Best Laid Plans Page 23

  And besides, he didn’t like this deputy’s attitude. It reminded him of one he knew from home, who liked to show what a big man he was just because he wore a uniform and a badge and carried a gun. That bastard had hurt his sister, but because he was the mayor’s nephew, no one had been able to do anything about it.

  Mopp shivered as he noticed Mr. Cooper leave the room. He hadn’t felt so alone since his parents had told him to get out of their house. It hadn’t been because he was gay, because he wasn’t.

  It was because in addition to his challenging Reverend Sales, the word got back to them that he was working for two gay men, and one of them was Jewish. Sometimes he wondered which offended his God-fearing parents the most—the gayness or the Jewishness.

  Mopp swallowed hard and continued. “I just had time to look around for someone to call 9-1-1 before I tried to stop Mr. Jackson from bleeding out.”

  “I’ve heard a number of people refer to the deceased as Mr. Jack.”

  Mopp couldn’t help the sadness that threatened to overwhelm him. His boss was dead, really dead. “Mr. Jackson’s first name was Thaddeus. He hated it though, and everyone called him Jack.”

  “I see. Was there any reason for Jackson to be targeted?”

  “What? No! How could there be?”

  “Listen, boy. I ask the questions here—”

  Mopp wasn’t challenging him, but that tone of voice told him things were going to get nasty in about a minute.

  “All right, Deputy, I’ll have to ask you to leave.” A doctor stood there, his stethoscope around his neck. The tag clipped to his breast pocket said his name was Richards.

  But what had Mopp sagging in relief was the sight of Mr. Cooper right behind him.

  “What’re you doing here, Richards?” the deputy demanded.

  “What do you think? This is my ER.”

  “Well, I ain’t leaving till this little pissant tells me about the kid.”

  Mopp felt sick.

  “Do you need the waste can, Mopp?” Mr. Cooper asked.

  “No, thanks very much, though.” He drew in a breath and turned to the deputy, about to deny knowing anything, but it was the doctor who answered.

  “What kid?”

  “I was told there was a kid at the scene, and I want to know about him.”

  “You obviously got your information wrong.” Wow, this doctor was brave! “This young man and the decedent were the only ones brought from that scene. Oh, and a woman who’d been hit by the getaway car.”

  “She ain’t my concern.”

  “Lucky her.”

  “Look, Doc—” It seemed like the deputy was going to toss his not-inconsiderable weight around.

  “No, you look, StuartandBrent.”

  He sputtered, and his face turned dusky red. “It’s Stuart.”

  “Yeah, right. You’re agitating my patient. Now get out.”

  Deputy Kilroy scowled at the doctor, then turned the scowl toward Mopp. “I’ll be back to talk to you later, Boy. Count on it.” The deputy adjusted his belt and swaggered out.

  “Kilroy always was a blowhard,” Dr. Richards observed.

  “You know him?” Mr. Cooper rested a gentle hand on Mopp’s shoulder. “It’s okay.”

  “We went to school together.” Dr. Richards’s grin was hard. “Lord, he hated that name, especially when it got out that his momma named him after the Tarleton twins in Gone with the Wind. Seems she couldn’t decide which name she liked best, so she gave him both of them. And his daddy was such a milquetoast he never told her that might not be such a good idea. Step aside, please,” he said to Mr. Cooper. He put the earpieces of his stethoscope into his ears and listened to Mopp’s heart. “A little fast, but I don’t find that surprising. Kiljoy has that effect on people.”

  Mr. Cooper gave a snort, then said, “Mopp, the family is in the cafeteria. I’ll go get them. Miss January should be here by now too. I called her earlier, but she hadn’t arrived as of an hour ago, so Miss Becca said she was going to call her as well.”

  “Thank you.” Oh God, he hadn’t even given a thought to Jan. They’d had the world’s worst quarrel the other day, which had stunned him. Arguments had often erupted at home, but Daddy was the one who did the yelling. Momma just got this pinched look around her mouth. Having grown up with that, Mopp made a point of avoiding any sort of confrontation. He’d thought Jan preferred things that way as well, but she hadn’t even come to the weekly barbecue at Mr. Jackson’s and JT’s. She’d stayed inside the entire time.

  “Hold your head still,” the doctor said, and he flashed a light into Mopp’s eyes.

  “Um… when can I go home?” Did he even have a home? Mr. Jackson had let him stay in one of the spare rooms in the bunkhouse. Would Tad and JT let him stay?

  JT. Oh God. He loved Mr. Jackson so much. This was going to devastate him.

  “Dr. Monroe, our neurologist, wants to keep you at least twenty-four hours for observation,” Dr. Richards said, “but if things look okay, he’ll probably discharge you sometime on Sunday.”

  “Thanks.”

  “No thanks are necessary. I understand you were quite the hero.”

  “Me?”

  “You got the little boy out of harm’s way and tried to help a man who’d been grievously wounded.”

  Mopp’s jaw dropped. “But you said—”

  “I did, didn’t I? Anything to make life a little more difficult for StuartandBrent. And you didn’t hear that from me.”

  “No, sir. But I’m no hero. I just did what I had to do.”

  Dr. Richards patted his shoulder. “That’s exactly what a hero would say. Now, I think you’re good for the time being, but if you feel nauseous or like you’re about to lose consciousness, ring for the nurse.” He showed Mopp where the call bell was.

  Just as he left, Rush walked into the room, followed by Mr. Cooper.

  That’s right. Tad and Miss Becca will need to be with JT.

  Mopp gave a shiver of relief. He’d been afraid the deputy would return as soon as he knew Mopp was alone.

  “I’m so sorry for your loss, Rush.” Mr. Jackson was—had been—his father-in-law, after all. Mopp looked around. “I know Tad and Miss Becca and JT are probably busy making arrangements, but where’s Jan?” He’d been sure she would forgive him as soon as she learned he’d been shot.

  “She… uh…” Rush cleared his throat. “How are you feeling, Mopp?”

  “I’m okay. Rush? What about Jan? Is she all right?”

  “Okay, there’s no way to say this except to come right out and tell you. We don’t know where Jan is. Mr. Josh told her you were here, and when she didn’t show up, Becca kept trying to reach her, but she got nothing. Finally, she called Babe. Babe says just after we left for the hospital, Jan pitched a hissy fit, blamed her for everything, and took off. Babe was all set to leave, but Becca talked her out of it. God, this is so fucked up.”

  It was, especially since Rush never swore.

  “Jan’s missing?” Mopp’s field of vision seemed to shrink, panicking him. Was he about to pass out? Should he ask Mr. Cooper to ring for the nurse?

  “Not exactly, Mopp.” A warm, broad hand took his, stroking it, and his gaze shot up to Mr. Cooper’s.

  “I don’t understand. Why isn’t she here? Where did she go?” Mopp knew she’d been really upset when he said they couldn’t get married. He hadn’t had time to add “just yet.” She’d said they either got married now or they were through.

  Why had she given him that ultimatum? Rush thought it was because she was jealous of Miz Babe, but Mopp couldn’t understand that. He was dating Jan, and he’d never cheat on her. And while Miz Babe was a nice lady, she was at least six years older than him.

  “Jan ran away with Nick.”

  “What?”

  Rush sighed. “I said—”


  Mopp stared at him. “Her old boyfriend? But he’s married.” And about to become a daddy for the third time from what Mopp had heard through the grapevine. “How can that be true?”

  “I guess they still have feelings for each other.”

  “But they broke up a couple of years ago. Jan said she loves me.” He looked up at Mr. Cooper. “Did I do wrong? Should I have agreed to marry her now instead of waiting until I graduated?”

  Jan hadn’t been happy when she learned he was going to college, but she’d really hit the ceiling when he turned down her proposal. Then all of a sudden, she was just like his family, who felt having a higher education was a waste of time and money because he didn’t have the brains for it. If JT and Mr. Cooper hadn’t encouraged him to enroll, he never would have had the gumption to do so.

  “No, Mopp. You didn’t do anything wrong. You’re back in school, as well as working full time. The last thing you needed to take on is a wife and children, because you know Miss Jan would have wanted to start a family immediately.”

  “But did my saying no push her back into Nick’s arms?”

  “No. That was her choice. Don’t blame yourself.”

  “So then I… I guess she never had feelings for me.”

  “She doesn’t know what’s she’s tossed aside.” Mr. Cooper carefully stroked Mopp’s hair.

  Mopp couldn’t help himself. He turned his face into Mr. Cooper’s warm, strong body and cried—more for how kind Mr. Cooper was being to him than for the loss of his relationship with Jan.

  ***

  A COUPLE OF hours later, Mopp was admitted to the fourth floor medical unit. The nurses had seemed nice at first, until he realized they were actually evil. They came to check on him every hour, and if he even looked like he was about to doze off, they shook him awake. And whoever had ordered his meals hadn’t picked a single thing he liked. No bacon for breakfast, no hamburgers for lunch, and who knew what dinner would be like?

  He couldn’t even sneak out of his room when no one was looking and head for the cafeteria. Well, he could have, but since he didn’t have his wallet and couldn’t buy any food, what was the point?

  Saturday passed in a fog of exhaustion, boredom, and grief.

  Until Mr. Cooper turned up just after an aide took away the dinner tray—dinner had consisted of chicken broth, bread and butter, and lime Jell-O.

  Mopp smiled so broadly at him he thought his face would split.

  And even more so when Mr. Cooper took his hand from behind his back and revealed what he’d been concealing—a bag from Roly Poly Sandwiches.

  Okay, it wasn’t the Barbq Pork Melt, but the Ultimate Veggie sandwich was almost as good.

  “Thank you!”

  “My pleasure, Mopp. I’ll keep a lookout for the nurses.”

  “Will you share this with me? I won’t be able to eat the whole thing.”

  “Sure.” He pulled up a chair, sat down, and took half the sandwich.

  “I’ve been dying for real food,” Mopp said around a mouthful. When he realized what he’d said, he wanted to bang his head against the wall, even if he wasn’t sure his head would be able to take it. “I’m sorry, that was a stupid thing for me to say.”

  “It wasn’t.” Mr. Cooper leaned forward and rested his hand on Mopp’s, and Mopp met his gaze.

  He stared into eyes that were as blue as his own, and suddenly he couldn’t catch his breath.

  Fortunately, Mr. Cooper didn’t notice. “It happens. Don’t beat yourself up over this, Mopp.”

  “Okay.” Mopp dragged his gaze away from Mr. Cooper and shoved the sandwich in his mouth. He had no idea what he’d just agreed to.

  ***

  MOPP WAS DISCHARGED from the hospital early Sunday morning. He’d have called his girlfriend to pick him up and drive him back to the ranch, but it seemed he didn’t have a girlfriend anymore.

  He assumed it was the nagging headache that struck on and off that kept him from feeling the hurt he expected.

  “Who’s going to drive you home?” The nurse who was putting together the packet of discharge papers for him glanced up when he didn’t answer. “Mr. Bolt?”

  “I guess I’ll call a cab.” He knew JT and Tad and Miss Becca had things to do, grieving and making funeral arrangements, and he was reluctant to bother them. Fortunately, the staff at St. Mark’s was willing to loan him a pair of scrubs to wear home. He couldn’t understand why they’d sliced the clothes off his body when the wound was on his head.

  To make things worse, the stone heart Jennie had given him was gone. He’d reached for it as he usually did, but it wasn’t hanging from his neck. He’d been alone, and he buried his face in his pillow. He didn’t let himself cry though. He was a big boy, and Daddy would have said it was just a rock.

  In spite of himself, a tear had leaked out.

  The nurse frowned and cleared her throat, bringing him back to the present. “No family or friends are available?”

  “No—” Although he supposed he could call one of the men he worked with…

  “Yes.”

  “Mr. Cooper?”

  “In the flesh.” He held up a plastic grocery bag. “Rush gave me the spare key to your room. I hope you don’t mind. I brought some clothes for you to wear.”

  “You didn’t have to do that. But thank you. I… uh… I appreciate it.” Had he made the bed before he left for work on Friday? Had he left dirty clothes lying all over the floor? “Um…” He looked around. There was nothing he could do about that, but he needed to get out of these scrubs—he was commando under them, “Excuse me a minute.” He took the bag and escaped into the adjoining bathroom.

  Mopp had always liked Mr. Cooper. In spite of how big the man was, he had an easy-going temperament, something Mopp valued. In addition to that, there was a hint of sadness about him that made Mopp want to befriend him. Maybe that was why he’d pushed so hard to be friends with the man, practically begging Mr. Cooper to tutor him in the math class he’d be taking in a few weeks.

  Rush had taken him aside.

  “I would have helped you, Mopp,” he said. “The degrees I majored in both required a good deal of math, so I’m good at it. Please listen to me. Joshua Cooper likes you. It’s a heady thing when you realize a gay man is interested in you.”

  “But I’m not gay.”

  “I know that. So does Mr. Josh. So don’t be a cock tease.”

  “What?”

  “Don’t pet him or flirt with him or give him those big puppy dog eyes of yours. Don’t let him think you’d be willing to go to bed with him.”

  Mopp felt his cheeks heat up. “I’d never do anything like that!” Wait, he had puppy dog eyes? Was that good or bad?

  “All right, Mopp. Just a word to the wise. Mr. Josh is a good man, and none of us want to see him hurt. He’s got some baggage….”

  “That shithead partner of his?”

  “You heard about that?” Rush seemed surprised by Mopp’s vehemence. Mopp didn’t use language like that—his momma would have washed his mouth out with soap—but a nice man like Mr. Cooper deserved better than to be hurt by someone who was supposed to love him.

  “Yeah. I heard that JT tracked him down and beat the bejesus out of him.” One thing Mopp had always valued about his boss’s partner: JT was loyal to the core, and he’d go to bat for whoever he called friend.

  Mopp wouldn’t have known about Josh’s previous relationship with someone who didn’t appreciate him if he hadn’t been in a jobsite trailer, getting instructions about a delivery Mr. Jackson wanted him to make, when JT came by to drop off the payroll.

  Mr. Jackson had seen his bruised knuckles.

  “What have you been up to, Tommy?”

  “That abusive bastard won’t be bothering Josh anymore.” He flexed his fingers and winced.

  “You d
idn’t hurt your hand, did you?”

  “Nah, I’m fine.”

  “You’d better get it looked at.” Not realizing—or maybe just not caring—that Mopp was in the trailer with them, Mr. Jackson picked up JT’s injured hand and touched it with gentle fingertips.

  “I will.”

  “Are you sure you’re okay, buddy?”

  “Yeah.” But JT sighed and leaned into Mr. Jackson. “I just don’t know how anyone could be that cruel to Josh.”

  “Some small men need to do that in order to make themselves appear bigger.”

  “Lucas Robinson isn’t small. You know that.”

  “Sure he is. Oh, he might be more than six feet tall, but inside he’s a midget.”

  “Yeah.” JT gave a snort of laughter. “And he’s going to hate it like hell that I took him down without breaking a fingernail.”

  Mopp looked at JT with new eyes. He was an inch or so shorter than Mopp, only about five foot eight. He was educated and cultivated. He’d been a college professor at one point, and he was unabashedly gay. He’d taken on a man so much taller than himself, and had won?

  Just then Mr. Jackson seemed to remember he’d called him into the trailer for a reason. “Those bags of cement for the jobsite are loaded on the truck, Mopp. Drive them over there, okay? And be sure to remind the men of the barbecue on Friday afternoon.”

  For the first time since the conversation started, Rush grinned. “JT isn’t a man you want to tangle with. You’ve known him for a few years, so you should be aware of that.”

  All Mopp could do was nod.

  “Mr. Josh is a good friend of his, and he’ll do what he has to in order to protect him.”

  Mopp nodded again.

  “Okay. That’s all I’m going to say about this.”

  ***

  NOW MOPP OPENED the plastic bag and took out the clothes Mr. Cooper had brought. Had he chosen them or just pulled them out of his dresser and closet at random? His undershorts were the black Calvin Klein boxer briefs Jan had selected for him. The shirt was a Jackson Construction T-shirt, and the jeans were black, 501, and also what Jan had picked out for him. Before he started dating her all he wore were the generic brand of jeans Walmart sold.