Intercepting Love (Second Chances #5)(71)
Before I could get all of the way down the field, my phone started to ring, so I reached into my bag and grabbed it. It was Shelby.
“Shelby,” I answered, “how did everything go?”
She groaned into the phone. “Let’s just say you owe me, Cooper. It was the longest lunch date of my life, but thankfully, having an MMA fighter as a husband comes in handy. It tends to strike fear into some.”
She laughed for a second, but then cleared her throat and continued, “Okay, so Kevin told me that one of the women he spoke to was Marianne Easton, Scott’s mother. I know you already know that. Now here’s the part you’re not going to like.”
Joel furrowed his brows, knowing very well that my body language was coiled tighter than a snake. I could hear my heart pounding in my ears as I waited for the answer to all of my problems.
“Tell me, Shelby,” I growled firmly. “I have to know.”
My uncle came up to me and put his hand on my shoulder while I waited on Shelby to give me the news. When the name finally crossed her lips, I knew exactly what I needed to do. “Thank you, Shelby. I appreciate you doing this for me.”
“What are you going to do?” she asked quickly.
Peering at Joel, I took in a deep, frustrated breath and let it out angrily. “It looks like I’m making a trip out to California.”
And it definitely wasn’t going to be a pleasurable one.
Sometimes it felt like half of my life had been spent in airports because I was always at one. Even as a child, my family was constantly travelling the world or doing something. One day it would be nice to have roots and just stay there with the occasional travelling here and there.
“Are you sure you don’t want me to go with you?” Kate asked. “I don’t like the idea of you going alone.” She rushed me home after practice so I could pack and get to the airport. The sooner I could get to California, the sooner I could get home. I was glad she drove me because I was too pissed off to even think straight, not to mention, I still hadn’t had a chance to get my car fixed.
“I’m sorry, Kate. Trust me, I want you with me, but you don’t need to be there. I plan on saying what I have to say and then leaving. I’ll be back by tomorrow afternoon.”
“Why can’t you tell me who you’re going to see?” she asked.
I could hear the hurt in her voice, and even in my mind I wanted to believe that everything had been just one huge mistake. I didn’t want to say a word to anyone until I knew for a fact that what Shelby said was true. I had to hear it with my own ears.
“I want to tell you, Kate, and when I know for certain that I have the truth I’ll call you.”
Overhead, the announcement to board my flight echoed over the speakers. Kate’s eyes went wide and she jumped in my arms. “Be safe out there, Cooper. I love you.”
“I love you, too,” I murmured in her ear, wrapping my arms around her waist. “I’ll be back tomorrow.”
I held onto her tight and breathed her in as deep as I could before the second and final announcement to board the plane sounded from above. Nodding, she stepped back with wary eyes and smiled. When I bent down to grab my bag, I looked at her hand where I had just put Scott’s ring on the night before.
“Why did you take it off?” I asked. “I thought you might want to wear his ring.”
Kate looked down at her hand and let out a heavy sigh. “It’s a beautiful ring, Cooper, but it doesn’t belong on my finger. It might have years ago, but now it doesn’t. I’m sure I’ll have one there someday. Until then, I’m content with it being bare.”
I knew it was too soon to think about marriage with her, but there was no doubt in my mind that if we were still together in the next year that I’d ask her in a heartbeat. Kate wasn’t a rush into anything type of girl, and the last thing I wanted to do was scare her off. I’d wait for when the time was right.
“I understand,” I told her. Tilting her chin up with my finger, I kissed her gently on the lips before turning around and walking away. I was ready to get this shit over.
Through the window, I watched as Cooper’s plane took off down the runway before lifting off into the air. I respected that he didn’t want to tell me who the other person involved was, but I figured he had his reasons. As soon as I got out to my car, I planned to stop by The Carolina Tavern and get something to eat, but that was put on hold when Detective Sam Lennox decided to call me.
“Hello,” I answered.
“Ms. Townsend, it’s Sam Lennox. Okay, I’m going to just cut to the chase and let you know. Emily Easton called me today and said that her mother never showed back up in Ohio. I don’t know if there’s any cause for concern, but until she shows up back home I want you to be cautious. I’m sure you’ll tell Cooper for me, right?”
“You can’t be serious?” I hissed. That’s not the news I want to hear right now. “And yes, I’ll tell Cooper, but he just left for California.”
“I see,” he remarked cautiously. “I’ll have Officer Stilwell drive by your house every now and again to check it out.”
“Thank you, Sam. I appreciate it.”
Once I got off the phone with him, I headed over to The Carolina Tavern. When I walked in, my brother and Luke—along with some of the other guys on the team—were sitting at the bar, drinking and eating.