Page 88 of The Cowboy's Bullfighter
“Kase. I love you dearly, but if you don’t shut up, I’m gonna beat you to death with your own tongue.”
“Yes, sir. Driving. I’m just driving the truck.”
“Thanks.” He glanced over, his fingers sliding over the seatbelt, the dash, his worry about Coop riding him hard. “Why is Johnny in homeschool?”
“There was a pretty big fight on the playground. Johnny got his butt handed to him, and then Mason lost it. Johnny was having meltdowns at the idea of going back, and Coop was overwhelmed, so Benji asked if he could start taking classes with Watson, at least until you came home.” Kase put on the radio. “You doze or sing, buddy. Or ask me about my kids.”
“Okay. How are your kids?” he teased.
They chatted for a bit, and he closed his eyes, but it wasn’t a long enough drive to the hospital for him to sleep. He thought.
“Hey, we’re here, Brooks,” he said when they got to the big hospital.
“Shit. Thanks. Thanks, man.” He sat up, ready to hit the ground running.
“Do you need me to bring anything?”
“Not from here. My bag is full of presents. All my clothes except my hat and boots are coming with the courier. I didn’t travel too heavy anyway. I have stuff for Dani and Nell, too. And a T-shirt for Elijah, since he’s too cool for weird tchotchkes now.”
“Oh, did you get him some kind of Bondi thing like yours?”
“I did. At the airport.” He chuckled. Airports always had shit from all over the place, not just the local economy.
“He loves that rescue show. Watches it on YouTube.”
“Go me, then.” He winked. “Thanks for coming, Kase. Are you gonna head back home?”
“Not now. I’ve got us a room over at the Spring Hill. It ain’t far. Give me your sizes and I’ll grab you some clothes for the next couple of days. Coop’s in a private room.” Kase rattled off the number.
“Thanks, Kase. Seriously.”
“His folks are with him. Just beaware.”
“Gotcha.”
He hustled into the hospital, stopping at the desk to find out how to get to Coop’s room. He needed to see his lover’s face. Needed to know he was stillhere.Brooks was damn near desperate at this point.
He ran upstairs and buzzed the nurse’s office. “Hello, this is Brooks Whitehead. I’m here for Cooper Adams.”
“Are you family?”
“Yes ma’am, we have six kids together.” That was family, all the way.
“Let me buzz you in.”
He walked in and headed around this long corridor until he found the nurse’s office, and he stopped short because he thought for sure he saw Coop standing right there. He looked a little older, sure, and a little taller, but not by much. It was kind of unsettling, and he stopped short. “Oh… I?—”
“Brooks.” Coop’s dad held one hand out. “Dallas Adams. Amanda is in there with Coop. Glad to finally meet you in person. He’s in there. He’s gonna be okay. It’s just going to be a tough row for a little bit. They had to go clean him out again. Inside, I mean. There was some ruptured goo.”
“I hate that ruptured goo.” He tried to joke, but failed miserably. “I swear to God, I’m gonna have that horse put down.”
“Oh now, that would make Cooper cross. In fact, he said to tell you that he loved you, and he didn’t want you to have the horse put down. He was just being a horse.”
Brooks was going to lose it. He was going to burst into tears all over this man. He was so fucking tired and so stressed out. “I need to see Coop now.”
He didn’t wait for an answer. He just walked into the room, nodding once to Coop’s momma, who was sitting there playing on her phone. “Ma’am.”
All he could really see was Coop—pale and drawn and frowning, hooked up to all these machines. That was all hewanted to see. Hell, it was all he intended to see right now. “Hey, babe, I’m here. I got here as soon as I could. You stubborn old son of a bitch. No offense, ma’am.”
