“Everything will work out,” she spoke with absolute conviction. Riley had to be okay. Anything else was unthinkable. She swallowed as she glanced around the room and was hit with how many parents would be getting unthinkable news as reports came in fast and furious of multiple fatalities and injuries.
Riley wasn’t responding, nor had he contacted them, which made her beyond sick to her stomach, more like near hysteria. Only she had to be the rock for Cooper, she had to be the person he could lean on. He needed her now, and she’d be what he needed. She could fall apart later.
“He has to be okay, honey. He has to be.” Cooper squeezed her hand so tightly, it hurt, but she held on without one complaint.
“We’ll all be okay, Cooper,” she promised, kissing him lightly on the cheek.
“Cooper Black?” A reporter with her camera guy bore down on them. Cooper stiffened beside Izzy and glanced around frantically as if looking for an escape route.
Izzy narrowed her eyes and glared at the news team. Standing, she blocked their access to Cooper. “Mr. Black needs his privacy right now. This is a very trying time for him. I’m sure you can appreciate that.”
The female reporter unsheathed her claws and sized up Izzy. “We only have a few questions for him.”
“Mr. Black has no comment.” Izzy spoke with absolute certainty, her own claws sharpened for a cat fight. “You need to leave now.”
The woman looked down her aristocratic nose at Izzy. “And who are you?”
“I’m his girlfriend.” Izzy propped hands on hips and stared down the woman.
The reporter didn’t move.
“Either you leave, or I’ll have Ethan Parker, the team owner, talk to your station manager. You are aware Mr. Parker is part owner of your broadcasting company, aren’t you?”
For a long moment they stared each other down until the news reporter turned to her camera man and left in search of another unfortunate victim to exploit their grief and trauma for TV ratings.
“Wow, you’re tough.” Cooper managed a chuckle. “Remind me to never cross you.”
“That would be wise.” She smiled back and sat down next him. He grabbed her hand again, giving her as much strength and comfort as she gave him.
“So Ethan owns part of that TV station?” Cooper asked.
“Hell if I know.” Izzy shrugged.
Cooper laughed a real laugh, and so did she. It felt good to laugh and relieve some of the overpowering tension. Several people shot chastising glares in their direction, while others actually smiled.
Cooper ran his hand through his hair and sobered as he glanced around at the room full of parents. “Thanks for running interference.”
“You’re welcome. I’m glad I was here to help. Reporters can be ruthless.”
“So are you, but I have a question—you’re my girlfriend?” He watched her with a guarded expression, almost as if fearing her answer and a possible rejection. Only Izzy had no intention of rejecting him. Being with him today and enduring this tragedy, seeing all these parents, some reunited with their children, others finding out they’d never see their children alive again, changed every truth she thought she held dear.
This was life stripped bare of all its fancy adornments until only the essentials that really mattered were left—love, family, and friends.
Being independent and never relying on anyone didn’t hold the appeal it once did. Yet, being part of a couple who were a greater force together than they would be apart did appeal to her. They were a team. Yeah, there’d be bumps and bruises along the way. They’d lose a game or two, maybe get penalized, but they’d emerge champions because together there wasn’t anything they couldn’t conquer, including this tragedy. Riley would need their loving support more than he’d ever needed anything, even when he’d been scrounging for food or witnessing his mother’s downward spiral.
They’d be a family, if only God and fate gifted them with that second chance.
Izzy would give anything to see Riley walking through that door.
Anything.
She gave Cooper a soft kiss on his lips and cupped his cheek in one hand. “You’re damn right, I’m your girlfriend. Do you have a problem with that?”
“No, ma’am, you scare me when you get like this.”
The teasing felt good, but she knew they were only trying to mask their nerves. “I love you, Cooper Black. I don’t think until today I truly knew what that really meant.”
“I love you, Izzy.” He nodded, as if he too understood how this tragedy had changed them forever, regardless of the outcome.
“I want us to be together.”
“What if I sign with a different team?”
Izzy stopped to think about that, but she’d known her answer for a while now, even if she hadn’t acknowledged it to Cooper or herself. “You and me—we’re a team. We’re meant for each other. Wherever you go, I’ll be there for you and for Riley.”
He opened his mouth to say something but Izzy held up a hand and stopped him.
“Don’t bother denying it. Riley has a permanent home with you, and anyone who dares to challenge our claim on him will have to come through you and me first.”
“And that’s not happening.” Cooper managed a small, tense smile. “But what about you, Izzy? You love Seattle and your sisters are here. You say you’re fine leaving with me now, but what about later, a year from now, or a few years from now? Will you resent me for taking you away from your business, your city, your family? Will you see me as a selfish bastard because I did that to you?”
“Of course not,” Izzy said but doubt crept into her voice, and she could tell by Cooper’s expression that he caught it. “You’re not leaving here without me, mister. If you do, I’ll follow you to the ends of the earth so don’t even try it.”
She stood on tiptoes and brushed her lips across his. “I can’t bear to be without you or Riley. We’ll make our home wherever we are.”
“Home is where the heart is?” His smile was bigger this time.
“Cliché, but true.”
Cooper pulled her into his arms and held her tight. “All I know is that the three of us will be together as a family.”
“And that’s what matters, Cooper. The rest will work itself out.” Izzy meant it. They’d form a family and give Riley the life he deserved.
Because Riley had to be alive. He had to be.