My One and Only(14)

David the Dipshit was never good enough for you, Haleigh Rae. You’re the prettiest and smartest girl at this school. Heck, in the whole county.

She’d laughed through her tears, but couldn’t bear the humiliation of walking back into the dance. After making sure his date was taken care of, Cooper had driven her home, assuring her the whole way that everything would work out. Haleigh didn’t see how that was possible, since her mother was going to kill her when she found out about the baby.

That’s when Cooper had attempted to fall on his sword. The proposal had taken Haleigh by complete surprise. The whole thing was so ridiculous that she couldn’t help but laugh it off, certain that he’d been more than a little relieved by her refusal. Two weeks later, he’d driven her to Nashville, paid more than half of the abortion fee, which he’d insisted on doing regardless of her protests, and driven her back home. All without judgment or condemnation.

When they’d reached her house, Haleigh had once again cried on Cooper’s shoulder. Whether the tears came from sorrow or relief, she’d never figured out—she’d been hit by waves of both. And in his typical way, Cooper had been ready with the handkerchief.

Bright lights snapped Haleigh back to the present. A horn blared as she swerved to the right and skidded to a halt on the shoulder of the road. Heart racing, she looked for markers in order to determine where she was. The sign for Mount Hope Cemetery put her on Tucker Road, several miles outside of town.

Adrenaline pumping, her forehead dropped to the center of the wheel.

Her first thought was, Thank God I’m alive. Her second was that she owed Cooper Ridgeway an apology.





Chapter 5

Though he’d been lifting weights for more than an hour, Cooper’s adrenaline continued to run on full throttle. He couldn’t stop picturing Haleigh’s car wrapped around a tree, and the fear that his phone would ring with the sheriff calling for a wrecker kept him on edge.

Why had he gone and said something so stupid? As if he wouldn’t give a rat’s ass if she got hurt. He should have gone after her right away, but by the time he’d finished nursing his injured pride, it was anybody’s guess where she’d gone.

Not that he could have left Jessi and the baby alone anyway. The girl was still technically a stranger in Abby’s house. He’d stayed until Abby arrived home from work to take over settling in her new tenants.

Finishing another twenty reps, Cooper shook the fog from his brain. Haleigh had peeled out hours ago, and he hadn’t gotten a call or heard any accident reports over the scanner. She was fine. She didn’t need his help. And he needed to get a freaking grip.

Maybe Haleigh was right. The hero act needed to stop. Not that Cooper went out of his way looking for opportunities to save people. Or that he did it all that often. He sure as heck hadn’t been looking for a pregnant teenager when he’d found Jessi. And that birth thing was not an experience he wanted to repeat. Horror flicks had nothing on that mess.

So how did he stop something that he wasn’t intentionally doing? And did he really want to stop? If someone was in trouble, the right thing to do was to help. That’s how his mother had raised him. His father’s philosophy had been to look out for himself and to hell with everyone else. Thankfully, his mother’s influence had won out.

So was he supposed to carry Jessi out of the storage building and drop her at the bus station? Looking out for people was in his DNA, and Cooper wasn’t about to change who he was. Not even for Haleigh Rae Mitchner.

Lost in his own mental pep talk, Cooper barely heard the knock on his front door over the Jason Aldean tune blaring from his speakers. Dropping the thirty-pounders at his feet, he cut the radio on his way to the front door.

“Who the—” he said as he swung the door open to find the last person he expected. “Haleigh Rae?” Cooper’s gut hit the floor as she stared at him with an expression most women reserved for desserts and shoes. Her mouth moved, but nothing came out while brown eyes ogled his bare chest.

“Are you lost?” he asked, proud of himself for not begging her to come in. Though if she kept looking at him like that he’d be tempted to invite her upstairs for a different kind of workout.

“No. Um . . . You’re wet,” she finally managed. “And shirtless.”

“I’m working out and I was hot.”

“Yes. Yes, you are.” The woman looked ready to jump his bones. “I mean, of course you are. Were,” she quickly corrected. “You were obviously working out. And I’m sorry to disturb you, but this will only take a minute.”