very slowly, she opened one eye and looked at him. He was lying beside her on her bed in his jeans and stocking feet. “What are you doing here?”
He put his hands behind his head. “Well, by the time I put you to bed, let out the dog and filled his water dish, Landon still wasn’t home. So—I turned on the TV, laid back down and fell asleep.”
She gingerly lifted the covers. She was wearing her shirt and panties. “Great,” she said. “My brother knows you undressed me.”
“More important than that, he knows you were toasted. By the way, you sure talk a lot in your sleep when you’re drunk.”
“I wasn’t drunk, I was just...” He was smiling at her. “Okay, I was drunk. Remind me that tequila shots on top of beer is not recommended. Why did you stay the night?”
“I was tired,” he said. “Believe me, Landon knows there was no nookie. Are you going to live?”
“It’s questionable.”
He lifted one eyebrow. “Little hair of the dog?” he asked.
“Don’t talk like that. It could get messy.”
“You’re a lightweight, Dupre.” He sat up. “I should get out to the bar before Rawley shows up and reports me missing. You coming out later?”
“Maybe after I get a new head.”
* * *
Cooper suspected Sarah had gone back to sleep. It was nearly noon by the time she showed up with Ham—they’d walked across the beach. And she looked both rested and recovered. “I was afraid to call you. Afraid you might be sleeping it off.”
Right at that moment, her cell chirped. “Landon has felt no such restraint,” she said. “He made as much noise as possible getting ready for school and he thinks it’s extremely funny that I’m hungover.” Then into the phone she said, “What?”
A few moments later Cooper said, “That can’t be the first time he’s seen you a little tiddly.”
“Cooper, I was not tiddly. I was wasted. And yes, that probably was the first time he’s seen that. You’re right, I’m a lightweight.”
“And he’s punishing you with phone calls?”
“He’s between classes, calling from the men’s room—I heard flushing. They’re not supposed to make calls during school hours. So, he wants to go over to Eve’s house. And I’ll be more than happy if he does.”
“Sounds fine to me. Jeez, I have to get a better system around here. I’d buy Rawley a cell phone, but he probably wouldn’t use it.”
“What’s the matter with Rawley?”
“He doesn’t talk to me unless he has to. He didn’t show up today. He pretty much makes his own hours, which is fine. Everything we have to do gets done. But if he’s not coming at all, he should let me know. That way when he doesn’t let me know, like today, I know he’s all right.”
“Do you think he’s not all right?” she asked.
“No telling. I’ve been thinking about driving over to Elmore to check on him, but there’s no one to watch the store.”
“Cooper, I’ll keep an eye on things. How long could it take?”
He shrugged. “Almost a half hour each way, then seeing if he’s around. He takes care of his father, who is an invalid. When Rawley works, a neighbor lady who’s a nurse’s aid in a nursing home looks in on him. If I can’t find Rawley anywhere, I’ll need to call hospitals or something. Rawley is strange, but he’s pretty reliable.”
“Then just go. Will you make me dinner for me tonight?”
“Sure,” he said, pulling her in for a kiss. “I’d rather lock the doors and take you upstairs for a while. You were less than romantic last night.” He kissed her again. “But I should make sure Rawley is okay. I don’t know how old he is, but older than dirt, I suspect.”
“Just go. Ease your mind. Then if there aren’t a lot of people around later, we can make out awhile.”
“Can we make out naked?”
“No,” she said with a laugh. “What if my brother popped in for some reason?”
“Your brother. You know, I like Landon, but is it too late to put him up for adoption? We could get visitation a couple of days a week....”
“And the rest of the week?”
He nuzzled her neck. “I think you know....”
“Go,” she said. “I’ll check out the freezer and decide what I want for dinner.”
* * *
Cooper found Rawley’s red truck in the driveway at his house, indicating he was at home, but there was a for sale sign in the back window of the truck. Maybe he’d decided to work on restoring Ben’s old truck and drive it at the same time. When Cooper found all the stuff in Ben’s old storage shed—truck, Razor, tools, etc.—he’d given Ben’s truck to Rawley and invited him to use any tools he needed to work on it. He gave the Razor to Sarah and Landon since he had a Rhino for himself.
Cooper parked on the street, walked up the brick steps and knocked on the door. He knocked again before Rawley opened the door. Rawley was wearing a white dress shirt with his jeans—a new look for him. There was no bandana tied around his head, either. And his hair—extremely thin on top and usually long—had been trimmed.
“What’s up, Rawley?” Cooper asked. And Rawley just held open the door so Cooper could step inside. “You’re selling the truck?” he asked as he entered. And then he saw the empty wheelchair sitting in front of the fireplace. “Rawley...”
“He passed real quiet,” Rawley said. “In his sleep. I found him this morning.”
“Aw, Rawley. I’m sorry, man. You should have called me.”
Rawley just shook his head. “I knew what to do.”
Cooper reached out and put a strong hand on his shoulder. “I could’ve helped.”
“You got a business to run.”
“I also have commitments to friends,” he said. “I would’ve put the big thermos on the porch, some doughnuts on a plate under the glass so the birds wouldn’t get in ’em. There’s just the two of us out there on the beach. There’s gonna be times we have to be somewhere else.”
Rawley, so unexpressive, looked surprised by that. “Just figured I’d get ’er done.”
“You’re selling the truck?”
He shrugged. “My dad, he had himself a plot, paid for, but that’s about it. It’s either sell the house or the truck.”
“To pay for the funeral?”
“Won’t be
