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“’Scuse me,” I mumbled to the group after a while. “Men’s room.” I got up and made my way to the back hallway before pulling out my phone and seeing several messages from him spaced out a while ago.
Nine: How long do I heat up these taco things for?
I held my fingers in front of my mouth. He was so freaking adorable.
Nine: Never mind. The answer is not eight minutes, in case you were wondering.
Nine: How do you treat a burned tongue?
Nine: Never mind. I found the strawberry kiwi water you left me.
Nine: Sorry to bother you again, but should I still do a goodnight post even though you’re not here?
Nine: Never mind. Don’t text back. Go have fun. I went ahead and did a post anyway. G’night.
I clicked over to our Instagram account and found the post. After clicking on the white triangle to play the video, I realized my hand was clutching the front of my shirt in anticipation.
He was wearing my favorite T-shirt of his, the one that he’d had for years from the hardware store that had the Stallion logo practically invisible from hundreds of washes. The navy blue had long since faded to a light, mottled denim.
“Hey, it’s me. Nine.” He cleared his throat. “Oh, and Nacho of course. As you can see, we’re missing someone. Cooper had to fly to LA for a couple of days, but don’t worry. He’ll be back.”
His mouth was turned up in a smile, but his eyes were sad. Almost like his heart didn’t believe what his mouth was saying.
“Anyway, I’m working on a special surprise for him while he’s gone. I really hope he likes it.” He looked down at where his hand was idly stroking Nacho’s chin. When he looked back up, his face had gone serious. “Coop, if you’re watching this… I just want you to know…” He put on a fake-as-shit smile that made my stomach hurt. “You’re going to be amazing. I’m so proud of you. And I…” He swallowed. “I… shit, this isn’t easy when everyone else is watching.”
He let out a little laugh and shook his head before looking back at the camera. This time his smile was totally genuine, and I saw the real Isaac Winshed shine through. “If you were a chicken on my dad’s farm when I was growing up, I would have shoved you in my closet too.”
The video cut off. The comments and reactions on the post were insane despite the fact it was only half an hour old.
My hand shook as I lifted it up to swipe at my eyes.
Evie’s voice cut through the noise around me. “Babe? What’s wrong? You’re like grinning and crying. Is everything okay? Are we happy or sad?”
I glanced up at her, feeling lighter than I had all day. “I think… I think he loves me.”
Her face softened as she cupped my cheek. “Well, of course he does. Who wouldn’t?”
I smiled at her until she made her way to the ladies’ room, and then I looked back to the other messages I’d missed.
Mom: Jacks is back in the hospital. I’ll let you know what they say.
Suddenly, the day’s roller coaster of emotions took a drastic dive straight down. I dialed her phone with a shaking hand.
“Coop, you didn’t have to call. I know you’re in LA for the audition. I just wanted to let you know in case you couldn’t reach us. You know how they are with phones in here sometimes.”
I stuck a finger in my opposite ear to try and block out the restaurant noise. “How is he?”
“He’s okay. They’re doing blood work to see where we are. Marchie said he had a couple of episodes at work today where he didn’t seem quite right. Jacks swears it was just low blood sugar.”
“I’ll catch the first plane out in the morning,” I promised her.
Mom’s voice quickly changed to Mother Mode. “You will not. You will stay there and get that part. If he needs another transfusion already, they’ll give him another transfusion.”
“And if he needs the transplant?” I asked.
Silence. We both knew we couldn’t afford the transplant yet, not until I got the Stallion money at the end of our project.
“We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it,” Mom said.
23
Nine
Instead of working on the bathroom fixtures, I kind of went a little crazy. Cooper had saved a photo on his pinboard where the fireplace was made the big focal point in the room with a mantel made from giant pieces of thick timber. I’d done a little research to make sure I knew how to protect the wood from the heat and everything, and then I’d set off to find the best trees for the job.
Thankfully, the project hadn’t taken as long as I’d thought, and I was able to get it finished before midafternoon. I started immediately on the hardwood flooring and busted my ass late into the night, only stopping long enough to fix dinner and get in bed for the good-night video. As soon as I finished recording, I hopped back out of bed and got back to work. As soon as I walked into the cabin, where I’d left several work lamps turned on, I caught sight of the new mantel with its dominating presence in the room. I could just see a collection of colorful candles or glass jars of fresh wildflowers on top of it once the room was full of comfortable furniture in the style Cooper was concocting.
