Page 1 of Cooper
CHAPTER ONE
Cooper Salcedo listened to the story of how his parents fell in love for the tenth time. Since he’d turned five, every Valentine’s Day is mother would tell him the story about how she’d been running from her criminal uncle, leaving Abe to wonder where she’d gone, only to find her again at Belle Fleur.
As a boy, Cooper thought it was all mushy love stuff. As a teenager he found it exciting that his father and the other men tracked down the bad guys and made them go away. Permanently.
“I don’t ever want to put a woman in danger,” frowned Cooper. “I think I’d rather be single forever than do that.”
“Well, sometimes when you’re a SEAL,” started Abe.
“Ranger,” said his son in a whisper. He looked up at his father with a blush. “I want to be a Ranger, Dad.”
“Ranger is a good choice,” he nodded. “Did you think I’d be angry about that?”
“I-I don’t know. Maybe not mad but disappointed?”
“Son, you’ve chosen to follow in the footsteps of giants. You’ve chosen to serve your country at the highest level, assuming you make it through Ranger school,” he smirked. Cooper laughed at his father, shaking his head.
“I know, Dad. Can I ask you a question?”
“You can ask me anything,” smiled Abe. Lyra smiled at them both and rose, kissing them on the cheek.
“I’ll let you guys have your father-son chat. See you at lunch.” She left and Cooper just sat there a moment, his father not rushing him at all.
“Why didn’t you just walk away from mom? I mean, if you knew how much danger she was in and you were in love with her, which would have distracted you, why didn’t you just let the others handle it?”
Abe smiled at his son taking in the words and working through them carefully.
“One day, Cooper, you’re going to fall in love with a woman or feel a connection so strong that you can’t explain it. When that happens, you’ll know why I couldn’t walk away. I just couldn’t leave her safety to someone else.”
“Even knowing how dangerous it was?” he asked.
“It was because I knew how dangerous it was,” said Abe. “Do you have feelings for someone?”
He worried that perhaps his son was already thinking about someone special in his life. But his fears were squelched when Cooper laughed.
“No way,” he said shaking his head. “I mean, there are a lot of pretty girls at school, and some of them are cool. But most of them are moving too fast. It’s photos of things they shouldn’t be taking photos of being sent for the whole world to see.” Abe lifted a brow and nodded.
“Well, I’m proud of you for realizing the difference between appropriate and inappropriate. I would just say keep your heart open, Coop. Don’t close off opportunities just because you believe duty comes first. Sometimes duty is the woman you fall in love with.”
“Thanks for talking with me again, Dad. You and mom have plans for Valentine’s Day?” he said with a grin.
“Maybe,” chuckled his father. “What about you?”
“Does playing dungeons and dragons with the guys count?” he laughed.
“I’m not sure that counts,” said Abe slapping his sons’ back. “Come on. Let’s have lunch with your mother. She deserves as much time with you as she can get. It won’t be long before you’re gone.”
“It’ll be a while, Dad. Don’t worry.”
But it wasn’t a while. It was there before they could blink. Everyone had told them that Coop’s time in high school would fly be. And it did. It felt as though he was a freshman yesterday and then he was walking away from them with a rucksack on his back, giving a wave and a smile.
Their son was a Ranger.
Two weeks ago
“You’ve been asking questions about Marco,” said the beautiful woman pouring another glass of lemonade for the three men at the table. She didn’t look up, she didn’t look them in the eye.
“That’s right,” said Coop staring at the beautiful woman. Her white peasant blouse fell across her upper arms, emphasizing her full breasts. He tried not to notice but it was damn hard.
