Chapter Twenty-Two – Coop
Finally. Coop walked out onto the track. Everything about it felt familiar and good, right down to the smell of oil and dirt. The mechanic, Kevin, had the bike where they practiced starts, but that wasn’t the focus of the day. “Hey, Coop. Great to see you back. How you feelin’?”
“Fucking great. Can’t wait to get on that machine. How’s it running?”
“I have it set up for you. Don’t worry.”
“No worries.” Coop ran his gloved hand over the seat.
“Get on it, slowpoke.” He turned to see his coach, Dane, walking up. He hadn’t seen either of these guys in what felt like forever. Inevitably, he felt the warmth of camaraderie when Dane clapped his shoulder.
“I’ll show you slow.” Coop loved the way they teased and could give as good as he got.
“You better not.” Dane and Kevin laughed while Cooper rolled his eyes. “Seriously, though. Get up there.” He pointed to the bike.
Coop shoved his hair out of his face and slid his helmet on before mounting the bike. Kevin held it for him until he could get his boot on the ground on the other side. Then he pulled his goggles over his helmet. “Alright. Let’s do this.”
Dane pointed at the practice track ahead of Coop. “I want you to take a few laps slow. Like a sight lap. Get used to it and see how you feel.”
“All that teasing about going slow, and you want me to go slow?”
“Just the first few laps, then we’ll talk. You’ve been injured, Coop. You can’t just jump on and fly.”
“Bet.”
“Don’t.” Dane gave him a stern expression. He was serious, and Coop was going to listen. The last thing he wanted was to push too fast and reinjure his wrist.
“I got it. Promise.” He turned the bike on and shifted gears, taking the first straightaway slowly as if he were only heading to the gate.
He watched the track as he went, looking for problem areas and determining the depth of the ruts.
He rolled through the jumps in the rhythm section, but his restraint was a palpable thing.
When he approached the whoops, he pulled off the track and rode alongside them.
Dane would appreciate that. But for Coop, it was extremely hard to roll them instead of blitzing over the top or even jumping.
He loved the whoops section, and it was a place he could always pick up speed and gain seconds over competitors.
He eyed the ruts as he passed that section.
It looked like the team had worked the track and they were ripe for blitzing, tires bumping over the tops of the little hills as he flew over them.
He could taste how it felt in his mouth.
He wanted it more than anything, except for Rick.
And that was something he’d never had before.
Back at the starting area, because it wasn’t set up like a gate today, Dane waved him over. He turned off the bike so he could hear his coach talk. “How’s it feel?”
“Like I need to speed this up.”
Dane glared. “Well, we’re going to work on pacing this together. How’s the…” He held up his arm and shook his hand.
“Fine so far.”
“Okay. Then do this rhythm section. Moderate pace. No killing it. Light jumps. Then back around.”
“Yes, boss.” And off he went again. This time felt better as he got a little air. He wanted to go over a high jump and whip it sideways, but he had to build up to that. Dane wasn’t kidding. His arm was already feeling tired.
Then he waved Coop over again, which he expected, but not what Dane said after. “Hey, I have an important call for you.” He held Coop’s cell phone out to him.
Panic immediately set in, making his palms sweat and it became impossible to swallow. Had something happened to Rick? He pulled his gloves off and grabbed the phone. “H-Hello?”
“Lucas Cooper?”
“Uh…yeah?”
“Hey. This is Davey McAllister. With Apex.”
Coop almost swallowed his tongue. Davey fucking McAllister?
Everyone in the bike racing industry knew who he was.
Knew who he worked for. Apex was elite, and Davey had been one of the best racers to grace the dirt until he retired.
Now he managed the Apex team. Coop almost didn’t believe it was him.
“Y-Yeah?” What would he be calling Coop for?
“A friend of mine has a dilemma, and I’m hoping you can help me out. I’ve seen you street race, and I’ve watched your films. I also know you practice on a moto track, and have raced there before, too.”
“Yeah?”
“Ultimately, you’re the person we want. You know your shit. You can get on any track and figure it out fast and…”
“Win?”
“Exactly.”
“Okay…I’m pretty happy on the Bandy Tires team. They’ve been a great sponsor. Supporting me. I mean, I’m on the track for the first time after an injury, I’m not going to switch—”
“Oh, no. That’s not it. We don’t want you to ride. We want you to coach.”
“Come again?”
“I have a great friend over on the Bike Max team, and they have a new 250 racer. They want to debut him at RedBud next weekend. He came up through Next. The problem is, he hasn’t done a ton of moto, and Bike Max is stretched too thin on coaches.
They want someone with versatility to help him out this weekend. ”
Bike Max. They wanted Coop to help coach a new racer. What the fuck? How did that even happen? “So this is for Bike Max. Not Apex? Well, I know they’re a very progressive team.”
“Oh yeah. The guys at Bike Max are willing to take chances that others, like me and Apex, aren’t. And if you’re interested, you fly out to Michigan tomorrow so you have plenty of time with Nate.”
“That’s the racer?”
“Yes. Nate Keller. If you want to do this, it’s only this weekend, but it could lead to more. Bike Max is known for trying people out and bringing on the best permanently. If you’re interested. It could work out.”
“I’ve never coached anyone.”
“No, but I know who’s coached you, and I know who your grandfather is.
Surely, Dustin Cooper had a hand in developing your talent early.
” Coop’s grandad had done just that. He’d been a lot of things, including Cooper’s biggest fan.
Until he died. But that was a can of worms Coop didn’t want to open.
“And it’s not like you’re going to yell at the kid or smack him upside the head. ”
“What? No. I’d never.”
“Relax. It’s a joke. We think you’ll be great at this, so let me know so I can get your number over to Gavin.”
Coop looked at Dane. If he did this, it had implications for his schedule and training.
“I have to talk to Dane. And Brett, but yeah, I think I’d like to give it a shot.
” The one thing in the back of his mind during his recovery was that he wouldn’t be able to race forever.
And he loved Rick, but staying home and doing nothing was out of the question.
No matter where the military took them, there would be an airport nearby, so coaching might be a nice transition.
He needed to talk to Rick about this, too.
For once in his life, he had someone else to talk to.
After his grandfather passed, it had been Vick.
But now? He’d let his friend know what was up, but he didn’t want anyone else’s advice on this.
“I’ll let you know in the next hour or two.
Will that work?” Hopefully, Rick wasn’t out in the field and could get on the phone quickly.
“Sure. You have my number now. Feel free to text a yes or no.”
“Thank you. For thinking of me if nothing else.”
“I do my homework. If you weren’t one of the best, most talented, you wouldn’t be getting this call.”
“Thanks.” Coop felt the heat blush his cheeks from the compliment. Coming from Davey fucking McAllister meant the world.
He handed the phone back to Dane. “You knew about this?”
“He was looking for you. He said he had some kind of coaching thing. I didn’t get details. Brett probably knows more. What’s up?”
After Coop explained the situation, he sighed. “I think I want to try it. What do you think?”
Dane crossed his arms over his chest. “I think you’re hardheaded enough for the job.”
Coop bumped his shoulder into Dane’s. “Come on…be serious.”
“Okay. I’m going to be honest with you, Coop.
Hell, half the time I’m out here with you, I feel redundant.
You know what the fuck you’re doing. If anything, my job is to reel you in a little so you don’t kill yourself.
You know? You’re a spitfire. And if you can share half of what you know with this new kid, he’ll come out the better for it.
Even if you only have one weekend, you’ll have helped him. ”
Coop nodded. “I have to talk to Rick.”
“Sure. Maybe he can go with you.”
Coop didn’t think so. Rick was super busy with his own job and picking up in the middle of the week to fly to a motocross event across the country was probably a no-go. But it was only a few days. So who knew?
He handed his bike back to Kevin, but Dane added one more thing. “If you’re not going to be on a bike until next week, I expect you to be getting those workouts in and continuing your PT exercises.”
“Yeah. Will do. For sure. Let me go call Rick, then meet me in the cafeteria?” It was actually a small refreshment area that sold water and snacks to the racers and their teams who practiced there. It was actually a nice bonus to have at a practice track.
“Sure.”
Coop headed back to the locker rooms to change, but before he could even pull his jersey off, the phone rang. It was Rick. “Hey, man. Was just about to call you.”
The voice that came through the phone wasn’t Rick’s. It was some guy named Emerson or something, and he said Rick needed him. A thousand scenarios played through his head at once. “He’s not hurt?”
“Not physically. It’s an emotional thing. I want to bring him to you.”
“It’ll be faster to meet at home. Can you take him home?”
“Will do.”
Something was very wrong. Coop changed as fast as he could, then practically ran to the cafeteria. “Dane! Dane!”
“Where’s the fire?”
“Something’s wrong with Rick. I’ve gotta go. I’ll text you later.”
“Okay. Go.” He pushed Coop’s shoulder to turn him around. “Calm down and drive careful. He’ll need you in one piece.”
“Yeah. Yeah…” But Coop was already moving.
Coop parked and ran to the front door, flinging it open. “Rick?”
He was slumped on the couch with his hands over his face. He muttered something Coop didn’t understand.
“Hey, hey…” he gentled as he pulled Rick’s hands down. “What’s going on?”
Rick lunged, practically throwing himself into Coop’s arms. If that’s what he needed, Coop would hold him all day.
He pulled Rick tighter against him, and they ended up on the floor with Rick straddling Coop’s thighs and leaning into his chest, planting his face in Coop’s neck.
Coop rubbed his back and made soothing noises until finally, Rick sat up. “It’s my mom.”
“Is she hurt, baby?”
“She’s sick. My brother called and said she might die. I have to go. Will you come with me?”
“Let’s get you a bag packed while we talk, okay?” He didn’t want to say no, but this was going to fuck up his opportunity with Bike Max. “I have to tell you what happened today. It’s good news, but…”
“Okay?” Maybe listening would help Rick focus. Coop had never seen him like this. So sad and worried. He probably felt helpless. But Coop could distract him.
“I got an offer to coach a new racer this weekend at Redbud…” As he told Rick the entire story, Coop pushed Rick down onto their bed as he pulled out a duffel to pack for Rick.
He didn’t know how long Rick would be gone but he could start with the essentials.
Shit. Would Rick need a suit? Did Rick even own a suit?
Or would he wear his uniform? Coop would have no idea how to pack that.
“You must be excited.”
“I was, but now…”
“Oh. Where is RedBud exactly?”
“Michigan. Buchanan, Michigan. It’s actually across the lake from Chicago.” It wasn’t terribly far away, but it might as well have been worlds when Coop couldn’t be there and with Rick at the same time.
Coop added a few extra pairs of briefs into Rick’s duffle while Rick watched him. “You have to do it. You have to go. Call Brett and tell him you’ll do it.”
Coop shook his head and exhaled long and slow. “I don’t think I can, Rick. You need me.”
“Yeah, but I’m a grown-ass man, Coop. I can do this. You can come out when you’re done.”
Coop moved to the bed and stood between Rick’s legs.
“I don’t think you understand. Damn, Rick.
I…” He ran his fingers over Rick’s short hair.
The man was gorgeous inside and out. “You know? I never thought I could have this. Anything like this. It seemed so far out of my reach that I didn’t even try for it.
Then you walked into my life and changed everything.
I didn’t even know how hurt and lonely I was before—”
“I can’t bear that you’re hurt.”
“I’m not. Not anymore. I’m just saying you don’t realize how numb you can get to things like that until someone shines a light on it. You’ve never done anything but offer me the other side of that light, Rick. And shit. That sounds so dumb.”
“No, it doesn’t.”
Coop leaned forward and kissed Rick’s soft lips, gently. Rick rubbed his hands up the back of Coop’s thighs. “But I still think you should take this opportunity. Meet me at my folks’ afterward.”
Coop stared deeply into Rick’s eyes. He’d do anything for this man. But what the hell was he going to do now?