“Getting dressed. Pants are hard.”
“Ah, don’t pout, babe.” Rick kissed him again. He figured he would have a lot more pouting in his future.
“Okay. Let’s get out of here, can we? I’m sick of being in this hospital.”
When the nurse finally brought him his release papers and then made him get in the wheelchair, he was beyond ready to go. They were headed back to the training camp. Coop worked out a deal to keep his room for a while because he had nowhere else to go. And he needed to talk all this through with Rick. They said good-bye to Vick, who was headed back home, then Rick drove out to the camp.
Alone in the car, Coop studied Rick as he drove. “Thanks for coming, Soldier Boy.”
Rick’s brow crinkled. “I wish I could have been here sooner.”
“I’m glad you could come for the weekend. I know how your job works.” Although he wished it didn’t work that way. He wished he could have Rick all the time.
“You know if I were deployed or something, I wouldn’t be able to come at all. And if something happened to me, you wouldn’t be notified. Not how things are now.”
“Oh. Right. I bet that would be scary. I mean to have you gone and not know if something happened to you. I’d be worried sick. Like all the time. Isn’t there anything we can do?”
“I mean, we could list each other as medical POA.”
“What’s that?” Rick was always using acronyms he didn’t know, but he was starting to pick them up. But not this one.
“Power of Attorney. So we’d have a say about the other’s care.”
“That’s a lot.”
“It is but it still wouldn’t get me home from deployment for you. And you still wouldn’t be notified if I were hurt. Only way you’re notified by the Army is if we’re married. I’m sure my parents could let you know.”
“I guess that’s something to think about.”
“Sure. So, while we’re on that subject, what are you going to do now?”
“I don’t know. I’m hoping we can talk it out together.” It did kind of affect both of them. Didn’t it? Well, Coop wasn’t going to start second-guessing himself now. He had thought about this a lot the last few days while he had nothing else to do in the hospital. “I, uh, have a couple of options, I guess. But I want you to be a part of figuring it out.”
Rick smiled, giving Coop butterflies in his tummy. “I’d like that. Really.” Then those eyebrows furrowed again. “I’m going to be assigned very soon now, Coop. And I probably get my pick, so we should talk about that too.”
“Perfect.” He gripped Rick’s knee, for once thankful it was his right hand that was hurt.
The camp room was actually a cabin with two single bunks, a makeshift table, and a dorm-sized fridge. That was pretty much it. Coop watched as Rick looked around. “Very rustic.”
“Yeah, most of the lodging is bunk style here, but I wanted a private space. It’s small but I’m not sharing with six to ten other guys.”
“That’s good. Yeah.” He dropped his duffel on the floor by the bunks. “Think we’re going to fit?”
“Could be fun?”
Rick chuckled. “Normally, I’d be up for it, but with your injuries, Coop? Maybe we should get a hotel? You don’t have to be on the track, right?”
“No. I guess not. I can’t ride.”
Rick scrolled through his phone. “Okay. Got a place. We can stop and grab food on the way. Hey. Don’t you need to fill prescriptions?”
“It’s only painkillers. I’m probably not going to take them anyway. Ibuprofen is enough.”
Rick pinned him with a fierce glare. “We’re picking it up. If you can’t sleep, you’ll be happy you did.”
“Yes, Daddy,” Coop said with a wink.
Rick sighed and rolled his eyes, but Coop could tell he was teasing. “Come on then, Hot Wheels. Let’s get going so you can get a nap.”
