Chapter 19
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Julia hurried up the steps of Cooper’s front porch and knocked briskly on the front door. It was a fresh, cool Saturday morning. The temperature had lifted somewhat, causing a faint mist to hover over the melting snow.
She and Cooper had arranged to go for a hike that day, while Samantha watched Macey. Julia had just gotten off the phone with Hazel, so she knew that Samantha had gotten dropped off at Cooper’s house a few minutes ago.
When no one came to answer the door, she pushed it open and stepped inside. She could hear the sound of voices coming from Macey’s bedroom—Cooper’s deep voice, Samantha’s treble laughter, and Macey’s high-pitched giggles—so she guessed that both Cooper and Samantha were engaged in trying to get Macey ready for her day.
Julia started toward Macey’s bedroom, and then her feet stumbled across something. She let out a cry of alarm, catching herself just before she fell. There on the floor by the front door was a pair of work boots. Julia wrinkled her nose when she smelled the funky odor wafting out of them, and she noticed with distaste that there was a pair of dirty socks still stuffed inside them.
She grimaced, thinking about what the manicurist had said about men and toe fungus. Did Cooper have toe fungus?
He’ll probably get some soon if he keeps leaving his socks in his boots, she thought, shaking her head. That’s disgusting—that way neither the boots nor the socks can breathe. Have his boots always smelled that bad, I wonder?
Gingerly, she plucked the dirty socks out of Cooper’s boots and scurried over to the laundry chute. She tossed the socks down it with a squeak of disgust, and then hurried to wash her hands in the kitchen sink.
I’ll make myself a cup of tea while I wait, she thought as she went into the kitchen. A nice, relaxing cup of tea.
She reached the sink and squeaked in dismay again. It was full of dishes, some of which she knew were from dinner two nights earlier. She didn’t mind the dishes, especially knowing how busy Cooper’s life was between work and caring for Macey, but what did bother her was that he’d left the soggy, used coffee filter and coffees grounds in the sink. Smears of coffee grounds covered many of the dishes, and the smell that reached her nostrils was stale and a little putrid.
She grunted in distaste and began to clean out the sink, moving with the kind of precise quickness that accompanied frustration. She deftly set the dishes into the dishwasher and washed the saucepan that was still there. She had to be careful not to damage her new manicure, but she still worked at an impressive speed. In less than five minutes, she’d cleared the sink of dishes and she had started washing the coffee grounds down the drain.
“Hey.” Cooper appeared in the kitchen doorway, smiling sweetly at her. “I didn’t hear you come in—oh!” His expression changed when he saw how frustrated she looked. “Is everything all right?”
“Yes.” She forced a brisk smile onto her face. “Why do you ask?”
“Well,” he said, crossing the kitchen toward her, “you seem a little bit on edge.”
“I’m fine.” She didn’t really mean it, but she didn’t want to start their day off on the wrong foot. After all, it was his sink that had been dirty, not hers, and it wasn’t at all reasonable for her to be frustrated that there were coffee grounds in it. She had volunteered to clean it up, but she could have just left it. She also could have left his socks in his boots, but?—
She shuddered.
“Okay, that’s good.” He smiled at her, looking slightly unconvinced but still happy. “You’re all ready for our hike?”
“I am.” She was wearing hiking boots and leggings, along with a thick fleece and hat which were sure to keep her warm enough in the less frigid weather. “Are you ready?”
“I will be in a minute here.” Cooper was wearing pajama pants and a sweater. “I need to get changed.” He gave her a quick kiss and left the kitchen.
She sighed, wondering why he had put on a sweater when he knew he was about to get changed into something else to go hiking. Had he forgotten about their plans or something?
She shook her head, going back to cleaning out the kitchen sink. She scrubbed the sides of it clean, her mind whirring.
She hadn’t wanted to upset Cooper by telling him the truth, but she was rapidly realizing that there was something off in the way she was feeling. Little things about Cooper were starting to irk her, and she was unusually quick to be irritable.
I’m scared, she realized, pausing in her scrubbing. I’m starting to get cold feet.
She bit her lip, considering whether or not she’d truly thought through the ins and outs of being married. What if it was vastly different from how she’d thought it would be, and it turned out to be something she didn’t want? Or what if it turned out that she just didn’t want to be married to Cooper? There were so many little changes they would both have to make. What if they woke up one day, wishing that they hadn’t decided to get married?
She paused in her work, staring into space. She didn’t want to worry, but she also felt that she needed to look her concerns straight in the face. After all, it was the kind of thing that required a great deal of thought. She couldn’t walk blindly into marriage, even if she did love Cooper.
She imagined getting frustrated with him every day over little things like left-behind socks or coffee grounds in the sink. She imagined him getting irritated with her for getting irritated with him.
She shut her eyes, taking a deep breath. As if she couldn’t help it, she then imagined herself apologizing to Cooper, who then apologized to her, and the two of them sitting down on the couch together to cuddle and talk about how their needs and habits affected each other.
Her eyes fluttered open, and she couldn’t help smiling. She finished cleaning out the sink and started to wash her hands. Her smile turned into a scowl, however, when she saw all of the coffee grounds that had gotten stuck under her freshly manicured fingernails.