“If you say so. Tell that to the guys.”
“You’re great with kids. I’ve seen you work with them in Kids at Play and you have a reputation as a good guy who goes to the Children’s Hospital and always makes time for kids. Why don’t you make time for your own flesh and blood?”
Cooper’s head pounded. She’d never understand, and he doubted he’d be able to explain it well enough not to make it worse.
“Cooper.”
He sighed. She wouldn’t give this up until she got some kind of answer. “I don’t want him to get attached to me.”
“Oh, for God’s sake. That is the stupidest reason I’ve ever heard. You’re a coward, Cooper Black. A pansy-assed coward.” She shook her head, clearly disgusted. “You aren’t protecting Riley. Admit it. You’re protecting your sorry ass.”
He stood, walked casually to the kitchen, and found a beer in fridge. After popping the top, he took a long swallow. Izzy watched him from across the room, still glaring, hands still on hips.
“You’re not going to let me off that easy, are you?”
She shook her head, walking in that sexy, graceful way only she had which made his mouth water. She sat down on the very barstool that he’d fucked her brains out on earlier and leaned on her elbows. Stalling, he poured her another glass of her favorite sweet white wine, even though she hadn’t asked for it, grabbing himself a bottle of beer.
“Any word on Riley’s mom?” Instead of pushing him about Riley, she’d surprised him with that question, though he knew she’d work it back around to the previous subject.
“My PI thought he’d spotted her a few times, but when he moved in, she disappeared. I think she’s still alive.”
“If she’s still alive, why doesn’t she contact Riley?” Izzy seemed as incredulous about that fact as Cooper.
“Fuck if I know.” Cooper fisted his hands in frustration born from years of dealing with his sister. He’d like to punch something, but knew he couldn’t. “As soon as Russ finds her, he has strict instructions to tail her until I can get there.”
“Then what?”
Cooper was pretty certain this would circle back around to Riley any moment, but he stepped into her carefully laid trap anyway. “I’m going to find out what the hell she’s been doing and why she walked away from her son almost six weeks ago without a word.”
Izzy nodded. “He’s a good kid. He doesn’t deserve a mother like her. From what I understand, he raised himself and watched over her. He needs security, Cooper. He needs to know that someone is always going to be there for him, no matter what. He needs you.”
“Oh, fuck, I knew you were going to flip this around on me. I can’t be that person, Izzy. Don’t you understand? I’m not that guy, but I promise you I’ll make sure he’s well taken care of either by a sane and sober mother or my parents. I won’t dump him back out on the street.”
“If that’s the best you’ve got?” Her disappointed scowl made him feel like a shit, as if he were failing Riley.
“It is,” he said, wondering if he was believing his own words any more.
“At least do me one favor. One little favor.”
“It’ll cost you,” he slipped into his teasing mode, hoping to be free of the uncomfortable and confusing subject of what to do with his nephew.
“Name your price, sweetie.” She stood and sashayed around the counter to stand before him. He grinned down at her and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. He should’ve sensed another trap, but he ignored the warning bells blaring in his head.
“Let’s start with me, you, a shower, and lots of steamy, hot water. Your mouth on my dick as the water runs down your face.” He couldn’t stop smiling at the thought, and his dick hardened appreciatively. He put his hands loosely on her hips and kissed the tip of her nose.
“Deal.” She smiled, as if moving in for the kill. “Now for your part of it. Come to Riley’s next game.”
The smile slipped off his face. He sighed in resignation. “When is it?”
“Next Thursday. They play every Thursday.”
“I’m on a road trip.”
“Then the following week.”
“Okay, I’ll do it.” By then he should know more about Riley’s mother. Russ was confident he was on her trail and just a day or two behind her.
“Thank you.” Izzy’s smile lit up the room. He’d attend a hundred freshman football games to see her smile like that.
He pulled her against him in a gentle hug, burying his face in her soft hair and inhaling the scent of her shampoo. Emotions swelled inside him, emotions which scared the living hell out of him. He was falling for her, and there wasn’t a damn thing he could do to stop it, even if he’d wanted to. Only he didn’t want to stop caring for her, adoring her, didn’t want to lose her. Not today. And not when he finally left Seattle.
Chapter 14—Slap Shot
A slight gust of crisp fall air lifted the collar of Cooper’s coat as he walked to the edge of the field and scanned the smattering of people sitting in the bleachers. Weather wise, he’d missed the seasons living in Florida where every day seemed like the one before it, but he’d be the last to admit that he enjoyed any aspect of Seattle, especially its weather. Cooper couldn’t believe it was already the second week of October, and Riley had been living with him for a month.
Last night the Sockeyes played their very first regular season game in Seattle. The place had been electric, packed to the rafters with rabid fans. Cooper played lights out with a goal, a couple assists, and a penalty. He was especially proud of the penalty, because it’d been against Tanner Wolfe’s asshole brother, Isaac, and the jerk deserved it.
Yet, something was missing from the game, and Cooper didn’t have to delve too deep into the psychology of his feelings to know what it was. Neither Izzy nor Riley attended. Izzy couldn’t. She had a senior citizen wedding to attend. Riley begged off when Cooper invited him, claiming he had to study for a test. What kid studies for a test when he’s offered seats on the glass to watch the first regular season NHL game ever played in Seattle? Hell, he’d even offered a ticket for Riley’s buddy and his coach.
So maybe that was why he was here today. It hurt like hell that the two people in his life hadn’t attended his game. He’d never given a shit about stuff like that before, but he’d never been in this weird situation either. It shouldn’t matter if they attended or not. Yet, it did. His feelings didn’t make a damn bit of sense to him, but they were what they were.
There were times when the three of them almost felt like a family, and those feelings made Cooper vulnerable and scared as hell.
Regardless, here he was at Riley’s game to show Izzy and Riley that he supported them both. He didn’t want Riley to feel abandoned like he had last night.
Cooper caught sight of Izzy waving at him from the stands. He walked toward her before he noticed that asshole Wolfe sat next to her. He couldn’t stand Wolfe’s arrogant hockey-playing brother, who he grudgingly admitted might be the best defenseman in the league, and Tanner was cut from the same douche-bag cloth.
Did that fucking jerk attend all of Riley’s games? Now that really pissed him off for reasons he rather keep to himself. Yeah, he hated Tanner sitting next to Izzy, sharing popcorn with her, and making her laugh. But he didn’t like the douche watching his nephew as if the kid were his blood, not Cooper’s.
How stupid was that?
Cooper walked toward Izzy and Tanner. He’d play nice for Izzy, but he didn’t give a shit about the jerk sitting next to her.
Izzy’s face lit up with approval when she saw him and his heart kicked it up a notch. Seeing her smile made putting up with Wolfe that much easier.
“You came?” she said as he slid onto the bleacher seat next to her.
“I promised,” he said simply, lacing her hand in his as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
Tanner reached across her and held out his hand. “Hey, man, glad you could make it for Riley’s sake.” Coo
per ignored the censure in Tanner’s voice. He shook the cocky quarterback’s hand and faked a friendly grin, giving a command performance that would make his mother proud.
Not bad for a jealous Neanderthal like him.
Forcing his gaze from Izzy, Cooper spotted Riley immediately. Big for his age, Riley stood taller than most of his teammates, except for Brian, his best buddy and the head coach’s son. Riley’s back was to him in his number eighty-five jersey. Cooper recalled that the kid played tight end on offense and defensive end on defense.
Cooper hadn’t actually planned on paying much attention to the game. He’d rather imagine Izzy naked underneath him or in his hot tub. Izzy concentrated on the game instead of him. With resignation and to keep his butt from being kicked by a pissed off woman, Cooper watched, too, and he enjoyed every minute of it—except for those minutes which required he talk to Wolfe.
Riley surprised him, but he shouldn’t have. Those Black genes shone through, and the Black family was a talented bunch when it came to athletics
Toward the end of the 2nd half, Riley intercepted a pass and ran it eighty yards for a touchdown. Izzy leapt to her feet screaming with unabashed enthusiasm as did Tanner. Frowning and not to be outdone by the douche, Cooper stood, too, and clapped loudly.
Riley jogged back to the sidelines and glanced up in their direction, a triumphant smile on his face. For a second their eyes met and something shifted inside Cooper’s chest. Riley looked away first to cock his head at whatever his teammate was saying, acting as if nothing had happened. But it had. Cooper couldn’t deny it. That damn kid had burrowed under his skin, despite Cooper’s best efforts to keep him at arm’s length.
In the last two minutes of the game, Riley caught another pass ten yards from the end zone to set up their fullback to run it in for six. They won the game, and Riley grinned from ear to ear as he jogged with his team into the locker room. Cooper caught himself smiling, too. He’d enjoyed the game, enjoyed Izzy’s hand in his the whole time, and he was damn proud of Riley, even if he hadn’t earned the right.
A group of parents stood near the locker room door waiting for their sons. Cooper stood off to the side, still holding Izzy’s hand, while a group formed around Tanner, who ate it up like the attention slut he was.
One of the mothers broke off from Tanner’s adoring crowd and approached Cooper.
“You must be Riley’s dad. He looks just like you,” she said as she looked pointedly at his ring finger.
“I’m his uncle.” Cooper shifted his stance, tucking Izzy closer to him, while that asshole Tanner, who’d also joined them, let out a snort.
“Wow, really? Strong resemblance. You look like an athlete yourself.”
Tanner snorted again, inserting himself into their conversation. “He is, if you think skating for a living qualifies.”
Izzy squeezed his hand, more as warning to keep his mouth shut than as support.
The woman’s perfectly made-up eyes widened. “Oh, you’re a figure skater?”
Tanner roared with laughter, and Cooper wanted to shove Tanner’s head into his ass. “I’m a hockey player,” he answered through gritted teeth.
One of the other fathers spoke up. “You play for the Sockeyes, don’t you?”
Cooper nodded, and for the next few minutes, his popularity outshone Tanner’s as Cooper fielded questions and signed autographs.
“Your nephew has your ability, all right,” one of the dads noted. “He’s the best player on the team. You must be really proud of him.”
Cooper opened his mouth to make some non-committal statement, but what he did say surprised him. “I’m very proud of him. He’s an amazing kid.”
And he meant it.
Izzy leaned into him, squeezing his hand and rewarding him with a sweet smile, warming him inside and making him wonder why he’d been such an ass and held out so long.
He’d used Riley’s well-being for an excuse, but it wasn’t Riley’s heart he was protecting.
It was his own.
* * * *
Riley toweled off after his shower, feeling as if his feet couldn’t possibly touch the ground. Today had been one of those rare perfect days in his life that he’d cherish and pull out whenever he needed a boost.
Like he did before every game, Riley had scanned the stands for Izzy and Tanner. They never disappointed him. Only today he’d done a double take. His uncle had sat next to Izzy holding her hand and grinning at her like a lovesick idiot.
For a second, hope swelled in Riley’s heart, a feeble hope for a real family or even a half-assed family. Hell, anything would be better than what he’d had for all of his sorry life.
Yet, when he saw the way Cooper stared at Izzy, as if they were the only two people on earth and nothing else existed but them, the truth stabbed him like a sharp knife in the heart. His uncle came for Izzy ’cuz he wanted to get in her pants.
Regardless, Riley would take what he could get. Maybe Cooper wasn’t there for Riley, but he was there. Riley swore he’d play the game of his life and make Cooper notice him.
Riley was good. His teammates said so, his coach said so. The high school coach told him he’d be starting varsity as a sophomore next year.
If there was a next year.
And just like that, all those good feelings were punched right out of him. Riley slumped onto the bench in front of his locker and his shoulders sagged. He felt as if all the wind had been knocked out him.
His mother couldn’t afford to live in this school district. For the first time, Riley almost wished Cooper wouldn’t find his mother, but a blitz of guilt tackled those traitorous feelings. His mother needed him, and he needed her. They were all each other had. Cooper didn’t give a rat’s ass about him, but his mother, with all her faults, did. She loved him. No one else in her family loved either of them.
It was only a matter of time before this storybook life he’d been living for the past couple months went south.
Every time things went his way, Riley held his breath waiting for stuff to go to hell. Just like he was now. He went to a school with a lot of wealthy and upper-middle class kids. They thought he was one of them because Uncle Cooper was a rich, pro hockey player. It gave Riley an undeserved status, one he’d never had before. Uncle Coop had furnished the money and thanks to Izzy he looked the part, but that was it. Inside, he was the same—the poor son of a prostitute who didn’t have a clue who his father was, the same kid whose mother’s family pretended she didn’t exist and the same kid whose mom disappeared without a word, leaving him in the shitty situation of depending on an uncle who didn’t want him around.
He felt like a fraud and wondered when his new friends and classmates would figure that out. They’d realize he was poor white trash with a mother who gave new meaning to the phrase “working mother.” Riley cringed, his disloyal thoughts choking him with more guilt.
He’d shown Uncle Coop, shown him that he wasn’t a loser. Having his uncle there had driven Riley to be that much better, and he had his best game ever just to prove a point. It was the game that’d get him out of poverty, not Uncle Coop or the rest of his mother’s family. Riley was determined to make something of himself and prove everyone wrong, including his mom and her dreg friends.
Yeah, that’s what he’d do. Prove them all wrong.
Riley finished dressing and walked out of the locker room. He stopped and blinked a few times. Izzy, Cooper, and Tanner waited for him among the group of parents.
Izzy rushed to him and threw her arms around him. Riley couldn’t stop grinning. He caught the jealous stares of a few of his teammates and grinned all the more.
Next, Tanner approached him, gave him a manly half hug, and congratulated him on the game. “Good job, kid. You’ll be playing for the Steelheads in no time.”
“Thanks,” Riley shuffled his feet and stared at the ground. His face grew hot, but he managed to play it cool.
“Hey, bud, I’ve gotta go. I’ll catch up with ya next week. We’
ll hit the pizza place or something.” Tanner saluted him and slipped through the crowd.
“He must have a hot date,” Cooper muttered.
Riley didn’t say anything. Cooper and Tanner didn’t like each other much.
Izzy elbowed Cooper and he grunted. Riley bit back a laugh. Izzy and Cooper were hot for each other. They tried to hide it, but Riley wasn’t stupid. Izzy never went home. She stayed in Uncle Cooper’s room even when he was home, and she didn’t need to stay.
Riley wasn’t sure what she saw in his uncle. She could do better.
Izzy cleared her throat and gave Cooper another elbow to the ribs. He grunted again. His blue eyes lifted to meet Riley’s. “Good game.”
“Thanks.” Riley wished he could run away and get out of this situation. He didn’t like talking to his uncle. He knew it was out of obligation not love, and he didn’t need the man’s pity.
“So are you hungry?” Izzy, all smiles and cheerful sweetness, interrupted the silence. “Let’s get pizza to celebrate your game.”
“Okay,” Riley said.
“Sure,” Cooper said. He nodded to Riley and tugged on Izzy’s hand, as if in a hurry to leave.
Coach pushed through the crowd of parents, holding his hand out to Uncle Cooper. Riley backed up a step. “Well, finally, we get to meet. I’m Bill Mars, Riley’s coach.”
Riley’s best friend, Brian, was the coach’s son. Brian gave Riley one of those looks that said so your uncle finally decided to slum with us?
“I’m Cooper Black.” His uncle seemed uncomfortable, which was weird. Uncle Coop always had his act together.
“I know. I’m a big hockey fan, and I’ve always enjoyed watching you play. Like poetry on ice.”
Cooper seemed surprised. Riley tried not to laugh. Poetry on ice? His uncle? Now that was funny. “I’ve been called many things, but I’m not sure that’s one of them.”
Izzy stepped forward. “We were just getting pizza. Would you like to join us? It’s on Cooper.”
Crashing the Net Page 17
