Page 103 of Wrecked

“We’re flying? To where?”

I glare at him, still not happy with the idea he’s tagging along with us. It’s notsafewhere we’re going. “Don’t ask questions.”

And then I reach for his hand.

Jake meets my gaze in the rearview mirror. “You have to tell him everything, Cooper. For his own safety.”

Jake’s right, of course. Sam shouldn’t be coming with me. There’s too much risk involved, too much unknown. He needs to know what he’s walking into.

I’ve got the whole flight down to Sweetwater to tell him the sordid tale of my youth. To tell him about the first boy I loved, and how prejudice and bigotry got Cody killed. And tell him about my plan to get justice for Cody and put my painful past to rest once and for all.

Part Two – Where They Are Now

Read on forPart Two, where Sam and Cooper are now—a couple years later, a couple years wiser, and living their best livestogether.

Big changes have occurred in their lives. Beth and Shane now have two adorable little kids. And Shane built a duplex home for the four of them to share in the secured, gated McIntyre family community, which Lia fondly refers to as “The McIntyre Family Compound.”

Part Twois the icing on their cake.

The epilogue is the sprinkles.

Chapter 34 – Cooper

These are the kind of evenings I enjoy the most—sitting out on the back patio with the people I love: my fiancé Sam, Shane and Beth, and their kids, Luke and Ava. Tonight, dinner is a team effort. I’m grilling barbeque chicken breasts and legs and roasting corn on the cob. Sam and Beth are in charge of making mashed potatoes—Lord help them. Shane is baking store-bought dinner rolls. Luke is in the process of setting the patio table, with a little bit of guidance from me. I show him where to place the plates, silverware, glasses, and napkins. He’s barely tall enough to see over the table. As for Ava, well, she’s too young to do anything but watch from her highchair.

“Is it ready yet?” Luke asks as he comes up behind me as I’m standing at the grill and wraps an arm around one of my thighs. “It smells so good.”

I chuckle. “I’m glad you think so. Yes, it’s almost ready. Would you run inside and see how Mama and Sam are doing with the mashed potatoes?”

“Sure!” Luke runs back into the house to fulfill his task. That kid loves to be helpful. A moment later, he races back outside, huffing and puffing from all the sprinting. “They’re ready!”

“All right. Have a seat at the table, kid.”

Luke climbs up onto his booster chair and waits eagerly while I plate the barbequed chicken and load the roasted corn cobs onto a large platter.

Just as I’m setting the grilled food on the table, Beth comes out carrying a massive bowl of mashed potatoes. Shane brings out a basket of hot dinner rolls. Sam brings the butter dish, salt, pepper, and a pitcher of homemade iced lemonade. Shanereturns to the kitchen and comes back out carrying Ava in her highchair.

Tonight, we’re celebrating because in less than one week, Sam and I are tying the knot at the Kenilworth house. Shane will officiate the ceremony for us. A week later, Sam and I will travel to Bryce, Colorado, to spend our honeymoon at the McIntyre Wilderness Lodge, run by Shane’s sister Hannah and her husband, Killian Devereaux.

“Are you going to ride horses?” Luke asks.

“You bet,” Sam says.

“And go fishing?” Luke asks.

Sam nods. “Cooper is. And I’m gonna try, at least.”

“And climb the mountains?” Luke asks.

“No!” I say. I’m going on record as putting my foot down. “No rock climbing.”

“But Aunt Hannah climbs the mountains,” Luke points out.

“Yeah, well, that’s fine for her, but Uncle Sam is not climbing any mountains. He’s broken his legs enough for one lifetime.”

Luke giggles. He’s too young to have seen any of Sam’s broken legs, but he’s certainly heard the stories. He’s constantly begging Sam to tell him about the time his parachutes malfunctioned.

He’s less keen on hearing the story of how Sam got run down by a car because his Mama got hurt in the process—when she was pregnant with him.