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“Katie,” she says quietly.
Her lip quivers and as I look her over, I realize she’s probably barely legal. I turn my head to Marty. “Can you please get Katie a cup of coffee?”
“Sure.” Marty smiles and hops up from the table. “How do you like your coffee, Katie?”
I storm into Cooper’s room. He’s passed out flat on his belly but thankfully covered with a sheet. “Cooper McGraw, you get your whorin’ ass up!”
He groans, burying his head in the mattress. “Quit fuckin’ yellin’,” he grumbles.
“I know your mama taught you better than this,” I scream to punish him. “You get your ass out of bed and have the decency to walk this girl to her car.”
“She’s fine. I gave her a shirt. Now let me sleep.”
I slam his door and go back to the kitchen. No one speaks as I make my way to the cabinet and retrieve a pitcher. I fill it with ice and water.
“Oh, shit,” Austin snickers. “You gonna stop her?” he asks Battle.
“Nope,” Battle answers with an amused laugh.
When I open the door, Cooper growls at me. “Go away and lock that door on your way out.”
“You have three seconds to get up,” I say, holding the pitcher above him. He stares up at me with one eye and laughs without making a move to get out of bed. “Three … Two …” Still no effort, and … “One.”
I tilt the pitcher, dousing him in ice cold water. He leaps out of the bed, thankfully in boxers, and screams, “You crazy broad. What the fuck?”
“I warned ya it was comin’.”
“You sure did, darlin’.” His deep chuckle tells me he’s more entertained than upset. “You know payback’s a bitch, right?”
“Try if you want, cowboy.” I’ll worry about his threat later. “Now get your country ass dressed. Be a gentleman and walk this young lady, whom I assume you enjoyed tremendously last night, to her goddam car.”
He grins. “Yes ma’am.”
All eyes are on me as I cross the kitchen to Katie. “Cooper will be right out to walk you to your car.”
She thanks me. I want to get all motherly and give her advice about self-respect and being careful about her choices. But who am I to judge? I haven’t always made the best choices.
“Your girlfriend scares me,” Cooper says to Battle as he strolls into the kitchen. I smile internally when Battle doesn’t correct him about our status. “All right, sugar tits, let’s go.” He snaps his fingers at Katie. She giggles.
My mouth opens but words fail me. So much for alleviating her shame. Once they leave, I curse under my breath about what a dog he is as I sit next to Battle at the table. “Why did I even bother?”
“Remind me not to get on your bad side,” Austin says, and kisses the top of Marty’s head before excusing himself to the shower.
“You tried.” Marty shrugs. “Glad I didn’t make that mistake.”
I remember the night I met Battle. Cooper spent half the night groping Marty, and the next day the girls told me how JT insisted on taking them home after I left with Battle. It also dawns on me that Battle had been texting JT.
“I think you can thank Battle for that,” I say, shooting him a sideways glance.
Battle goes on to explain that I’m correct. The night we met, Cooper had a fight with Rachel and was full of piss and vinegar. After we left Dakota’s, he’d sent JT a text telling him to make sure Marty made it home without Cooper.
When I ask him why, he tells us Rachel was waiting in the parking lot. Apparently Rachel’s been known to follow Cooper to women’s homes and cause a scene. Marty thanks Battle for looking out for her.
Battle chuckles and says, “It was for purely selfish reasons. I didn’t want you callin’ Faye away from me.”
“Whatever your reason was, I’m grateful,” Marty says, smiling brightly as Austin comes back into the kitchen. She’s got it bad for Austin. I truly hope it works out for them.
The afternoon and evening rounds go well for Battle. He’s in the lead by two points over Austin. JT and Cooper also placed high enough for tomorrow’s finals. Scooter didn’t make time on either bull.
