Injury (17 page)

Chapter 31

Working late again. So
sorry I won’t be able to see you today either.

Cope’s shoulders sagged when he read the text message from
Dani. For the third day in a row, they wouldn’t be getting together. It crossed
his mind she was pushing him out of her life, but then he shoved it aside. What
reason would Dani have for avoiding him? If there was a problem with their
relationship, she’d come to him with it. Though uneasy, he texted back a quick
No worries, my beauty. We’ll catch up
tomorrow night.

Tomorrow was Friday. She’d never worked so late on a Friday
they couldn’t get together. Cope turned his attention back to his work,
reviewing the schedules for his drivers. He had five cars and eight drivers—all
reliable men and women with martial arts training and licensed to conceal
carry.

The phone rang,
Copeland
appearing on the call display. Cope snatched it up and said, “Hello?”

“Bobby. How are you?”

“Fine, thanks, Mother. What’s up?” Cope leaned back in his
chair and stretched his legs out in front of him. Tension he hadn’t realized he
held released in his shoulders, back, and legs.

“Are you busy tonight? Come for dinner. Invite Dani. We
haven’t seen her since the night of the party.”

“Dani’s working late tonight.” Cope sighed, blowing
frustration into the mouthpiece.

“Something wrong between you and Dani?”

To Cope, the concern in Margaret’s voice was touching. She’d
been so pushy about getting him and Katherine together it was refreshing to
have her include Dani in dinner plans.

“No. She’s just been busy for the last three days, and we
haven’t been able to get together. I miss her.”

“Oh, what a shame. Come for dinner yourself, then. It’ll
give you something to do.”

He considered his options. Nothing to do after work anyway,
and it sure beat sitting at home missing Dani. Not the type to pine over a
girlfriend, Cope chalked the angst up to the days he was without her during
their separation. It’d been his doing. What if she was avoiding him because she
was afraid to get close to him again?
Stop
it. She’s just working late.

“Okay, Mother. I’ll be there.”

“Wonderful.” Enthusiasm bubbled over as she made him promise
to be there by seven o’clock that evening.

To Cope, she seemed a little too empathetic about Dani’s
absence. Margaret didn’t approve of the relationship, and as far as he knew,
nothing had changed to make her grow fond of his girlfriend. Maybe Margaret
loved him enough to consider his happiness? That thought made him smile. He
didn’t believe it for a minute.

Not that she didn’t love him, but her obsession with only
associating with the right people meant that accepting Dani into the family was
a definite challenge for Margaret. Cope had no illusions his mother could
accept the young actress unconditionally. Even so, Cope thanked Margaret for
the dinner invitation and ended the conversation daring to hope that Dani and
Margaret might become friends.

***

Dani arrived home by six o’clock, and guilt made her ask Ryan
to drive the limo into the underground parking to let her out. She doubted Cope
would sit out there watching for her, but she didn’t want to take the risk.

Once she was up in her apartment, she made herself a protein
shake for dinner and sat on the couch to sip it while she waited for Liz to
arrive. Liz was filming two scenes in the
Injury
sequel at the studio. She had a speaking part, though it was a small one, and
her character was killed off three-quarters of the way through the movie.

A beep from the cell phone signaled an incoming message, and
Dani snatched it up. Cope.
Sorry you
can’t have dinner with me. I’m heading to my parents’ place. Don’t work too
late.

She set down the phone. If she replied too quickly, he’d
suspect she wasn’t working. A knot formed in her stomach and the protein shake
suddenly didn’t sit so well. Dani returned to the kitchen and teared up as she
went through the motions of dumping the rest of the drink and washing the cup.
For three days now, Margaret’s words had made her avoid Cope.

An inability to decide whether to end the relationship or
tell Cope his mother was trying to break them up kept her from contacting him.
She didn’t want to give him up, but she also didn’t want to hold him back. Was
she an albatross around his neck as Margaret claimed? Would she end up making
him miserable?

The ache in her heart had been constant, distracting her on
the set. At least she could use that to her advantage since her character was
grieving the loss of her partner and unable to focus. But she was screwing up
in other scenes, which meant extra takes. The location shoot would drag on
longer than originally scheduled, and while not all of it was due to Dani’s
emotional state, she knew part of it was.

Liz arrived, Dani buzzed her in, and when the doorbell rang,
she checked the peephole before opening the door.

“Are you okay? You look worried?” Liz hugged Dani.

At that, Dani burst into tears. Liz led her to the couch,
and Dani choked out her encounter with Margaret. “What should I do? She’s
right. He’s better off without me. I’m nothing but a burden to him.” Head
hanging, her tears dripped unrestrained.

Liz took Dani’s hands in hers. “Look at me.”

Dani reluctantly raised her head and looked into Liz’s eyes.

“You are a kind, loving, wonderful person, and any man would
be lucky to have you. He loves you, and you love him. That should be reason
enough for you to give it a chance.”

“I want what’s best for him.”

“Why are you so damn sure that’s not you?”

“Oh, God, Liz, I’ve done so many stupid things. How will I
live it down?”

Liz was quiet for a moment. When she spoke, the words came
out slow but strong, as though she weighed each one. “You know what you did.
How do you live with it now? You’re afraid that if what you did becomes public,
you’ll be so embarrassed you won’t be able to … what? Leave the house? Make
another movie? Live? Love? Be happy? Are you going to give strangers that much
power over your life?”

Dani gave Liz a weak smile. “No. What’ll Cope think of me
when he finds out? He’ll hate me.”

“So to prevent something that might not happen, you’ll
preempt
it by leaving him first?”

“When you put it that way, it sounds silly.”

“That’s because you’re letting that Copeland bitch get into
your head.”

“You weren’t there, Liz. She was brutal. She hates me
because of who I am.”

“It’s amazing that she’s got such a wonderful son.”

“Yes, but what if she turns him against me?”

“Have you considered coming clean to him? If he knows, then
if it gets out, he won’t be shocked and will be there to support you. Besides,
if he leaves you because of that, then you’re better off without him, not the
other way around.”

Relief flooded through Dani. “You’re right. See, that’s why
I hang out with you. You’re the best girlfriend ever.”

Liz laughed. “It’ll be okay. Don’t give your power to
anyone. Now, let’s practice our lines for tomorrow.”

Dani smiled, feeling better than she had in days, and went
to get the script and put the kettle on.

Chapter 32

When Cope walked in the door of his parents’ place, Katherine
was there to greet him. Happy to see her, but sensing Margaret’s stratagem
behind it, Cope kept things light and casual through dinner. After the meal, he
escorted Katherine to the kitchen in the backyard and guided her to the large,
rectangular table behind the marble-top island. “You’re aware my mother is
trying to fix us up, right?”

Katherine pulled out a chair and sat while Cope went to the
bar and fixed the drinks. “Perhaps it’s time I told her I’m seeing someone
else?” Katherine said.

“If you did that, she’d want details. Are you ready to come
out to my family? I’m sure my sibs will be okay with it, but my parents?
Dubious.”

“I’m a big girl, Cope. I can handle it. If she doesn’t like
who I am, it’s not my problem. Are you okay with that? Because it sounds as if
you’re afraid to face your mother’s prejudices.”

“Sorry it came out that way, Kate.” He poured a glass of red
wine for Katherine and grabbed a beer from the fridge for himself. “I don’t
want her to make you unhappy. She can be controlling. We’ve grown up with it
and have learned to deal, but you haven’t seen her at her worst.”

“Is she homophobic?”

Cope carried the drinks to the table and contemplated the
question. “She hasn’t expressed any hatred for gays, so probably not.”

Katherine smiled. “What are you trying to protect me from?
Bet you’re afraid she’ll stop pushing us together. Admit it. You have the
hots
for me, and you’ve been pining away all these years.”

Cope laughed. “Okay, you got me.” He paused and then
continued. “You’re right though. It’s time we put an end to this charade. If
you’re okay with me outing you to my family and to Dani, then I’m okay with
telling them.”

At the thought of Dani, Cope frowned. He sat at the table
next to Katherine and took her hand. “Not to change the subject, but I need
relationship advice. Since you date women too, and you are one, perhaps you can
help me?”

“Of course.”

“Dani’s avoiding me. I’m sure she is. She’s telling me she’s
working late, which might be true, but she barely acknowledges my texts.
Something has changed, made her pull away. I can feel it.”

“You’ve got nothing concrete?”

“I understand how that sounds. But Kate, we went from seeing
each other every night and texting throughout the day, to not seeing each other
and me texting and her rarely responding.”

“She’s a busy actress.” Katherine reached out a hand and
stroked his face. “If I were attracted to men, it would’ve been easy for your
mom to get us together. You’re a great guy. Give her time, Cope. She knows
you’re here for her. You’re not worried she’s found someone else?”

“No. That’s ridiculous. When we split up, she was
devastated.” What if Dani was pulling back because she was afraid he’d leave
her again? An urge to talk to her welled up, and he considered walking out and
finding her, even if he had to track her down on location. He groaned. “You
were right when you said I’ve got it bad.”

The sound of the patio door sliding open made him look up.
Margaret stepped outside and beamed a smile at them when her gaze landed on
Cope’s hands clasping Katherine’s. Cope caught Katherine’s eye, and she nodded,
sliding her hand from Cope’s.

“Oh, no, don’t let me interrupt you two lovebirds.”

“It’s all right. We were just talking.” Kate beamed a return
smile.

“There’s something you should know, Mother.”

Margaret walked to the bar and pulled out a bottle of scotch
and a rocks glass. Cope watched her pour two fingers for herself and return the
bottle to the cabinet. “What’s that, dear?” Her voice sounded hopeful, and her
face brightened.

Shit. She was probably already planning their wedding.
“Katherine was telling me about the person she met in college and plans to move
in with.”

Margaret’s face fell, her jaw clenched, and the smile that
appeared this time looked forced. “How delightful. Tell me about him.”

“It’s not a ‘him.’ It’s a ‘her.’ Julie, my roommate in
college. It turned out we had a lot in common, and before long, we fell in
love. We were friends first, and living together at school drew us even closer
together. I’m going to move to New Mexico with her.”

Surprised at this last bit of information, Cope took her
hand again. “Katie, you didn’t tell me you were moving out of state.” His tone
was accusatory. The thought of his best female friend moving away, maybe
forever, shocked him.

Katherine squeezed his hand. “I’m sorry. I knew you’d be
disappointed, and I didn’t want to see that look on your face you just gave
me.”

“Wait a minute.” Margaret’s shocked voice interrupted.
“You’re not gay, Katherine. Did this woman turn you? I can recommend a
therapist.”

To Katherine’s credit, she gave a good-natured chuckle and
smiled indulgently at Margaret. “I’ve always been attracted to women. It’s not
a mental illness. Didn’t you ever wonder why Cope and I were such good friends
all our lives and never dated?”

“I thought you just needed a push in the right direction.”

“I’m in the right direction. So is Cope. He loves Dani, and
I hope you can be happy for them.”

“Yes, well, could be Bobby doesn’t know this girl as well as
he thinks he does.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Damn it, he was tired of his
mother’s attitude about Dani. So what if she wasn’t from a wealthy family? Who
cares what her parents had done? This was about Dani. Sweet, gentle, vulnerable
Dani.

“It means if you knew her better, you wouldn’t be so quick
to sleep with her. I hope you use protection when you’re inside her.” She spit
the words at him. He’d never seen her so furious.

“Jesus Christ, Mother. What a thing to say about the woman I
love.”

“There’s something you should know about the woman you love.
I didn’t want to show you this, but it’s time to tell you the truth.” Margaret
stepped back into the house and returned a few seconds later with her cell
phone. She started a video and held the phone out so both Cope and Katherine
could see it.

The sight of Dani in bed with Greg Henderson and another
woman turned Cope’s stomach. “Turn it off. Where did you get this? When was
that taken?” It couldn’t be recent. He refused to believe that this had
happened while he and Dani were together.

“When she was dating Henderson. The private investigator I
hired to check out your girlfriend dug it up. I didn’t want to bring it to you,
but since that girl—” Margaret wrinkled her nose on the word girl and
continued, “refuses to stay away from you, it’s time you realized what kind of
whore you’re dating.”

“What do you mean she refuses to stay away from me? What
have you done?” He’d been right all along. He should have trusted his feeling
that something was wrong and confronted Dani.

Margaret looked panicked and took a backward step. “Nothing.
I didn’t do anything.”

Cope didn’t believe her. She’d always interfered, and he
could tell she’d meddled now. The video. “You showed it to Dani?” Worse. “You
threatened her with it.”

“I was trying to help you, Bobby. She’s trash. Her whole
family is trash.”

Big Cope stepped outside. “What’s going on?” He looked from
one to the other. “I heard raised voices.”

Cope ignored him and grabbed Katherine by the hand. “Let’s
go, Kate. I have to talk to Dani. I can’t be here anymore.”

“Wait.” Margaret’s voice, commanding, stopped them, and they
both turned and met her gaze. Cheeks puffed out, brows furrowed, Margaret
reminded Cope of an angry chipmunk.

“What is it?” His voice came out tired, resigned. “What
now?”

“If you insist on seeing her, you won’t inherit anything.
Tell him, Rupert.”

“I’m sorry. Son, I have nothing against the girl, but we
don’t want someone like her burrowing into this family. We have to protect
ourselves from gold diggers and pariahs.”

“Dad, I can believe Mother would do this, but not you.”

“Then you don’t know me. It’s not personal, son, it’s
business.”

“Fuck you both. I don’t care about your wealth. It’s not
business, Dad, it’s personal.” He turned on his heel and walked out, Katherine
following him.

Cope drove Katherine home but decided it was too late to
call Dani though it took him another twenty minutes to actually drop the idea.
By the time he pulled out of Katherine’s driveway, it was almost two o’clock.
Dani was likely asleep and shooting always started early. He’d be one selfish
S.O.B. if he called her now to talk about his needs, wants, and desires.
Frustrated, he drove home, promising himself he’d call her first thing in the
morning.