Chapter 6
COOPER
“Stop asking so many damn questions, Dallas.” I entered The Little Rose and nearly ran into Ryleigh.
“Coop?”
I looked down at her baby boy in the stroller. Then, back at her. “What’s up, Ryleigh?” I ended the call with Dallas just as she fired off three more questions that I had no intention of answering. I kneeled and spoke to the baby before I stood to my full height. “He’s cute. He looks like you.”
“Thanks.”
“I didn’t know you were in town.”
“I came to check Mama Lil out,” she said, “and go to church with her on Easter Sunday.”
“Good. Where is she?”
Ryleigh pointed to the back of the restaurant. “Giving orders, cooking shit she shouldn’t be cooking, and generally being herself.” She shrugged. “Some things never change.”
“Right.” Since I’d been back, I’d spent a lot of time with Mama Lil. “I keep telling her to sit her ass down somewhere.”
“I hope you said it just like that.”
“I did.”
She laughed. “You’re probably the only one who could.”
“She told me as much, right before she smacked the hell out of me.”
Ryleigh cracked up, and I joined her. It felt good to laugh with her again. It had been a long time. “How are you?” she asked.
“Alright.”
“Sure?”
The months that I’d been in Rosewood Heights had flown by. The longer I stayed here, the longer Iwantedto stay. I couldn’t deny that had a lot to do with Angel and Mehki. Against my better judgment, I’d become accustomed to seeing them every weekend. In fact, I looked forward to Fridays because I knew they’d be here. Last week, I’d given in to the temptation to taste her, to touch her. And like a fiend, I couldn’t wait for my next hit.
“I’m sure,” I replied.
“Want to sit?”
Surprised, I nodded and gestured toward my usual booth. I waited for to take her seat before I took mine. She pulled her son out of the stroller and made the sweetest little sounds as he bounced up and down in her lap.
“Motherhood suits you,” I told her.
Ryleigh cooed at the baby, before she placed a bottle in his mouth. “I love being a mother. I never thought it would be like this.”
When we were together, Ryleigh had made it a point to say she never wanted kids. I guessed things changed when she fell in love. A waitress came over, poured my coffee and Ryleigh’s water, and took our order.
When we were alone again, I asked, “How are you?”
“I’m great,” she said. “I’m actually glad I ran into you.”
“Really?” I rested my back against the seat. “That’s… different.”
“The last time we spoke, it was a little tense. It has haunted me since. I guess the shock of seeing that look in your eyes after all this time and hearing you apologize to me was a lot. I was conflicted. I wanted comfort youandkick your ass.”
I chuckled. “Tell me how you really feel.”
