Page 26 of The Cowboy's Bullfighter
“Oh for fuck’s sake, son.” Coop glared at Benji. “You got to give this shit up. You are going to make yourself miserable by holding a grudge for something you’re not even one hundred percent sure that anybody knows what the grudge is about.”
“He can’t just walk in and say, ‘I’m here to fix things’.Ifixed things. I did it. If I hadn’t been hurt I wouldn’t have had to call for help, even still, but I didn’t know what else to do!”
All of a sudden, it hit Brooks like a hammer how young Benji actually was. How scared he still was, and how much weight was on this kid. “You did a great job, man.”
Benji looked at him, eyes about as wide as saucers. “What?”
“You did a fabulous job. You managed to keep these kids together and functioning and in school. Hell, Mina wasn’t even in school, and you worked. You did great.”
Benji stood there like he’d been shot or something. His face went pale, and he started sweating, and Brooks didn’t understand what was going on, but it was obvious that Coop did, because he ran right over. “Come on, let’s get you setdown. It’s all right. You’re all right. You got this. Breathe in and out. You know how to do this.”
Coop got him sat down in a recliner and then came over to Brooks and nodded to him, voice pitched low. “He’s real young, remember? Real young. This is a lot of pressure and every time something releases that pressure, I think it just gives him a little bit of panic.”
“Ah.” Yeah, Brooks got that. He remembered how it was to be that young and be out on his own and feel like no one had his back. And then when someone did, when someone supported him, he’d feel like he was about to keel over with shock and a little bit of joy. “Yeah, okay. But he did good.”
“Sure he did.” Coop grinned. “Now, we need to batten down the hatches. What kind of stuff do you know how to make for little girls?”
An evil, evil thought occurred to him. “You got sprinkles?”
“Yes. From Lucy’s birthday.”
“What about cookie cutters?”
Coop tilted his head. “Mia wanted some for Christmas, so we got one of those all-holiday sets.”
“Perfect. I need the heart.”
“What for?” Coop was looking a touch stunned now himself.
“Fairy bread.”
“What the hell is that?”
“White bread with butter and sprinkles. It tastes like Funfetti cake.”
Coop gagged. “Can we use frosting? I’ve got a can of vanilla buttercream.”
“Perfect. I can also make savory scrolls.”
“Okaaaaay. And those are?”
“Fancy pizza rolls.”
“I like pizza rolls,” Benji piped up.
Coop rolled his eyes. “Another nation heard from. You need some juice, shock boy?”
“Please? I think I came stomping out of my room too fast. I hurt like the devil.”
Brooks snorted. “I hear that, man. I broke my femur, which by the way was what killed my short-lived bronc riding career, and I would get to feeling better, step on my leg wrong, and just pass right out.”
“Save me from delicate freaking Whiteheads,” Coop muttered.
“Be nice or I’ll use butter on that bread,” he teased.
“You are pure-D evil.”
“Yep.” He said it cheerfully, pulling pizza crust out to plop in the toaster oven. This he knew from his first day here.
