The grin that lit up Kyle’s face at the mention of his mystery girl should have answered any question Coop could possibly have. But he was worried his friend was going to have an aneurysm if they kept talking about EJ and what’s-his-ass. So he threw the guy a bone.
“She’s…special. Open and guarded all at the same time. It’s her family’s account I do work for on Sunday afternoons.”
“In the Bluffs?” Coop asked while leaning up against the interior wall of the barn.
“Yeah, so?”
“So you got a sugar mama now. No wonder you’re all soft and shit.”
“I’m not soft, it’s just…I don’t know, man. She makes me think about things differently. Everything isn’t black and white, rich and rural, us and them. Her life isn’t as easy as it looks from the outside.”
“Oh yeah, I bet life in the Bluffs is real tough.” Coop paused to snort out a noise of sarcasm. “So you get to play Prince Charming and she has a fling with the help. Sounds like a porno I saw once.”
“Just once?” Kyle clenched his teeth, glaring hard to let his friend know he wouldn’t tolerate any shit-talking about his Belle. “Watch yourself, Coop. Best friends or not, I’ll still kick your ass. Her parents ditched her this summer. We talk a lot, and…” For a moment, all Kyle Mason could see was her face. The wariness in her eyes, the fear of opening up only to be hurt. Let down. Like that’s all she knew. Expected. His voice thickened as he recalled her words. “They never tell her they love her. Like, ever. I get the impression they’re dicks.”
“Well…that does suck.”
“Yeah. So that’s all I’m sharing today, doctor. So what about you? You ready to tell me what your real problem with EJ’s little friend is?”
“Call it a gut feeling. As in, every time I see him, I want to punch him in the gut. Or the face. Or maybe both.”
Kyle folded his arms and watched his friend fidget. “Yeah? You ever think about why that might be? Specifically, I mean.”
Coop shook his head. “Forget it. You’re her brother and you’re not worried. Guess I shouldn’t be either.”
“Man, I worry about her all the time. Just like I worry about my mom, baking night and day so she doesn’t have to stop and face the fact that my sorry-ass dad left us hanging in the wind.” Kyle paused to swallow the emotion his words had drudged up into his throat. “It kills me that EJ has to pick up the slack with the business instead of just getting to enjoy her summer. But I’m leaving soon. I can’t very well tell both of them what to do and how to live their lives and then leave just like he did, now can I?”
“Guess not.”
After that, Coop dropped it, but Kyle could see the warning signs, the storm brewing in his friend’s eyes. The clenched fists and the ticking jaw told him Coop was definitely still worried about it—and still holding a serious grudge. No matter what he said.
But if he’d learned anything growing up in Oklahoma, it was that sometimes it didn’t matter how many warnings you had. Sometimes you still couldn’t see the storm coming until it was too late.
27
Hayden
“HEY, Pops, can I ask you something?”
“Better ask quick. I ain’t gettin’ any younger.”
Hayden watched out the window as the Oklahoma plains blurred past. Hope’s Grove had grown on him. He felt more at home here than he ever had in his actual house. “How old were you and grandma when you got married?”
The old man whistled under his breath. “That musta been some kiss little EJ laid on you.”
Chuckling, he clarified. “No, I mean, weren’t you in the war and stuff?”
“The war and stuff.” He snorted. “What the hell are they teaching you kids in school these days?”
Not much, Hayden wanted to tell him. But that was beside the point. “I thought I heard Dad say you got married and then you deployed right after.”
The old man cleared his throat and readjusted his grip on the steering wheel. “I shipped out the day after our wedding. Why?”
“I just wondered…I mean, how did you know grandma wouldn’t just find someone else while you were away?”
“I didn’t. No way I could’ve known what would happen. I look like a damned fortune teller to you?”
“No, sir.” Hayden fought the urge to roll his eyes. “So if you didn’t know for sure, why get married when you were leaving anyways?”
Surprisingly, the old man’s eyes began to look a little watery. Hayden gaped at him.
“We got married because we were in love. If she’d have found someone who made her happier than I did while I was away, well, so be it. That’s what love is. You put the other person’s happiness before your own. Even if it hurts like hell.”
He considered this for a minute. If Ella Jane decided she’d be happier with Cooper, Hayden didn’t know if he could handle it. Not like that anyways.
“I would’ve shot the bastard’s balls off when I got home, of course. But then I would’ve shook his hand and wished them the best.”
Hayden grinned. Yeah. That was more like it. “You know, you’re not so bad sometimes.”
“You either, kid. In fact, I might not trade you for anyone else after all.” His granddad’s expression hazed over as he scratched his chin. “But if you knock up the Mason girl, you’re as good as dead to me.”
Hayden shook his head as they pulled into the parking lot of the tractor supply store. “It’s not…it’s not like that.”
“Son, I was seventeen once. Granted, it was a long time ago. But seventeen is seventeen. And if I remember correctly, it’s always like that.”
AFTER running errands with his granddad for most of the evening, Hayden was starving by the time they got home. He knew his grandma was already in bed, so he only heated up two of the chicken pot pies Ella Jane’s mom had brought.
As the minutes ticked down on the microwave’s timer, he tried not to think about how much time his grandma was spending in bed this summer.
Though his memories weren’t crystal clear, he could still remember that she’d been the one to get up and cook breakfast when he was a kid. And she’d been the one to tuck him in every night. He’d held on to those memories for as long as he could because his parents weren’t like that. And their housekeeper Marisol wasn’t either. The only real love and affection he’d ever received was from his grandma. He smiled at the memory of her being his wingman a few weeks ago. He probably had her to thank for giving him the courage to make a move with Ella Jane.
But his grandma wasn’t the same fiery woman she’d been. Now she was still resting when he left for work and already in bed when he got home. Glancing around the untouched kitchen, he wondered if she’d actually gotten out of bed much since getting out of the hospital.
“None for me,” Pops said, interrupting Hayden’s thoughts as he stepped into the kitchen. “I’m heading on up to check on your grandma then I’m sacking out myself.”
“You sure, Old Timer?” Hayden pulled the pie out of the microwave and set it aside. “A man’s gotta eat, you know.”
His grandfather nodded and forced a smile. “I’m good. I ate earlier. Night, kiddo.”
“Pops?” Hayden called out.
“Yeah?” The old man turned and raised a weary brow.
“Gran’s okay, right? If something was really wrong, you’d tell me—wouldn’t you?”
His granddad paused for a beat but then nodded. “Yeah. It’s nothing to worry about. She just gets tuckered out more easily than us men do.” His weathered mouth attempted a grin but wasn’t successful.