Page 74 of Into the Shadows

“I’m sitting right here,” I finally pipe up.

Cooper narrows his eyes at me. “Will you take care of my daughter with your life?”

“Without question.”

He nods. “Good.” Then Cooper smiles wide. He leans over to smack me on the shoulder. “Welcome to the family, son.”

I look at Tucker, who is also smiling, and then around the room to make sure I’m not being pranked. “Uh, thanks?”

“Aw, come on. Did you already have a talk with him?” Carson says to my right. He sets a soda in front of me while Noah passes out beer. An odd sense of belonging hits my gut when I realize they knew I wouldn’t want alcohol, so they brought me an alternative. “I wanted to be here for it.”

“We did that on purpose.” Tucker eyes Carson.

“Glad to have you around, Teddy.” Carson elbows me.

“Did I miss it?” Todd rushes up to the table, with Michael striding behind him.

“Yep.” Carson sighs.

“Dammit.” Todd groans as he sits down. “Michael was being so slow… You did that on purpose, didn’t you?”

Michael shrugs. “I don’t know what you’re talkingabout.” He tips his head up in hello to me. He absolutely slowed his dad down on purpose. I knew I liked that guy.

“Is Levi coming?” Todd asks.

Cooper looks at his phone. “Yeah, he should be here any minute. How did Isla fare after her kitchen fire?”

“She’ll be all right,” Tucker answers. The name flies over my head, and I start to worry that I don’t remember someone in Lottie’s family. Then Tucker tells us about the conversation he had with her about moving into a senior living facility, and I finally understand this is someone in the community, not their family. Their genuine concern about this woman fascinates me. These guys are first responders who know everything about everyone. They could easily use their position to their advantage. Then again, if they did, I doubt Cooper would’ve stayed the police chief for this long.

A question flows out of me before I can stop it. “What would you guys do if a punk teenager was making trouble and you caught him?”

“Depends on what he’s doing and what’s going on at home,” Cooper says immediately. “Are his parents getting a divorce? Is he looking for attention in some way? Do his parents love him, and he’s just being a little shit because he can?”

“What about no parents around at all?”

“I’d probably try to take him under my wing first. Make it seem like a punishment or something so he doesn’t get suspicious. Then give him guidance when he’s ready to hear it.”

“Agreed,” Todd says. “Those kids are the ones who need help the most. The ones with good parents who are just being assholes deserve some consequences for their actions.”

I smirk. He’s not wrong. I could’ve used a good influence in my life like Cooper. I only managed to get into the Marines because a recruiter came to talk to our class one day. Seemed like the best option to not end up like my mom.

“Hey, kids! Seems like I just walked in on a serious conversation.” Levi slaps Noah on the shoulder.

Cooper stands to hug his brother. “Nah, just working through a hypothetical situation. Did you get Hope dropped off?”

“Yep. Adalaide and Vivi decided to go, too.”

“How long do we need to wait to keep from getting roped into their spa day?”

Noah leans into my side. “These guys always interrupt the girls’ night, no matter what. But they learned not to go too early when they’re having spa night. I’ve got pictures of mud masks and manicures if you want to see them later.”

I snort. “Yeah, I’m definitely gonna need to see the proof.”

“You told me you deleted those!” Carson slaps his hand on the table.

Noah laughs. “Of course, I didn’t. They’re fucking hilarious.”

“You were just as involved.”

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