Defensive Daddy

anger that I didn’t even know where to start. “You have no right—”

“Hey, Ethan, right?” Cooper appeared around the corner, his hand already reaching out toward my ex-fiancé. “I don’t believe we’ve met. I’m Cooper Henley. Everything okay here?”

Ethan looked affronted, completely taken aback by Cooper’s appearance and forwardness. He stared at his outstretched hand like it was a gesture he didn’t understand. “Heard a lot about you,” Ethan advised through clenched teeth. His hands remained at his sides.

“Likewise.” Cooper smirked darkly as he lowered his hand, choosing instead to place it on my back. “Everything okay?”

I knew I needed to diffuse the situation, and fast, but Ethan beat me to it. “Look, Cooper, I don’t know who you think you are—”

“Cooper Henley,” he interjected. “That’s who I am. The hockey player, who happens to live down the hall. You’d know that if you’d let me introduce myself properly.”

“Wise guy, huh?”

Ethan stepped forward, and I immediately tried to take a step back. But Cooper’s hand on my back kept me rooted in place.

“I’m not here to start trouble,” he explained to Ethan.

But Ethan wasn’t listening. “You walk in here and start playing Daddy Daycare with my son, and House with my ex, and you think that’s not going to start trouble?”

“Your ex needed a babysitter, and I had services I was more than happy to provide her.”

I sent a glaring look at Cooper, knowing damn well the innuendo was on purpose. “You both need to calm—”

“I’ll bet you were,” Ethan sneered. He was close to Cooper now. Too close. “Well, I’ve got news for you, neighbor. My son already has a father, and Samantha—”

“Samantha’s a big girl,” Cooper snapped. “She can make her own decisions. Just like you made yours. You had your chance with that beautiful woman,” he said, pointing at me with his free hand. “And you blew it.”

Ethan laughed. Actually laughed. “You think I give a damn that you’re getting your rocks off with my—”

Cooper was away from my side in a fraction of a second. He pushed Ethan up against the back of the door, his forearm pressed tightly against his throat.

“Cooper!” I gasped. “Let him go!” I stared back toward the hallway to confirm Levi was nowhere close by, then tried to pull him off Ethan.

“I think it’s about time someone taught you some fucking manners,” Cooper hissed, his face only inches from Ethan’s. He was only a few inches taller, but had more muscle than his opponent, even with his shoulder injury, and he knew how to use it. “If you think for one minute I’m going to stand by and let you disrespect Samantha in front of me, you’re wrong. Dead wrong.”

The venom in his voice sent chills down my spine.

“As for Levi,” Cooper continued, his tone raw and menacing, and edged with a malice I’d never witnessed from him before. “Yes, I’m his babysitter. I spend every day I can with him, five days a week, since I’m not currently playing hockey. If that bothers you because you think I’m trying to fill your shoes, you don’t need to worry. Your shoes are too damn small for me, anyway.”

I pulled at Cooper’s arm again, and this time he let me lead him away. “C’mon, enough,” I pleaded, but he’d already taken a few steps back, pulling me with him.

The deadly glares both men wore could have melted steel, and as I turned from one murderous face to the other, I realized I was the one who’d had enough.

“Where’s Levi?” I asked Cooper.

“In his bedroom. Door’s closed.”

“Good, because what I have to say to both of you isn’t something he needs to hear.”

Neither of them so much as stole a glance at me.

“Stop it,” I demanded. “Both of you. Now, Cooper knows how our relationship ended, Ethan. If you don’t like that, that’s not really my problem.”

I turned to Cooper, intent on keeping my ex from responding with some vile retort. “And you, I know you’re just trying to help, but you need to cool your jets. We’ll never get anything solved this way.”

Ethan’s eyes widened. “He’s a—”

“A what, Ethan?” I snapped, rounding on him. “A godsend? A man who stepped up and helped me when I didn’t think I had anyone left to be helped by?” I jutted my finger out, pointing vehemently at Cooper. “That man makes me happy. That’s not what this is about, but I need you to know that. He makes me happy. But you know what? He makes your son happier than he’s been in ages, too, Ethan. Because he’s someone Levi sees every day, someone who dotes on him, and someone who lets him be a kid. He’s not just around for a few hours, who turns the TV on for him while he goes off and talks on the phone or pours over files and reports.”