I Choose Us: Book 2 in the Crossing Midian Series - A Christian Romance

Chapter 8

-Coop-

Coop spent the next several hours sitting behind his desk at the store. He tried working for a while, sorting through bills and organizing customer orders, but he quickly realized he couldn't concentrate. The only thing he could think about was Lottie and their fight.

Coop was angry at himself for leaving. He knew he should have stayed, but the look on Cassie's face had him wanting to run from the room, so he'd left Lottie to deal with it.

Like he always did.

He would rather leave the house than stay and face what was really going on.

The order form that Coop had been attempting to read crumpled in his fist as he banged the top of the desk in frustration.

How could he be so stupid? He knew Lottie was one step away from walking out of his life, and instead of staying calm and trying to make things work, he let himself get riled up and pulled into another argument.

And worse, he'd yelled at her. Not a simple raised voice in the heat of the moment, but Coop had let loose and shouted, practically in her face.

Lottie wanted out, and after tonight, he couldn't blame her. Coop wouldn't have blamed her if she'd hauled off and slapped him. It was the least of what he deserved. He didn't know what had gotten into him. Coop hadn't ever been the type of person to yell at anyone, least of all his wife.

The sound of the bell above the store door pulled Coop from his thoughts. He hadn't thought to lock it behind him, but it was nearly eleven at night. Who could it be this late at night? The lights in the front were still off, and Coop couldn't see clearly through the window.

"Coop? Are you in here?" Wesley's voice called out from somewhere near the front.

Coop dropped his head in his hands, rubbing his eyes. "Back here," he said, his voice sounding muffled by his hands.

Wesley appeared at the door. "Hey," he said simply as he leaned against the doorframe and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Hey," Coop replied. He sat back in his chair and looked up at Wesley. "I guess Lottie called Anna?"

Wesley shook his head. "Actually, Anna called Lottie."

Coop looked away as he said, "She's gonna leave."

Wesley moved to sit down in the other chair and said, "Oh, so this is a pity party and you can tell the future now? Good to know."

Coop glared at him from the corner of his eye. He ignored him for a moment as he smoothed out the order form and placed it on a pile next to his laptop. He wasn't in the mood for sarcasm. Not tonight. "It doesn't take a genius to figure it out, Wes," he snapped. "She's been planning it for weeks now, and tonight was probably the last straw. She wants to leave."

Wesley shrugged and said, "So give her a reason to stay."

Coop shook his head. "It's not that simple. I'm not gonna force her to stay when it's clear she ain't happy."

"You're being an idiot and you know it," Wesley said. He leaned toward Coop across the desk. "Do you want to lose her?"

"You know I don't," Coop said instantly. "But I'm sick of the fighting. I'm tired of coming home every night and feeling like I may as well have just stayed here. Every day it's another argument, and I know some of it is my fault. I can own up to that, but not all of it is, and if she doesn't want to work it out, then why should I?"

"Maybe she wants to know you're willing to fight for her. Maybe she's feeling the same way, but you'll never know unless you stop hiding out and actually talk to her."