The Perfect Homecoming (Pine River #3)

Perhaps most frustrating of all was that Cooper had never been able to convince Derek to try for something greater. Did he honestly think he could convince Emma?

Inside the restaurant, Mrs. Jessup handed out Christmas presents to her boys. Sweaters and socks for both, a new watch for Derek, and a belt for Cooper. Derek had a gift for her, too. Somewhere, he’d picked up a figurine of an angel and had put it in a bag. It looked like something one could get at a convenience store. Cooper had given his mother some perfume and earrings. On that Christmas afternoon, his mother was so happy, she practically oozed it. All those years of worry were gone and she kept saying, over and over, “I have my boys, that’s Christmas enough for me.”

When they drove back to the halfway house, Derek gave his mother a tight hug and kissed her cheek. “Love you, Mom,” he said.

“Oh honey, I love you too,” she said, pressing her palm to his face and smiling up at him.

Cooper broke the news about Derek to his mother the next day. She took the news well enough, Cooper supposed, almost as if she’d been expecting it, too.

“Well, he’ll get out there and run out of money, and he’ll come home,” she said, and gripped her coffee cup.

“Mom . . . why don’t you come to LA with me?” Cooper said. “I’ve got plenty of room.”

“What?” She laughed. “No, honey. I’m from Sweetwater, Texas. My church is here, my friends are here, my husband is buried here. I’ll be all right.” She’d stood up from her chair, leaned over Cooper, and kissed the top of his head. “Don’t you worry about me, Coop. The best thing you can do for me is to keep doing well for yourself. I never have to worry about you. That was the one thing Kurt and I always agreed on—we sure don’t have to worry about our Cooper. But Derek? Well, I need to be here for him. He will always need to come home, won’t he? He’ll always need me.”

Cooper was grateful a day or so later when Eli called him to tell him they had a meeting with a new director after the first of the year to discuss some stunt choreography. Cooper had the excuse he needed to leave his mother and her disappointments behind and headed back for LA. And honestly? She seemed ready for him to leave. “I’ve got bridge on Wednesday,” she kept saying, as if she couldn’t play bridge with him underfoot.

He packed up his things, said goodbye to his mother, and started the long drive to Dallas to catch a flight.

Along the way, Jackson Crane called him.

“Hey buddy,” Cooper said. “What’s up?”

“How are you, Cooper? Hey, glad I caught you. I’ve been assigned a task by the happy couple, Luke and Madeline.”

“Oh yeah?”

“They gave me the invitation list. I’m calling everyone to tell them that the wedding has been moved to four o’clock, New Year’s Eve, at the house on Elm Street. Party to follow.”

“Ah . . . I’m not going to make it, Jackson,” Cooper said apologetically. “What happened, too much snow up at the ranch?”

“No,” Jackson said. “You don’t—oh man, you don’t know about Leo. Yeah, he’s not doing very well. He’s not well enough for the trip up to the ranch, so they’ve decided to do it at Elm Street.”

Cooper didn’t say anything for a moment. He stared at the road stripes clicking by on that empty stretch of highway.

“You there?”

“Yeah,” Cooper said. “Sorry. I didn’t know it was so . . . I didn’t think things were going that fast.”

“No one did,” Jackson said. “And honestly, I don’t know how bad it is. I just know they don’t want to take him up there, and they’ve asked me to call everyone and let them know. So consider yourself informed. Everything all right?” he asked. “You got in some skiing before you left, I hear.”

Cooper managed to talk about skiing, but his mind was racing. He was stunned by the news, his heart going out to Luke and his family. And to Emma, too—he knew how important Leo was to her.

“I’ll let you go,” Jackson said after chatting. “I’ve got about ten more people to call. So let me know when you’re back up here, will you? I’ve got a couple of guys who would love to talk to you and see if there’s any work for them as part of your event.”

“Sure,” Cooper said.

He drove on to Dallas and the airport, turned in his rental car. As he waited for his flight to LA, he reached in his pocket for his St. Christopher charm to fidget with it, and remembered where it was.

He took out a nickel instead, turning it over and over between his fingers.





TWENTY-FIVE

Marisol returned to work the day after Christmas, bringing her baby and an automatic swing with her. She had worked it out with Bob, apparently, who explained to Emma that Leo needed a nurse full time now. “Nothing personal,” he said.

“No offense taken,” Emma replied. “But I’m not leaving. There’s enough work around here for four people, much less two.”