Page 18 of The Cowboy's Bullfighter
“Daddy?”
“Sure, kiddo. If everyone is cool with that.”
“Okay.” Now Nell smiled at him. “I love pizza.”
“I know, baby girl.” Kase waved, and he nodded.
“See you soon, Nell.”
“Bye, Mr. Coop.”
“Bye.”
Kase took Nell to the truck, put her in her car seat, and got her settled. Then they were gone and it was just him and Brooks, because Mason had disappeared like smoke.
Brooks simply—sat there. Pale as milk under his tan. “Looks like I really threw the proverbial shit right into the fan, huh?” Brooks looked down at the beer in his hand as if surprised to see it, then set it on the little table.
“She’s only little, and I got to say, y’all look a lot alike.” Coop sat too, taking a deep breath. “Kase says Benji snarled. He’s having a tough year.”
“He is.” Brooks shrugged. “I get that. I do. I’m just trying to help.”
“Well, sure.” He had no idea what that meant. What had Brooks said to Benji? “It’s good for you to come visit, though.”
One dark eyebrow went up, and it was odd how it was like, four shades darker than Brooks’s curly, light brown hair. “I came to get Benji and the kids, man.”
“Get them?” Coop stared. Hard. “What the hell does that mean?”
“Well, they need a permanent place to stay, right? It’s been great of you to let them be here, Coop, but this is your place.”
Huh. At least now he knew what had gotten Benji’s back up. “And what did Benji say to that?”
Brooks gave him a wry laugh. “He told me I could call him Ben, thank you, and that he was their legal guardian. He basically told me to fuck off.”
“Ah.” Well, that was totally on point, so he wasn’t shocked. “The kids are fine here. I’ve got room. They’re settled, and we have everyone in school and activities. You don’t have to stress it. Benji’s made sure they’re safe as houses.”
“Wait, so you want them to stay here?” Brooks looked like his eyebrows might fly right off. “Aren’t you working?”
“I retired.” He let that drop. “I mean, I do contract work for the Chiaras, but I’m settled here.” He crossed his arms. “You got a place to take the kids?”
“You know I don’t. Not yet, but I will.”
Uh-huh. He didn’t say a word, because what was he supposed to say? Coop knew cowboys, and the ones that needed to be on the road were on the road. Him, he was settled, but he wasn’t going to argue. There wasn’t any reason in it. “Well, why don’t you come in and meet the kids again?”
“I don’t know…”
“The little ones don’t seem to remember you at all, man. Let the kids all see that you’re not actually their dad, and then I’ll put you up in one of the bedrooms. You can hang out, sleep for a few days, get yourself together. Nothing’s going to happen right now. And I’ll be honest with you, nothing’s going to happen without Benji’s permission. He is their legal guardian.”
“He’s just a kid!” Brooks had that look—like a fractious horse about to bolt, so Coop tried for gentle and easy, like he was dealing with someone who’d just had their chickens scattered.
“He’s nineteen. He’s an adult. Don’t you worry. I have signing rights on all their stuff at school. I got all the legal stuff dealt with. I haven’t adopted them or nothing, that’s not my place, but we’re all legal and settled, so when Benji goes back to work?—”
“Just a minute, now?—”
“You don’t have to worry about it at the moment; you can just sleep.” And not argue with him, because if this son of a bitch argued with him, Coop would just deck him.
He had kids that he had to deal with, all six of whom were upset.
He needed to hear about robotics, football, Girl Scouts, and 4-H. He needed to hear whatever Ricky was supposed to be playing on the guitar.
