The Wanderer (26 page)

“Listen, Mac, this is a good problem. Eve will be fine. Just take a breather, huh? Try and enjoy life a little. Don’t overthink this and mess up a good thing. You’ve put your life on hold for a lot of years and you have my admiration. But really, any longer and you’d become a stoic.”

Nineteen

C
ooper had a good visit with his family. He knew he had inconvenienced them by showing up two weeks before Christmas when everyone was very busy. But his three sisters, their husbands, two nieces and two nephews managed to coordinate a number of short visits here and there, and two big family meals at his parents’ house. When it was just the adults gathered around the table after dinner, he told them about the bait shop and the renovation he was undertaking so he could sell. He didn’t say how much land was attached.

Then he told them he’d been seeing someone.

It wasn’t at that precise moment that he realized the reality of his situation with Sarah, but that nudged him ever closer to the truth. He privately acknowledged that, like a teenage boy, he had to talk to her every day. He texted her little snippets and phoned her at night. The only time she didn’t answer his call was when she was flying, and then she called him back.

He needed her.

When he got back to Thunder Point he was already up to speed on the local gossip. The recent romantic development between Mac and Gina had Sarah’s attention, but Cooper had been more interested in the ongoing situation with the Morrison family. From rumor, it sounded like that family had imploded, leaving behind an empty house surrounded by an ostentatious fence. Foreclosed, the rumor went.

Sarah was working when Cooper got back, so he checked in with the deputy. When he stopped in the small, storefront office, Mac was on the phone, so he waited patiently by the door. He noticed Ben’s old laptop sitting on the desk. Then the deputy put down the phone and stood up.

“Welcome back,” he said, smiling and sticking out his hand.

“So, I turn my back for five minutes and you decide to improve on your love life,” Cooper said, extending his own hand.

“Well hell, they don’t call me speedy for nothing.”

Cooper let out a laugh. “They call you—”

Mac put up a hand. “Friends don’t let friends say dangerous things.”

Cooper grinned. “It’s good to be back. Did you run off the Morrison clan?”

“I’d love to take credit for that, but I think they just came to the end of the line. It’s been no secret that business hasn’t been so good for brokers and developers around the state but I think the consensus was that Puck had more money than he knew what to do with and was untouched by the recession. Puck left first. He’s back in Eugene. His sons by his first marriage might’ve taken him in. Then Mrs. Morrison and Jag moved on.”

“So the town bully isn’t in town anymore?” Cooper asked.

“The only thing I can really tell you about that is that he was instructed to make amends to Landon in order to get back into Thunder Point High and he refused, so his suspension turned into an expulsion. That doesn’t mean he isn’t around. Continued vigilance is recommended.”

“Did he get into any trouble over that domestic? Hitting his dad?” Cooper asked.

“His court date is coming up. This will be his second offense and while he might not get the punishment he deserves, it’s pretty damn clear he’s a violent kid. And his badass self is almost eighteen. I don’t think the court is going to pamper him. And the next time he pulls something, it’s going to be bleak for him.”

“Well, that’s something, I guess,” Cooper said. “Jesus, what’s the matter with that imbecile? He must have grown up with ten times what most of the other kids around here have.”

“Maybe that’s what’s the matter with him,” Mac said. “I spend a lot of time feeling rotten that I can’t give my kids more. Maybe I should rethink all that guilt. Maybe they’re better off. At least they’re not ungrateful little bastards.” Then he laughed. “It takes so little to make them happy. I’m going to work on remembering that.”

“You have good kids, Mac,” Cooper said. He nodded toward the laptop. “Find anything on there?”

“I gave it to a forensic IT unit the department uses and they went through it and made a copy of the hard drive. I hope you gave permission for that because I said you did.”

“Sure. But why didn’t you do that in the first place?”

He shook his head. “Homicide and the coroner and the assistant D.A. went through the bait shop, and there was a postmortem. There was no evidence of foul play.” He shrugged. “And I have no idea if they found anything on the laptop, but their team can look at even the deleted and destroyed material. They’re spooky.” He lifted the laptop and opened it. “I did find something. I wondered if you noticed it, too.”

He leaned a hip on the desk, balanced the laptop on his thigh and fired it up. He opened it and scrolled through email. It took a few minutes and he muttered, “Getting there...” Then he said, “Ah! Got it. He saved this. Do you remember this? It’s four years old and might explain a few things about this arrangement you have with your friend’s bait shop.”

He turned the laptop around and handed it to Cooper.

I think I’ve had about enough of this place. Time to head out and find something new. I think I’d rather have an eagle’s nest than a lot of corporate bullshit. Coop

Wandering yet again?

That seems to be my MO. I get restless real easy.

But don’t they pay you a lot of money? Why not just do the job for a few more years for the money? Find a place to settle down. They give you bonuses. Trust me, the eagles aren’t real big on bonuses! Ben

I don’t know. Chasing money for the sake of money... It’s soulless. There’s got to be more to life than that. Cooper

* * *

Cooper looked up at Mac. “He could’ve had tons of money if he’d sold some land. Even a little piece of it.”

“I don’t think that was the point of the email. We all knew Ben wasn’t much for chasing money. Did you know there’s at least one eagle’s nest out there on the point?”

“I’ve seen the eagles, and I remember Ben telling me he had a nest—he was proud of that. They’re built in those rocky precipices out there. But I went all the way out to the point and looked over the edge, and I couldn’t see anything—it’s all rocky all the way down to the water.”

“And I don’t think you can get a boat up close. Those waves against the rocks will take you out. But I think maybe Ben saved this email because of the thing about money. It’s clear that money isn’t the only thing that drives you.”

“Well now, we don’t know that for sure yet,” Cooper said with a laugh. “That’s easier to say when you have enough to live on forever. And I don’t. Believe me.” He closed the laptop. “So, you’re done with this?”

“It’s all yours. Want a cup of coffee?”

“That would be good. Across the street?”

“It doesn’t look too busy over there,” Mac said.

Cooper looked at his watch. “I have a little time. I want to run by the store. I’m cooking for Sarah and Landon tonight.”

“Landon? Landon who?” Mac asked with a laugh. “You mean that quarterback who lives at my house now?”

* * *

Cooper rarely made any kind of a big deal over Christmas. Sometimes he went back to Albuquerque to spend time with the family, but he gave gift cards, not a lot of fussy presents. Those times he had girlfriends, he knew exactly what to give them—jewelry. The seriousness of the girlfriend determined the level of jewelry. For a girl you’re dating but not deeply involved with, a spa package or gift certificate. In years past, he always skipped the company party. Occasionally coworkers had informal gatherings he sometimes attended. Hanging out with fellow pilots could be entertaining.

In Thunder Point it was a little different. First of all, people seemed to take turns entertaining, but nothing flashy. Lou and Mac had an open house and invited their local friends, who turned out to be half the town. Women wore Christmas sweaters with Santa or reindeer on them, men came in green-and-red sweaters and wool pants as opposed to jeans. For the first time in his life, Cooper asked a woman to dress him. He knew better than to show up in one of his hand-me-down suits or his jeans.

Sarah picked through his closet, pulled out some dark pants, a starched shirt, no tie, taupe V-neck sweater and the black shoes he almost never wore. “This will work,” she said.

Carrie and Gina James had a gathering with the same theme. Their party featured meatballs, hot dips, cookies, fancy little cakes, and some
outstanding
bite-size crab and Parmesan hors d’oeuvres.

“If you eat any more of those, you’re going to make yourself sick,” Sarah said.

“I can’t stop,” he said.

Stu held his party at the diner one night, then Cliff had a free happy hour at Cliffhanger’s with punch for the younger set. Again, there were a lot of Christmas sweaters and pressed black pants. Cooper made every event and, to his surprise, had a wonderful time. Well, except maybe for a while at Cliffhanger’s when Ray Anne had a little too much to drink and Cooper drove her home. He had to lift her into his truck. She made a drunken suggestion that they “do it” just for the Christmas spirit and when he said that wouldn’t work for him, she accepted that and said, “Well, then at least sign those agent papers for me, Hank!”

He hurried back to Cliff’s so no one would assume...

The Coast Guard did not sleep on holidays, so Sarah couldn’t make all the parties, but she hit a few. For Cooper, it was nice to have someone as classy and sweet as Sarah on his arm. But come Christmas Eve, she was scheduled to work. She’d have to be at the Coast Guard station, ready to fly if anyone needed rescue.

“It won’t be the first time Landon and I had to adjust for holidays. Maybe the McCains will include him. I get off Christmas morning, so I’ll be around for that.”

“Let me,” Cooper said.

“Let you what?”

“I’ll stay at your house Christmas Eve. If he has somewhere to go, fine. I’ll be there when he gets home. Then we’ll have Christmas morning together.”

“Oh, I don’t know.”

“Does it make you nervous to have me over on Christmas morning?” he asked her. “Because I can be useful. I know how to cook. I know how to clean up better.”

“You know, it’s that whole family thing. I worry about Landon thinking of himself as a part of a relationship, the way he did with Derek. He’s only sixteen. He doesn’t realize that we’re close but not serious.”

Cooper laughed at her. “Don’t worry, Sarah. Landon hasn’t thought about anyone but Eve in weeks.”

“I guess that’s right,” she said, laughing with him.

So Cooper and Landon both went to the McCains for Christmas Eve where they ate seafood fresh from the marina and played poker until midnight. Eve pouted because she’d rather have had Landon’s undivided attention, Mac roared his agony at drawing such bad cards, Cooper laughed his ass off and Lou took it all home.

And then came Christmas morning.

Bachelors like Cooper enjoyed holidays and were not overly sentimental about them. Sarah was somewhere between a spa package girlfriend and a jewelry girlfriend, mostly because she was so reluctant to let herself get involved. He understood a lot of this had to do with Landon. To that end, he had selected the perfect presents for both of them.

Early Christmas morning, after spending a night on Sarah’s couch, he got up, fed the dog, wrote Landon a note and said he was running an errand and would be right back. He thought the kid would probably sleep late. In fact, Sarah might get home and read the note before Cooper got back.

He drove down the road to the beach, but he stopped at the marina. The boats were firing up. It was barely sunrise. It looked like a lot of the fishermen and a few crabbers were going out on Christmas morning. It hit him suddenly, these people had no choice. He’d known that, of course, but hadn’t given it so much thought. He didn’t know any of the men well and in fact the ones he’d met were the merest of acquaintances. He knew, however, that most of them worked their fathers’ and grandfathers’ and brothers’ boats. Maybe they loved their work, but even if they didn’t, it was their means of living.

But Cooper, always a loner, had had choices. He had never had to make long-term commitments or stay in jobs that weren’t satisfying. All he had to do was take care of himself.

Watching those boats go out early Christmas morning, he felt a sense of envy. People depended on those men. They had families to take care of. He’d almost married twice and yet had never felt that sense of responsibility.

From where he sat in his truck, he could see the toy hauler. He’d lived in apartments, on a boat for two years, in his trailer—anything that he could uproot quickly and easily.

He put the truck in gear and headed across the beach. Inside the shed, along with Ben’s old truck and RZR 800—his Razor—were two top-of-the-line paddleboards, oars and two boxes. He’d cleaned up and gassed Ben’s Razor, then he laid the boards across the back where a cooler might sit and fastened them in. The boxes went in the seat next to the driver. He laughed at himself—expert wrapper, he was not. There was a wide, red ribbon around each board and the plain white boxes had the identical ribbon. No paper, no froufrous, as his mom called them. He might be able to wear the hell out of a hand-me-down suit and buy some real top-notch toys, but he just was not good with wrapping presents.