Page 71 of The Cowboy's Bullfighter
She tilted her head. “Those are actually bread, right?”
“Right.”
She popped up. “Did you learn to make those in Australia?”
“Nope. Your gran taught me. Her mom was from England.”
“Oh, neat! I didn’t know that.”
“Yep.” They headed into the kitchen, and Coop wondered if he should go with them. He kinda felt bad for Brooks, because, damn, that had to be some weight, because these kids knew dick-all about their family history, really.
He knew Nora’s family had kicked her ass to the curb for marrying a rodeo man, and he thought maybe Andy and Nora had tried hard to make their little family group all there was, but Brooks, he knew all the stuff from Andy’s side, and it was gonna fall to him to teach it to the kids.
Mason came trundling in, looking just about blue. “I like my bike, it’s cool.”
He grinned at the frozen boy. “Good deal. Did you get it put away? It’s getting late and colder.”
“I did, and it’s not too bad, really.” Mason was beginning to shiver, and Coop arched an eyebrow. “It is a little cold, I guess. Wh-what are we doing tonight?”
“Well, I thought we could play some games, just chill out.” Personally, he thought Mason looked pretty chilled. Hell, he wasn’t one hundred percent sure Mason didn’t have frostbite.
“Good deal. I’m gonna go get out of these jeans and put on something that’s not wet.”
He nodded, then he shook his head as Mason wandered off. “Good Lord and butter, that boy.”
Benji’s answer was a low chuckle, and Johnny climbed down to get his iPad.
His phone buzzed, and Coop peeked at it, surprised to find a text from Brooks.
Just wanted you to know that I’m willing and able to spend the night again tonight.
Coop’s cheeks heated, and he glanced over to see if Benji was paying attention, but Ben was focused on the footballgame, so Coop felt comfortable texting back.
I believe that can be arranged.
He added this little twirling mustache sticker he had.
Good deal. I just wanted you to know. To be clear. No confusion
No. No, for the last couple of nights, there hadn’t been any confusion at all.
He was more than happy to know he was on Brooks’s mind. If he were honest, he wanted Brooks to think about him all the time. Everyone wanted to be important…
Ricky came over and leaned close. “Uncle? I got a favor to ask.”
“Okay, ask away.” He knew this had to do with leaving the house.
“Can I go get Bella and have her come over? Her parents are fighting, she’s crying, she’s outside, and it’s getting dark.”
Dammit. What was he supposed to do? “Of course, Ricky. Of course she can come here. What’s one more person?”
Ricky nodded, shoulders relaxing. “Thanks, Uncle Coop. She’s really upset, and it’s Christmas. I promise I’ll be careful.”
“Of course. We have gifts for her, so come on, she can come spend however long.”
Ricky grabbed his keys and his coat and headed out.
Benji and Coop shared a long look.
