Page 79 of The Cowboy's Bullfighter
Because, sure as shit, Ricky was going to say that this little girl’s parents were fighting again and couldn’t she spend the night? Well, she probably couldn’t spend the night because spending the night with a boy was bad. And he didn’t hold with that and?—
Fuck.
“Sure, y’all, let’s all go sit. Everyone else has been, you know, been sent to their separate corners, so you got my attention.”
The kids sat down side by side, Ricky still gripping little Bella’s hand. Coop sat in his recliner, forcing himself not to cry out as he got all the way down. Damn, that was sore. He was going to take that fucking stallion out and shoot the son of a bitch. Cut off the head and mail it to fucking Australia.
“Uncle Coop, we got a problem.”
Of course they did. “Well, we’ll fix it, whatever it is.”
God help him.
“We’re pregnant.”
The entire world just fell right out from underneath him like a giant vacuum had fastened onto his ass andpoof, sucked him right to China.
He didn’t even know what to say.
He literally didn’t know what to say.
These kids were sixteen. That was too young to have a baby, but there were tons of teenagers who had babies. And if she didn’t want to have a baby, she didn’t have to have the baby or keep the baby.
But he didn’t want to say that because what if that was offensive?
He didn’t know.
“All right.”
Ricky held his gaze, and Coop could see how it was killing the kid to not cry himself, and Coop respected the hell out of that. “I don’t want you to be mad at me. We’ve been using protection, but obviously it wasn’t enough. But Uncle Coop, I love her, and I am going to be seventeen in three days. I’ll do whatever I have to do. But we love each other and we want to stay together, get married, and have this baby.”
Little Bella was beginning to cry again, the little gal crumpling like a wet tissue.
“Well, what do your folks say, girl?”
Big blue eyes stared up, the tears sliding like diamonds. “They called me a whore, and they told me not to…not…that I couldn’t come back home.”
“Oh, honey.” Those people were fuckers. You didn’t do kids that way. He sighed softly. “You do know that that’s not true, don’t you?”
Ricky held her as she cried, and then those dark eyes fastened on him. “Are you gonna—I mean? I’ve got a couple—please don’t. Please don’t make us go. Let us stay?”
He frowned deep. No. No, that wasn’t how this was going to work. “Hey, what did I tell you when you came here? I told you you had a place here. That didn’t come with strings.” He looked at little Bella. “And it doesn’t come with strings for you either, girl. I don’t know what we’re going to do, but we’re family, and, here? Family stays together.”
Ricky closed his eyes for a second, and fuck, they were so goddamn young. “See, Bella? I told you he wouldn’t just let us fall. Don’t worry. We’re gonna figure this out, I promise you. I will be a good dad. You’ll be a great mom.”
“I know you’re amazing.” She stared at Ricky like he hung the moon, just adoring him.
Holy hell.
“Well, now. The first thing I reckon we’ll do is talk to your folks, see if they were just mad or if you’re really kicked out. I can do that.” Coop started making lists. “Then I reckon we need to get you to a doctor.”
Did he need to get her parents to sign some sort of power of attorney? He’d have to ask Kase and Ryder about that. Surely they would know, or they could ask their social worker.
Bella’s eyes looked like holes in the snow, they were so big and a little swollen. “Okay. My folks are really angry.”
“Well, this is a big thing, and y’all have to really make some plans, huh?” Coop wanted to cry himself. “Have you talked to Benji yet?”
“No.” Ricky got all stubborn faced. “He’s not around, is he?”
