Bliss by Kaylee Ryan Page 0,48
from her, I feel them every single day. That’s enough for now. We’ve come a long way in just a couple of months.
“Have a good day, baby.” I press my lips to the corner of her mouth and open the door for her. I need to give her some time to get to work to know the coast is clear, so I grab a quick shower before setting my plans in motion. I can’t call until eight anyway.
After a quick internet search, I have a name and number to call, so I dial the phone and wait. “Mr. Garcia, this is Cooper Reeves.” After answering questions about the Defenders, and promising an autograph, I get to the reason for my call.
“Mr. Reeves, that’s very generous of you. If you don’t mind me asking, what prompted all of this?”
“Reese Latham is my girlfriend. She expressed how the kids don’t get to go out and do much, and I’d like to help.”
“Certainly,” he agrees, just as he did a few minutes ago when I laid out my plan.
“I’d like to make this happen as soon as possible.”
“Well, we have plenty of workers at the home. We should be able to arrange this whenever you want.”
“Today. I also would like for Reese to be able to attend with us.”
“That’s not an unfair request. She is their social worker. We’ll have to take two vans,” he comments.
“No. I’ll take care of that too. If you could let the workers know, and the kids. Just keep my name out of it. I’ll be there at noon to pick them all up. I’ll have transportation.”
“Sure. Thank you, Mr. Reeves. This is going to mean a lot to those kids. Oh, and your agent sent over all of the background checks. Thank you for that. It’s important we know that the children are safe.”
“Don’t thank me. Thank Reese. She’s the one who cares enough to talk about those kids at home each night. I never would have thought to do this without her. As far as the background checks, as a team we do a lot of charity work, so all the players have routine background checks. We’ll talk soon,” I say, ending the call. I have transportation to arrange.
Three hours later, I pull up to the children’s home and see the bus that I ordered waiting. Locking up my truck, I walk to the door to talk to the driver. “Hi, I’m Cooper.” I shake his hand. “Thank you for being here on such short notice,” I tell him.
“It’s not every day the boss calls you on your day off for a special request from a professional athlete,” he jokes. “Sam Landerson, nice to meet you.” He offers me his hand.
Sam is an older gentleman, probably in his early sixties, if I had to guess. “I brought my wife.” He points to the first seat on the bus. “I hope that’s okay. We don’t get to see our own grandkids as often as we’d like, and this sounded like a good day to us.”
“That’s more than okay. I’m glad you’re both here. I’m going to run in and get the kids, and we’ll be ready to go.”
“We’ll be waiting,” he assures me.
With a smile and a wave, I exit the bus and make my way to the front door. “Hi, I’m here to see Todd Markum,” I tell the receptionist.
“Oh.” Her eyes light up. “Yes, he’s expecting you. I’ll buzz you through.” She hits the button and the lock on the door releases. “Right this way.” She motions for me to follow her.
“Cooper!” Todd Markum stands and greets me. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
“Likewise,” I say, shaking his hand. “Are we all set?”
“Yes, but I didn’t tell the kids or the staff. Just told them to prepare for an outing. They’re all waiting in the common room. I thought I’d let you tell them.”
“Great. Lead the way.” I follow him out of his office and down a long hallway that I know ends in the common room for the kids.
“Kids,” he says, and all heads turn our way.
“Coop?” Reese asks in confusion when she spots me.
“Hey.” I go to her and wrap her in a hug. I want to do more, but I know she’s working.
“What are you doing here?”
“Well,” I say, looking away from her to the kids. “I thought we could take a trip.”
“What kind of trip?” Hank, the youngest of the group, asks.
“We’re going to the zoo.”
“Really?” the oldest, Jeff asks.
“Yep.”
“When?” Reese