Page 11 of The Cowboy's Bullfighter
“See you in a bit, Uncle Coop.”
“You drive safe, you hear me?”
“Yessir!” Ricky nodded at Brooks Whitehead as if he didn’t know him, then got the other two into the ratty old ranch truck and headed off.
“Uncle Coop!” Mina skipped out, holding her backpack. “I’m ready to go to Girl Scouts!”
“Sorry, Uncle Coop, but now I found my shoes.” Mason scurried out.
Both kids looked curiously at Brooks Whitehead. “Who is this?” Mina asked.
“I’m gonna have to take these two to activities. Benji is inside. Go easy.” He jerked his chin toward the kitchen door behind him. “Come on, kids.”
“Wait, that wasn’t Benji? Where is everyone going?” Brooks asked.
“Ricky, Johnny, and Lucy are going to the school to do activities. I’m dropping this one off for Girl Scouts and that one for football. See you for supper at six thirty. You can help Benji cook.” He walked away, because otherwise he was gonna deck this guy.
Six months. Six months this guy had taken to show up when Benji had been hurt so bad all he could do was lie in bed and moan and these kids had lost their parents and?—
He took a deep breath, getting Mina in her car seat.
“Is that a friend of yours, Uncle Coop?”
“He’s a friend of the family.” He would let Benji explain to them when it was time. But for now, the kids needed to go have fun and not worry about this shit.
He popped in one of his earphones as soon as he was in the truck and started it up. Then he dialed Kase. Ryder tended to be out and about on the ranch, but Kase was the one who did the work in the office. It was early enough that they wouldn’t be closing down for supper or anything quite yet. It was still homework and organizing for all the kids.
“Coop. ’Sup.” Kase chuckled. “Hold up. No, sir. You pass that math test tomorrow, then you can talk about going to the football game Friday night. Not before. Sorry, I’m back. What you need?”
“I got company over to the house. I’m having to run the kids out and about, so Benji’s alone with him.”
“‘Him’?” Kase must have gone into another room, because it got quiet.
“Brooks Whitehead.”
“Oh boy.”
“Yeah, I know?—”
“Uncle Coop, my last name is Whitehead!” Mina crowed.
“Is he a relative?” Mason looked over at him, eyes dancing with curiosity. “I don’t know him.”
“Yeah. Yeah, family friend. It’s no big, I’m just letting Mr. Kase get caught up on the gossip.” Not to mention they ought to figure out if he needed to go over there and check on Benji, who was still on crutches and needed help, and Coop had to get these kids moving.
Mason wasn’t allowed to miss too many practices, or he didn’t get to play in his little junior league team, and God knew if Mina missed Girl Scouts then she wasn’t going to get to go to the Halloween party. The world might end, and hewould kill someone if that little girl didn’t get to go to her damn Halloween party. They’d been planning during meetings for a month.
“You want me to go over and check on them? I can totally step in just so I can take them some salad or a pie. Would you like a pie?”
He huffed out a relieved breath. “That would be a blessing. I can pick Nell up and take her to Girl Scouts and bring her home so you don’t have to.”
“Nell! My best friend!” Mina bounced in her little chair.
“No problem.”
“That would be an honest blessing, and it would help me out a lot.”
“That works for me. Nell! Mr. Coop’s taking you to Daisies”
