Brazen and Breathless (Untouchable #6) - Heather Long Page 0,92
and took my time about soaping him down. Bit by bit, the stench of alcohol began to wane.
“I have regrets,” Coop admitted in a less wavery voice.
“Yeah,” Jake said. “I’ll bet.”
But once he was washed, Jake took over balancing him while I toweled him off. Then we poured more water and some toast into him, and he was listing heavily. We tucked him into bed and put water, pain relievers, and a trash can right next to the bed, and I crawled in to sit next to him while Jake went for food.
Coop didn’t move, not once the whole time we ate, and Jake leaned back against the headboard next to me and said, “I sent Archie and Bubba texts, they’re gonna crash at their places. Arch will pick up Bubba in the morning.”
“What did you tell them?”
“Just that I needed you tonight, told Arch you were fine and nothing bad happened today.” He rubbed my arm. “You haven’t told me about your day yet.”
“Later,” I said. “I’m worried about Coop.”
“Yeah, he’ll be fine, Baby Girl. He just needed to vent.”
“Except…Maddy…”
“That’s on them,” Jake said firmly. “That’s on her, Coop’s dad, and Archie’s. They’re the adults. They make choices, regardless of the consequences. We may end up paying for them, but they aren’t ours to own.”
“Except Maddy breaks up marriages,” I pointed out. “And I can’t choose between you guys. Maybe I’m—”
“If you finish that sentence, I will spank you,” Jake snapped, and that sounded like less an erotic promise than a real punishment. “You are not her. You are not sneaking around. You are honest and loving and perfect. Do you understand me?”
It was my turn for my eyes to burn. “I just hate what she does to people.”
“On that we agree,” he murmured and pressed a kiss to my palm. “I hate what she does to you, too. But here’s the difference. You haven’t lied to us. You haven’t tried to take something that wasn’t yours from the beginning. We know who we are and where we stand. We’re better with you, all of us, and we’re right where we want to be. Don’t ever compare yourself to her again, Baby Girl. You’re so much better than she is.”
He blew out a breath, and I tucked my head against his shoulder. “I love you, too.”
After pressing a kiss to my hair, he murmured, “Frankie, not all affairs are the same. Not all relationships are. One of the reasons I got so pissed at my father was that…when Mom couldn’t handle them having a third person in their relationship anymore, he chose her over us. He chose that woman over his wife and his kids. I get it, he loved Mom and he loved Klara. Mom and Klara broke up, and Dad decided to stay there. That will never not piss me off, but that choice wasn’t about us, it was about them.”
Holy.
Shit.
I stared at Jake. “I’m sorry.”
I mean, we all knew his dad never came back. More, we knew he and his dad had a massive falling out. But there had been another woman involved.
Jake gave a shrug. “It is what it is, Baby Girl. I never wanted to be in Germany, and I didn’t understand the relationship when I was younger. I get it now, in retrospect, and I even get why Mom made her choices and he made his. The point is, what they do with their lives is on them. What we do with ours? That’s about us.”
Threading my arms around him, I burrowed into his side. “Hurting you guys is the last thing I ever want to do.”
“Ditto,” he whispered. “But we’ve got this…”
Coop made a sound and turned. Jake and I sprang apart. I’d never seen Jake move so fast. He got the empty trash can under Coop’s head before he vomited, and I helped support him.
I met Jake’s gaze, and we both smiled.
“We’ve got this,” he repeated. “But fuck, that smells awful. Thank you for still being willing to kiss us.”
I laughed.
Because it was so much better than crying.
Red Flag
Archie: The parts we ordered will get in today. But I want to be there for Frankie’s meeting.
Jake: Agreed. Is it right after school?
Archie: Yep. In fact, I recommend we cut out ten minutes early if we can swing it so we can get there ahead of them.
Jake: K.
Archie: Everything good? I tried to text Coop last night, and he didn’t answer.