20. Cooper
20
Cooper
I ’ve been thinking about Leah Bradford since she drove away from a wedding my mother made me go to two days ago. Bless all mothers everywhere.
Two busy work days have kept me from stopping by her shop again. That, and it’s possible I’m nervous. I’m pretty sure Leah left high school enemy number one behind on that boat. Maybe a miracle occurred and we even crossed into friendship.
People have always liked my confidence—my ability to have everything go my way. And yet, I confessed all my screw ups and vulnerabilities to that girl. It wasn’t my most attractive moment.
But then, maybe I don’t need to be attractive to Leah, just relatable. Maybe she doesn’t need my confidence, but my compassion. Maybe she’ll feel more comfortable sharing her hardship with me now. I got the beginnings of what PJ, Pompous Joker, is doing—suing her—but none of the details. It couldn’t have been easy for her to tell me. Being sued isn’t exactly something you go around bragging about. But she’s told me now. And maybe, just maybe, she’ll tell me more because I’d really like to destroy her ex in court.
After our night on the boat, I’m pretty sure that confession truly is good for the soul. So, while I’m confessing—maybe I should come clean with myself . I realized something last night: I like her. I like her passion, her fire, her realness. And I would be lying if I said I didn’t care if she liked me back or not.
I’m going into her shop this morning. To talk. As friends—friends who might possibly be able to be more than friends one day. How many miracles am I allowed? Leah not hating me is already miraculous.
I step out of my childhood bedroom and head into the kitchen, almost running right into my sister-in-law. “Whoa, Delaney. I didn’t hear you come in.” It’s early. I thought Miles said Delaney liked to sleep in.
“Coop,” she says, her watery eyes blinking up at me. “You’re not at work?”
“Heading that way now. What are you doing?”
“Um, just came by to see Lucy.” She twirls a string of blonde hair through her fingers.
“She’s in her room. I think just out of the shower. But I’m sure she’ll be out soon.”
Delaney nods, her hands fidgeting at her sides. This assured woman doesn’t look all that sure of herself at the moment. And the sound of her tears is so easily conjured in my head.
“Sure,” she says. “Okay.”
My phone rings and I pull it from my pocket— another sister-in-law is calling me. Huh. Weird. I’ve never had this many encounters with my sisters-in-law before lunchtime. “It’s Annie.” I hold my phone up to show her, then answer, curious as to why Annie would be calling me at eight in the morning. “Hello?”
Delaney slides into a chair at Mom’s kitchen table while I lean against the counter, waiting for Annie to tell me she’s butt-dialed me.
“Hey, Coop,” she says, sounding more aware than I believed she would. “Coco said you have a baker friend. Is that right?” Annie gets right down to business.
“Ah—” I’m hopeful that Leah and I are friends. We might be. The jury is still out. Would Leah say we are? I think she might. “Uh—yeah. Sort of.”
“Could she make a gender reveal cake for us?”
“Her shop is all cinnamon rolls. But I can ask. I’ll stop by this morning.” Even better—now I’ve got an excuse to go. I never needed one before, but now that I’m no longer enemy number one and I’m admitting that Leah liking me might matter, I’m on edge.
“Perfect. And if she agrees, just give her my number.”
Annie is going to get Leah’s number before I do. Dang .
“You bet,” I say, pretending that I don’t care if Annie and Leah text. Maybe Annie will pass that number along. Maybe I won’t need her to, and Leah will give it to me freely.
“Thanks, got to run!” And then she’s gone.
I peer at my phone, then slink into a chair at the table next to Delaney. It feels rude just to leave her. And my head is still sorrowing for a number Annie will have that I won’t.
When did I fall so hard for Leah Bradford? Was it when she told our friends what a jerk I was in high school? Or when she joyfully told me my card had been declined while buying cinnamon rolls at her shop? Or maybe it was when she dried her hands all over my chest.
For the first time in my life, I’m not all that confident that the girl I like— really like—won’t like me back. Which makes me sound like a spoiled teenager. But it's how I feel.
“That was Annie,” I say again after a minute of silence.
Delaney nods. “Gender reveal. I heard.”
I drum my fingers on the table and make small talk with my sister-in-law. “Yeah, seems quick, right?”
“I guess. Seeing how we found out not long ago.” Her eyes flit downward.
I stir in my seat. I’m being selfish. And while there was a time when I was very used to life going my way, I wasn’t normally selfish. I’ve always liked helping people. I truly studied law to help others. And yet, here I am sulking over what? A phone number I don’t have? I swallow, lift my head, and remember who I am. “Are you okay, Delaney? Because it seems like maybe you aren’t.”
“Me?” She shakes her head and shrugs one shoulder as if it’s a silly question.
I wait, though. No need to push. That’s what Mom would say.
“Yeah,” she says, as tears well in her eyes. “I’m okay.”
I clear my throat and adjust in my seat. “Are you sure?”
She heaves out a sigh, her watery eyes finding mine once more. “Cooper, can you keep a secret?”
“Yes, actually. I’m pretty good at it. It's part of my job.”
Her voice trembles. “Miles and I have been trying for a baby.” Teardrops glisten on her dark lashes. “For a year.”
“Oh.” My brows knit. As very much a bachelor, I do not feel qualified for this conversation.
“Annie’s announcement was a shock. They weren’t trying. I’m happy for them. I am.” She pauses as if searching for her next words. “But my heart hurts.” Delaney’s voice cracks. She shakes her head, her eyes downcast.
“I’m sorry. I… that’s tough.” I stumble over ev ery single word. Where is my mother again? She would handle this so much better than I ever could. But I’m the one here. My mind is blank, but my heart loves my brother and his wife. And that’s what I go with. “I’m sorry,” I say, setting my hand over hers.
We sit like that, neither of us talking, until Mom comes out to find us.
“Laney,” she says, her voice straining in a way that tells me she already knows. This isn’t the first time they’ve talked.
I clear my throat and take my hand from Delaney’s. “I should get to work.”
I’m halfway to the door when Delaney calls after me. “Coop.”
I stop, turning back to face her.
“Thanks,” she says.
My brows cinch—I literally did nothing. I might be the most unhelpful man on the planet. It doesn’t sit well with me.
“For listening,” she says. She reaches out, taking my hand in hers, squeezing my fingers, and peering up at me. “You’re a good brother. Until I married Miles, I didn’t have a brother. You’re a good one.” She reaches up for me and I lean down, giving my sister-in-law a brotherly embrace. “And,” she adds, her mouth turning up in a small grin, “I think you should go for it.”
“Go for it?”
“With the baker,” she says. “Coco told me you like her.” Her eyes crease as her smile grows. “She’d be lucky to have you.”
T here’s a sweet scent that embraces you whenever you enter Leah’s shop. It’s inviting and warm and reminds me of my childhood.
The girl with pink hair—who I think Leah referred to as Cricket—is out front today.
“You’d like Leah?” she says, her tone flat, before I can ask.
“Um, yeah. If she’s available.”
“She is.” The girl’s eyes crease with her smile. “I will see if she’d like to come talk to you. Last time you were here, I got a lecture.” She gives me a sardonic grin, letting me know that said lecture was my fault.
“Oh.” My brows knit. “Sorry?” Last time we hadn’t spent four hours on a boat together. I hadn’t helped Leah with her dress, and we hadn’t swapped painful truths. That’s all new, and I’m hoping it ensures that Cricket doesn’t get another reprimand. She disappears into the back, and I cross my fingers.
I’ve never wanted to step into the friend zone so badly with a girl. Sure, I don’t want to live in that particular zone, but progress is progress. I’ve got ambitious hopes, but I’ll take friendship over downright hatred any day.
And if she’s not happy to see me, at least I have Annie’s request as an excuse to be here—to talk to her.
“Hey,” Leah says, pushing through the kitchen door. She brushes her hands together, and wisps of white powder float into the air. “I thought you’d grown sick of us.” Her tone is friendly. She might even be teasing me.
“Excuse me?”
“Arnold and I have been wondering where you’ve been. He’s at the coin shop across the street. I highly recommend you take him a roll and apologize,” she says, and then the woman smiles .
She smiles. It’s not half-hearted. And it’s nothing short of glorious.
Okay, I definitely like Leah.
“Oh.” I run a hand over the bristles of my beard, momentarily stunned, and make an attempt at cool. “Ah, sorry. Work has been crazy.”
“I’m kidding, Cooper. You aren’t obligated to either of us.” And while I’m still making sense of her words, they’re welcoming. “What can I get you?”
“Actually, my sister-in-law, Annie, wanted me to ask you about a gender reveal cake. I told her that wasn’t your usual, but I’d ask.”
“Huh. I can probably do that. Yes, the shop sells cinnamon rolls only.” She lifts one shoulder. “But I can bake anything. Including your brother’s wedding cake.”
My mouth parts into a grin. I thought fiery Leah was my favorite, and it’s still in my top two, but friendly Leah might have just taken the lead. “That’s really kind of you. If you have time?—”
“It’s fine.” Leah nibbles on her bottom lip. She shifts from her right foot to her left, switching in a blink from friendly to tense. “Actually,” she says with a gulp, “I needed to ask you something too.”
I refrain from offering her all I have. I’m supposed to be the suave Bailey brother, after all. “Oh yeah?”
Walking around the glass case and counter separating us, Leah stands in front of me. “My ex?—”
“Your lawsuit,” I finish for her. No need to make the girl more uncomfortable than she already is.
“Yeah. I—” She swallows, her bright green eyes boring into me. With her hands knotted in front of her, she says, “I need help.”
My heart lurches—it’s an odd and foreign movement happening inside of me. I’ve helped a lot of people with a lot of lawsuits, and my heart has never lurched before. “I’d be happy to help.”
“The thing is—I don’t have a lot of money right now.”
I tilt my head. “You just opened a business.” To start any kind of business, you need money, and most don’t bring in a large revenue for at least two to three years. “That makes sense.”
“It does,” she says, happy to agree with me. “And yet—” Her brows knit. “I need a lawyer. Which usually takes money.”
Again, my heart jolts. Okay, that’s going to get annoying. Settle down, body. “Could we meet after work and talk about it?”
“I’ll pay you!” she says. “I’m not sure how, but I will. Maybe. Are you worried about compensation? Because it’s seriously stressing me out.”
“I’m not worried,” I tell her.
She rubs those flour-coated hands together. “You know,” she says. “If you hadn’t told me how you’d been fired, I might think you cocky and overpaid right now.”
It’s not shocking that Leah would find an excuse to think poorly of me. But we’re moving past that, so I don’t take offense. “That’s not very nice,” I tease.
“It’s not.” She exhales. “What if we worked on trading services? When does your sister-in-law need that cake again?”