She gets out her phone and pulls up the number from the recent calls list and hits call. She waits a beat and gets the voicemail. After a few seconds, she hangs up and starts typing on her phone.
“What are you doing?”
“I got his voicemail, so I’m texting Hayley to find out the name of the gym. Okay, here we go. She said it’s called Cooper’s Fight Club and it’s only ten minutes from here. Here’s the address. This should be something you do in person.” She sends the address to my phone and it beeps with the text from her.
“Isn’t it crazy that for the last few months Hayley has been working with these guys and we had no idea?”
“Seriously! To think Cooper was so close this whole time is mind blowing.”
“Okay, just pull the address up on your GPS and head over there.”
I don’t think I can do this in person. It’s one thing to tell him about Bella over the phone where I can’t see his looks, but to tell him in person feels like I’m making myself too vulnerable to him.
Kayla must sense what I’m thinking because she doesn’t give me a chance to protest. She is literally pushing me out the door as she yells for Bella to get her cute butt to the kitchen to help make pancakes.
“Go. Go tell Cooper about Bella and we’ll be here when you get back. I got her. Everything’s going to be fine.” I really hope she’s right.
I follow the directions on my GPS and pull up to what looks like a state-of-the-art gym. The building is huge and looks like it is three stories high. It’s all by itself in its’ own complex. The entire front of the building is made of mirrored glass and there’s a huge sign that reads:
Cooper’s Fight Club
Home of UFC’s own ‘The Rage’
Directly underneath it, is a life size Cooper in a fighting stance in gym shorts and nothing else. He has his hands up in fists and he’s glaring in the photo. It looks so real, it’s scary. I would seriously hate to get on his bad side.
I stand outside of the door for a few minutes, staring at his picture and trying to muster up enough courage to tell the man who told me less than twenty-four hours ago he doesn’t want a wife or kids that he does, in fact, have a kid.
Just when I finally decide to put on my imaginary big girl panties and go inside, the door swings open and almost smacks me in the face. I jump back, immediately recognizing the person holding the door open. It’s the older guy from the other night, no wait, from last night. Jeez has it only been less than a day since the fight? This has seriously been the longest twenty-four hours, ever.
He clears his throat to get my attention and I smile at him. If I’m right, this man could be Bella’s grandfather. He doesn’t smile back, though. In fact, the glare Cooper has on that poster on the wall has nothing on the daggers this man is shooting me with right now. Instinctively, I back up a little and get control of myself.
“Hi, my name is—” I’m not even able to get out my name before this guy cuts me off.
“I know who you are, and I know who you’re looking for. You’re wasting your time. He doesn’t want anything to do with you.”
Well, okay then. I try my best to keep a smile on my face. “That may be true, but I need to speak to him, nonetheless. It’s very important.”
“Well, he’s not here, and even if he was, he made it clear he doesn’t want to speak to you.”
The way he says it leaves no room for argument, so I simply say okay and walk back to my car. I’m not about to get into a fight with this man. Something about him feels off.
Fourteen
Liz
The rest of the weekend’s spent lazily lounging on the couch while watching movies with Bella. Of course, her latest favorite is Disney’s Maleficent, so we have to watch it twice.
The second time we’re watching it, when the mom dies, Bella turns to me with a sad look on her adorable face. “Mommy, if you die, who will take care of me since I don’t have a daddy?”
I look at Kayla and she gives me a small encouraging smile. I really need to tell Cooper about her. This isn’t about anybody but Bella.
“Angel, first of all, I’m not going anywhere. However, if something did happen to me, Auntie Kayla would still be here and so would Grammy and Papa and Uncle Mattie even though they live in Florida. You would never be alone.”
I hope this will satisfy her, but of course it doesn’t. She’s way too inquisitive to accept that answer.