29. Leah
29
Leah
I don’t mind dropping off this cake at Cooper’s home, but I’m pretty sure he’s making me bring it rather than picking it up at the shop because his family is going to attempt to pay me. I already told him I’d do it for free. I know that forgiveness and cinnamon rolls will never be payment enough for Cooper acting as my lawyer and getting me through this thing with PJ.
Throwing in a cake is the least I can do. It’s not like the sweet rolls he purchases for Arnold. Cakes aren’t my business. I haven’t even thought about what I’d charge for a cake. Besides, if given the chance, Arnold would eat me dry. He’d run me out of business. Cooper’s making sure that doesn’t happen.
I send Cooper a quick text, hoping he’ll run out to my car.
Me: Here.
Me: With the cake.
Me: Remember ?
But according to my phone, he hasn’t even opened the messages. Ugh. Guess that means I’m going up to the door.
There are a lot of cars in front of this sweet gray house. Enough to make my pulse thrum faster.
There’s a pink Valentine’s wreath on the front of the black door. It’s cute and welcoming, all while giving me hives and making me want to run and hide. Because, yep, it’s Valentine’s Day today and I almost kissed Cooper yesterday . We’ve been reunited for one month, and I’ve already forgiven, made a deal with, and almost kissed the man—all right around the Hallmark holiday of love.
Smart, Leah.
I pull up my big girl pants, remind myself that I am not that timid sixteen-year-old girl anymore, and grab the box with Owen and Annie’s cake from the backseat of my 1980s Chevy.
I blow out a chilly breath and walk up the few steps to Cooper and his mom’s front porch. For two seconds, I consider balancing this baby cake on my knee while holding it with one hand and knocking with the other. But if I dropped this box and spilled gender-revealing cake all over the place, I’d feel horrible. It would be Leah and Cooper in another embarrassing debacle. Once again—mostly Leah. Nobody wants to see that.
So, I set the bakery box onto the small bench sitting on this porch, give a double knock on the door, and pick my cake back up.
Four seconds later, the door creaks open… with no one on the other side, as if this were a haunted house and not Valentine’s Day with the Bailey family.
“Um, hello?” I say. There are noises within the house, but no one in this entry. I can clearly hear people, but I can’t see any of them. “Coop? ”
Nothing.
I take one cautious step inside. “Cooper Bailey?”
“Muncle Poop!” bellows a voice from behind the door.
“Waa!” I jolt back with the noise, holding onto Annie’s cake as if my life depended on clinging to this box.
And then a bubbly laugh titters from behind that half-open door. I peek around it and see Cooper’s niece, the leg rider he brought to the shop.
“Muncle Poop,” I repeat. That’s right—that’s what she called him. That day, I was sure this child was my soul sister.
“Hello?” Coco—finally, someone over the age of three.
Still, here I am, alone in the doorway of the Baileys’ home. Let in by a child and entering all on my own—without invitation.
So, I do what any grown-up, sophisticated twenty-five-year-old would do: I throw that toddler under the bus. “She let me in,” I yip. “She opened the door. I didn’t do it.”
Coco laughs as if I’ve said something funny rather than rambled to keep myself out of prison. Breaking, entering, kidnapping—I am innocent. Well, all except for the entering part.
“Lula, what did I tell you about opening Grandma’s doors?”
Lula . That’s right.
The girl’s brown curls frame her round face. Her button nose scrunches and she says nothing. Smart girl. Pleading the fifth. Why didn’t I think of that?
Coco gives her a small, pointed, motherly stare. “I said no-no.” Coco shakes her pretty brunette head—so much like Cooper’s mother’s—and lifts her eyes to me, smiling. “Hey, Leah.”
“Hi.” I clamp my lips closed because Lula’s got the right idea.
“Sorry about that. No one else must have heard you knock. And Lula,” she says, picking up her little daughter, “loves to open doors.” She peers at the girl and sighs. “Mine all have child-proof knob covers, but we haven’t done that here yet. Clearly, we need to.”
When it’s clear that no one is going to report me for breaking and entering, I find my voice. “Thanks for letting me in, Lula. Muncle Poop isn’t answering my texts.”
Coco smirks at Cooper’s delightful nickname. “That might be my fault. York is a big fan of Uncle Coop’s take-offs, and I needed fifteen minutes to finish up lunch. So, he’s currently acting as my one-year-old’s rocket launcher. You’re staying for lunch and the big reveal, right?”
“Me? Um—no.” I shrug and shake and say no with my entire body. “I don’t— This is a family thing.”
“You should stay. I know Coop would like that.”
“He would?” What does that mean? Hey, Cooper’s long-lost sister, do you mind elaborating? Sure, I’ve decided that maybe, possibly kissing should be off the table, but I’d like to better understand that comment. Please .
“Yes. I realize that technically I haven’t even known Coop as long as you, but I know him.” She gives me a wry smile. “He would. Come on.”
“Oh—I—” I wasn’t planning to stay. But I don’t say as much. I just follow Coco through the front room doorway and into the kitchen. I like Lucy’s kitchen. I could absolutely cook here. It’s not big or fancy. But Lucy has a nice setup. One that reminds me of my abuela’s. One that tells me she likes to cook for her family. I don’t know why the thought warms me and distracts me from my exit mission, but it does.
So much that my next thought comes out without filtering. “So, you were adopted? ”
But Coco doesn’t seem to mind my personal question. “I was. Lucy had me when she was young. She didn’t have a lot of support, and she chose to place me for adoption, to give me two adult parents. In the end, it all worked out. I have my mom, Heidi. And now I have my mom, Lucy.”
“As well as a bunch of brothers.”
“Yep, them too.” Coco sets her daughter onto the floor, and Lula toddles off toward a door she is bound to open. “I’m truly grateful to have found my family, and yet I wouldn’t change anything. Do I wish I’d had the chance to grow up with the boys? Sure, some days. I don’t have any other siblings. But that would mean giving up the mom I’ve known and loved my whole life, and that’s something I’d never choose.”
She’s given me more than I asked for.
I swallow and set my cake box on the kitchen counter. “I’m happy for you, Coco. The Baileys seem like wonderful people.”
She smothers another laugh. “That’s not what you were saying about Coop a few weeks ago.”
This time, I do laugh. She’s so very right. “Okay, the other Baileys always seemed like good people.”
“They are,” she tells me, lifting the lid to my bakery box. “They’re the best. And that includes Cooper.”
I’m about to tell her I understand, even agree with her now, when?—
“Is that your baby?” My eyes lock on the kitchen window. I can’t see the ground at this level, only the treetops and the sky, but there is definitely a flying baby coming in and out of view.
“Uncle Coop, the rocket launcher.” She sighs. “He’s a lifesaver. This is a beautiful cake, Leah.”
But I hardly hear the compliment. My mouth hangs open—I feel it—but I can’t quite lift my jaw back into place. Not until I walk over to the window and peer out at the scene.
There’s a porch at the back of the house with a stairway leading down to the yard. There’s a light dusting of snow on the grass, as well as a few Baileys scattered about the yard. And there’s Coop, with the bundled baby in his arms. He tosses him into the air, and the little boy flares out his arms and legs before falling back into Cooper’s sturdy hands. York’s face lights in the biggest grin, and while I can’t hear him, it’s clear he’s laughing.
In all reality, he’s probably being thrown six feet into the air, but from the faraway view of this kitchen window, I would have thought it higher.
Cooper’s older niece stands beside him, clapping her hands, her mouth moving a happy mile a minute. Her gaze drifts up until she’s peering at me through the window.
“That’s Alice,” Coco says. She waves down at the little girl.
“We met once, when Cooper brought the kids into the shop.”
“That’s right,” Coco says.
Alice glances up, and instead of waving back to her mother, she points right at me, her mouth moving again.
Cooper lifts his gaze, spotting me. His lips part and his eyes crinkle as he smiles. He holds the little boy in one arm and waves.
“I just think we need to get it over with,” says a voice behind us.
Coco and I have gained company in this kitchen, all while I’ve peered out the window, spying on Cooper and his niece and nephew. I spin around, feeling caught.
“I agree. I think—” says another voice. Lucy. Cooper’s mother’s words stop short, though. “Leah! You’re here.”
“I’m here,” I say dumbly. “Just dropping off the cake.” I nod toward the table, where Coco has opened up my two-layer, coconut cake. The one I refused to let Cooper help with.
“Coop’s baker friend,” says the red-headed woman next to her.
I clear my throat. “That’s me.”
The woman holds out a hand. “I’m the mom.” She shakes her head, her nose wrinkled. “I mean the pregnant lady.”
“She means Annie ,” Coco says beside me.
“Yes.” Annie blows out a low, tired breath. “Do I still get to be Annie?” she says to Coco.
“Of course,” Lucy answers, a hand on Annie’s cheek. “Don’t ever lose yourself. We love our Annie.”
“Mom’s right,” Coco says, tilting her head. “Leah, this is Annie—who happens to be a mother, who happens to be pregnant. Still Annie.”
I feel as though I have crept in on a very personal Dr. Laura moment. “Um.” I set my hand in hers. “Nice to meet you.”
“It’s so good to meet you. I know we spoke on the phone, but thank you for doing this. And Owen just needs your Venmo?—”
I shake my head. “It’s a gift,” I tell her. “Congratulations.”
Lucy beams at me. “Well, that’s awfully sweet.”
More Baileys make their way through that magical kitchen door Lula just opened.
“I’m not crazy,” says a familiar-looking blonde. “I know what I’m talking about. Out of the three of us, who’s the professional here?”
The brunette man next to her smiles without a word.
But the blond man on her other side furrows his brow. “ But electric?”
“It’s easier to learn on,” says the semi-familiar-looking woman. “I promise.”
“Over a plain ol’ classic guitar?” says the blond man, who resembles Coop more and more by the second.
“Yes.” The woman smacks the man’s shoulder. “Trust me.”
“Oh,” I yelp, a hand to my mouth. I recognize that blue streak through all that blonde hair. “Lane Jonas?” The musician I never met. Her blue eyes slide over to me. Her lips quirk in a small grin. “You’re Lane Jonas.”
“Delaney Bailey, actually.” She holds out a hand. Lane Jonas wants to shake my hand. Why didn’t I consider running into her?
I just stare—from her face to her hand and back again.
“Hi, there,” Lane says again, this time dropping her hand. I never took it. What if that was my only chance to touch Lane Freaking Jonas? I’m not a crazy fan, but I’m not not a fan either. You know?
It takes a minute, but I quickly realize I’ve been staring and pondering for longer than socially acceptable. “I’m so sorry,” I rush to say in a whisper. “That was weird. And I’m sorry.”
Lane—aka Delaney Bailey—laughs. “Not weird at all.”
The quiet man, the brunette on her other side, wraps an arm around her shoulders and pecks a kiss on her temple. Miles .
No doubt about it, this is Cooper’s brother Miles.
“Cooper’s new friend?” he says.
I press my lips together, wishing they weren’t so dry. “Sort of. I don’t know if you can call me new. I’ve known him for a long time.”
“She just never liked him,” Coco says with a chuckle.
The blond—Owen, if I had to guess by the way he’s wrapping an arm around Annie’s waist—laughs with her .
Another man walks through the open doorway, and I am officially drowning in Bailey men. I was younger than Coop, so I definitely don’t know his older brothers personally, but I knew all their names. And the Bailey family resemblance is blaring.
“What’s that?” says the oldest of the men—so that would make him Levi. “Someone who didn’t fall down at our little brother’s feet? I like you already.”
“Levi,” Lucy chides, and I mentally high-five myself for getting the oldest Bailey correct. “Be nice.”
“What?” he says. “I said I liked her.” Then he looks at me as if we were in cahoots. “Did I say anything inaccurate?”
I’m not sure why, with Cooper’s entire family present and even his mother standing right beside me, I decide to say, “Up until a couple weeks ago, there was no one I disliked more than Cooper Bailey.” It’s not completely true; I’m pretty sure I have liked PJ less for months. Still, those are the words that my brain chooses to produce right in front of Coop’s sweet mother and all four of his siblings.
Miles and Owen crack grins while Levi lifts his fist, ready to bump his hand to mine.
I swallow, curl my fingers, and just touch my hand to his. Levi nods as if thoroughly pleased.
“Where’s Meredith?” Delaney asks him.
Coco loops an arm through mine and hushes in my ear. “Meredith is Levi’s wife. There are a lot of Baileys. Don’t be afraid to ask if you need a refresher on who’s who.” She winks before dropping her arm from around mine. “I need to find my three-year-old. Chances are she found the door to the bathroom. I’m hoping she found her dad instead.”
“Jude’s in the family room,” Levi tells her.
Coco turns back to me. “Jude would be my husband,” she says.
I nod as if she is my personal tutor in all things Bailey.
“I’ll try the bathroom first.” She disappears through the door, and as she goes, we hear her call, “Oh, Jude!”
“Well, I should—” I swallow. “Um, go .”
As if on cue, Cooper throws open the back kitchen door. His cheeks are a bright pink from standing out in the cold for so long. Little York is in his arms. “Leah.” He peers around at his big, loud family—not even all of them, we’re still missing a few—and his eyes bug out. “Whoa. Is there nowhere else to hang out, family?”
With a baby in his hands, he dodges his way past a brother and a couple of sisters-in-law and makes his way over to me. I’m not going to lie, I feel a little calmer just having him stand beside me.
“Leah was just telling us how much she dislikes you,” Levi says, the words making the man much too cheerful.
“Uh-uh, past tense. Disliked . She likes him just fine now,” Lucy says.
“Ah.” Coop gives one theatrical nod. “I see.”
“Yes,” I say, agreeing with Lucy—because Lucy is lovely. While it’s fun teasing Coop with his brothers, I wouldn’t dare offend his mother. “High school wasn’t my favorite time of life, and Cooper was part of that, but now—” I peer up at him—because land’s sake, the man is tall—and a grin tickles at the corners of my lips. “We are friends .”
“Friends?” Annie’s mouth tips in a frown. “Hmm.”
Owen’s hold around Annie tightens. “We were friends.”
She snakes an arm around his waist. “If you need any advice on friendship with Bailey boys, I can help.” She grins at me. I wish they’d all stop talking about friends like that. I may have to go back to claiming I dislike Cooper.
“So, reveal now?” Owen says to Annie. In two seconds flat, the Baileys have possibly forgotten I’m here—and I’m okay with that. In fact, I should be able to sneak out of this Bailey family function.
“Not yet,” Levi says. “Meredith has class for the next thirty minutes.”
“Class?” Annie moans. “On a Saturday?”
“Yes—accelerated program means Saturday classes too.”
“Ugh.”
“So, after lunch?” Owen says, looking at his wife.
“I better be going.” I fidget beside Cooper, ready to go, and yet something inside of me wants to see Annie’s face when she cuts into that cake.
Coop’s brow furrows, but it’s Lucy who says, “Oh no you don’t. No running off. You’re staying for lunch and our big reveal.”