Fiction: Promise Chapter 30
Chapter 30: Eventually You Will Come To Understand That Love Heals Everything, And Love Is All There Is--- Gary Zukav
Author: Jailynn
Timeline: Future
Type: Alternate reality
Disclaimer: I don’t own the show or the characters.
Rating: PG
Couple, Character/ Show: Coop and Ashlee, Daisy, Brandon, Buzz / Guiding Light
Feedback: Please and thank you. Like it, tell me. Hate it, um, tell me nicely please.
Author’s note: Please forgive all stupid mistakes. I always make them and can never catch them before I post *laughing* and I do try. I didn’t have time to reread this chapter so mistake will be aplenty. *laughing* Please, please forgive me.
Summary: Ashlee’s life begins to get interesting when she makes a decision to end something…
Word Count: 2403
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Promise: Chapter 30: Eventually You Will Come To Understand That Love Heals Everything, And Love Is All There Is
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The morning sun was blinding, but she didn’t see it. She couldn’t think either. Daisy looked at Coop for a full second before his words sunk in. Before his request of her penetrated her brain enough to really comprehend the meaning behind the words. The irritation she had all morning long evaporated into a rush of happiness. She jumped into her uncle’s arms, laughing in joy. He hugged her tightly. “Is that a yes?”
She stepped back and pushed him in the shoulder playfully. “Of course it’s a yes. You have no idea how much I’ve wanted this for you and Ashlee.” She moved further back to allow him into her apartment. “Do you have an idea of what you want? Does Ashlee know what you have planned?”
He took a seat on her sofa and she walked into the kitchen the cup of coffee no longer needed. With Coop’s news came an explosion of energy. Daisy dumped the cold coffee down the drain and then returned to Coop. He twisted his hands around and around. She sat on the other end of the couch and pulled one leg under her body. She grabbed a pen and paper to start getting ideas for Ashlee’s ring.
“Um, no I really don’t know what I want,” he ran a hand over his head and sighed. “I just want something that will be as beautiful as Ashlee is.” He looked at her and smiled sheepishly. “I’m not very helpful. I just want something I know she’ll love and she loves that necklace you gave her last summer. She wears it all the time.”
Daisy nodded. The necklace was something she saw in a dream, as cheesy as that sounds. When she woke up and started working on it, she knew that Ashlee would love it. She started sketching ideas. “You didn’t answer my other question,” she looked up at him through her bangs. “Does Ashlee know?”
“She knows I want to marry her,” Coop stood and paced the length of her living room as she continued to draw. “She just doesn’t know I’m here right now. She thinks I’m on a run to clear my head.” He laughed. “Brandon is the one that really got this ball rolling. He’s such an amazing kid. It’s hard to believe sometimes that he’s mine. That Ashlee and I made him together.”
“He really is something else.” Daisy smiled softly. The ring that was starting to take form on her notepad was interlocking circles of solid gold. The ring would be three circles total. They were wound together tightly an unbroken chain. She sketched a small diamond at the top. She knew Ashlee well enough to know that she wouldn’t want anything too flashy. Ashlee liked simple and clean when it came to her jewelry. “Did he ask you if you were going to marry Ashlee?”
“He asked if I was his daddy,” she looked up at him. Her mouth hung open. “Yeah that was my reaction too.” Coop took his seat on the couch again and clasped his hands in front of him on his knees. “He knew who I was without asking. He figured it out and he forgave me for not being there. I can’t believe how lucky I am to have him.”
“I’m happy for you,” she reached over and hugged him tightly. He took the sketch from her, looking at the rough copy, his forehead wrinkled. “It’s not done and anything you don’t like can be changed. I’m just trying out some ideas…”
Coop shook his head. “It’s perfect.” He smiled softly at her. “It really shows what I know to be true. We are stronger together than we could be apart. And three is right. It’s the way it should be. Our past, our present and our future intertwined together.” He grinned goofily at her. “You’re actually pretty good at this.”
She snatched the notepad back from him and slapped his chest with it. “You know I have been doing this for a while. Not to mention I’ve made jewelry for Ashlee before.” She bit her lip. “How is Brandon doing? I meant to stop by after the first treatment but I worried that he would be too tired.”
“He is,” he breathed out a sigh, “so strong. He didn’t cry when they put the IV in and he never complained once about the medicine. When we got home he did take a nap, but Daisy you would never know that he was sick by looking at him. He smiles and plays with his dog and laughs. The only time I know anything is wrong is when he nearly falls over in exhaustion.” Coop bit his lip. “Some nights are hard, but even that hasn’t been as bad as it’s been in the past month.”
She stood up; “I’m glad…” her cell phone rang in her purse. She smiled tightly. Daisy pulled the slim phone out of the place she had for it in her bag. She groaned and nearly threw the thing against the wall. Well her bad mood was back, she punched the connect button, “Please stop calling me. I don’t want to talk with you.”
“Daisy,” Kevin sighed. “The woman you heard was my sister. I would never lie to you about something like that.”
“Right,” she bit out sarcastically. “Because guys have never been known to lie about girlfriends before, how could I ever believe a male would lie to me? Listen I’m going to ask you one more time to stop calling me, if you don’t I’m going to get my uncle, the police chief, to make you.” She hung up and growled.
“Daisy,” Coop placed his hands on her shoulder and squeezed them. “What’s going on? Is someone bothering you because if some guy won’t take no for an answer you need to get Frank involved.”
Her shoulders slumped and she rubbed her forehead. Turning to face Coop she tried to smile reassuringly at him. “This guy is harmless. In fact if it wasn’t for the fact that he has a girlfriend and lied about it, he would be just about perfect.” She dropped the notepad on the table, sighing. “I actually thought he was one of the good guys.” Daisy pulled out a chair at her table and laughed bitterly. “I guess I’m not meant to find one of those.”
Coop took a seat next to her and gnawed at his bottom lip. “Are you sure that he isn’t a good guy? Are you sure that this other woman is…well the other woman?”
“Are you seriously asking me if I checked out his story?”
“Well yeah,” at her look he continued quickly. “Listen, Daisy, I know you haven’t had a lot of luck in the romance department but not all guys are liars. Some of us are just nice guys and situations can be mistaken. Look at Ashlee and me, our relationship ended because of a stupid misunderstanding.” He squeezed her shoulder again and looked into her eyes. “I’m just saying find out the facts before you decide that you aren’t meant for a good guy.”
He stood up and hugged her then left her alone. Daisy got the notepad to start working on Ashlee’s ring again. She stopped almost before she started and thought about Coop’s words. She really didn’t know if Kevin was lying. Could she be projecting all her other failed relationships on him? Could he really just be a nice guy that likes her for her?
Daisy groaned and dropped her head onto the table. If she was wrong and that woman was his sister, she could be missing out on a great guy. But if she’s right, she’ll have put herself out there for nothing. She groaned again. Why did life have to be so complicated?
-*-*
Coop stopped in Company to grab some breakfast for him, Ashlee and Brandon. He noticed his father standing by the bar with a grin on his face that looked like it was permanently stuck there. Coop had a bad feeling that Doris put that smile on his pop’s face and he had a pretty good idea how. The thought of turning around and stopping at Towers for breakfast entered his mind, but not quickly enough.
“Coop,” Buzz called out and walked toward him. Coop smiled tightly. “How are you this wonderful morning?”
“Um,” Coop floundered for something to say and for a way to remove the image of Doris and his father having sex from his brain. Coop had a feeling that it wouldn’t happen easily. “I’m doing well, but I’m getting the feeling that you’re doing really well. Something put a spring in your step pop? And please don’t feel like you have to elaborate.”
Buzz grinned at him with a mischievous twinkle in his eye. Coop groaned. He was right. Doris and his father’s sex life was still going strong. He was happy for his pop. He could even admit to coming around to loving Doris, but he still got freaked out by the thought of them together. Who wants to think of their parents having sex? It’s like an unwritten rule, you don’t think about it. It happens, but you never think about it. And if you are ever unfortunate enough to see it, seek therapy.
He laughed to himself thinking that soon he would be on the receiving end of that rule. Brandon was a smart boy and soon he would realize that his parents could hardly keep their hands off each other. The thought of having that discussion with his son sent a chill down his spine.
“I won’t get into the details,” his pop started. “But I had a very nice evening with Doris last night. She even cooked for me.” Coop grinned at the light that shined in his father’s eyes. Doris put that there and even if the means by which she did make him cringe, he would be forever grateful for it. “So what are you doing here so early?”
Coop climbed up on a stool and grinned. “I went to see Daisy about designing an engagement ring for Ashlee.” He ducked his head and looked up at his dad. “Brandon asked me about marrying her last night. After he asked me if I was his real dad.”
Buzz nodded completely unfazed by his admission. “I figured it would only be a matter of time before he put the pieces together. He always seemed to be watching. He’s a smart kid.”
“Yeah he is,” Coop sighed. “He’s almost too smart. I think he knows more about what’s going on than either Ashlee or I do. Brandon just seems so grown up for his age.”
“That’s not a bad thing,” Coop smiled at his father as he poured him a cup of coffee.
“No, but he has so much going on,” he shook some sugar packets ripping the tops and pouring the crystals in. “I just hope that he can still be a kid when all this is over. Right now, there are moments when I think he forgets and he’s free and then there are moments when his body is so weak, he can’t help but remember.”
Buzz touched his hand, “Brandon will get through this and you will marry Ashlee. Your life is coming together just the way it was meant to. Be happy, Coop and worry about the rest later.”
“Have you thought about proposing to Doris,” Coop asked against the rim of his coffee cup.
“I think,” Buzz started coming around the bar to lean against it next to Coop. “If I did ask her right now she would probably turn me down.”
“Why,” Coop’s eyebrows slammed together in confusion.
“Doris has some baggage and she loves me, but she’s always waiting for the other shoe to drop,” his pop shrugged. “She’s comfortable with how we are right now. When she’s ready to move forward, she’ll let me know.”
-*-*
Ashlee pulled the robe tighter and looked at the clock that hung in the kitchen. Coop has been gone for over an hour and a half and she was starting to get really worried. She sipped the cup of coffee gently so that she didn’t burn the roof of her mouth or her tongue. She knew he said that he was going out for a run, but she really didn’t believe that’s where he went.
He was keeping a secret from her and that made her nervous. Coop always told her the truth, even when the truth wasn’t something she wanted to hear. The only time he lied to her was when she caught him with that other girl because he was hurt and well, that ended up being a disaster that cost them six years. Ashlee turned to the window and watched MJ play in the backyard.
She was making herself sick worrying about something that could be nothing. The front door opened and she really made an attempt not to rush into the living room. Ashlee made the attempt and failed miserably. Coop threw his keys on the table by the door and turned to look at her. Her heart flipped at his smile. He walked over to her and kissed her deeply.
The heavenly scent coming from the bags that he was carrying was the only reason she backed away. “Mm,” she moaned in delight.
“I brought breakfast and horrifying images of our parents having…” she slapped a hand over his mouth and shook her head.
“No, I don’t want to know,” she gasped when he licked her hand. Tingles ran down her arm like little ants along the sidewalk. Her knees went weak and she had to force herself to pull away. Ashlee cleared her throat and bounced on her heels. “What did you bring?”
Coop laughed and placed the food on the table just as Brandon came out of his room. He ran over to the table and hugged Coop’s legs. “Morning, daddy,” he mumbled through a yawn.
“Good morning, Boomer,” he ran a hand over his son’s head. Ashlee smiled softly at the scene in front of her. “You ready for Papa’s chocolate chip waffles?”
“Yeah!” Brandon cheered pulling out his chair ready to eat. The morning was filled with laughter and happiness. But in back of Ashlee’s head she worried, what was Coop keeping from her?
End Chapter 30
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