She shook her head as she gathered the corn in another paper towel. “I’m your mother, Cooper. I know everything.”
He didn’t like the sound of that.
“Now, what are you going to do about Haleigh Rae?”
“I’m not going to do anything about Haleigh Rae. And you’re not going to do anything, either,” he ordered. “No meddling. Promise me.”
“You aren’t getting any younger, you know.”
They’d been over this more times than he could count. “For the last time, when I marry, I’m only doing it once. That’s it. And that means no wedding until I find a girl that I can’t live without. So far, that hasn’t happened, but you’ll be the first to know if it does.”
Leaning forward as if sharing a great secret, she said, “Cooper, you’ve loved that girl forever. You have to at least give it a try.”
He copied her movements. “Like I said, I’ll let you know if the right girl comes around.”
As the implication sank in, Linda Ridgeway sat back with a wide grin splitting her face. Nodding her approval, she said, “That’s my boy.”
Haleigh’s shift didn’t start until noon, which gave her plenty of time to shower and make a call before arriving at the hospital an hour early to track down Abby. As expected, Raquel had been disappointed but supportive, apologizing for being out of reach while dinging Haleigh for walking into the bar in the first place. An addict knew better than to tempt fate, especially when her defenses were down.
She took the scolding without argument or offense. Every word her sponsor said had been the truth. They’d agreed that avoiding future encounters with her mother would be the best way to go, but since Haleigh wasn’t prepared to cut her mother out of her life, she’d agreed to search for a local counselor to get herself back on track.
Feeling like a failure was nothing new, but stung nonetheless. What mattered now was getting back on the wagon and staying there.
As she made the drive to the hospital, Haleigh contemplated the impending conversation with Abby, which allowed her not to think about Jessi’s lecture. Though she had sunk to the childish level of leaving a sticky note on the fridge informing the little know-it-all that Haleigh was only thirty-one, thank you very much.
What did the girl know anyway? Clearly, her mother had set the bar pretty low when it came to standards for her daughter. With a parent like the one Jessi described, why would any child care about winning her approval? The careless woman didn’t even know where her daughter was right now. The daughter who was supposedly still pregnant.
“I have fifteen minutes,” Abby said, meeting Haleigh near the elevators outside neurology. “We can talk in the lounge up here.”
Her tone was all business. Not a good sign.
“Whatever you want,” Haleigh said, keeping up with her friend’s brisk pace.
Thankfully, the lounge was empty since Abby didn’t pull any punches. The moment they stepped through the door, she said, “I thought you gave up drinking.”
“I did,” Haleigh defended. “It was one slip.”
“If Cooper had to bring you home, it was more than a slip,” Abby said, slamming her hands into the pockets of her scrubs. “What’s going on between the two of you?”
“Hold on a minute.” Haleigh got enough of this crap from her mother. She didn’t need it from her best friend, too. “I had a rough night and threw back a couple drinks. Unfortunately, I did it on an empty stomach and a couple was all it took to go too far. I didn’t ask Cooper to bring me home. In fact, I didn’t have a choice in the matter since he threatened to throw me over his shoulder and carry me out of the bar.”
Tapping her foot, Abby said, “I heard you in the kitchen last night. You were flirting.”
“I was drunk.” This was ridiculous. Haleigh had screwed up. There was no denying that. But she hadn’t committed any sins with Cooper. “I’m going to ignore this interrogation because I know you’re still not in a good place. And having Emma around isn’t helping. To sum up, I fell off the wagon. I’m seeking counseling to make sure it doesn’t happen again. And I’m not flirting with your brother. End of discussion.”
Before Haleigh reached the door, Abby said, “I don’t want to see him hurt.” When her friend turned around, she added, “I don’t want to see either of you hurt, but Cooper isn’t like you. He wears his heart on his sleeve. Easier for someone to break.”
Fighting to hide her feelings, Haleigh shook her head. “I don’t plan on hurting him, Abby.”