“Michigan. Buchanan, Michigan. It’s actually across the lake from Chicago.” It wasn’t terribly far away, but it might as well have been worlds when Coop couldn’t be there and with Rick at the same time.
Coop added a few extra pairs of briefs into Rick’s duffle while Rick watched him. “You have to do it. You have to go. Call Brett and tell him you’ll do it.”
Coop shook his head and exhaled long and slow. “I don’t think I can, Rick. You need me.”
“Yeah, but I’m a grown-ass man, Coop. I can do this. You can come out when you’re done.”
Coop moved to the bed and stood between Rick’s legs. “I don’t think you understand. Damn, Rick. I…” He ran his fingers over Rick’s short hair. The man was gorgeous inside and out. “You know? I never thought I could have this. Anything like this. It seemed so far out of my reach that I didn’t even try for it. Then you walked into my life and changed everything. I didn’t even know how hurt and lonely I was before—”
“I can’t bear that you’re hurt.”
“I’m not. Not anymore. I’m just saying you don’t realize how numb you can get to things like that until someone shines a light on it. You’ve never done anything but offer me the other side of that light, Rick. And shit. That sounds so dumb.”
“No, it doesn’t.”
Coop leaned forward and kissed Rick’s soft lips, gently. Rick rubbed his hands up the back of Coop’s thighs. “But I still think you should take this opportunity. Meet me at my folks’ afterward.”
Coop stared deeply into Rick’s eyes. He’d do anything for this man. But what the hell was he going to do now?
Chapter Twenty-Three – Rick
Rick’s eyes were so dry. He looked over at the navigation screen. He was coming up on Knoxville. Not bad. He’d only been on the road for just over four hours. Almost halfway home. Christ, he didn’t want to be making the drive for this. He wanted to be making it with Coop sitting in the passenger seat, teasing him about his music choices, and watching Coop be nervous about meeting Rick’s parents. Driving like a bat out of hell to get to his mother’s bedside because she was dying? Yeah, not on his bucket list. Should’ve made more time to—nope. He wasn’t going down the should’ve, could’ve path. Rick was doing exactly what his parents wanted him to do. Grow up. Live his dream. Live his life. Find a partner.
His ringtone blocked out ABBA singing about the winner taking it all through his speakers. Quick glance. Drew. How did he know that he needed Rick to ground him right now? If Coop couldn’t be with him—and he was adamant that Coop go to Michigan this weekend—then Drew was his second choice. That thought made Rick pull his foot off the gas pedal. Whoa. Somehow, when he wasn’t looking, Coop knocked Drew to second place on his favorite people-who-weren’t-family list. Wait, hadn’t he learned from Drew’s family that family was what you made, not what you were born with?
Rick pushed the button on his steering wheel as he looked over his shoulder to change lanes. “Hey, Drew.”
“Coop called. Are you okay?” Drew asked without pulling any punches. Maybe it wasn’t such a great thing that the two of them got along so well.
“He did, did he?” Look at Rick avoid the question. Another glance at the navigation and then the road sign. He had 30 milesto the next rest stop. A check on his gas level. Yeah, he’d be fine until then. He shifted in his seat and re-engaged the cruise control. Now that he was talking with Drew, he didn’t need to focus on his speed to keep him from worrying. Drew was going to make him talk it out anyway.
“Yeah, he did. He wanted me to understand why he wasn’t going with you. Coop thought I knew about your mother,” Drew said, accusingly. “So why don’t I know about your mother? Care to share with the class?” Oooh, sounded like Drew was a bit pissed.
Rick blew out a breath. “I just hadn’t called you yet. I know that you and Brody have been covering night shifts for the past month. Didn’t want to interrupt your sleep. Figured I’d call you in the middle of the night when the thoughts were overwhelming and I knew a bit more than Mom’s sick and dying.”
He heard some papers shuffling over the line. Hmm, Drew must be at the office already. Looking at the time on the dashboard confirmed that. Almost 2100. Drew’d been at the station long enough to get report, and check on everything before calling Rick.
“How’s things in San Antonio? You’re completely recovered now? Brody letting you do filthy things to him in the bedroom?” Okay, he wasn’t sure where the last question came from because he really didn’t need to know anything more about his friend’s sex life, except that everything was consensual.
“Going to avoid the elephant in the car with you? Okay, fine. I’ll bite and then you will be answering my questions. Things in San Antonio are fucking hot. It’s like the doors to Hell down here right now. Why did I put Texas on my list when I hate the heat?” Drew’s complaint made Rick laugh.
When he got his laughter under control, Rick said, “No chance of any kind of jumping? No planes. No helicopters. No flying. Ring a bell?” A little ribbing was good for Drew. Rick still, after almost five years, didn’t comprehend how Drew thought he was a fuck up.
“Yeah, yeah. Anyhow, arm’s still a bit stiff—” Rick snorted, interrupting Drew. “If the peanut gallery is under control now, my arm is a bit stiff when I don’t do my stretches but I haven’t lost any mobility and my strength is back. Brody made sure that I didn’t skip any appointments. Amazing what having a nurse as your lover can do for recovery from surgery. As for filthy things? Do you really want to know what happened after a text thread I got from the group?”
“I want to hear about the text thread. Was Julia on it?” After traveling to Coop’s race with Julia and Drew, she was like a sister to him. And the sense of humor that woman had was this side of degenerative.
“On the thread? She started it. Shit, I didn’t send it to you. Wait…” Rick heard Drew mumbling, then his phone pinged with an incoming text. “Sent. Had to remember which group chat it was. You might want to wait until you’re home or Coop is with you before watching the clip. To say that I had a reaction to the video is putting it mildly.”
“She sent porn to everyone? I knew Julia had a warped sense of humor but…” Headlights passing him highlighted the sign for the rest area. Shit, he needed to get over. “Drew, let me call you back. I need to stop for gas.”
“If you don’t call me back in fifteen minutes, you know I’ll be speed dialing until you answer. Be safe,” Drew said and ended the call.
Rick pulled into the rest area. He got out of his car and reached for the sky. Two beats later, he was dropping his hands to the ground, the stretch up the back of his legs felt good. He really hadn’t cooled down after the ruck march. It was surprising that his legs weren’t protesting the drive after humping seven miles. Quick pit stop to use the bathroom before grabbing the largest coffee they had and a questionable-looking donut or three, and Rick was back in the car, moving to the gas pump. Just as he was pulling back onto the interstate, his phone rang and he answered without looking at the screen. More important to watch the traffic he was merging with.
“I know it hasn’t been fifteen minutes. It didn’t take me that long to piss,” Rick said as he accelerated into the speeding cars.
“Richard?” his mother’s voice came through the speakers. Fuck! She sounded so frail.
