Page 80 of Before We Ever Spoke

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About 20 miles west of Cleveland State University, Cooper Madison was getting ready to attempt a ten-foot putt on the 18th green at Red Tail Country Club.

Once Coop received the invite to golf with the Knox brothers he called Simon and had him pull some strings to get them a tee time at the private golf club located in Avon, Ohio.

Cara’s brothers were beyond grateful to be treated to such an exclusive course, as it was a far cry from the public “tracks” that they typically frequented. Jason especially was happy, as he had always dreamed of being a member there someday. He also knew that would likely never happen on a detective’s salary.

“When did you say the last time you played was?” Christopher asked as Coop sank his ten-foot putt with ease.

“It’s been at least a year. I had to get my clubs out of storage this morning.”

“Maybe that’s our problem. We just need to take a year off and maybe we will be flirting with par, too!” Johnny laughed as Coop retrieved his ball from the bottom of the cup.

“What’s it like, Coop?” Jason asked.

“How do you mean?” Coop replied, puzzled.

“What is it like to be naturally good at everything you do?”

“You’ve never seen me try to dance…” Coop chuckled.

“Oh, I’m sure you’d probably win ‘Dancing with the Stars’ if you were on there,” Christopher chimed in.

“No sir… two left feet on a dance floor. Besides, I declined when they asked.”

“The crazy part is that I know you’re not joking. Let’s grab a hot dog and beers at the clubhouse. On me, fellas,” Jason said as they got in their golf carts.

“Sounds like a plan,” Coop agreed.

“Well, since you’re buying…” Christopher replied.

“I’ll even make an exception and put that garbage in the temple,” Johnny added. “I haven’t had any processed meats for months. That shit will kill you, ya know…”

“So will my Glock if you bring that up again and ruin my meal!” Jason admonished his youngest brother.

“Last one there has to buy the second round of beers!” Christopher said as he sped off first with Johnny.

“Sombitch…” Coop said as he hit the gas and tried to catch them with Jason riding shotgun next to him.

“He’s obviously the cheapskate of our family,” Jason said to Coop.

“It’s all good. That’s a life skill…”

“It certainly is...”

“Y’all are lucky, you know that?” Coop said to Jason.

“Lucky? Us? How so?”

“You have two brothers and a sister. I was an only child, and I always wished that I had a brother to get in trouble with.”

“It’s nice now that they’re all grown up, that’s for sure. There was such an age gap when Christopher was born that I never really felt like I had any partners in crime as a kid.”

“Which one of y’all was Cara closest to growing up?”

“Early on I’d say it was me, for sure. I was so much older than her that it wasn’t your typical sibling relationship. Besides, she was like a chick magnet for me when she was a baby.”

“That’s awesome! Was she close with the other two?”

“Not really, she and Johnny were too close in age and Christopher was never really keen on having a little sister. That’s probably why Cara has always kept such a small circle of friends.”

“Makes sense, I suppose,” Coop agreed as they pulled their cart in just behind Christopher and Johnny at the clubhouse.

“Second place is first loser!” Johnny said as they got out of the cart.

“Good thing you guys are buying, I don’t think I could afford tap water at this place!” Christopher added as the foursome made their way into the clubhouse.

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