I Choose Us: Book 3 in the Crossing Midian Series - A Christian Romance

Chapter 2

Coop

Coop dropped Cassie off at preschool, then drove through their small town on his way to the bank. He stopped at the diner, rushing in despite already being pressed for time to grab a to-go cup of coffee, letting the warmth seep through his fingers as he drove.

Once at the bank, Coop parked his old, army green jeep a few rows down from the front, pointedly ignoring the empty handicapped spot which would have been closer. The only radio station that still worked in the jeep was an old country station, and it played softly in the background as he sat with the engine idling.

Coop tugged at the collar of his button up, hating the way it felt too tight around his neck, then took a deep breath, and let it out slowly, trying to calm his nerves. "Please, God, I need some good news," he prayed before he finally put the coffee in the cup holder, opened the door, and climbed out.

Coop's grandfather, Hank Cooper, had owned the town's feed store since his own father had left it to him, though most of the responsibility of running it had fallen to Coop over the last few years as Hank had gotten older and chose to semi-retire.

Coop had grown up in the store, sleeping behind the counter as a child while Hank worked. Doing his homework in the closet-sized office, watching the customers come and go through the one-way mirror as he munched on peanuts. When he'd been old enough, Coop worked there after school and on Saturdays, then every spare minute while he was in college. He knew every creaky board on the floor and every knot in the wood grain on the pinewood walls, like the back of his hand.

He never wanted anything more than to live a simple life, taking care of his family and the people in his community.

But then three years ago, a large chain store called Rawlin's opened up only a few miles down the road in the next town. Most of their customers had remained loyal, and for a while, it seemed like everything would be fine.

Until it wasn't.

Coop had taken out a loan from the bank in order to stay afloat, only now he was behind on the payments and the bank was breathing down his neck.

He needed to find out what his options were before anyone else found out what a hole he'd dug himself into. While his grandfather had known he'd taken out the loan, the matter of him getting behind was something Coop had so far been able to keep to himself. Even Lottie didn't know why he was coming to the bank today. Not that she'd asked. He didn't even want to think about what Hank would say when he found out his only grandson might lose the business that had been in their family for the last sixty-five years.

Coop made his way into the red bricked building, nodding to Rachel, the teller and town gossip woman, who sat at her desk, before walking past her towards the offices. Coop could feel her too friendly smile at his back and he wondered how quickly news that he was visiting the loan office would travel through town.

He knocked on the outside edge of the door and a man with short brown hair and green eyes looked up at him.

"Coop," he said, smiling brightly as he stood up. "I'm glad you stopped by."

"Hey, Tyler," Coop said, holding out his hand for the other man to shake. He took in his crisp white shirt and burgundy tie, and thought he looked more at home in the dressy clothes, whereas Coop looked and felt entirely out of place. "How've you been?"

Tyler shrugged. "I'm alright. Can't complain much in any case."

Coop nodded. "How's Shelby?"

Shelby had been Coop's first love. They had dated off and on again until right before Coop met Lottie, though it turned out they were always better at just being friends. Shelby had been dating Tyler for the past year and a half, and they announced their engagement two weeks ago.