My One and Only(43)
That meant they needed to exhaust all other avenues before outing the guy publicly. For all their sakes, Cooper hoped something would turn up soon.
Between late Saturday afternoon and lunchtime on Monday, Haleigh had delivered seventeen babies. A record for her career, and a feat she never wanted to achieve again. Whatever had leaked into the Ardent Springs water supply nine months before, Haleigh was just glad that she hadn’t been around to drink it.
The weekend baby boom had kept her so busy, she hadn’t seen Abby since their eye-opening chat two days before. Losing Kyle had changed her friend. Though less outgoing than her twin, Abby had been just as sweet and generous as her brother. Always ready with a positive word and a ready smile. Abigail Ridgeway had been the saving grace that kept Haleigh from succumbing to the permeating darkness at home. A source of acceptance without limit or condition.
For Abby to imply that Haleigh was little more than a wrecking ball destined to destroy anyone who stepped too close hit like a left hook. If the only person who had ever believed in her saw nothing left to redeem, who was Haleigh to argue?
The only person who had anything nice to say about Haleigh as a person was Cooper. Poor, blind Cooper. Even if Abby hadn’t warned her off, she’d have kept a distance between them. If they got too close, he’d see what Haleigh really was. Delusion or not, Cooper’s misplaced faith might be the only weapon to keep her demons at bay. If just one person believed she was worth saving, then maybe she was.
“That’s four twenty-five,” said the young man behind the register.
Haleigh had taken advantage of the respite to grab a coffee and a muffin from the cafeteria. She handed over a five, and then pocketed the change.
“I was hoping I’d find you here,” said a gentle voice from her right.
The heat of humiliation danced up Haleigh’s neck. She’d hoped to avoid the number one witness to her Brubaker’s performance.
“Hey, Carrie. How are you?” To the drooling baby on the woman’s hip, Haleigh said, “You’re getting cuter every day, little one.”
“She is, isn’t she?” Carrie beamed. “I know you’re busy, but do you have two minutes you can spare? I’d like to talk to you about something.”
Certain this would be another conversation about Cooper, Haleigh said, “I’m not sure . . .”
“Please. It’s about something you said Friday night.”
“Whatever it was, I’m sorry. I wasn’t myself that night.” A sorry excuse, but nothing better came to mind.
“There’s nothing to apologize for,” Carrie assured her. “We all have our off days. But you said something about there being more important needs in this area than a restored movie theater.”
She didn’t recall making that statement to anyone other than Cooper, but she wasn’t about to contradict the woman. “I might have said that.”
“You did, and I agree with you.”
Someone agreed with her? Maybe she did want to have this conversation. Glancing down at the food in her hands, she said, “Let’s find a seat. That little one has to be getting heavy, and I’d really like to eat this.”
Carrie smiled. “We can do that.”
The pair found an empty table in the corner. Haleigh set down her coffee and muffin, and then retrieved a high chair from beside the drinks station. When she returned, she realized that Molly might not be big enough for a high chair.
“Can she sit in this?”
“Sure,” Carrie answered, whipping a piglet-covered contraption from her diaper bag. “I just need you to hold her while I put this in the chair first.”
Before Haleigh could argue, she found a wide-eyed four-month-old blinking up at her. Instead of letting out a wail of protest, the baby nestled into her shoulder as if they were old friends.
“I think she likes me.”
Carrie glanced up. “She should. You are the first person to ever hold her, after all.”
A humbling thought. And true hundreds of times over, but Haleigh had never considered her job in that context. Feeling more at ease, Haleigh settled into her chair cuddling Molly close. “This is kind of nice.”
Dark brows drew together. “Dr. Mitchner, you act like holding a baby is a new experience.”
“Please, call me Haleigh,” she said. “And in this context, it is a new experience.”
Sliding the piglet cover over the back of the high chair, Carrie said, “That’s silly. You deal with babies all day.”
A common misconception. “I deal with mothers all day. I only hold babies for a matter of seconds before I pass them off to someone way more qualified to deal with them. And they’re usually screaming at me, not all quiet and loving like this sweet girl.”