The Risks We Take Duet Box Set

32. Cooper

COOPER

T here’s nothing like calling your girl and having her roommate answer and tell you she’s sick... again. Carys has been sick a handful of times since I left her at Dad and Katherine’s last summer. And I’ve had to bug the hell out of her to finally get her to schedule a doctor’s appointment.

My girl is stubborn.

I may have threatened to tell Murphy so he could torture her. She gave in after that. Now I’m sitting here on the other side of the country, waiting for my team leader to call me back and let me know how she’s doing.

This fucking sucks. I shouldn’t be here. I should be home with Carys.

With my team.

Instead, I’ve got at least two more months before I’m done. And that’s two months too damn long. My phone rings in my hand, and I swipe to answer as soon as I see it's Jessie.

“Jess, what’s going on?”

“Good to hear your voice, Coop. How are you holding up over there?”

I’ve never been so fucking happy to have someone mother-hen me as much as Jess likes to, but I don’t want to talk about me.

“I’m good, Jess. How’s Carys?”

“Sinclair.” Jessie points her phone toward Ford’s face. “Get your goddamned mind in the game. And get the fuck home. We need you back here.”

“Will do, Master Chief. Two months to go. Now tell me, how’s Carys?” I know he means well, but it’s twenty-one-hundred hours here. Nothing’s happening. And he’d be freaking out if Jessie was the one sick... again.

“She’s okay, Coop. She’s running a fever. Really fatigued.” Jessie sighs. “She’s not pregnant, so you get to live another day.”

Holy shit. I didn’t even know that was a concern.

“Theo mentioned she’s stopped running, but if anything, she looks thinner to me now than she did when we had lunch a few weeks ago.” Jessie keeps talking, and everything she says fucks with my mind even more. “Her doctor’s appointment is Friday. I told her I’d go with her, but she may have been asleep by then.”

Christ, I feel like an ass. I should be there, taking care of her, instead of asking Ford and Jessie to do it. “Seriously, Jessie. Thank you. I wish I was there.”

“Don’t worry about it, Coop. That’s what families are for. Listen, don’t call her tonight. She needs to rest. Call tomorrow. But don’t worry if she doesn’t answer. She may just sleep through the day. Theo’s there if she needs anything.”

I can’t hide my answering groan.

I guess little drummer boy isn’t so bad after all.

“And Ford and I are just a call away. Most of the guys are coming to our house for turkey tomorrow, so we won’t be far.”

A smile stretches across my face, thinking about the Thanksgiving Day football game we played at Ford’s last year and the amazing dinner Jessie and Rook made.

“Wish I was gonna be there, guys.”

“Go to bed, Sinclair,” Ford groans. “Check in with your girl tomorrow. We’ll see you in a few months.”

Yeah . . . a few more months.

Before I can go to bed, I shoot Carys a text.

Coop

Hey baby. When you feel up to it, let me know how you’re doing, okay? Love you.

I don’t hear back from Carys until halfway through the next day.

Carys

Hey hot stuff. I feel like I’ve been run over by a tractor trailer. Everything hurts. I just got out of the shower, and I’m going back to bed. I’ll call you tomorrow.

The call never comes on Friday because I’m forty thousand feet in the air by mid-day on my way to South Africa for an op that lasts fifteen fucked up days.

It’s not until day three that I can finally call Carys. The phone rings for so long, I’m sure her voice mail is about to pick up until it clicks over, and her angelic voice echoes through the phone.

“Cooper? Are you there?”

God, it’s so fucking good to hear her voice. Relief literally makes my knees weak.

“Yeah, baby. I’m here. How are you feeling?”

“Better.” She breathes out a sigh of, I’m guessing, relief. “Where are you?”

“Out of the country.” My answer is short. I don’t want to talk about me. “Did you go to the doctor? What did he say?” I adjust the phone and walk away from my team. “I don’t know how long we’ve got to talk, and I want to hear about you, Carys.”

“They ran a ton of tests. I’m a little amazed I have any blood left in my body, they took so much of it. Jessie said that’s normal for something like this. They don’t have any good starting point. So, they start everywhere.” I can just imagine her worrying her bottom lip while she’s talking so fast. “They made me pee in a cup. That was fun. Oh, and I have to keep a journal. I need to document what I’m doing and what I’m eating, in case it’s something environmental bothering me.”

“Like an allergy?” How the fuck could an allergy give her a fever?

“I guess. I go back in a week for the results. I’ll know more then. But I feel better now. How are you?”

“Missing you, baby. How are classes? How’s things with Chloe?” Jesus, I just want to see her face. To touch her.

“Classes suck ass. I’m done. I swear, I don’t want to take any more. I’m thinking about taking a semester off. Things with Chloe are amazing. We’ve sold an entire line to two different boutiques in Philadelphia, and I just sold one here in San Diego too.” The excitement in her voice settles deep in my soul.

“I’m so proud of you, baby.” I lie down on the makeshift bed in this hole-in-the-wall safe house and listen to her tell me all about the designs and boutiques for the next ten minutes. Then I realize it’s time to get off the phone.

“Sing me something, Carys. If I can’t be home, at least I can feel like it.”

Chills run down my body as she sings an old favorite of mine, “Crazy Love.” And when she’s done, with my body relaxed, I close my eyes and picture home, imagining us together.

“I’ll be home soon.”

“I love you, Cooper.”

“Always, baby.”