Lattes and Lullabyes

by Kay Lyons

  And the kicker was he wasn't sure how he felt about it. Because what if London was right? What if Dalton had changed? What if it had taken a lifetime for him to get his act together and now he had, but it was too late?

  That would be Dalton's luck.

  His, too.

  "What are you going to do?"

  He stared into her gaze, lost to the thoughts bombarding him. "I can't— I can't go…"

  "Oh, Cooper."

  "Not without you. I can’t— London, will you come with me? Please?"

  He'd surprised her with the request. She'd expected him to say he wasn't going, wasn't going to honor the request. He'd thought about it, for sure. Why should he go? Why should he do anything for Dalton?

  But almost as quickly as that thought formed came another. That of London telling him to forgive Dalton, for his own sake if nothing else. Because the fact was, he didn't want the last impression of Dalton to be of the raging drunk who'd terrified him for so long.

  "I-I will. Of course I will. I'll call Carolina while you go get the twins. Or close now and Carolina can open right back up," she said, appearing to think through the plan aloud. "It won't take her long to get here. She or Ireland or my mom can come. Whoever's free. None of that matters. Of course I'll come with you." She gripped his hands in hers and held them tight. "I'll be right beside you."

  * * *

  It was taking too long. That was all Cooper could think as he drove through the midday bumper-to-bumper summer traffic. London had closed up and called Carolina on the walk-run to his house while Cooper had called the temp and told her to have the twins ready by the time they arrived.

  Now, almost an hour later, he pulled into the hospital parking lot and swerved into an empty space. Bella began fussing in the backseat because, once they were stopped, she didn’t like being strapped in.

  They unbuckled car seats and grabbed the strollers so that London would have them should she need them while he and Dalton made their peace. Dealing with the kids was a process, and it wasn't a fast one, especially with Bella acting out.

  Finally they hurried down the long corridor toward ICU, and with every step, Cooper prayed it wasn't too late. Whether it was because he wanted to have his say or simply say goodbye, he wasn't sure. He wasn't sure about much of anything at the moment.

  "There's Marilyn," London said.

  He looked around but then did a double take at the white-smocked woman moving toward them. It was her, though. Dalton had married a doctor?

  "They just updated me. He's stable, for now," Marilyn said by way of greeting. "Thank you for coming. They don't normally allow children in ICU, but given the circumstances, they're making a very brief exception so long as I'm with them. No more than a minute or two, tops. Just for him to see them."

  "What happened?"

  London voiced the question and Cooper waited anxiously for the answer.

  "The drinking," she said simply. "He's on the transplant list for a liver, but as of now, one isn't available."

  "I'm… surprised he's allowed to be on the list at all."

  London looked shocked by his statement but Marilyn simply nodded. "Transplants will be given to those sober six months or longer, and Dalton's been sober ever since Ashley's death."

  "That was over three years ago. He's… never made it that long that I know of."

  Marilyn nodded. "No, he hasn’t. But losing his daughter changed him. He felt responsible and knew he had to be sober in order to be of any help. That's where we met, actually. In AA," she said, her gaze direct. "I've been sober twenty years, and while every day is a battle, as a physician I can tell most times when that switch has been flipped, and I knew, when your father shared at a meeting, he meant it when he said he was done."

  Shock rolled through him. Suspicion. For all he knew, Marilyn was the same type of codependent woman as his mother. Except… she wasn't. He could tell. Marilyn was strong, confident. Everything his mother had never been.

  "You should go in first," London said softly. "Talk to him. Then we can take the twins in."

  Cooper nodded and followed Marilyn to Dalton’s hospital room. He paused outside the door, wondering if he had what it took to step inside.

  Chapter 17

  After Cooper finally entered Dalton’s room, Marilyn approached London and the twins.

  "I should probably confess that Dalton didn't ask to see Cooper or the babies."

  London gasped in surprise but just as quickly nodded, exchanging a wry smile with the older woman. "But you know he wants to."

  "It's all he's ever wanted since I’ve known him." Marilyn lowered herself in front of Bella's stroller. "What's the matter, baby? Has she been pulling on her ear long?"

  "Uh, I have no idea. I haven't seen her since Saturday but… come to think of it, I think I remember her doing it a few times then. Oh, no. Ear infection?" she asked, remembering the telltale sign from when her nephew would do the same.

  "Could be. How about we take a walk and find out?"

  London fell into step beside the woman who grabbed the handles of Bella's stroller and began slowly pushing it down the corridor. "Dally said it was your anniversary?"

  "Yes. We've been married a year." Marilyn smiled at London. "He asked me six weeks after we met but I made him wait."

  London laughed. "I can see Dally doing that. He's a character."

  "He can be. He is also the sweetest man I've ever known. Life humbled him in ways only a few can imagine and made him a better man because of it."

  "I'm glad I didn't know the other version of Dally." London followed Marilyn, thinking of Cooper and wondering how he was holding up given the circumstances…

  Chapter 18

  Cooper entered the room, the noise of the machines masking the sound his footsteps might have made. Dalton lay in the bed with his eyes closed, an oxygen mask over his face. "Dalt— Dally," Cooper said softly, the word—the nickname—bringing a lump to his throat.

  His father opened his eyes as though the weight of them was too heavy to bear. When he realized Cooper stood by the bed, Dalton's eyes widened, a weak smile breaking over his haggard face.

  "You're really here? Not… dreaming?"

  Cooper nodded. "Marilyn called and said— It's good you're on the transplant list. That you've stayed sober."

  The awkwardness was there, though it was tempered by necessity. The saying that it was hard to kick a man when he was down was very true. All of the things he had to say suddenly didn’t seem important because Dalton bore the weight of them already. They were etched in every line and shadow, echoed by every bleep of the machines.

  "Too late now."

  "Not yet. It can still happen."

  "No. Meant too late… for you."

  Cooper inhaled and knew this was the moment of reckoning. He had to decide between the man he could be and the man he wanted to be. The man he wanted the twins to have as a father. "It's not too late. London… She says we either run away from something or run to it. The first one is in fear but the other—"

  His voice locked up and Cooper cleared his throat, but the words just wouldn't return.

  "I got my miracle," Dalton said weakly, a smile hovering on the corners of his mouth. "You. Here."

  Cooper took Dalton's hand in his and squeezed. After a long moment, he cleared his throat again. "I—we—brought the twins."

  Dalton's eyes filled with tears and overflowed. He lifted a trembling hand and tried to rub the moisture away, but the mask got in the way and the move seemed to exhaust him given the quivering attempt.

  Cooper grasped his father's hand in his and lowered it to the bed before snagging a nearby tissue box and pulling one from the cardboard. It took every ounce of control he had in him to calmly dab at his father's tears and not think of the times Dalton hadn’t been there to do the same for Cooper.

  "Son… forgive me. Please. I didn't know what I was doing. Stupid, stupid fool. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry."

  Cooper paused, the w
et tissue fisted in his hand and a lump in his own throat. The man he could be. Or the one he wanted to be. He had to choose and be able to live with the consequences of his choice. "If… If you're going to be allowed around the kids, you have to stay sober. No exceptions."

  Dalton's tears increased and Cooper set out once more to catch them. "But that also means you have to hang on until you can get that transplant."

  Dalton nodded. Lifted his hand and grasped Cooper's wrist, squeezing it.

  "The twins need you. London reminded me that they don't have a grandfather. And I never knew— Dalton, I never knew the sober you. But if you can hang on, I'd really like to meet that man."

  Dally's face broke as a sob tore out of him, and Cooper leaned over the bed and hugged his father for the first time in over twenty years.

  * * *

  Thirty minutes later, he and London were heading out of the hospital with the twins. Marilyn had prescribed some medication to help with Bella's inner ear infection, and now they prepared to make the drive home to get the twins settled with the nanny so they could return to the hospital for the evening visiting hours.

  Cooper settled into the driver's seat once the kids and London were tucked inside, but other than turning the key to cool the interior, he didn't move.

  "Are you okay?"

  The twins had visited Dalton for a brief moment. The last—the only?— time they'd see their grandfather?

  "Cooper—"

  "I love you." He stretched out a hand and slid it beneath her thick braid, cradled her neck, and gently tugged her toward him. "I didn't expect— I thought it would be better to do this alone. To do life alone. Easier. Safer," he said, staring into her beautiful face while tilting his head back to indicate the twins. "But I don't want to."

  "You don't have to."

  "Are you sure? You want this mess? The craziness?" He paused. "Me?"

  She shifted so that she could close the distance separating them and touched her lips to his mouth, her eyes open so he could see everything and know she meant it. "I'm sure. I want it all—especially if the crazy means you."

  Five months later, London felt Cooper before she saw him. She closed her eyes and reveled in the sensation, and seconds later, his hands spanned her waist and his lips settled in the ticklish part of her neck.

  "There you are."

  "Mmm. I was sidetracked by the full moon," she said, enjoying the breeze off of the hotel's oceanfront patio. "All okay in there?"

  "As far as I can tell. Your mother is happy at pulling off the wedding in such a short time span, Samuel is snitching cupcakes whenever anyone's back is turned, and Ireland and Dominic are beaming about the baby."

  Surprised, she turned in his arms, twining hers around his neck. "You know?"

  Cooper dropped a kiss atop her nose.

  "Only because I spotted Dominic in the parking lot and caught him staring at an ultrasound photo."

  Her laughter echoed off the side of the building. "Busted," she murmured. "At least Mama got her fancy wedding reception even though Ireland had to come clean about already being married due to the pregnancy that made being a June bride tricky. "Where are the twins?"

  "Marilyn and Dalton went with Jenny to take them home to put to bed," he said, referring to the nanny hired not long after that fateful trip to the hospital. Cooper's list of qualifications had bordered on the ridiculous, but she had to admit he'd found a good one to fill in any gaps that her mother and father, Dalton and Marilyn couldn't handle.

  Dalton had several near-death moments but managed to hang on until a transplant donor had been found in October. With the twins and Cooper as incentive, Dalton had made a miraculous recovery, determined to spend what time he had left being the best father and grandfather he could be to make up for his past.

  "Have I told you how beautiful you look tonight?"

  "Several times."

  "Have I told you how much I love you?"

  She grazed her fingers over the short stubble of hair on the side of his head, loving the feel of it. "You know I can't hear that often enough."

  "Well… I love you, London Cohen."

  He lowered his head and kissed her, lightly at first before deepening the caress until she clung to him and struggled to stay upright in her fancy bridesmaid's shoes.

  "Sweetheart—"

  "Mmm?"

  "Marry me."

  The whisper left her gasping. She opened her eyes and found him watching her, waiting.

  Holding her gaze, Cooper lowered himself to one knee, and in the distance, she heard the sound of her mother's excited shriek.

  London barely dared to breathe, not wanting anything to ruin this moment.

  "What do you say?" He opened a small velvet box and pulled a breathtaking emerald and diamond ring from the folds. "Will you take me, the twins, and Rocco and Rosie, and whatever else may appear in your coffee shop one day, and love us forever?"

  She held out her quivering hand for him to slide on the gorgeous ring. "I will, I have,” she said, bending to kiss him, “from the very beginning."

  CAN’T GET ENOUGH OF THE COHEN SISTERS? KEEP READING FOR A SHORT EXCERPT OF MAP OF DREAMS:

  Fuming because Holland seemed to have some sort of sixth sense where Carolina was concerned, she stalked toward her car and tossed her purse inside the open window. The roar of an engine turned her attention to the driveway and she gasped at what she saw. "Seriously?"

  It was the truck from the school. The man from the school. He'd followed her home!

  Heart in her throat, she waited as he rolled the large truck to a stop. His windows were down and she yelled to be heard over the powerful engine. "What are you, some kind of stalker?" Her heart rate increased as panic set in. There were way too many weirdos in the world and people who took offense to the slightest thing. Like stealing parking spaces. She pointed to the street. "Leave. Right now. I'm sorry for cutting you off this morning, but that's no excuse for you to follow me."

  "I'm—"

  "I'm calling the cops and you'd better be gone before they get here."

  He muttered something under his breath. "Put the phone away."

  She pressed the phone's emergency button to call 911 so that he could see her do it.

  "Are you crazy?"

  She spotted a Carolina Cove police car driving down the street toward the station located a few blocks away and waved both of her arms. "Hey! Hey! Help!"

  The man released a mutter she couldn't hear over the engine and the blood pulsating past her ears. She rushed to where Officer Bobby Binet pulled into the driveway. Thankfully she knew all of the policemen due to working at the various businesses in town. "Bobby, thank goodness."

  "What's going on?"

  Officer Binet quickly got out and eyed her unwanted visitor, who cut the engine and exited his truck with a slam of the door.

  "He followed me home because of road rage after I took his parking spot earlier. I told him to leave but he won't."

  Bobby crossed his arms over his chest and looked way too casual for her taste. Shouldn't he have his hand on his gun or something? Push her behind him and tell the man to stand down?

  "Hey, Silas."

  "Bobby. Good to see you again."

  She stared at the two men as they greeted each other, mouth gaping. "What? Bobby, do something!"

  "She's got it all wrong, brother."

  "I do not have it wrong! He got mad at me at the school and then followed me home."

  "Silas? That true?"

  "Not by a long shot."

  "It is! There's no reason for him to show up here like some crazed perv."

  "Crazed perv? Lady, for the love of— I didn't follow you home."

  "You're standing here, aren't you?"

  The man ran his hand over his head and down to his neck, muscles flexing as he squeezed.

  "Silas," Bobby said, walking closer to where the other man stood, "what's going on?"

  "I just told you," Carolina said, growing even more agg
ravated by Bobby's lack of concern and lackadaisical manner.

  Silas held up a hand as though telling them to wait and walked back to his truck.

  "Watch him, Bobby. He could be getting a gun."

  "Calm down. Silas isn't doing anything of the— See?"

  The man turned, holding a bunch of papers clipped together, and Carolina got an uneasy, sinking feeling in her stomach.

  "I didn't follow her home. I came," the man said, waving the papers, "to get to work."

  This couldn't be happening. Holland was going to kill her. The man so angry with her after her stunt at the school would have to stand in line behind her sister to take a whack at this particular mole. "W-work?"

  The word emerged as a strangled squeak that sounded way too guilt-ridden for her tastes. Maybe it was the heat of the day but… she actually felt a little light-headed.

  Was it possible to pass out from embarrassment? What were the odds?

  Seriously.

  Silas shoved his sunglasses up on his head and gave her a baleful glare. "This is 114 Seashell Lane, right?"

  "Yeah, but—"

  "You're Holland Cohen?"

  "She's Holland's baby sister," Bobby explained. "Carolina Cohen. Carolina, this is Silas Fletcher. Didn't I hear something about you working for Jake now?"

  "Yeah. Her sister hired McMurphy Construction to work on her house. I'm here," the man said, giving Carolina yet another glare, "as Jake's foreman. The crew is scheduled to start today."

  "Aw, now there you go. See, Carolina?" Bobby said. "Just a coincidence that y'all ran into each other this morning at the school. It's all good."

  All good? This was good? She'd just made a total fool of herself in front of the man for the second time that day, called him a crazed perv… and Bobby thought it was good? "I didn't… I saw you pull in and I thought— You were really angry this morning," she said, sounding defensive to her own ears. "I mean, where's your sign?"