, because our little dude needs to have some fun in his new house.”
I don’t miss the way he calls Roman “ours” and I know without hesitation that I have my brothers’ full support in all of this. Axel motions to the bed of his trunk. I see the diapers and portable crib, but then I see the box for the inflatable ball pit, mini basketball hoop, and a massive plastic car carrier with ramps coming off it.
“Yeah, she’s gonna fucking kill me,” I laugh, and they both look surprised. “I just finished showing her the clothes we got together for her, and she started to lose it. This might actually send her into a tailspin, and I have half a mind to tell you to return it all,” I admit, biting the side of my bottom lip as I look at everything in front of us.
Joey comes forward and claps me on the shoulder, his hand squeezing tightly. “Nah, she’s gonna be okay with this. She’s a momma, and from how you talk about her, that boy is her life. She’ll never turn all this down, even if it hurts her pride.”
“Guess we’ll find out. You guys mind hauling it into the living room? I’m gonna go prepare her.”
They both agree, and I make my way back inside and move quickly to Haley’s now bedroom. When I step into the hallway, I hear her voice softly speaking to someone, so I slow my footsteps, wanting to give her privacy until I hear her words.
“No, JJ. She shouldn’t have called you. I was just waiting until we got settled here before I tried calling you again. I’m sorry,” she says, and I can hear shouting coming through her phone. Not okay with anyone speaking to her that way when she’s in the middle of something this traumatic, I step into the room and sit down on the bed next to her.
“No, I don’t want that! Please, you need to calm?—”
Not giving a fuck, I grab her cell phone from her hand and hit mute. I cup the back of her head and pull her into my embrace. I caress the auburn strands under my fingertips to try and soothe her. I infuse calm in my voice and tell her, “Calm down, Hales,”.
“It’s my brother. He’s freaking out and threatening to go AWOL if I won’t use the emergency fund he has,” she cries, and I rub my hand up and down her back.
“Do you trust me?” I ask, and she nods against my chest. Looking down at her phone, I unmute the call and put it on speaker. A man’s voice is still shouting through the line, and I tighten my hold on Haley.
“You need to calm down, man,” I begin, and he goes silent.
“Who is this? Where is my sister? What the fu?—”
“You’re on speaker and your nephew can hear you, so watch the language, man.”
Jensen lets out a loud huff before trying again. “Where is Haley?”
“She’s sitting right next to me. My name is Cooper March. I’m a firefighter at Station 47, and I’m your sister’s friend.”
“Cooper. I’m Haley’s older brother, Jensen Jacobs. What is going on? I got back from my mission like twelve minutes ago, and before I could even call my sister like normal, I had a ton of messages from our cousin. Her apartment burned down, and I wasn’t even called?”
I can feel tears soaking through my tee, and I just pull her even closer. “Her apartment has water and smoke damage. I was on call last night and my guys were able to get her out safely, although both her and Roman had to be observed overnight in the hospital for smoke inhalation.”
“Jesus fucking Christ,” he says under his breath, and I hear him say something in the background that I can’t make out. “Take me off speaker,” he tells me.
Doing so, I switch the call and then press the phone to my ear. “You’re off.”
“I don’t even know who the fuck you are, but you’re keeping my sister safe, so for that you have my respect and gratitude. I have an emergency bank account that she has full access to. So, whatever she needs, clothes, food, anything, it’s there. Hell, there’s even enough for her to rent a new place. She doesn’t know this, and I can’t even believe I’m telling you, but it has thirty grand in it. If she needs every cent, it’s hers.”
“Yeah, I don’t know why you just told me that,” I chuckle.
“Because if she’s with you, then she trusts you, which is something Hale does not do easily. That tells me everything I need to know about you.”
“Appreciate that. I have room for both of them to stay with me, and they’ll have everything they need.”
“Give me your number so I can be in touch with you, too.”
Rattling it out to him, I look over my shoulder to see Roman now sound asleep on the bed behind us, his stuffed monkey cuddled to his chest. Going back to the phone call, Haley moves away from me but motions for the phone.
“Your sister wants to speak with you again. But I promise, man, they’re safe and sound.”
“Thank you, Cooper. We’ll talk soon, yeah?”
“Of course.”
Handing Haley the phone, she speaks with Jensen for just a few more minutes and then she ends the call and sets her phone down on the bed next to her.
“You okay?”
Blowing out a breath, she bows her head before resting it on my shoulder.
“Well, now that that’s over, I have something to show you, on one condition, okay?”
She lifts her head and gives me a puzzled look. “What’s that?”
“You don’t kill me.”