“Whatcha think, kid? You want to go find a toy store and wreck it?”
She giggled and nodded. “Wreck it!”
We found the prestigious toy store on Washington, a road nowhere near Frank, and bought Kathy an overpriced toy that she would probably never even play with. Macey was happy, though, and that’s what mattered.
We made it to the party, clean and on time. Again, Macey was happy, so I sat at a table with fourteen moms and watched her play game after game. I tried to participate in the conversation as best as I could, but the bright, flashing lights and high-pitched screams and squeals of kids and machines made it hard to focus.
I kept my eyes on Macey, hating the fact that adults moved around the children so freely. I didn’t trust anyone else around my daughter and it was hard to stay still when I felt like one or two of the dads got too close.
By the time five came around, Macey and I were both exhausted. She fell asleep in the car on her way to Lilah’s and I had to carry her up to Lilah’s door. Before Lilah could open the door and send my already dim mood crashing down, I kissed Macey’s head and told her I loved her.
I looked up as the door opened and forced a smile at my ex-wife. “She passed out from all the excitement.”
Lilah scowled at me and roughly pulled Macey to her own chest before shoving the door shut without another word.
I stood there, staring at the shut door for a few seconds before turning and leaving. It did no good to voice my annoyances at her. Telling her anything just gave her more fuel.
I just had to be a good dad to Macey and try to co-parent the best I knew how. It wasn’t easy. Lilah made sure of that. I had to, though. I’d missed enough of Macey’s life while serving. It was another reason why I took every chance to be with her, even if it was just an attempt by Lilah to mess with me.
I drove back home to my empty house and settled on my front porch. I watched the world crawl by and tried to remember that I was supposed to be enjoying my freedom.
Cars drove past, heading home to their families or to town for dinner. People with friends were going out to meet them. Normal people, with normal lives, living those lives, some without a care. I couldn’t help but envy them.
As if she could sense my melancholy, my mom called.
I contemplated not answering the phone, but I didn’t want to be an asshole. “Hey, Mom.”
She sighed the way she always seemed to do when talking to me. “Cooper. How are you?”
“Good, Mom. How are you?”
“Oh, you know. The same.” Silence stretched out as we both thought of what to say to the other.
It wasn’t that I loved my mom less than I should or that she loved me less. There was love there, but alongside of it was plenty of history. Too much history.
“I thought you might want to come visit soon.” She dove right in.
Some of that history was that right before my father died, I’d discovered that Mom was cheating on him. I didn’t hear the whole story of it, because Dad died and then it didn’t seem like the details mattered anymore. She was still with the man she’d been cheating with, though. Her invite for a visit was a thinly veiled attempt to get me to come and spend some time with Ted.
“I don’t know, Mom. I haven’t been at the firm very long and I don’t really have time for a vacation.”
“Then maybe we could come and see you.”
I hesitated. One second. Two seconds. As I searched for the words, the time stretched too long and suddenly it was more awkward than before.
“Maybe some other time, then.”
“Mom, I…” I didn’t know what to say. I didn’t want to spend time with Ted. I didn’t know if I wanted to see her when my stress level was already so high. I knew she wanted to have the conversation about Dad and what she’d done, but I wasn’t ready.
“Okay, Cooper. I love you, son.” And just like always, there were tears in her voice. “I’ll talk to you soon.”
Before I could tell her I loved her, she hung up. I slid my phone back in my pocket and leaned against the porch railing. Somehow, war had become less complicated than people.
War, I got. I knew what to do and how to do it. I was good at being a soldier. I wasn’t so good at being a human being with emotions and problems that had to be handled by talking.
I felt like a robot walking through life. I didn’t know how to translate the things I felt into words that could cost my control. I didn’t even know what I was feeling most of the time. There was too much silence, too much freedom. I found that I didn’t need off days. I needed to be back in the field, fighting for people that I didn’t have to interact with.
I knew the feeling that came next. It was always the same when I thought about reenlisting. Guilt. Macey deserved a father. I should’ve wanted to stay home with her more than I wanted to get away from the complexity of civilian life. Part of me did… It was just that I wasn’t sure that that part of me was as strong as the part of me that wanted to run back into a warzone.
Chapter 3
Sonnie
Sitting at my desk the next morning, I looked over the pages for the new installation of my Meep Goes book. This time Meep, a beautiful little duckling, was going to Greece. I’d started the series years before and so far, Meep was way more traveled than I was. The pages were stunning, illustrated by a friend of mine, Joey Dandridge. I wasn’t thrilled with the print, though. It seemed too stoic and plain for how whimsical the art was. I opened my computer and fiddled with it for a bit before deciding on a font that I thought accentuated the charm of the art.
I’d just sent the changes back to Joey to make sure he liked them when the doorbell rang. I stood up and stretched, happy for a break, and trotted out of my office to get the door. I felt jazzed with the new book and it was finished early, which never happened, so I was even more excited.
When I opened the door and came face to face with Jake, I was less than thrilled. I stepped back and tried to shut the door, but he pushed his way in and strolled into my house like he owned the place.
“Jake, get out.” I pulled the door open wide and pointed out to his car in my driveway.
“Stop being that way, Sonnie. We need to talk.” He looked around, raking his eyes up and down my walls with a frown on his face. “Your décor has definitely changed.”
“My taste has changed.” I pointed outside again. “I’m serious, Jake. Get out. You’re not welcome here.”
He turned on me and his glare made me step back, into the door. “That’s bullshit. We’re married. What’s yours is mine—right?”
“We played that game for long enough. Mine being yours and all that. You not having anything to offer back, emotionally or financially. I’m over it.”
He snapped his head back like I’d slapped him. “You’re being a real bitch, Sonnie.”
“Get out of my house!”
“I’m not signing the divorce papers. I want to get back together.”
I shook my head. He was insane. “Just get a job, Jake. It’s not like you actually want to be with me. Save some face and get a job. Leave me alone.”
He moved closer to me and grinned. “No.”
A chill went down my back and I felt real fear. So much so that I actually considered screaming for help. I’d never felt that before and it shocked me to my core.
“You’ll come around.” He leaned down and stared into my eyes. “Just wait and see.”
I held my breath as he straightened and walked out of my house and down the driveway. I don’t think I let it go until he was in his car and backing out.
I hurried back inside and slammed the door shut before locking it. My heart raced in my chest like I’d just finished a triathlon. With that feeling of fear still radiating through me, I went around and made sure each door and window was locked. Even after that, I still felt scared.
It turned to anger not too long after that. I deserved to be free of Jake. It made no sense that he was back and even angrier than befor
e we split. I went through the cheating and the breakup and filing for divorce from a man who said he was more than glad to be away from me. I deserved my freedom. He didn’t get to come back and make my life hell. We were past that.
I dialed my lawyer and asked if there was any way we could rush the proceedings, only to get a disappointing answer. It took time; we couldn’t rush it, blah, blah, blah. I wanted out.
After that, I tried to work on my novel, but I just kept typing what an asshole Jake was over and over again, in different ways. Eventually, I gave up and went to get ready to go to lunch with Kellie.
Dressed in jeans and an off-the-shoulder sweater, I braided my hair down my back and headed out to meet my friend at the diner in town. The shower had helped take away most of the tension that Jake had left, but walking down the street brought some of it back. I hated that he was getting to me, but he was. There was a shadow over me as I walked through town, one that hadn’t been there before.
By the time I got to the diner, Apple’s, it was already full. Kellie, like always, was early and waiting for me at a table in the back, though. She grinned at me when she spotted me and stood up to wrap me in a hug. I was chilled from being outside and she was warm and smelled better than most men I’d ever been around. She wore Armani cologne and I hugged her for a little longer than necessary to breathe it in.
“Why do you always smell so good?”
“Keep sniffing me and I’m going to think you’re interested.” She pulled back and looked me over, her eyes narrowing. “What’s wrong?”
She was my agent, but she’d also been my best friend for years. She knew me better than anyone else. I wanted to lie, but she would read right through it.
I sat down across from her and pursed my lips. Before I could say anything, a young waitress named Jenny was there to take our drink order. After she left, I met Kellie’s dark eyes and told her. “Jake came back. He creeped me out.”
Her face turned angry and she leaned in closer to me. “We’re hiring someone for you. I’m serious. This is getting to be too much.”
I shook my head. “I don’t think that’s necessary. I’m just not going to open the door for him anymore. He’s just being an ass. He’s never been the type to get physical.”
“Dammit, Sonnie. I don’t like this.” She stopped long enough for Jenny to drop our drinks off and take our orders. “I think you should hire someone.”
Like black magic, a shadow fell over our table. From the feeling of the hairs standing up on the back of my neck, I knew it was Jake.
“Ladies. Funny running into you here. How are you, Kellie?” Jake stared down at us, his arms crossed over his chest and a sickly-sweet smile on his face.
“Jake, what are you doing here?” I felt my face go red and shame mix with the fear. I didn’t want everyone in Ambrose knowing what I was going through. I wanted privacy. I’d experienced enough of the fishbowl effect in the suburbs.
“I was still in town and decided to grab some lunch.” He winked at me. “No crime in that—right?”
Kellie scowled, unafraid to go into any brawl she had to. “Shouldn’t you be searching for some other woman to mooch off of, Jake?”
“You always were jealous that I got the girl, weren’t you, Kellie?”
“Jake! That’s enough.” I twisted a napkin in my hands and frowned up at him. “We’re having lunch and we need privacy.”
“Don’t let her try to convert you, honey. I hear her type do that.”
Kellie glared up at him with fire in her eyes. “Jake, get fucked.”
“I’m trying to.”
I was going to die of mortification. I could feel the eyes of the diners around us turning to face our little party and I wanted to run out. “Jake, go. This is unnecessary.”
“Why don’t you come with me? We can talk while we walk home and Kellie can go back to whatever it is she does.”
“I’m not going anywhere with you. Ever.” I whispered the words harshly. “And if you really think that insulting my best friend and being homophobic is the way to win me over, you’re dumber than I thought.”
Jake leaned down fast enough to make me gasp. Whispering into my ear, he finished the job of horrifying me beyond all belief. “I don’t have to win you over, Sonnie. You’re mine.”
Kellie sprang up, ready to get Jake away from me, and I could see it in her eyes that she was willing to do whatever she had to. I jerked away from him, the look on my face shock and disgust. And then Jake was yanked backwards and held away from our table by a big man with a dark scowl on his face.
He was flanked by two other big guys, with equally dark looks on their faces. They were some of the guys from the security firm. I recognized them from around town.
“This guy bothering you, ma’am?” The man holding Jake asked with a nod at me.
I started to shake my head, out of decorum, but decided against that. “Yes.”
“Sonnie! Come on! I was just playing with you.”
Kellie snarled at him. “You weren’t playing. You were intimidating her.”
The guy with the hold on Jake just nodded again. “We’ll escort him out for you.”
And just like that, Jake was taken out of the diner. I watched in awe as the men took him outside and blocked the entrance so he couldn’t get back inside. Not that he would try, if he had any sense. The men dwarfed him.
They exchanged some words and then Jake was off.
I sank into my seat and blew out a rough breath. “That was intense.”
Kellie still looked furious. “He’s lost it, Sonnie. He’s off of his fucking rocker.”
I was afraid to admit that I thought she was right. Things had progressed so much in such a short period of time. I didn’t know what was happening in Jake’s life that was making him escalate, but it freaked me out.
“I think you should hire them.”
I shook my head. I just wanted it all to go away. I wasn’t even sure I could pretend to still be interested in my meal. I wanted to leave and go home to hide. With my doors locked tight.
“He’s gone, ma’am. We watched him drive off. Is that something you need help with?” He handed me a card. “We work at Black Dog Security. If you need anything, just give us a call. I’m Tucker. That’s Vince and Branson. We’d be more than happy to help out again—no cost.”
I forced a smile and shook my head. “I’m okay. Thank you, though. I appreciate what you all did. He probably won’t be back. That was embarrassing for both of us, I’m sure.”
Kellie grunted and took the card he offered her. “I’m her agent. I’ll call if anything else happens.”
They said their goodbyes and went back to their own table, where their meals were waiting. Kellie watched them go and then turned a serious look on me.
“If he shows up again, even to apologize, we’re calling them. Got it?”
I nodded. “Fine.”
Our meals were delivered and I poked at mine while Kellie ate with the same intensity that she did everything. My stomach was in knots, though.
So much had changed in the past six months. So much that I’d accepted and welcomed, once I faced reality. My life had been altered, but I was okay with it. This new course scared me, though.
I wasn’t equipped to deal with crazy exes. I just wanted to be left alone. That feeling at the back of my neck, the one that kept those little hairs raised, it told me that I was far from done with Jake.
Chapter 4
Cooper
“She looked terrified. That asshole was scaring the shit out of her on purpose. He was getting off on it.” Tucker Fields shook his head. “I wanted to rip his arms out of their sockets. She was just sitting there, horrified, and looking like a rabbit in front of a tiger.”
Vince Hart grunted. “She hasn’t seen the last of him.”
I sat back in my chair and took a swig from my beer. “Should we find her?”
“She didn’t want our help and we can’t force it on her, unfortunately.�
� Branson Wright looked around the table and used his shoulder to rub his ear, the way he always did when he was thinking about something. “Not that we can afford to take on free cases.”
We all let that sink in for a while. We’d started the security firm because there was nothing else for us to do. We were men who didn’t mesh in the real world. And we’d done it to stay together, to honor a fallen brother and friend. It was hard to take that mentality and put a business spin on it. When you went into the job for emotional reasons, charging clients wasn’t always the top priority. Even when it needed to be.
Lauren Dulaney came out with a pitcher of tea. She put it on the picnic table between us and smiled. “Look alive, boys.”
Mercer Dunn trailed out behind her and sat at the head of the table, on top of an old tree stump. He winced when he sat down—war wounds—and frowned as he looked around at all of us. “It’s a sad day when you lot look more serious than me.”
Wasn’t that the truth.
Lauren sat down next to Mercer and poured him a glass of tea, making him scowl. She ignored it. “What’s wrong?”
“We were talking about a woman we saw at Apple’s. We stepped in when some asshole was hassling her. Offered our help, but she turned it down.”
Mercer leaned forward and grabbed a hot dog before Lauren could try to make his plate for him. “He was doing it in public?”
Tucker nodded. “Right in front of everyone. No shame. When we got him outside, he told us that she’s his wife and he has every right to talk to her.”
I hated that we were all thinking that the asshole wasn’t finished bothering the woman and that there was nothing we could do. It didn’t feel right to leave someone in the trenches like that.
“Do you know who she is? Maybe I can wiggle my way in and talk to her.”
Mercer kept right on scowling at Lauren. “You don’t wiggle anywhere but back to your desk and to your paperwork.”
She rolled her eyes and ignored him. “Did you get a name?”
Black Dog Security- Complete 5-Part Series Page 3