Page 10 of Cooper
“Gunshots are everywhere, man.” Dude with the shopping cart says, making his round again, like this is his M.O. at night. Checking people’s garbage cans or the like. “Everyone around here carries. Y’all would be stupid not to. Hell, that one kid got shot here a few weeks ago. It ain’t nothing new in this part of town.”
“And you haven’t seen anyone suspicious hanging around?” Dalton asks.
Fat one gestures to a white house, two doors down. “That guy deals. Always has people coming in and out. He’s quiet tonight.”
The house is directly across the street from London. My heart skips a beat. “Shit.”
“This ain’t Sesame Street, pal.” Skinny one states. “Your lady friend picked the wrong side of town, man. Ain’t no women or children have lived in these parts for years. You ask me, that landlord of hers ought to be shot, never mind.” His voice is matter-of-fact.
Dalton looks at me. “You want me to go banging on doors?”
I wave. “Na. The sheriff’ll do that.”
“The sheriff ain’t gonna do nothing.” Fat one says. “He won’t even show up. He’ll send his nephew in the morning. If there ain’t no bodies, they don’t come here.”
“But you said yourself that there’s a drug dealer living in that house.” I point out.
“So?” Fat one states. “Ya’ll think the sheriff cares? Like I said, if there ain’t no bodies, they don’t care. Hell, when that little boy got shot, like my friend was saying, they didn’t even come. Sure, they sent an ambulance, but that’s it.”
“How come?” I ask.
He shrugs. “He lived.”
I draw in a deep breath. I know that I'm not going to get anywhere here. “Thanks for your time.”
Dalton claps me on the back as we walk away. “You did the right thing, man.”
“Yeah, well, I'm about to do more right things.” I tell him, as we approach London’s house. I knock on the door and Wade answers, holding a cookie shaped like a Christmas tree between his teeth, he removes it and takes a bite. London is equally cavalier, making me relax.
But despite that, I look her straight in the face and say. “You and Bean are going to stay with me.” I say it on exhale, to sound more casual, even though my stomach is in knots.
Dalton stands next to me and nods. “That’s a smart idea.”
“Stella, my brother Dalton. Dalton, Stella.”
Wade and I exchange a look, after he uses her pseudonym, making my skin crawl.
Dalton reaches in and shakes her hand. “It’s smart. Cooper here lives on the same street as our brother, Colton, who lives on a horse ranch.”
Wade chimes in. “Yeah, you’d never need security with them horses. They're a hundred times better than goddamn Chubb.”
London looks at me. “But I barely know you.”
I take a step towards her. “Trust me, darlin’. You and your daughter are not safe here.”
“But I thought you said that your landlord was on you to move some of your stuff. He won’t stand for this, surely.”
Wade interjects. “Old Tommy would be all over a young mama and her daughter living there. That would seal the deal for Coop.”
“And you wouldn’t even have to pay rent, either.”
A look crosses her face. “No. That’s where I draw the line. I'm not living with you for free, or in exchange for...things.” She gestures with her hand, making like she’ll be regarded as my personal servant, to tend to my every need, both physical and otherwise. The boys catch on. Wade tries to hide the smirk, but then his face turns pink.
“God, if Garrett was here...” Dalton trails off, turning his back, so that London doesn’t have to see him try futilely to hide his smirk. I know that their brother Garrett blushes any time anything sexual is brought up. For a tank, he’s a shy man.
“Can we focus here?” I ask, growing irritated. “Look, Lon...err...Stella. Put some things together for yourself and for Bean. I don’t want you staying in this place another minute.”
“We can stuff most of your shit in my Escalade.” Dalton offers.
