Page 9 of September’s Bad Boy: Cooper (Bad Boys of Mustang Mountain #9)

RILEY

The paint roller makes a soft, rhythmic sound as I glide it over the wooden trim around the gym's entrance. The color is fresh, warm, a shade Cooper picked to give the place a clean start. A new chapter. I dip the roller back into the tray and glance over my shoulder where he’s crouched near the baseboards, brushing along the edge with quiet concentration.

His shirt clings to his back, streaked with sweat and smudges of paint, and even in something as mundane as this, he looks steady and focused.

I’ve spent the whole day in this space, working alongside him, and it still feels surreal. Like we’ve stepped into some delicate peace that could crack if I breathe too hard. But it’s not just the moment I’m afraid to disturb. It’s him, us.

My heart thuds heavily as I watch him, and for a moment I feel dizzy with everything I’ve been carrying. Finally, I set the roller down and wipe my hands on my shorts. I need to make sure he knows how I feel. Then maybe I'll be able to concentrate.

“Cooper,” I say softly.

He looks up, his eyes meeting mine, paintbrush still in hand.

I hesitate only a moment, debating what I’m going to say, before the words tumble out of me.

“I meant what I said after the fire. I want this, you, us. Not just for a night or a few stolen moments. I’m tired of pretending it’s anything less than what it is.”

His expression shifts, a guarded sliding into place behind his eyes. He stands slowly and sets the brush aside.

“Riley…” he starts, voice thick.

“I know,” I interrupt gently. “You’re worried. About Jason. About the town. But I’m not.”

He rubs a hand across the back of his neck. “Things are just starting to settle with him. I can’t push him too far too fast.”

“And what about you?” I ask. “What do you want?”

He looks at me like I’ve asked the wrong question. Or maybe the hardest one.

“I want you,” he says finally. “But I’m scared of losing everything again.”

My throat tightens.

“You already have everything, Coop,” I whisper. “You just haven’t let yourself believe it yet.”

Before he can respond, the front door creaks open, and heavy footsteps echo in the entrance. Turning, I find Jason stepping inside, his expression stormy, eyes locked on me.

Of course.

“What the hell, Riley?” he snaps. “I heard you’ve been hanging around here, helping him? You’re really choosing him? After everything?”

“Don’t do this,” I tell Jason calmly. “Not here.”

“No, let’s do it here. I came to talk to Cooper but found you here, so two for one,” Jason growls, his voice rising. “Let’s talk about how you threw away everything we had for a guy who went to prison.”

My pulse roars in my ears, but I plant my feet.

“You broke up with me, Jason. You didn’t believe me when I told you what happened, and you made it clear I was just a placeholder until you figured out what you wanted.”

His face reddens. “And you think he’s better? You think he’s safe? We were young and I was confused. But then you wouldn’t give me the time of day to talk about it. You graduated and I didn’t see you again until you showed up here? With him of all people?”

“He protected me,” I say, louder now, my voice echoing off the gym walls. “When that guy came after me, Cooper was the one who stepped in. He took the fall because no one else would. He served time for doing the right thing. You didn’t even believe me when I told you what happened.”

Jason flinches as if I slapped him.

I take a shaky breath. “You walked away when I needed you. He didn’t. So don’t stand here and pretend like you’re the one who got hurt.”

The gym falls silent.

Until now, I hadn’t noticed anyone else had walked in, I know Cooper said Ruby was going to bring a few people to help today.

Now I spot Ruby standing near the corner, arms crossed, watching.

Caitlin is next to her, gaze soft and steady.

A few others, town regulars, hover near the entrance.

With the door open, they heard everything.

Jason looks around, sees the eyes on him, and straightens his spine. “So what? Everyone’s just okay with this now? Like none of it matters?”

Caitlin steps forward. “It does matter. But so does change. So does growth. I forgave Shane. Not because he deserved it right away, but because he worked to become the kind of man who did.”

Her words settle like dust in the silence.

Ruby’s voice follows, firm and unwavering.

“People aren’t perfect, Jason. But if you’re going to judge someone, make sure it’s for who they are today, not who they used to be.

We all have a past, filled with choices that don’t define who we are now.

Should you be judged for the rest of your life because you got into that fight your freshman year? Label you a troublemaker?”

Jason swallows hard, jaw clenched. “You all think I’m the bad guy.”

“No,” I say softly. “We think you’re stuck. But you don’t have to stay that way.”

He shakes his head, the weight of the moment pressing on him, then turns and storms out the front doors without another word.

The silence holds for a beat too long until someone clears their throat and reaches for a paintbrush. The work resumes, but the mood that Cooper and I had earlier has shifted.

Cooper steps beside me, brushing his fingers lightly against mine. I let him.

We finish the trim together, side by side, in silence. But everything feels louder somehow. As if something cracked open and the pieces haven’t found their place yet.

Later, after the others are gone, and the sun has dipped low behind the trees, Cooper leans against the front wall of the gym and looks at me with an unreadable expression in his eyes.

“You didn’t have to do that,” he says. “What you said. Defending me like that.”

Wiping my hands on a rag, I step closer. “I wasn’t defending you. I was telling the truth.”

He breathes out, reaching for my hand. “I’m scared,” he says again, softer now. “Of loving you too much. Of losing you because of who I was.”

I lace our fingers together. “Then don’t lose me. Just let yourself believe you deserve this.”

He looks away, jaw working, before he says, “Jason… he called me Dad the other day. First time. He just… said it. And for a second, I thought maybe things were finally turning around.”

I squeeze his hand, my heart aching for the weight of what he’s carrying.

“But today,” he continues, voice thick, “he looked at me like I was that same guy again. Like I hadn’t changed. Like none of it mattered. And I just… I felt it slipping. The fragile progress. Maybe I messed everything up again.”

“You didn’t,” I say firmly. “You didn’t mess anything up. He’s scared too. But he saw you, Coop. And he’ll remember that.”

His eyes close for a beat. “I want to believe that. I want to believe I’m not just screwing this all up.”

Taking his face in my hands, I force him to look at me. “You’re not messing anything up. I think today was more about me and Jason than you and him. He saw us together, and he's still mad at me. We haven't worked everything out, and that spilled over onto you. I'm so sorry.”

His brow furrows. “Riley, no. Don’t be sorry.”

“I didn’t mean for you to feel like you were caught in the middle,” I say, still feeling guilty.

“I’d rather be in the middle with you than standing on the outside alone.”

I smile through the ache in my chest, but he keeps going, his thumb brushing along the back of my hand.

“Stop blaming yourself for his reaction. What you did was brave. You don’t owe a single person an apology for that.”

“But I still hate that it hurt you,” I whisper.

He pulls me close, wrapping his arms around me. “It didn’t hurt because of what you did. It hurt because I care. Because I want all of this to work so badly, it scares the hell out of me.”

I rest my head on his shoulder, feeling the steady beat of his heart.

“We’re going to figure it out,” I say.

He kisses my temple. “Yeah. One step at a time.”