He'd let her down.
Cooper swallowed back the guilt and turned out onto the highway. After stewing in self-loathing all week, he had a to-do list a mile long, so he headed into Provincetown. The hardware store there had plenty he needed, and the longer he could distract himself with work, the less time he'd have to spend thinking about Poppy, and that tentative smile of hers disappearing from sight. The store aisles were busy, and he soon had a couple of carts filled with the AC units he needed, and plenty of pipe for the bathrooms, too. He was halfway down the electrics aisle, when someone studying the shelf stepped back, into his path.
"Excuse me," he muttered, and the woman turned.
"Cooper!" she exclaimed, and his heart sank another inch. It was Laura, juggling three different boxes in her arms with her stroller right beside her. He braced himself for an awkward pause, but Laura just smiled. "Perfect timing," she said. "I'm trying to fix the fuse box, and I can't tell which size I need."
"You, fixing?" Cooper couldn't help but remark.
She gave a rueful laugh. "I know, but Steve's out of town at a conference in Chicago, so I'm fighting this battle alone."
"What's the problem?" Cooper asked. Her kid was straining to reach a bin of screws, but before he could say anything, Laura neatly wheeled him back, out of reach.
"No idea," she said brightly. "All I know is that when I plugged my hairdryer in, all the lights went out, and no amount of flipping them up and down does a thing."
"Sounds like you blew it out." He paused, thinking of all the times Laura had tried to fix things when they were dating-and just how badly that worked out. Left to her own devices, she'd probably wind up electrocuting herself. Or worse. "If you want, I can come replace it," he offered reluctantly.
"Oh, no it's OK." Laura looked startled. "I was going to call Hank and see if he could come out-"
"That'll take until next week," Cooper interrupted. "You know. Come on, it won't be five minutes. It's the least I can do," he added gruffly.
"Well . . . thank you," Laura said, still looking awkward. "If it's not too much trouble."
"None at all. Are you still at Seashore Drive?" he asked, and she nodded. "I can head over now, when all this is loaded. You better get both sizes, until I know what we need."
"OK," Laura said. "I'll see you there."
Cooper headed to the check-out line and got his purchases stowed away in the back. He knew where Laura lived, backing onto the nature preserve, and when he pulled up in the driveway, she was already home.
She greeted him at the door with Brady on her hip. "Thanks again," she said, looking frazzled. "I didn't even realize, but the freezer turned off, too. If I don't get power back, we're going to be eating thawed salmon for a week. Come on in," she stood back, and beckoned him inside.
"It's no problem." Cooper wiped his boots on the mat. He couldn't stop himself from looking around, curious about the life she'd built. The small house was nothing like the one they'd shared together. It was cluttered and homey, with toys on the floor and family photos on every wall.
"The fuse box is in the basement. Sorry about the mess, you'll need this." She handed him a flashlight and the fuses, and led him to the stairs.
"I'll put this one down for his nap. Watch out for the bottom step, it gives way. That's what you get for an old house, not that I need to tell you that," she added with a flustered grin.
"They call it charm, I call it dry rot." Cooper nodded. She was nervous, he could tell, but he didn't blame her. He hadn't exactly been on friendly terms since the breakup. Sure, they were polite enough, seeing each other around, but this was the first time he could remember them being alone together in years.
Brady let out a disgruntled sound, tugging at her braid.
Well, almost alone.
"I'll get to it," Cooper gestured awkwardly, and then headed down into the basement-taking care on the bottom step. With the torch, the fuse box was easy enough to find, and luckily Laura had bought the right kind. He had the faulty ones switched out in no time, and when he flipped the switch, he saw the lights upstairs turn on.
"Angel," Laura greeted him when he emerged back up to the kitchen. She'd changed into a fresh T-shirt-not stained with baby drool-and had her hair caught up in a ponytail. "Can I get you a coffee? Tea? Half-thawed filet of salmon?"
"It's fine, I should be going." Cooper still felt out of place, but she insisted.