Page 13 of The Cowboy's Bullfighter
“Oh, I’m way better.” Benji chuckled. “Though I’m surprised Coop hasn’t killed me.”
“Has he been ugly?”
“No. No, he’d been fab.” Benji looked fierce all of a sudden. “He helped me when I was in the hospital, and he took the kids in, and he’s keeping them when I go back to work.”
“Whoa, whoa, what?” He stared hard at Benji.
Benji lifted his chin in the air. “I’m their legal guardian, and this is my home of record. So they can stay here with Coop.”
“But they don’t need to. I’m here now, Benji.”
“Ben,” Benji snapped.
“Huh?”
“You,” Benji said, leveling a finger at him, “can call me Ben.”
“Okay. Ben.” Jesus. Brooks took a deep breath. “Look, I want to help.”
“That’s nice. Send the kids presents.” That lizard stare shocked him.
“Knock-knock!”
“I’ll get that,” Benji said, heaving up to his crutches.
“I can?—”
“It’s not your house!”
He sank down to sit on the couch, his chest tight. Okay, he was about to get his mad on. Shit, he knew he hadn’t been Johnny-on-the-spot, but he was here, dammit. And he wanted to help. Benji had no cause to be a dick, did he?
Maybe he did, but it still rankled all to hell.
“Hey! How you feeling, Benji?” A cowboy who looked familiar breezed into the house holding a pie in his hands.
“I’m doing good, Mr. Kase. What’s this?”
“Pie. I thought y’all could use one. Well, damn. Brooks Whitehead. Look what the cat dragged in.”
He squinted, and then his eyes went wide. “Kase?”
“Yeah. Good to see you.” Kase went to the kitchen to set down the pie, then came to shake hands. Benji looked on, lips tight, but didn’t say anything. “I’m sorry as hell about Andy and Nora.”
Jesus. It was like a blow to the chest again. “Thanks.”
“What do you care? When was the last time you talked to them?” Benji spat out.
He leveled a finger at Benji. “Don’t you yell at me. You don’t know shit, so you don’t get to holler.”
“I know you didn’t even know! Did you ever even meet Mina?”
“No matter what you might think, kid, I loved my brother. We weren’t always easy, and God knows Nora thought I was a bad influence, but you just?—”
“Hey, now.” Kase held up a hand in both their directions like a traffic cop. “I think you both need to breathe. Who wants something to drink? You want a cup of coffee, Brooks?”
He stared at Benji, who wouldn’t look at him, and blew out a sigh. “If that’s okay with Ben.”
“Sure.” Benji shrugged. “I’ll get a glass of milk.”
