Abby nodded. “Okay.” After several more sniffles and an extended hug, her friend pulled back to ask, “Do you really love my brother?”
Unable to suppress the sappy grin, Haleigh said, “Yes, I do. Very much.”
“Good. Because he’s loved you for years.”
The grin slid into a full smile. “That’s what I hear. How did I miss that?”
“You were too busy believing that no one could love you, I guess. If you don’t believe something is possible, you don’t see when it’s staring you in the face.”
The truth of Abby’s statement struck like a blow. Other than her brother and Abby, Haleigh never imagined anyone would ever really love her. Not when her own parents hadn’t been able to do it.
“Then it’s a good thing that your brother is a determined man,” she said.
“Yes,” Abby agreed. “Yes, it is. And if you decide to live with him, I’ll understand, but you’re welcome to stay here as long as you need.”
Grateful to have such an amazing person in her life, Haleigh brushed a stray lock out of Abby’s eyes and said, “I won’t be moving in with Cooper anytime soon, but I won’t be staying here much longer either. It’s about time I start acting like a grown-up and get my own place.”
“But I thought you couldn’t afford to do that while paying your mom’s bills.”
“I’ll figure something out,” she answered, not sure how yet, but determined to stand on her own. “Now I think this night calls for hot fudge sundaes. What do you say?”
Flashing a smile so much like her twin’s, Abby said, “I’ll get the bowls. You go get the others.”
By Monday morning, Cooper had pulled off two miracles.
The first being the preservation of Haleigh and Abby’s friendship, which he didn’t really have all that much to do with, but he’d enjoyed taking credit for the save all weekend. The second was the reason he’d stopped by Snow’s Curiosity Shop.
“I hear I owe you an apology,” he said, stepping up to the coffee counter at the back of the store.
Lorelei glanced up from arranging cookies in the glass display. “Don’t apologize to me. I’m not the one who’ll have to explain why there isn’t enough food to go around on Saturday.”
“Ah, but we’ll have plenty of food. I’ve lined up not one but two new vendors.”
She stopped with a stack of treats in her hand. “The event is this weekend. You found food vendors willing to commit on such short notice?”
Cooper nodded.
Dropping the cookies on the tray, Lorelei propped her hands on her hips. “This better not be Girl Scouts running a lemonade stand.”
“Oh, ye of little faith,” he said. “I found a barbecue joint in Gallatin that runs a food truck on the weekends. Lucky for us, they had an opening for this Saturday. And the owner has a friend who runs a taco truck in Hendersonville. She had a cancellation, so I signed her up as well.”
“That’s amazing, Coop.” Lorelei barreled around the end of the counter to poke him in the chest. “I can’t believe you did it.”
He pulled a sheet of paper from his back pocket. “Here’s the info on both with contact names and numbers. I’ve also given them your info in case they have any questions.”
Staring at the sheet in her hand, Lorelei shook her head. “You’ve had us all fooled, Cooper Ridgeway. You’re a lot more than a good ol’ boy with a toolbox and a penchant for flirting.”
Slightly insulted, he said, “Believe it or not, there’s a brain between these big ears.”
“Oh, no,” Lorelei said. “I didn’t mean—”
“I know what you meant.” With another tip of his hat, he said, “I’ll let you get back to the counter.”
“Wait.” A delicate hand wrapped around his wrist. “Really. I’m sorry I said that. I’ve always known you’re a smart guy, Cooper. You wouldn’t be running such a successful business if you weren’t.”
Mollified, he let her off the hook. “I appreciate you saying so.”
“Um . . .” She looked around as if making sure no one could overhear. “Spencer told me what you said last week. About Haleigh being your Lorelei. Did you mean that?”
“Haleigh means a lot to me, yeah.”
“No, I mean, do you really see me as a good thing for Spencer? I know that you get annoyed with me tagging along and butting into your guy stuff.”
Why did Spencer have to be the most honest guy on the planet?
“I was mad that day Spencer tore into me. I didn’t mean the stuff I said. You’re fun to have around, Lorelei.” Tilting his head from side to side, he added, “I do think you should let Spence watch football instead of going shopping, but the rest I don’t mind.”