Page 5 of September's Bad Boy: Cooper
That’s when my phone buzzes.
Pulling it out, I glance at the screen and see a text from Luna. She used to babysit me, and I always thought she was fun to be around. We have been hanging out since I came back to town a few months ago.
Luna: Jason’s back. Just saw him at the garage. Still full of himself. Warned me about you and Cooper. Said you’ve “clearly forgotten the past.” What a jerk.
My stomach twists. I stop dead in the middle of the aisle.
Jason. Cooper’s son and my ex. It’s been four years since the night Cooper saved me. Jason and I broke up not long after that, and since he was a year behind me in college, I never really ran into him. I graduated three years ago, and I took a job in Bozeman before coming back to Mustang Mountain.
Of course he’s back. Because the universe likes to make things complicated. Because just when I think I might move forward, the past comes walking back in with all its arrogance and judgment.
Jason, who dismissed my fear. Who told me I was overreacting. Who made excuses for the man who hurt me. Who called Cooper a criminal and me a fool.
Jason, who was never brave enough to stand up for anyone but himself.
Anger bubbles up fast and hot. Not just at him, but at the version of myself that let him hold so much power over me. I’d shrunk for him. Doubted myself. Questioned my truth.
But not anymore.
I glance toward the counter where Cooper is talking quietly with Ruby. He looks calm. Strong. Nothing like the man Jason always tried to make him out to be.
Jason doesn’t know him. He never did.
And maybe I didn’t either. Not fully. But I want to.
I want to know who Cooper is now. Who he’s become.
Straightening my shoulders, I slide my phone back into my pocket and walk toward the front.
Cooper glances up as I reach the register. The moment our eyes connect, the chaos inside me stills. Clarity and a choice.
I don’t look away.
Whatever this is, whatever it becomes, I want to be the one who decides.
Even if it terrifies me.
CHAPTER 3
COOPER
I knew this would be hard. But I didn’t think it’d punch me in the gut the second I opened my mouth.
Jason’s sitting across from me at a picnic table outside the garage. I offered to meet anywhere he felt comfortable. Thought a public place would help, and he’d show up ready to talk. Instead, he’s got his arms crossed like he’s trying to fold into himself, eyes narrowed in that way he used to look at me as a kid when I told him he couldn’t stay up late.
Only now, that look doesn’t come with a temper tantrum. It comes with venom. His jaw is locked, tension rippling through his shoulders. There’s nothing calm about this conversation. I knew he’d be angry, but I didn’t expect it to hurt this much. Didn’t expect every word to land like a body blow. I’ve faced men in prison with less hostility than I see simmering in my son’s eyes right now.
“You kissed her,” he says, each syllable heavy with accusation, with disappointment, like I’ve personally ripped open an old wound and dumped salt inside.
I blink, caught off guard. “What?”
“Don’t play dumb. You kissed Riley. In the middle of the Merc in front of the whole town. Like it was some damn movie.”
“I didn’t kiss her,” I say evenly. “She kissed me.”
I know that in his eyes it doesn’t make a difference. Just like I know the fact that it wasn’t in front of the whole town doesn’t matter because the gossip mill runs faster than most cars around here. Everyone now knows.
He snorts, shaking his head. “Right. Sure. She kissed you. You expect me to believe she just threw herself at you like that?”
