Intercepting Love (Second Chances #5)(74)
What the hell is she talking about?
My mother came back her phone and held up a picture of Kate … in the arms of Luke Collins. “Look what Marianne sent me last night. Last night, Cooper. That looks an awful lot like Kate with another man. Are you telling me that she’s worth it now when she’s let another man grope all over her?”
Seeing Kate in Luke’s arms pissed me the f*ck off, but it nowhere near concerned me as much as the fact that Marianne was still in Charlotte and I was in California where I couldn’t protect Kate if anything were to happen. I bet Kate didn’t know Marianne was still in town.
Unfortunately, my mother wasn’t done. “Whatever your reasons are for wanting to date someone beneath you is beyond me. Why can’t you find someone like Claire who’s beautiful, refined, and from a wealthy family? You have a duty to your family to uphold the name and you’re throwing it away. It’s an embarrassment.”
Eyes wide, I snarled and grabbed her phone, throwing it as hard as I could against the wall, making her shriek and jump back. “An embarrassment? You exposed my personal problems to the world. If anything, you f*cked up my career even more!”
Nonchalantly, she blew out a frustrated breath and shrugged her shoulders before looking down at her long, manicured fingernails. “Well, it’s not like you’re going to be the star you were when you played for Oakland. Joel is a good man, but his team sucks. Why you ever agreed to be on it is beyond me.”
You would think hearing those words coming from your mother’s mouth would hurt, but I was so far past caring that saying what I did next didn’t bother me one f*cking bit.
Chuckling, I let my smile disappear into a cold mask, one of complete and utter disdain. “I agreed to be on his team because no one else wanted me, Mother. Since I’m such a huge disappointment to you, I figured I’d tell you the truth. You see, I don’t give a f*ck if you approve of me or not because everyone back home does. I’m not going to fight for your approval anymore because no matter what I do it’s never good enough. I will admit defeat and give up on you.”
Holding my hands in the air I said, “I’m done,” before walking out of the kitchen straight to the front door.
My mother shouted out behind me, “Where are you going? I thought I taught you better than this, Cooper Holden Davis!”
Shaking my head, I turned around to face her one last time. She would always be my mother, but just because she had that title didn’t mean she had worth.
“That’s the thing, Mother. You didn’t teach me anything. I’ll call Dad and tell him good-bye, but I don’t ever want to see you again. This is the last time I’m coming here.” The look of surprise and horror on her face after that statement would forever stay ingrained in my mind.
“You don’t mean that,” she chuckled worriedly.
Opening the door wide, I took a deep breath and turned around. “Oh yes, I do. From this day forward I am no longer your son. I don’t want to be. You must be one miserable woman to only think of yourself and turn your back on your own family. I hope money makes you happy because in my world it only led to bitterness and pain. I am lucky, though … I’m loved by the most amazing woman I know. You need to ask yourself who in this world actually loves you. I can guarantee you there won’t be a single person on that list. Good-bye, Mother.”
I closed the door with my last words and walked away, never once looking back. It felt good to do what I did, but now it was time to go home … to my real home. The guy in the cab still waited at the end of the driveway, and when I got in I actually had a smile on my face.
“To the airport please,” I told him. “I’m ready to get back home.”
By the time Cooper called and said he was coming home, I was a complete and utter mess. All night I couldn’t help but wonder what he was doing and who he was with. It just so happened that I wasn’t near my phone when he called, so all I had to go on was a voicemail. He said his plane would be in at six-thirty tonight, and after working all day—going through the motions like a zombie—I was ready to see him.
When I pulled up at the pickup terminal, I saw him standing there in the same bright blue T-shirt and jeans that he wore the day before. His face was all stubbly from not shaving and he looked tired …exhausted. I knew the feeling because I felt the same way, but when he saw me his face did a complete change.
Opening the car door, he slid inside and immediately grasped my face, pulling me to him and pressing his lips firmly to mine. His tongue opened my lips and he deepened the kiss, not caring about the horns that blared behind us.
“Well, hello to you, too,” I chuckled, pulling away from his lips. I wanted to jump right in and ask where he went, but I knew he would get to it soon. Patience was not always a virtue of mine when I wanted answers immediately.
Cooper smoothed his thumbs over my cheeks and over my lips. “You have no idea how glad I am to be back. There’s so much I have to tell you. My phone died before boarding the last plane so I had no clue if you knew to come get me. The message I left you was kind of vague, but most importantly I didn’t get the chance to tell you that Marianne was still here in Charlotte.”
My eyes went wide. “How did you know that? I never got the chance to tell you. Sam called me last night and told me that she never went back to Ohio.”