Page 6 of September's Bad Boy: Cooper
“I don’t expect you to believe anything. But that’s what happened.”
He leans in, voice low and bitter. “You think this is funny? You think this is justice? You showing back up in town, getting cozy with my ex, like this is some kind of revenge fantasy?”
His words light a slow fire in my gut. I push down the flash of anger and answer calmly. “It’s not about revenge. I didn’t come back to get even. I came back to rebuild my life. And yeah, Riley’s part of that.”
Jason’s jaw tightens, and I can practically see the words he wants to say fighting their way out of his throat. I know that rage because I’ve felt it too. We’re too damn similar sometimes, and that scares me more than I’ll ever admit.
“I’m not trying to hurt you,” I say, leaning forward, my elbows braced on the wood.
“Bullshit,” he spits. “You didn’t even think. You just did it. Like always. Wrecking shit and pretending it’s progress.”
“Progress doesn’t look like perfection,” I say. “It looks like mistakes and owning up to them. It looks like coming back and trying again. That’s all I’m trying to do.”
He scoffs, shaking his head like he can’t even bear to look at me. “You think just showing up changes anything?”
“No. I think showing up and staying does.”
“You weren’t there, Cooper. You left. You chose violence, and you left.”
My hands tighten into fists, but I don’t rise to the bait. “I didn’t choose prison, Jason. I chose to protect someone who couldn’t protect herself. And I would do it again.”
He leans in, tone cutting. “And what about me? Where was that protector when I needed one? You think that one choice makes up for everything else?”
“No,” I admit, voice raw. “It doesn’t. But I never stopped thinking about you. Never stopped wishing I could go back and do it differently.”
“Well, you can’t,” he says coldly.
Silence stretches between us. I let it. Because I don’t have the right words to fix this, I let him stew in it. I’m not sure words are enough.
I want Riley. Complicated or not. Even though it’s messy. Because she sees me in a way no one else has. And maybe if Jason had, we wouldn’t be here like this.
“You were my hero, you know that?” he says quietly. “Before everything went to hell. Before the trial. Before the whispers. You were everything I wanted to be.”
My heart twists.
“Then suddenly, you weren’t. You were gone. Locked up. And I was just the kid with the felon dad, again.”
I swallow hard. “I know.”
“You can’t just walk back into town and expect me to pretend none of that happened.”
“I don’t want you to pretend. I want you to see me now. The man I’m trying to be.”
He stands abruptly, fury back in his eyes. “I see you. That’s the problem.”
Before I can say another word, he’s gone. Turning on his heel, he stalks down the alley behind the garage, shoulders stiff, and anger rolling off him like smoke.
I watch him disappear, and a hollow ache echoes inside me. There’s so much I want to fix. So much I want to say. But you can’t force someone to see the truth before they’re ready.
Even though I want to repair things with my son more than anything, I won’t lie. And I won’t give up on this connection that’s growing between me and Riley. There has always been something there, even when she was dating my son. Until that kiss the other day, I ignored it. I should just keep ignoring it.
If Jason can’t see who I’ve become, then maybe he’s still seeing the man I used to be—and maybe that’s something he has to work through on his own.
The rest of the day drags. I try to lose myself in work at the gym site, but Jason’s words echo in my head like a hammer banging on steel. By the time Huck’s truck pulls up with Shane in the passenger seat, I’m more than ready for a break from the noise in my head.
They climb out, casual as ever. Huck’s already frowning at my attempt to take this old building down to the studs and start over.
“You serious about this place?” he asks, tilting his head toward the building behind me.
