Copenhagen took off.
“Hey, Cope!Good to see you, boy.”
I found my father in the kitchen, a bowl of fresh tomatoes on the counter in front of him.
“That from the garden?”I asked.
“Yep.”The man looked so proud.
Cooter hadn’t left the house, aside from going out into the garden in the backyard or the occasional afternoon spent on the porch, for ten years now.Not to the grocery store, not to get gas, not even to the doctor.At first, it had seemed odd, but eventually it became the norm.I picked up my dad’s groceries, I brought fuel for the mower when it was time to cut the grass around the house, and I found a doctor willing to make house calls.
Cooter wasn’t opposed to company and plenty of people stopped by.Although he had extricated himself from the world outside of his house, the people in this town hadn’t given up on him.That was part of living in a small town.Friends became family.
“Figured you’d be out gettin’ yourself in trouble,” Cooter said, a smile on his weathered face.
“Takin’ a break,” I told my father.
“For what?Five minutes?”
Smiling, I nodded.“Somethin’ like that.”
“You want some tea?”
“Naw.Gonna head over to Nana’s real quick.Check things out.”
“You seen your cousins lately?”
“Who?Travis and them?”
My father lifted one gray eyebrow, as though it was obvious who I was referring to.
“Not since the bonfire,” I told him.“Why?”
Cooter shook his head.“Talked to Iris.She mentioned Travis was helpin’ to deal with that little gal’s … situation.”His eyes narrowed.“They find that asshole yet?”
My dad was referring to the Houston police chief, the man responsible for Amy’s abuse and the death of the police detective.“Not yet.”
Not that we’d proven the man was responsible for the car accident that had killed the woman who’d come out to Embers Ridge in an effort to find Amy.However, it seemed awfully coincidental that she had ventured this far to confirm that Amy was in fact the Jane Doe who’d been found on the side of the road a year ago, only to wind up dead shortly after finding out the truth.
“He’ll fuck up,” Cooter said, his tone confident.“And they’ll get that bastard.”
They would.Not soon enough, though.The asshole should’ve been chilling with the worms six feet under at this point.
“Need anything while I’m here?I can run into town, grab some groceries.”
“I’m good right now.Next time you’re out, maybe you could pick up some M&Ms?”
I grinned.“Sure thing, Dad.”
“Thanks.”
“Cope, you ready, boy?”
The dog’s ears perked and his tongue lolled out of my mouth as he trotted over to my side.
“Talk to ya later,” I hollered as I headed toward the door.“And I’ll grab those M&Ms when I’m up that way.Love you, old man.”
“Love you too, kid.”
