Page 21 of Cooper

I kneel down on the floor to fix an ornament that’s facing the wrong way on the tree. “Bean, it’s up to your mama. Now, she may have her own reasons for wanting a bit of privacy. You should respect your mama’s choices, love.”

“But I can see Colton’s ranch from up here, and his pretty lights, and the tree is up here.” Bean says, her chin quivering. “Mommy, can we please stay up here? I don’t want to live in the basement.” Tears start to flow down the child’s cheeks.

London caves, pulling her daughter to her. “Okay, sweetheart. We can stay up here. But that means that I’ll have to sleep in your bed, baby. Since this is the only spare room up here.”

“That’s okay, mommy. I don’t mind sharing my bed.” Bean whimpers into her mama’s chest, as they hug. I walk over and hold them tight to me.

“I’ve got a little cot I can bring up from the basement if your mama wants to sleep on that. It’s not the most comfortable, but it’ll do for now.”

“No, that’s okay, Cooper.” London states. “I’ll just sleep in the bed.”

And that’s when my phone rings. I look at the display. It’s Jenkins. “Excuse me. I’ve got to take this.” I say, and then I quickly pull my shoes on and take a walk outside.

“Hey, man.” I say, walking towards Colton’s ranch.

And nothing can prepare me for what he tells me.

Chapter 8

London

“Why don’t we get this house all cleaned up while Cooper is outside?” I offer to Bean, after getting her to stop crying. “It’s the least we can do since we’re staying here with him.”

“Mommy?”

“Yes, baby.”

“Is daddy dead?”

He might as well be, is what I want to say, but for her sake, I don’t. “No, baby. He’s not. You just can’t see him right now.”

“Has he forgotten about me?”

There’s a question I can’t answer. I’d like for him to forget about her. That’s a harsh thing to say, but it’s something I’ll be honest about. James Titan is no saint. Sure, he was a good father, until his career meant more to him than anything. That’s when he sacrificed his relationship with both me and Bean. That’s when I left. That’s when it got worse, and nothing started getting better. This, I truly believe, is the calm before the storm. And it’s why I have to lay low, until I’m told it’s over.

“No, Bean, he hasn’t.” I tell her. Even though she hasn’t so much as had a phone call from him in months. But that’s by design. He doesn’t have my number, nor does he know where I am, and that’s the way it has to stay. The less he knows the better. Bean hasn’t seen her daddy in a long time, and even then, it was spotty. This won’t be the first Christmas she doesn’t see him. Nor will it be the last. As far as I’m concerned, that man will never see her again, or me, for that matter. What he did was inexcusable and unforgivable. Also, completely selfish, foolish, and it put both of our lives in jeopardy, all for money.

The honorable man that my ex-husband once was is long gone. That is something that I have had to accept. Bean will have to accept that, too. When she’s old enough to learn the truth, I’ll tell her, but for now, she only needs to know things as she asks them. I’ve also noticed that her questions are becoming fewer and farther between. She hasn’t forgotten about him, clearly, but she doesn’t cry for him anymore, and her sentences don’t have ‘well, when my daddy does this,’ in them anymore, either.

It's always best to avert her attention elsewhere. This is no exception. “What do you say we take the rest of these bags downstairs, and we clean up this kitchen, and get dinner started? How about we make your favorite tonight?”

Daddy who? “Spaghetti? With meatballs?”

“Absolutely.” I smile.

“Let’s go! I can take two bags in one trip!”

Cooper

“So, tell me she’s just running from a possessive ex-husband, man.” I scoff, half-heartedly, pretty sure that that’s not all to it.

“I wish I could tell you that, man.”

“Okay, then out with it. What kind of trouble is she in?” I ask, in a ‘level-with-me’ tone.

He sighs. “It’s going to take a little more time. I ran into a brick wall with this one.”

“Oh?”

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