Page 44 of The Cowboy's Bullfighter
“Something that works with the rest of the place. Desert stucco color.”
He chuckled. “I thought turquoise.”
“Oh, that would be cool. No evil spirits for me, huh?”
“That’s it.” Coop clapped the kid on the shoulder. “And it’s probably warmer in there than in the house, anyway.”
Benji chuckled. “Well, it will take less to keep it warm, for sure.”
“So you’re good?”
“I am.” Benji shook his head. “I really like it.”
“Well, make sure you thank Brooks.” He knew Benji had, but it had been grudging, at best. With a lot of stilted words.
“I will. I promise. Can I work for a bit, though?” Benji was way more interested in the interior than he was in painting the exterior.
At least there was already a little ramp in place.
He headed back up to the house, humming under his breath. His birthday had been awesome, and since then, he and Brooks had gotten along just fine. In fact, on occasion he thought he’d caught Brooks looking at him in an interested kind of way, and Coop had got to thinking about that a lot.
Likea lot.
He and Brooks had picked out the tiny house together, but it was Brooks who’d gotten it there before Thanksgiving had even rolled around, and he had to admit, he liked that the man did what he said he was going to do when he said it.
That was the cowboy way, and Benji was going to end up getting his ass kicked until he learned it.
The thought made him grin.
“What are you grinning like a monkey about?” Brooks asked when he walked into the kitchen.
“Benji. He’s going to learn real quick if he’s gonna work as a bullfighter, that things don’t go like he wants them all the time, and he can’t slack off.”
“Still wanting to pick out couches instead of painting?”
“Something like that, yeah.” Coop winked, then leaned on the kitchen counter. “What have you got going?”
“Well, I was wondering if you would help me go pick up a trailer while the kids are in school?”
“You get a line on one? Used or new?”
“Used for this. Just a two-stall open hitch. I’ll use it for local stuff.” Brooks shrugged. “If I decide to start doing deliveries longer distance, I’ll get a bigger rig.”
Coop felt his heart drop into his belly. “You planning on being gone for long stretches?”
“Nah.” Brooks studied him, one eyebrow raised. “I’ll hire someone to do long hauls if it gets to that. Unless it’s summer and you and the kids want to come.”
Damn, that sounded oddly like they were a couple. Were they a couple?
They weren’t a couple.
They were just guys.
But he guessed they were co-parents, so this shit mattered.
“I like to go.”
“Yeah?”
