Page 34 of Cooper

Luke interjects. “Yeah, my kids are over here a lot.”

Cooper’s hand is in mine. Bean notices, and then she looks up at me, with a puzzled look on her face. “Mommy?”

“Yes, baby?”

“You still look really tired. I don’t understand how you can sleep with Cooper, without clothes, and get a good night’s rest. Didn’t you always say that a good pair of pyjamas is the key to getting a good night’s sleep?”

My face heats. Jack has to turn away, but I can see his shoulders vibrating. Colton covers his face with his hand, scrubbing it up and down. Luke purses his lips together, turning his focus on his kids, who are playing in the barn, pretending in vain like he didn’t hear her comment loud and clear. And Wade, well, Wade doesn’t have a filter. He doesn’t even try to mask the awkwardness. His voice is flat and his eyes are dancing. “Yeah, mommy…what are you doing not wearing any pyjamas? And in bed with Cooper, too, huh?”

Cooper releases my hand and walks by Wade, muttering to him under his breath. “Thanks, asshole.”

I go for aloof, since I know I’m sunk, no matter which way I go here. “Well, mommy forgot her pyjamas.” Okay, so I lied. Tell me you’ve never told a little white lie your entire life. I choked.

Bean isn’t convinced. She places a hand on her waist. “You forgot your pyjamas?” She turns to Cooper. “And you didn’t notice that my mommy wasn’t wearing any pyjamas?”

Jack is bent over, coughing, he’s trying so hard not to laugh. Colton tries but fails not to snort a laugh, but at least he has the grace to walk away, pretending to tend to the kids in the barn. Luke joins him, but the vibration of his shoulders is unmistakable from behind him. And Wade, well, he’s just so helpful. “Yeah, hey, Coop. How come you didn’t remind her to go get her pyjamas?” He’s enjoying this all too much, smiling, practically beaming, almost dancing on the spot with glee.

Cooper grits his teeth together, but his face is twisted into a smile. “Well, I would have, but I was asleep.” He says through said gritted teeth.

“Oh, I’m sure you were.” Wade says unconvincingly.

Jack takes a breath, inhaling and exhaling with effort, trying like hell to keep his composure.

“Yes, Bean,” I say. “Cooper was asleep, and I forgot my pyjamas.”

She tilts her head, still full of questions, evidently. “And why were you in his bed, anyway? You were sleeping in my bed.”

Wade gets his licks in. “Yeah. Just what were you doing in bed with Cooper? Without pyjamas?”

“I woke up and went to the washroom, and I forgot which room I was in.” I explain, speaking in pauses, making it up as I go along.

Wade mockingly places a finger on his chin, while Cooper purposely steps on his foot to try to shut him up, but Wade is adamant to dig a bigger hole. “When exactly did the pyjamas come off?”

I draw in a deep breath, face burning, realizing that I’m drowning. Bean’s face is set as she awaits my answer. “Well, when I woke up, I thought it was time to get up for work, so I took them off to get dressed, but then I was half asleep, and when I realized it wasn’t time to get up, I forgot to put them on.”

“And you forgot to go back in the room with Bean.” Wade adds, eyes dancing, trying but failing to keep a straight face.

“And why didn’t Cooper tell you you were in the wrong bed?” Bean asks.

“I was asleep.” Cooper says, too quickly.

“Yeah, that must have been tiring, having a woman sleeping next to you, naked, wasn’t it, Coop.” Wade mutters, but we all hear him.

Jack is taking cleansing breaths, but he still can’t contain himself, so he’s not even trying to turn around so we can see him. Luke keeps looking over here, but both him and Colton are doing their best not to overhear, since they see the reaction on both Jack and Wade’s faces.

Bean shakes her head and huffs, walking towards the house, taking my hand in hers.

…“Oh, mommy. I hate to tell you, but you were having sex.”

Cooper

I can still hear Wade laughing as we walk back to the house. Remind me to kill him a little bit, later. The good news is, after all that hooplah, that Bean made a couple of new friends. Luke’s kids are great. Maggie is about Bean’s age, and Brad and Brent, Maggie’s twin brothers, are two years younger. As we walk back into the house, I quickly change the subject. “So, did you have fun with Luke’s kids?” I ask Bean.

“Yeah, they're fun.” Her face changes. “But their mommy died. It’s so sad.”

London places a hand on her back, face sobering. “Oh, I know, sweetheart. It’s terrible.”

I try to get in there, not letting the subject lessen the holiday mood, despite the little hiccup a moment ago. “Hey, why don’t you go grab that wreath-shaped pan? We’ll make a wreath cake and decorate it with the rest of them little candies and food coloring and things.”

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