Page 21 of You Can Make Me
“Are you going to kiss me?” I muttered close to his ear.
He chuckled and whispered, “I should, now that I know you like it.” And then the bastard gave me a wet smack on my cheek. Sam laughed as I wiped it away with a frown.
“Quit acting,” Gene said. “We know the truth.”
God, he was an ass. My cheeks flushed as I looked toward the Harrises.“I don’t know what he’s going to do, but my guess is he’ll put on a brave face for all of you and let me have it later.”
“Dennis—”
I held up a hand to Deb. “It’s okay. I realized night before last that letting him call the shots all this time maybe wasn’t the best move. He needs to know that his decisions aren’t just about him, that he has people who love him who are counting on him to stick around.”
Deb’s hand flew up to her throat and her blue eyes, so like Cooper’s, flared. “Is he…?”
“I don’t think he’ll harm himself, but he’s refusing PT or to follow up with a plastic surgeon. He thinks he can’t take any more disappointment. He’s losing hope.”
“Well, maybe getting him back to work on a project will help,” Sam said. “I brought a couple of different hot spots with me, we can see if they’ll help with the service out here, and I’m going to force him to look at some ideas. I know he’s always athis best when he’s working. I think it’ll give him the motivation to work on the other things.”
“I hope you’re right.”
“And I have updates on the case,” Gene said, leveling me with a serious look. “With you retired and me scrambling to find your replacement—which is hard as fuck, you know—I haven’t had as much time to work on things, but we’ve got a couple new guys who are whizzes with the tech stuff.”
“How is… How are Walt and Dee Dee?” I felt like such a shitty friend. My other best friend had gone through a horrific ordeal with his new boyfriend, and ever since Cooper was nearly killed, I hadn’t been there for him. Hadn’t even called him. In a sense, it was my way of avoiding any more information about the damned carnival so I wouldn’t be lying to Cooper when I said I’d told him everything I knew. It was a cop-out, but somewhat valid.
Gene smiled. “They’re good. He says hello and to call him when you’re up to it, no rush. He gets it more than I did. They’ve got a place in the canyon, they’re making a go of it. Junior’s really fucking happy. Finally. He’s commuting for now. He’ll put in his papers as soon as he hits fifty or he decides he can’t stand to be away. Hell, I think Dee Dee’s going to go out on tour with Ryan in the fall. I bet Junior goes with.”
Gene and I were the only ones who knew that Walter hadn’t found the long-lostchildof a famous folk singer, but the actual singer himself who hadn’t aged a day in forty years. The two of them fell madly in love at first sight. Walter deserved the break, and the love.
I’d had no idea when Gene and I drove down to LA to help Walter with his case, that it would bring Cooper back into my life…and nearly end his.
“Why don’t you all come in and have a seat,” I said. “He usually wakes from his nap around this time. I’ll go in and talk to him, prepare him.”
“Dennis, we’re his family,” Deb said with a gentle smile. “Frank and I remember vividly what it was like dealing with surly teenager Cooper. Believe me, we know how he can be.”
I stood a little taller. “I’m sure that’s the case. But let me prepare you for the fact that he looks vastly different, and he’s very distraught about that. He’s getting around with a cane pretty well, but he’s prone to dizzy spells and mood swings because of the brain injury. He’s not the same Cooper, though I believe he’s in there somewhere. I asked you all to be here, but I’m still going to honor his wishes, and if he gets agitated, I’ll ask you to step out, which is why I suggested the RVs. This cabin is tiny and when he’s in a dark place, it can feel even smaller. Having the space to retreat will help this go smoother and keep him from getting overwhelmed. Is that understood?”
I had to have major balls to tell a man’s parents that I’d kick them out if need be, but Cooper put his trust in me, and I’d protect him to my last breath. He might regret that soon enough.
The Harrises and Ochoas nodded soberly and followed me into the house. I gestured to the tiny living room, and I went down the hallway to the bedroom.
It was dark inside, but I could see Cooper’s face clearly enough to see he was in distress. I rushed to the side of the bed as he started flinching, twitching, and his chest began heaving as he tried to scream.
“Shhh, it’s okay, it’s just a dream.” I sat beside him and brushed his hair away from his sweat-dampened forehead. The scar above his eyebrow was still quite red, but his hair hid it from view most of the time.
He licked at his dry lips as he thrashed his head from side to side.
“Cooper—”
“Denny!” he called out, as he turned his body toward me, shivering under the blankets.
I lay down and wrapped my arms around him, which made him sigh in relief. He tucked his nose under my jaw and panted as he tried to wake up and calm himself. He brought his hands up to touch my face.
“Denny…? Are you real?”
“Yeah, baby. It’s okay, just breathe.”
It was stupid to still call him baby, but I couldn’t help myself. When we were physically close, I automatically reverted to that headspace where he’d almost belonged to me. It wasn’t the case any longer, but maybe part of me thought wanting it bad enough, pretending hard enough, would make it true.
Up to this point, when he had nightmares, I’d sit with him, touch him, hoping to ground him, and when he finally got his breathing under control he’d pull away, shoot me a dark look and roll over. Or, if it were daytime, he’d climb out of bed.
