Love on the Line (Beaumont Legacy #2)

6. Cooper

Chapter six

Cooper

T he dragon-themed mini golf park was already crowded by the time Cooper showed up, children of Sabertooths players running around with their little clubs and multicolored golf balls. He smiled at a couple of his teammates and their families before heading to the line to pick up a club.

Normally, charity events were a bit fancier, with far fewer children, but if there was one thing Devin, their starting wide receiver, knew how to do, it was put together a fun time. Cooper wasn’t sure he would’ve even come if the event weren’t for charity, his legs aching from a particularly difficult lift and his spirits low from the phone call with his mother he’d had to end early as he’d pulled into the parking lot of the bought-out park .

The first thing she’d said to him when he’d hopped on the phone was ask, lovingly of course, if he was using protection in his escapades, because while she wanted a grandchild, she didn’t really want one out of wedlock.

That was a great start to the conversation. Not at all part of the reason he didn’t go home or anything.

The next thing she’d said to him was that his father was asking, for the millionth time, if Cooper thought he’d retire soon so he could make a bid to take over as mayor of Oakridge Springs.

Hard pass.

Still, he’d spent the entire conversation promising that yes, he had been staying safe—though he hadn’t so much as kissed a woman in a few months. Yes, he would give retiring and running for mayor some more thought, along with all that came with moving back home.

Though Cooper felt he did good work as a football player, his family had only entertained it because of how it’d helped Cooper’s father in his political career. Now that his father’s final term as mayor was coming to a close, they refused to acknowledge it as anything but a waste of his potential.

Cooper knew saying otherwise would only invite conflict with his parents, and he already felt guilty for leaving his siblings and their tight-knit community to pursue a life away from the ranch .

Cooper grabbed the putter and golf ball from the desk worker, and when he turned, found Colton and Lucia beelining toward him.

And then there was Maya, her injured wrist in a brace, a tiny frown on her face like she wasn’t quite comfortable with her surroundings.

Okay, maybe there were other reasons for him to be here.

It’d only been a week and a half since he’d seen her in LA and yet that feeling flowing through him felt an awful lot like excitement.

Cooper hugged all three of them before Colton and Lucia walked to the desk to grab their items.

“I didn’t even realize you were in town,” Cooper said, smiling warmly at Maya as she took in the people all around them. They were lucky there was such a big course in Charleston, because this group of the team and their families would have been a bit large for a standard mini golf course. Probably too big for a regular golf course.

“Yeah, Colton and Lucia wanted me to visit again, and I figured it would be good to get out of the house.” Her shoulder lifted before she turned to look at him.

“You mean one of them bought you a ticket without really asking because they missed you?”

Maya let out an almost laugh, a quick huff of air. “It’s like they can’t get enough of me.”

“Making up for lost time, I think. I know Colton wishes he could’ve seen you more these last few years.” He’d said as much on many occasions, especially recently. “Plus, offseason starts to get busy quick, so the more time he has with you now, the better.”

“That’s true. And I’m glad to see them. I was a stewing mess in the house, so it’s nice to have some semblance of a purpose.”

“You feeling any better?” Cooper had promised himself the next time he talked to her, he wouldn’t press so hard. He’d overstepped a week and a half ago when they’d spoken at her house, and he didn’t want to do that again.

Still, he needed to know she was okay.

Maya glanced at him warily. Her gaze remained steady before she responded, “A little. I’m going to look into tennis centers that need coaching staff. And I set up a physical therapy appointment for when I get back, if that’s what you’re asking.”

Cooper shrugged, hoping there was even an ounce of nonchalance in the gesture. “I’m glad, but your recovery is yours alone, and I shouldn’t have overstepped the way I did.”

“I appreciated it, actually. I’ve been kind of in and out of it recently, struggling to see my future as anything but what it could have been. Your tough love was helpful. I think it was one of the things that motivated me to get my act together.”

Cooper tried not to grin at that. “Just glad to be of help.”

Colton and Lucia walked back over, the former handing Maya her club and ball before he led them to one of the three starting points. There was, unsurprisingly, a bit of a line, so Cooper turned back to his conversation with Maya.

“Are you a big mini golfer?”

So dumb. He’d never had trouble talking to women, but for some reason, when Maya was around, his tongue got twisted up and he said anything he could to keep the conversation going.

Maya narrowed her eyes at the course. “I’m the reigning queen of mini golf in my friend group, but I’m not sure about this. I don’t understand the charity aspect of it at all.”

Cooper chuckled, because he’d had Devin explain it to him twice, and even now, he still didn’t fully get it.

“From my understanding, we all play, and then the five football players with the worst scores on each course will make a donation to the charity. Along the way, people can place bets on holes or the course in general, all of which goes to the charity. And then I think anybody who didn’t have to donate during the game but wants to, can do so at the end.”

He could practically see the gears working inside her head as she tapped her pencil against her chin.

“And family members? How do they factor in?”

Colton turned at her question. “Fun night for the kids, no risk. Only the players’ cards matter.”

Lucia elbowed him. “How dare you.”

Colton held his hands up in surrender, a smile stretching across his face. “You’re right. You could never be a risk and your card is the only one that matters.”

Maya snorted, exchanging a glance with Lucia.

“So when I beat you guys, there’s no glory?” Maya asked .

Colton and Lucia chuckled, and Cooper raised an eyebrow at the question. For someone who had been so low the last few weeks, this was a side of Maya he hadn’t expected today.

“What do you want if you win?” Cooper asked.

Maya’s eyes met his for a couple of seconds and in that time, he wondered if their almost-kiss was flashing in her head too. If the pull to each other they’d both been suppressing for years was back in full force for her like it was for him.

At the small uptick in the corner of her mouth, he was sure it was.

“You first.”

Cooper thought for a moment as they took a step forward, the line before them dwindling. Colton and Lucia stepped up, bickering over who would putt first. “Well, now that I know you’re planning on coaching, if I win, and when your wrist is better, I’d like a tennis lesson,” he drawled.

She shook her head, but a wider smile was playing on her lips. “You could’ve asked for so many better things.”

“There is nothing I want more than a tennis lesson. From you.”

That might not have been entirely true, but he had meant it. Even if it had been just a tactic to see her more often.

He liked being friends with her. Or whatever this was.

Maya’s smile widened as they stepped up again, now right behind Lucia, whose face was contorted into one of intense concentration while she readied her club. She was doing a great job of ignoring Colton trash talking her from where he’d picked up his ball.

“Your turn,” Cooper said, keeping an eye on how far Lucia swung back in case she tried to take one of them out.

“When I win…” She tapped her pencil against her chin once more. “ When I win, you double what you planned to donate to the charity today.”

Something like exhilaration skittered in his chest at her words.

“You could’ve asked for so many better things,” he repeated her words back to her, and the glimmer in her eye made that feeling in his chest grow.

Colton and Lucia collected their golf balls and moved to the line for the next hole as Maya stepped up, setting her pencil and papers on the small table beside her. She tapped the ball, grinning when it landed in the hole on her first try.

Spinning around to look at him triumphantly, she said, “Nothing’s better than donating to charity and helping others.”

As if those words had kickstarted something in her head, her eyebrows pulled together and she began twirling a strand of her hair around a finger of her free hand. Cooper wondered what she was thinking but didn’t question her change in demeanor. He walked over, grabbed and pocketed her ball, then stepped up and smacked his into the hole in one drive as well. He marked a one on his scorecard, and when he turned to look back at Maya, she still looked pensive .

“Tiger? Tiger Woods? Is that you?” He waved her golf ball in front of her face.

Maya snorted, grabbing it and shoving past him.

When they reached the next hole, where another line awaited them, Cooper asked, “What’s on your mind?”

“I was just thinking…well, I don’t know. It might be dumb. It seems complicated, and I might not be able to do it.”

Colton turned to look at his sister questioningly. “Do what?”

Lucia turned around as well and smiled encouragingly. Maya shrugged, almost like she was embarrassed to have their attention now. “I’ve just been thinking about what’s next for me a lot. I thought coaching made sense for a while, but I’ve really wanted to do something more meaningful, you know? And then I got to talking with Delilah—you guys know Delilah.” The three of them nodded, all having met her best friend at some point over the years.

“Well, she didn’t have the greatest home life growing up, and she got super lucky with tennis. It was like her and her family’s ticket out of that life. But not everybody has that chance, and I’d love to do something like that for underprivileged kids in Los Angeles. Raise money, find coaches, let them try something new and have the opportunity to show their stuff. Maybe be that ticket out for some of them while helping the whole community.”

Cooper was stunned silent .

“Maybe that doesn’t make sense, I don’t know. I haven’t figured it out yet. It was just a thought.”

Colton was the first to speak. “No. It’s a great idea. That sounds like the perfect way for you to do what you love while helping others, Mai.”

Lucia nodded and agreed, squeezing Maya’s free hand briefly. “It’s great, Maya. I love that idea. If you think you’d need any kind of help, just let us know. I’d love to be a part of something so beautiful.”

Pink colored Maya’s cheeks. “Oh, well, I don’t know…”

“She’s serious. Anything you need help with, you let us know. Money, time, connections, just tell us,” Colton chimed in.

Maya pointed ahead, where it was Colton and Lucia’s turn to putt, and then she turned to Cooper. “What do you think?” she asked hesitantly.

Many of his friends had charities they’d helped create, were the face of, or donated to, but none had talked so reverently about helping others.

She was incredible.

He almost said as much but instead went for, “It’s an amazing idea. It’ll absolutely make a difference, and to even think of something like that is…” Incredible . “It’s really great.”

Maya was almost beaming. “Thank you! I’m going to start researching tomorrow. I know there’s probably so much that will go into it.” She paused. “I guess it’s a good thing I have nothing but free time. ”

Cooper was still mulling over her selflessness when she stepped up to take her turn. They traded turns at each hole, and each time, he matched her strike for strike until the eleventh, where she took two more strokes than him. Maya snatched his card and scribbled something onto it, pouting.

When they finally finished the course, Cooper pocketed both their scorecards, smiling at the frowning face she’d drawn on his.

Cooper beat her by two strokes, and he would absolutely be asking for his tennis lesson the moment her wrist was ready. He’d even gotten her number, just for that purpose.

And he doubled his donation to Devin’s charity anyway.