“I need your help. Training camp starts tomorrow, and suddenly I have a fourteen year old in my house. I’m gone more than I’m here. I can’t leave him alone. None of my family members are able to take him. I will not put family in a foster home. It’s just until I find his mother, or my parents return from Europe, whichever comes first.”
“You’d give him back to a mother who’s left him alone?” Izzy’s anger boiled to the surface. She knew exactly how it felt to be abandoned by unconcerned parents over and over again.
“I’ll give her some money, help her get a better start, put her in rehab, whatever she needs.”
“That’s your solution to everything. Just throw some money at it. What she needs is a family who cares.”
“You really don’t understand.”
“No, you’re right, I don’t. Cooper, I won’t bail you out. That boy is your responsibility, like it or not.”
“I wasn’t asking you to take him in. I was hoping you might have a solution for me.” He sounded so needy, so discombobulated, so helpless. There was something incredibly sexy about a strong man showing his vulnerability. But this wasn’t about him or her, and she wouldn’t cave to his brand of alpha-male charm.
“A solution? I’m a party crasher, not a babysitter.”
“How’s that working for you? The party crashing, that is.”
“Wonderful. Never been better. Making scads of money.” Which was exactly why she didn’t know where she’d come up with the rent money, let alone tuition.
“I just thought you might know of someone trustworthy I could hire when I’m on road trips.”
“Not that I can think of.”
“I’ll pay a finder’s fee.” He sweetened the pot.
Her ears perked up. “How much?”
“A thousand dollars if you guarantee they’ll work out.”
“I’ll need the money upfront.” Her mind raced ahead to what she should pay first with the money.
“I can do that, but you’re ultimately responsible if something goes haywire when I’m out of town.”
“Not a problem. I’ll find someone.”
She heard his relieved breath. “One more thing. The kid refuses to go shopping with me, but his clothes are too small for him and threadbare. Maybe you could persuade him to go shopping.”
“Cooper, I’m not your personal assistant.”
“I’ll pay you to take him shopping.”
Izzy was starting to feel like an opportunist. She sighed. The things she did for her sisters so they’d have a better life. “Okay. I get off in another hour.”
“Good. I’ll pick you up at your place in an hour and a half.”
Izzy paced the small apartment, pausing on each pass to pick up an item of clothing, a plate, or a glass. Her younger twin sisters didn’t understand the concept of tidiness. Izzy sighed and shook her head. Four females in one two-bedroom apartment with one bathroom bordered on insane, but at least she could watch out for them, whether they liked it or not.
Old habits were hard to break, and she’d been her sisters’ rock for as long as she could remember while their parents shirked their responsibilities and chased after the next big recording opportunity or played a slew of gigs up and down the Pacific coast, leaving their then teenage and younger daughters to fend for themselves.
Rock and Fawn Maxwell weren’t exactly bad people, just free spirits who couldn’t be tied down. Why they’d ever had four children was anyone’s guess. Izzy had been in charge since her early teens when a family friend was supposed to care for them and never showed up—seems Fawn’s friends were as flaky as Fawn. Izzy did such a great job caring for her sisters, Fawn and Rock never bothered with a sitter again.
At least Cooper wasn’t leaving his nephew on his own, which gave the man bonus points in her mind, not that any amount of points would earn him back into her good graces. Depend only on yourself then you’re never disappointed. Cooper had disappointed her one too many times. In her book, he’d used up his chances, even if he was mouth-watering delectable, even though her panties melted just thinking of his intense blue eyes, even if his deep voice vibrated right down to her core. Yes, even then.
Hearing his big SUV pull up, she looked out the window, grabbed her light jacket, and ran downstairs. She hopped in the front seat and turned to extend a hand to the boy sitting in the back.
“Hi, I’m Izzy.”
The kid looked up at her and blinked a few times. What a good looking kid, a younger version of his uncle with the same black hair, handsome face, and deep blue eyes. With a tentative smile, he took her hand and shook it with a firm grip. “I’m Riley.”
“Well, Riley, Coop tells me you need some clothes.” She glanced at Cooper who stared straight ahead and didn’t say a word. Obviously he and his nephew weren’t exactly on the best of terms.
“I don’t need any clothes. I don’t want anything from him except help finding my mother.” Riley met her gaze, and the sadness in his eyes cracked open her heart.
“Honey, everyone can use clothes now and then. You like girls, don’t you?”
He nodded, puzzled but looking as if he was well aware he might be walking into a trap.
“Girls are impressed by a sharp-dressed man.”
Riley continued staring at her and saying nothing.
“Cooper can afford it. Let’s have a little fun with his money. You’ll be starting school soon, and you want to dress to impress.”
She caught Cooper’s quick glance. “You did enroll him in school, didn’t you?”
“I—uh—hadn’t thought of it.”
“He’s already a few weeks behind.” She turned back to Riley. “Were you attending elsewhere before you found Cooper?”
“No.” He looked away, as if embarrassed.
“Well, we’ll get you taken care of. Clothes first, school next. Do you play sports?”
Cooper’s gaze flicked to hers, and she realized he didn’t know the answer to that question either.
“I love football and baseball. There was never any money to play, but I played when I could.”
“With the Black genes, you’ll be a natural,” Izzy assured him.
Cooper swallowed and glanced in the rearview mirror. “Do you skate, Riley?”