My One and Only(50)

“I’m a single mom, and my life isn’t so bad,” Carrie interjected. “You make it sound like a handicap.”

Abby doubled-down. “Her life is going to be harder now than it would have been if she’d not had a baby. That’s just a fact.”

“You don’t know that,” Carrie argued. “There are worse things in life than having a baby on your own. She could have ended up with a guy who used her for a punching bag. Trust me, that’s a crappier life than raising a little one by yourself.”

“Who wants another drink?” Haleigh asked. “I’m buying.” Why Abby had turned anti-single-mom was a mystery, but this was no time for a cat fight.

“I need to check on Molly,” Carrie said. The little girl had fallen asleep less than an hour before and had been put down in a playpen in the kitchen.

As the offended mother strode into the house, Abby said, “I need a break,” and took off around the side of Cooper’s house, presumably toward the front porch. Or maybe to the car. Haleigh wouldn’t be surprised if she sat in the Fusion for the rest of the evening. At least she hadn’t demanded that they leave. Yet. Shocking as it sounded, Haleigh was actually having a good time.

She hadn’t hung out with a group of women in a long time, and the lazy feeling of having nowhere to be and nothing that she should be doing felt refreshingly liberating. Technically, she should have been sleeping, but as someone famous once said, she could sleep when she was dead.

Or retired. Either way, Haleigh wasn’t ready for the cookout to end.

Lorelei broke the silence. “That wasn’t awkward at all.”

“Not a bit,” Haleigh agreed. She could have apologized for her friend, but Abby’s behavior belonged to Abby alone. If anyone gave an apology, it would have to be her.

“Oh, hey,” Lorelei said. “Has Cooper introduced you to his ladies?”

“Um . . .” Haleigh mumbled. “His what?”

“Cooper!” she hollered across the expansive back yard. “You need to show Haleigh where you keep your girls.”

As if this wasn’t the most bizarre request ever, Cooper saluted with his beer bottle, excused himself from the men, and headed their way.

“Okay,” Haleigh said, dragging the word out. “This should be interesting.”

“It’s quite posh, actually,” Snow assured her as Cooper took Haleigh’s hand.

“Come on,” he said. “Let’s take a walk.”

Too stunned and confused to argue, Haleigh allowed Cooper to lead her into a copse of trees. The daunting thought occurred that this was exactly how teenage girls ended up murdered in all those horror movies. Lured by the cute guy to find a secluded spot where they could get frisky, and then bam, out jumped the serial killer.

“Whoever these girls are, they’re alive, right?”

“From saint to murderer,” he said, navigating them along a stone pathway. “You really need to make up your mind about me.”

“Just keep walking, smart-ass,” she murmured. “And don’t get any funny ideas.”

Heaven knew she was having enough for the both of them.





Chapter 16

“I’m not sure if they’re outside or not, but they make an appearance when I turn on the light.” Cooper flipped two switches on the side of the shed and waited.

“You have to be kidding me,” Haleigh said. “Is that a chicken coop?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Are there chickens in it?”

“Nope,” he teased. “Rhinos.”

That earned him a smack on the arm. “Don’t be a jerk. I can’t believe you have chickens.” When she noticed the sign over the door, she said, “Coop’s Coop? Really?”

He gave a half shrug. “That’s what it is.”

As Haleigh inspected his latest project, Cooper took the opportunity to study her. In the moonlight, her hair glowed like braided reeds of wheat, while her lashes created tiny shadows on her cheeks. The face almost always etched with skepticism softened to resemble the girl who’d teased him over his cereal bowl and helped him pass geometry.

When they were kids, Haleigh had been fearless. The first to jump in the pool or flip on the trampoline. In their teen years, she’d pulled back. Preferred studying over skateboards. The library over loud parties on the river bank. Cooper couldn’t help but believe the gutsy young girl remained buried in there somewhere. Based on the look that crossed her face as the girls popped out of the coop, his suspicions were confirmed.

“Oh my gosh,” she said. “There they are. I haven’t seen chickens up close like this since elementary school when they took us out to Silvestri’s farm and called it a field trip.”