Page 37 of Cop-Off

“Your ma’s made enough food to feed an army. Pies, sandwiches, potato salad...you name it, we got it. I’ll fire up the barbecue later on, too.”

That sounded like his mom. Ever the hostess. And you couldn’t beat his dad’s barbecue.

“Thanks, Dad. I know this is all kind of last minute, I appreciate you having everyone over.”

He really did. Especially now the guest list had snowballed.

As they walked through his family home his eyes automatically zoomed to the picture frames on the wall. Photos of Cody and Dylan were front and center, but it was the ones of Ellie that had bile rising up.

Guilt. His old friend.

The feel of his dad’s hand slapping on his back was his first indication he’d frozen in place. The second was what his dad said next.

“She’d want you to be happy, son.”

His head was hanging now, staring down at the scuffed, dark wooden boards. “Then why does it feel so wrong? Why do I feel so damn guilty?”

“Because you’re a good man.” His head lifted again to find wrinkles crinkling his father’s brow. “Just because you loved her doesn’t mean you have to spend the rest of your days mourning her. You only get one life. And you deserve to spend it happy. Dylan deserves a dad who is happy, Cody. And son, I haven’t seen you as happy as you’ve been these past couple of months.”

“Cat,” he mumbled under his breath.

“Yes, Cat. I may be an old man, but I know love when I see it. You’ve got a second chance at a future...don’t waste it by living in the past.”

When did his dad get so wise?

The subject was dropped after that. Most likely because his father could see that Cody was still struggling. They were backon the move again, through the double doors that opened up onto the back patio.

As soon as he stepped outside, he smiled. The weight of the world on his shoulders slowly easing. God bless his mom and dad. They’d put out chairs and tables and had rows of covered food ready to go as soon as people started to arrive.

Dylan was already in the yard. Dropping the toy car he’d been holding as soon as he’d laid eyes on Cody. Running straight at him and colliding with his legs as usual.

“Dad! Have you seen all the food Nana made? She told me I wasn’t allowed to eat any pie until you got here, but now you’re here, can I have some?”

He chuckled in his ma’s direction. She was already shaking her head as she wandered over.

“Like father, like son. All you could think about at that age was the contents of your stomach, too.” His mom ignored the child attached to his legs and pulled him into a hug. “Hello, my boy.”

“Hi, Ma,” Cody returned.

Dylan was tugging his flannel shirt now, clearly concerned about where they stood on the whole pie situation.

“Yes, you can have pie, little man. But only one slice.”

And he was off.

Before he had a chance to catch up with his mom, the sound of cars pulling into the driveway caught all of their attention. It was party time.

***

An hour into the party, Cody whisked Cat away on horseback, so he could give her the grand tour of the land he grew up on. As Cat didn’t know how to ride, they’d only taken the one horse, which worked out well because not only did he have a viewto enjoy, but he got to enjoy it with Cat’s sexy body plastered against him.

“So, I really did snag myself a cowboy after all, huh?” Her head lolled against his shoulder as she leaned back against him.

“I’m a man of many talents, sweetheart.”

“Yes, you are.” He didn’t need to see her face to know she had on that smirk of hers.

Cody pulled on the reins, bringing the toffee-colored mare to a stop. After jumping down, he took Cat’s hand and carefully helped her dismount too. As she slid down his body, he couldn’t for the life of him remember what he was going to say.

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