Chapter Twelve
Cooper and Cade worked side by side on the black Kodiak 700 ATV. It was the first of four they had to work on that day. Ben Swanson, one of their regular snowmobilers that lived in town, had brought over his whole family’s ATVS to be tuned up before they loaded them up on trailers and took them on a weekend riding trip further north. Cooper had to admit, the three ATVs waiting to be worked on looked pretty cool lined up in the parking lot outside of their store. The Stones hadn’t worked on ATVs before the summer, but they thankfully found the task to be less daunting than they had originally thought and actually quite manageable. Cooper even found that he enjoyed it.
“Hand me the new spark plugs, would you?” Cade called out.
Cooper picked them up and brought them to his brother.
“Thanks, man.”
“You were out late last night, bro,” Cooper said.
“You wanted us out of the way, didn’t you?” Cade asked.
“Not all night. You could have come home.”
“I was busy with proposal plans and then I crashed at Jessie’s. I didn’t want to cramp your style.”
Cooper crouched down and begun to check the tires. “You wouldn’t have cramped anything. You know I have no style.”
Cade looked over at his brother. “Yeah, I know. We’re trying to fix that,” he teased.
“Tell me about what you worked on last night. How elaborate is this proposal going to be?” Cooper asked, trying to change the subject.
“It’s the one and only time I’m doing this. It’s going to be big. Huge. I’m so stoked.” Cade pulled the left inner fender off the ATV and reached in with a spark plug socket. “Hand me that ratchet with the extension, would you, Coop?”
Cooper retrieved the correct ratchet and brought it to his brother. “What were you doing last night? I can help, you know. Just give me a job to do.”
“I’ll let you know when I need help,” Cade replied while he took off the old spark plugs. “I’ve got it right now. Bryce hooked me up with a couple of his students from the college. They’ve been helping me with the audio visuals.”
“There’s going to be audio visuals?”
Cade gave his brother a mischievous look. “You’ll see. Don’t worry. You’ll have a front row seat to the whole thing.”
“Seriously? Cash too? That’s cool. I didn’t know you’d want us there.” Cooper was surprised his brother would want an audience for his proposal. He was usually more of a private guy. He was touched that Cade wanted them to be a part of his special moment.
“Of course, I do. It’s going to be epic,” Cade said.
“What about Dad?” Cooper asked with hesitation.
Cade didn’t respond for a few moments. Finally, he looked over at Cooper and said, “What about him?”
“Are you going to tell him about the proposal or the engagement? After you get engaged, that is.”
“Why would I do that?” Cade asked. “Dad is a cold, unfeeling bastard. He doesn’t give jack shit if I get married. Were you happy that he went to your wedding?”
Cooper flashed back to his wedding day and his Dad getting drunk and screaming at their guests in the parking lot outside of the small reception hall. He was calling anyone within ten feet of him sons of bitches and spitting at them. Cooper had to find someone to get him out of there and take him home. He’d never been more humiliated in his whole life. “No, I wasn’t,” he admitted. “He was a total asshole that day.”
“See? No reason to tell him anything.”
The brothers’ relationship with their dad went downhill quickly after their mom had passed away. He had completely checked out on them. He’d thrown himself into his work and had left the boys to their own devices. Cade was only twelve at the time and just a little kid. It was cruel to lose one parent to cancer and the other to basic abandonment. Cooper had done all he could for his brothers. He tried to guide them and comfort them and be both the mom and dad that they needed. And he kept them safe from their dad who spent any free time he did have with a bottle of Jack Daniels. Not that their dad ever physically abused the boys. He’d never laid a hand on them. But he was scary when he was drunk. The Stone brothers knew they’d only had each other and they long ago stopped trying to get their dad to act like one.
Cooper used to think they were all terminally screwed up from their childhood and none of the boys would ever have a decent relationship with a woman. Cooper’s marriage had failed after two short years and Cash kept a rotating list of women on his dating roster. But Cade was breaking the cycle. He found Jessie and they were madly in love. They were a perfect fit. Cade would have a good, solid marriage with her; Cooper could feel it.
“Screw Dad. Why are we even wasting our breath talking about him?”
Cooper nodded. “Yeah, you’re right. He hasn’t tried to contact us once since we moved here. He probably just wants to be left alone.”
“Which is fine by me,” Cade said. “So, tell me about last night, man. You aren’t getting off that easy. How was the dinner date with Becca?”
A smile reflexively spread across Cooper’s face.
“That good, huh?”
Cooper moved to the gas line to the carburetor and checked the gas filter. It needed to be replaced. “It was nice,” he said as he set to work.
“That’s it? Just nice?” Cade grilled.
“What? It was really nice. She’s cool and a great cook. There are some leftovers in the fridge if you get hungry later.”
“No sex then, huh?”
“Uh, she came over to thank me for dinner. Not for sex,” Cooper shot back. Though, to be honest, Cooper had a pretty vivid sexual fantasy about Becca last night. It started with her spilling sauce down the front of her shirt, requiring her to take it off and rinse it in the sink before the stain set. And concluded with him carrying her to his shower, where he helped her get very clean. He smiled to himself as he recalled them soaping up.
“Boy, you’re sure grinning like a fool over there, aren’t you?”
Cooper shook his head and looked at his brother. He could tell his face was turning red. “What were we talking about?”
“Dude, just admit it. You’re into this girl. It’s okay. Now what are you going to do about it?” Cade asked.
“Do? I’m not going to do anything. I don’t have time to date. I have a business to run,” Cooper stated matter-of-factly.
Cade frowned at him. “Seriously? Stop using the business as an excuse. The shop is fine. We’re fine. Go forth, and have a life, Cooper.”
Cooper walked over to a shelf along the wall and pulled out a new air filter. “I’ll think about it,” he told his brother. And he would. But Cooper didn’t think he was the type of person who could be in a relationship like Cade was. He always sort of felt like something was broken in him. Or that he was missing whatever that piece was that other people in healthy relationships seemed to have. Sure, he had a great relationship with his brothers. His small family had always been the one thing he could count on. But Cooper sucked at maintaining any other relationships. He didn’t have any good friends and he’d never had many girlfriends. Mandy had been his longest relationship and they had screwed that up. What if Cooper was just defective? The last thing he’d ever want to do was hurt Becca. Maybe some people were meant to be alone.