Boomerangers: A second chance romantic comedy (Cajun Girls Book 1)
Boomerangers: Chapter 16

I’m curled up, hugging my knees on the front porch swing, when Coop’s truck comes rolling into the drive. Jumping to my feet, I shift the flannel throw blanket from my legs to my shoulders, cocooning myself inside. Yesterday, we were in shorts and flip flops, today Uggs and sweaters. Louisiana, as usual, you are drunk.

When I’m about halfway to the truck, Cooper steps out . . . shirtless. My feet grow roots and I stare. It doesn’t even strike me as odd at first that he’s riding around half naked in the dead of winter because I’m far too busy admiring the view. I feel my lady bits clench tight as my mouth begins to fill with saliva. When he disappears around the side of his truck, I shake myself out of a daze, remembering that he has my kid.

“Hey, Cooper!” I call out, shuffling my feet in quick baby steps. They are all I can manage with the burrito I’ve wrapped myself in. “What hap—”

My words are lost when he comes back into view, toting my toddler—my blue toddler who happens to be wearing a man’s shirt and nothing else.

“Hey, Mommy!” Kyle shouts, reaching out for me with his teeth chattering.

Cooper passes him over, and I wrap his little body in my throw blanket. “Hey, baby. What’s all over your face? And why are you wearing Cooper’s shirt and not your own clothes?” I ask, looking up at the deflated man before me.

“Hey, Spence,” Coop offers, attempting a smile. He looks nervous. What did he do?

My eyes roam from his disheveled hair to the resigned look on his face. They wander over his chest and stomach, and from this close, I can see something splattered in the trail of hair leading from his bellybutton into his slacks. I sniff, feeling my brows dip inward at the pungent smell. “My God, you two reek!” I gag, pinching my nose. “What the hell happened? Where are his clothes? Where are the rest of your clothes? Did you two fall into a freaking sewer? Cooper, are you going to answer me?”

That maddening, lopsided smirk appears on his face. “I was letting you finish, Momma Bear.”

I move my hand in little circles toward him in a “carry on” gesture.

Coop swallows hard. What is it about that tiny movement of his Adam’s apple that gives me the urge to run my tongue along his throat?

“Can we continue this inside, Princess? It’s a bit nippley.”

“I ha-have nipples,” Kyle stutters. “Pooper have hair on him nipples. Dat’s siwwy, right, Mommy?”

Giggling, I turn to stare at Cooper’s chiseled chest and his nipples that I find anything but silly.

Coop laughs. “When you’re a man, Savage, you’ll get hair on your nipples, too . . . and on your butt!”

Kyle scrunches up his nose. “No, tanks. I don’t want hair on my butt.”

“Let’s get inside before you freeze your hairy ass off,” I say, winking at Cooper.

Coop takes a few steps to follow and then stops. “Actually, why don’t you go and get him cleaned up. I could use a shower myself, and I really need to brush my teeth.”

Did he just gag? “Uh, yeah. Can you hurry, though? I’ve been kinda freaking out not knowing what’s going on.” And after this . . . infinitely more so.

“Is your mom back?”

“Not yet.”

“Why don’t you come over to my house when you’re done and Mom can keep an eye on Savage while we chat?”

“Kyle!” Mrs. Nelly exclaims, animated, when she opens the front door.

“Hi, Nana. You make me some cookies?” my son asks as she grabs him from my arms and smothers his face in kisses. Kyle squirms, pretending not to like it, but he’s giggling so hard he can’t catch his breath.

“Of course, child. Let’s go in the kitchen and see what goodies Nana has for her favorite little guy today.”

“I thought I was your favorite little guy,” an indignant voice calls down the stairs just before Coop’s body comes into view with my favorite little guy pitching a tent in his joggers.

“Looks like you’ve been replaced,” I taunt when his mother doesn’t answer.

He smiles, pressing a hand on the doorframe above my head and leaning in close. “Appears so.”

I take a deep breath, inhaling the scent of his cologne, and just as I’m about to forget myself and lean in for a kiss, Coop reaches around me, twisting the doorknob, almost knocking me off my feet. “Sit with me out on the porch?”

“Sure,” I say, clearing my throat as he grabs ahold of my arm, steadying me. “What happened at the daycare today? I’ve been so worried,” I say as we walk over to sit on the porch swing.

Cooper follows, plopping down beside me with his body angled toward mine. “They never got ahold of you?”

“No. I forgot my phone on the kitchen counter, and by the time I noticed, it was too late to go back and get it. I was in offsite meetings most of the day, and the school couldn’t reach me without my phone. When I returned to school, I went to the office, and they told me the daycare had been trying to contact me, so I borrowed their phone to check the voicemail on my cell. I had a few from the daycare asking me to call them and then your message . . . so I knew Kyle was okay because he was with you.”

Coop gives me a lopsided grin as I continue. “I called the daycare and got their voicemail. They haven’t called me back yet, but its dismissal time, so it will probably be a while before I hear from them.”

Cooper rolls his eyes. “Oh, trust me. You’ll be hearing from them.”

“What happened?”

“We quit,” he answers, matter of fact.

“You quit what?”

“Savage and I quit preschool today.” Cooper smiles, puffing up his chest with pride. He looks entirely too pleased with himself. He’s so convincing that I catch myself wanting to thank him before realizing that he’s just made my life an even bigger disaster.

“You did what?” I ask, jumping up from the swing, causing the chains to rattle.

“They tried to suspend him, Spence . . . Can you believe that shit? Who suspends a two-year-old?”

My eyes bug out. “Oh God. What did he do?” Both hands dig into my hair, and I pull in frustration as I begin pacing the porch.

Coop shakes his head, leveling me with a look that can only be described as disappointment. “That’s your response? What’d he do?” He laughs beneath his breath, but it lacks any humor. “He bit some little asshole for hitting him in the head with a truck. He was defending himself. You should be proud of him. No one else there was gonna do it.”

“Is he o—”

“Kyle’s fine. He just has a bump on his head.”

Shit. What the hell am I going to do now? “Coop . . . you . . . you can’t just quit his preschool. It was the only one in town with openings. I’ll have a talk with them. I’m sure I can clear it all up.”

Coop scoffs. “They don’t appreciate him. Hell, I don’t even think they like him. Those people are going to break his spirit.” Cooper purses his lips, shaking his head. “Nope. He can’t go back.”

My head falls into my hands and I massage my temples. “Coop, I’m sure it was some sort of misunderstanding. I . . .” Cooper’s arms cross on his chest and his eyes narrow. How dare he judge me? “I have to work, Cooper!” Damn him for making me feel like the bad guy here.

“I don’t think you should bring him back there.”

Stubborn fucking ass. “I have to—”

“I already told him he didn’t have to go.” Coop shrugs like the fact that he told a two-year-old he doesn’t have to go trumps my need to support my family.

My mouth falls open and snaps shut. “Great. Well, the two of you should have a lot of fun in your new office. I hope your secretary doesn’t mind looking after a toddler in addition to her other duties when you’re on a call or in court! And I sure as shit hope she knows how to change a fucking diaper. Lord knows you don’t have a freaking clue!”

Coop’s face blanches at the diaper comment. He looks mortified as he whispers, “He can’t come to work with me.”

“No?” I cross my arms on my chest. “Well, where do you think he’s going to go while I’m at work all day now that you’ve quit his daycare?”

The squeaking sound of a window lifting behind me causes me to spin around just as Nelly’s head peaks out. “I don’t mean to eavesdrop, but y’all two are so damned loud you could wake the dead. I just wanted to offer that he could stay here with me. I would love to have him. No need to send him to a germ-filled cesspool.”

“There,” Coop says, rising from the swing. He walks over to stand behind me, rubbing his hands up and down my upper arms to relax me. “Problem solved. He’ll come here.”

My head is spinning. I’m not used to having other people make decisions for me where my children are concerned, and my natural inclination is to fight it. But, Kyle loves Nelly, and I know that she loves him, too. I suck my teeth, look over my shoulder, and narrow my eyes at Cooper when I answer, “If you’re sure you don’t mind, Mrs. Nelly, I’d love it if you’d babysit Kyle.”

Her face lights up. “I don’t mind at all, sugar! Now you two carry on. Coop, watch your face. You have court in a few days.” She winks. “I’m gonna go tell Savage the news!”

“Why the sour puss face? This is great.” Coop spins me around to face him.

I was unaware, but now that he’s said something, I can feel my resting bitch face. As annoyed as I am that he made such an important decision for my son, I learned my lesson with the crawfish boil about overreacting and force myself to smile. “It is. Your mom is great with him.”

Coop smiles and reaches out, grabbing my hand. He tugs, pulling my body against his and wrapping me in his arms. “I’ve missed you,” he mumbles into my hair. I’m not sure whether he intended for me to hear it or not, so I just snuggle closer and let the heat of his body encapsulate me. To repeat those words back would definitely be creating strings, and we’re not going there. The fact that he said it, though, has me all warm and tingly and my heart beats fast. I need distance and pull away.

“I can’t believe you hosed my kid off. I keep picturing that scene from the movie Three Men and a Baby when they’re changing their first diaper and cracking up, but it’s really not funny, Coop. He must’ve been freezing. I hope he doesn’t get sick.”

His brows dip inward in a look of concern. “Oh, trust me. I know it isn’t funny. I felt like shit . . . smelled like it, too, and have you seen my truck?” he asks with a grimace.

“I haven’t, but I’m sure as shit going now.” I wink, taking off down the porch steps, careful not to trip on the loose board at the bottom. Coop follows closely behind. When I get there, I can’t help it . . . I double over laughing. It’s a shit massacre. There’s shit everywhere. What I wouldn’t give to have been able to see this scene unfold. “Oh God.” I wrap my hands around my waist and try to stop laughing to take a jibe at him.

“It’s not that funny, Spence.” The fish lips he’s sporting tells me he’s trying his best not to burst out laughing himself.

“Karma’s a motherfucker, isn’t it?” I have tears dripping down my cheeks from laughing so hard.

“It’s ruined.” Coop frowns.

And I’m giggling again. “It’s poop, Cooper. It washes off.”

Coop sticks the fingers of his right hand under my nose. “Smell that?” he asks with a look of disgust. “The smell . . .” He gags. “It won’t come out. My truck is going to smell like crap.”

“Ew.” I shove his hand away. “Get your poopy hands out of my face.”

“I don’t get it. How do you always smell so good? One fucking dirty diaper and I’m stained.”

“Well, I tend to get the shit on the wet wipes, not myself. And, if I do get it on my fingers, which happens to the even the best of us, there are methods to remove the scent.”

Coop’s eyes get big and his whole face brightens. “Oh thank God. How do I get it off.”

“That’s not what she said,” I tease.

Coop smiles. “Cute. So how do we get rid of the smell?”

Oh, this could be fun. “Wouldn’t you like to know?”

Coop runs his bottom lip through his teeth and nods.

“How much is this little bit of information worth?” I ask him with the devil in my eyes.

“Whatever you want.”

A smile splits my face as I turn back toward his momma’s house. “Follow me.”