Chapter 8
Cooper
After I manage to get myself into a pair of jeans and pull the t-shirt over my head, I head into Naomi’s room. Sometimes she’s awake most of the time she’s not, and she sleeps like the dead. I’ve even looked into making one of those bed-shaking things that make the whole bed move to wake her up.
I sit on the side of her bed, and she’s still sound asleep. Her face peaceful, her light brown hair all over the place. I noticed it’s turning red in some places. Makes me wonder if her father had red hair.
“Princess, it’s time to get up,” I whisper, brushing her hair out of her face.
She doesn’t budge.
“Naomi, come on, you know the drill,” I say softly.
She moans and rolls over. “I don’t wanna get up,” she says into the pillow.
I smile and cup her cheek. This is the hard part of being a single parent. Yes, I have my family behind me, but she’s ultimately my responsibility, my kid. I don’t want to make her get up at five, but Aunt Dixie is too busy to watch her right in the morning, and everyone else is getting saddled up.
When I first got Naomi, I didn’t want her to wake up without me.
She spent far too many days crying for her mother, who wasn’t coming back.
So I kept her close. I strapped her to my chest in a baby carrier.
She wasn’t an infant, but small for her age, and I was terrified of her falling off my saddle.
In my mind, it was the best way to keep her safe.
I learned very quickly that as a parent, you will do whatever it takes to care for your kid, even if that means bringing them to work at five in the morning.
“I know you don’t. But Grandma Dixie probably has something really good for breakfast cooking.”
She sighs and opens her adorable green eyes. “She makes better breakfast than you.”
I chuckle and lightly pinch her nose. “That’s not nice.”
She shrugs and sits up. “But it’s true, and you told me I shouldn’t lie.”
She’s got me there.
“Alright, smarty-pants. Get dressed. We need to get down to the barn. And don’t forget you need to clean your room today. Grandma is coming.”
Naomi nods, and I’m hoping she actually gets out of bed instead of falling right back asleep. It’s happened before.
I pad into the kitchen and pour coffee into a thermos, while I listen for her to bang around the bathroom and brush her teeth.
Eventually, I hear the door and lean against the countertop, looking at the arrangement of flowers I bought yesterday. I got it for my mom, who is coming to visit us for a few days. They wanted to see Naomi and the rest of the family.
But now I’m trying to come up with other excuses to go to the flower shop and not seem like a stalker.
I flirted with Mae for a bit. She didn’t shut me down.
I assume that’s a good sign, but sometimes you never know.
I don’t want to assume, so going back in would be the smart thing to do, right?
The last thing I want to do is hit on a married woman, but I didn’t see a ring.
I check my watch and take another sip of coffee before getting the water bottles ready. The sun is beginning to peek over the edges of the mountains, creating a purple-pink sunrise.
Naomi trudges into the kitchen, squinting at the light, pouting.
“Where is your jacket, missy?” I ask her.
She groans and goes back into her room. When we’re up this early, it’s chilly. For me, I’m fine, but I want my kid to be dressed properly just in case.
She comes back with her waxed denim jacket and her cowboy hat on.
“Good job. Do you want something to eat before we head down?” I ask her.
She crosses her arms and purses her lips.“Right, I’ll take that as a no. Let’s go, princess.”
I hand her water bottle over and grab my coffee and water before we head out the door.
Naomi skips down the hill towards the barns. She likes coming with me now. I was taught a good work ethic from a young age. I think it’s good for her, and she’s old enough to learn now, too.
When we get to the barn, Fletcher already has Goldfish saddled.
Naomi named her, and I couldn’t tell her no, so Goldfish it was.
The ranch hands all say hello to Naomi, and she waves at them.
Fletcher picks her up and holds her for a minute while they talk quietly. She nods at what he says, and then he puts her down.
Naomi walks over to me, and Goldfish dips her head to Naomi, and she giggles, pressing her little forehead to the quarter horse’s large nose. Every time they do that, it makes my heart explode in my chest. “Morning, Goldy, I missed you,” she says.
I get my chaps buckled and our things in the saddlebag, then climb on. Naomi stands to the side of Goldfish and holds her arms up. I reach down, lifting her by the scruff of her jacket, and set her behind the horn.
Naomi leans against my chest as I bracket her small body between my arms, and we take off for the first pasture of the day. Twenty minutes later she’s slumped against me, asleep. In a few years she’ll be able to be on her own. I know she’s safe here, but I can’t shake the overprotectiveness.
An hour later Naomi is wide awake and hollering to help me push cattle.
One of the ranch hands gets a gate closed and I turn Goldfish heading back towards the barn.
“Uncle Coop,” Naomi says.
“Yes, princess,” I say, focused on the ground in front of us.
“Is it breakfast yet?” she asks.
“Yes, we’re headed to the main house now,” I tell her.
She groans and dramatically throws herself back into me. “Finally, I’m famished.”
I chuckle and glance at her. “Where did you learn that word?”
“Aunt Dixie was reading to me, and she said it.”
“And you understand what it means?” I ask her.
“Well, duh, it means I’m hungry. You should know that, though,” she says with a sassy tone.
I huff a laugh and pick Goldfish up into a faster speed. “You’re right, I should.”
By the time we get to the barn to put the horses in the paddock for breakfast, I can hear both of our stomachs growling. She takes off up the hill towards the house, and the rest of us follow behind.
Aunt Dixie has always gotten up with the family to get breakfast ready while we get started on work.
For a while, Uncle Mason was the one running Hayes Ranch.
But he’s semi-retired and Fletcher has since taken over most of the duties.
But every morning, he’s there to eat with us, and check in on how things are looking. Once a cowboy, always a cowboy.
“Good morning, Grandma Dixie!” Naomi says, grabbing her skirt.
“There’s my girl!” Aunt Dixie says, and tugs her to the corner of the kitchen.
“I made something special for you,” she says, and lifts the corner of a towel with what looks like cinnamon rolls.
I chuckle to myself as Naomi gasps and glances at me with wide eyes. I pretend not to see and go sit down next to Fletcher.
“How you doin’?” he asks.
“Oh, fine, Naomi did not want to get up this morning,” I tell him.
“Girl after my own heart,” Fletcher says.
I chuckle and reach for the bowl full of scrambled eggs.
“So I found the woman I saw at the bar,” I tell Fletcher.
“How? Did you go hunting for her?” he asks on a laugh.
I elbow him. “No, I went to the Paxton Flower Shop to get my mom some flowers, and she was there.”
“Shopping?” Fletcher asks.
“No, she’s Francesca Crawford’s niece.”
“So she has ties here,” Fletcher says.
I nod and take a bite.
“What are you going to do?”
I glance at him and take a sip of coffee. “I’m going to buy more flowers.”
Fletcher throws his head back and laughs. “I have a feeling you’re about to spend a lot of money on flowers.”
“Well, I need to know if she’s with someone…” I say, trailing off.
Fletcher takes a sip of coffee. “Fair enough, or you could just ask her.”
I glare at him, and Naomi hops up next to me on the bench at the giant dinner table. “What are you up to, princess?” I ask her.
She sets her plate, complete with cinnamon roll, scrambled eggs, and a few slices of bacon, next to mine.
“I’m going to eat. I told you I was famished.”
Fletcher chuckles.
I reach for a slice of her bacon, and she slaps my hand. “Get your own!” she says.
“You tell him, Naomi,” Aunt Dixie says.
I raise my hands in supplication. “Sorry, sorry.”
Naomi glowers at me, then goes back to her breakfast. She kicks her little legs and wiggles in her seat as she eats.
Whenever I see her do something amazing, or learn, or be brave when I can tell she’s scared, I can’t help but wonder if Rebekah knows she’s missing this.
Naomi is turning into a wonderful little girl, and I’m proud to be her uncle.
I would think Rebekah would be proud to be her mother too. Wherever she is…
She told me she was sober when she was pregnant with Naomi, and I thank God for it every day.
But once she came into the world, Rebekah struggled to stay focused on what matters.
There are days when I wonder if her struggle with alcohol won, and I’ll be left questioning if we’ll ever see Rebekah again.
After Naomi finishes eating, she hops off the bench and runs to the living room to start working on whatever Aunt Dixie has set up for her today. I watch her from my seat at the table and smile. She reminds me every day that this is all worth it.