Chapter 4
Cooper
"Eve's worried that something is going to happen during the holiday season. She wants to prevent another incident. You know, another fire or flooded shop. Especially during the busiest time," I said to Hudson while we were inspecting the dance hall's bathroom.
Hudson raised a brow. "I don't blame her."
"I think she just wants everything to be taken care of, so she doesn't have to deal with a town emergency while she's pregnant."
Hudson nodded as he moved through the men's restroom, writing notes. "I heard that Aspen is taking over more of Eve's responsibilities."
"I think she's trying to take it easy before the baby comes, and then who knows what will happen after?"
Hudson nodded, making another note in his notebook. "She'll want some time off with the baby, I'm sure."
"What's Angela going to do with the shop when your baby comes?" I didn't know much about babies, but I was trying to be a supportive friend.
"She's talking about hiring someone to work when she can't, and then maybe taking the baby with her."
I leaned against a sink, noting the persistent dripping of one of the faucets. "How do you feel about that?"
"It's whatever she wants to do. If she wants to hire a nanny, we'll do that. This is her second child, so I have to assume that she knows how it's going to be and is making the best decision for us."
"Maybe Eve will want to do the same." Then I wouldn't have to work with Aspen for long.
"Angela said that mothers sometimes change their mind about these things once the baby comes." He looked up at me, tenderness in his expression. "You don't know how you'll feel until you're holding that baby in your arms."
"Are you getting excited for the baby to be here?" I asked, knowing it was his favorite topic besides Angela.
Hudson ducked under one of the sinks to check out the pipes.
"I'm excited and scared. Angela might know what to expect, but this is my first time.
And I'm worried about her and the baby. What if something goes wrong, you know?
I didn't know about all the possible issues until I read that pregnancy book. "
"Maybe take a break from reading and talk to the doctor?"
He moved out from under the sink, making another note. "That's probably a good idea. I just want to be prepared, you know?"
"If you're freaked out, it's not going to help Angela. She needs you to be steady right now."
Hudson nodded. "You're probably right."
"I didn't think you'd be like this," I said, more to myself than to him.
He glanced over at me. "What do you mean?"
"You're having a baby, starting a family. It's a lot." I thought I'd have more time before the Sterling brothers started pairing off.
"We wanted Ayla to be closer in age to the baby. We didn't want to wait."
"I know all of that. I just can't believe everyone's getting engaged, married, having babies."
He smacked me with the notebook. "Are you feeling the Sterling pressure?"
"I'm not a Sterling." I was happy to separate myself from the family when it came to relationships. I wasn't a good bet. Not with the way I was raised.
He lifted a brow. "I hate to break it to you, but Mom thinks of you as a Sterling. It's just you and Aspen who are still single."
"Please don't put us in the same sentence." I was careful to respond how I would have before our dinner the other night.
Hudson's lip curled. "How are you going to work together if you can't get along?"
"We met yesterday to discuss it. We decided we could put it behind us for the sake of our jobs."
Hudson raised a brow. "Is this important to Aspen? I can never tell with her. She switches jobs so often."
I nodded, irritation creeping in. "She's determined to make this job permanent."
He leaned against the last sink, crossing his arms over his chest. "Why this one, and not the others?"
"She usually works as the front-counter person or an assistant. The job title might be assistant for this one, but she's essentially taking over Eve's job. Maybe she enjoys the independence and responsibility."
Hudson's brow furrowed. "Aspen drove my parents crazy growing up. She was never interested in anything longer than a few weeks."
"Maybe she's changed."
Hudson chuckled. "We thought Aspen would go to college, become a teacher or something. But she came home halfway through a semester and wouldn't talk about it."
"It's not like I have any insight into your sister." We'd talked last night, but she hadn't revealed any more than I had.
He straightened, tucking his pencil behind his ear. "I wasn't saying that you did."
"I don't need to understand her to work with her."
"Let me know if you do. We've been trying to figure her out for years." Hudson shook his head as he pushed open the last stall door.
Aspen either didn't want her brothers to know who she really was, or she didn't know herself. And I shouldn't care. I didn't need to know what she was passionate about to do our jobs.
There was something about having her in my kitchen last night, eating a meal I prepared. It was nice. Domestic. I could get used to having the company. But then I'd have to share a little about myself, and that wasn't something I was capable of doing.
I never talked about my family to anyone besides Emery. But I'd protected her as much as I could from my dad's visits and the fighting. I made sure she did her homework and had food to eat. I'd distracted her when our parents were fighting.
I saw how Aspen and her brothers grew up. No matter how much they complained about each other, they were loved and had plenty of money. They didn't have to worry about if there would be food on the table, or if someone would steal the grocery money.
"Let me know if she's dating anyone—"
That jolted me out of my thoughts. "Is she?"
"I never know with her." He shuddered. "Not that I want to give it much thought. But I'd like to know that she's with a good guy. You know?"
My chest tightened at the idea of Aspen dating. "I got you. I worry about Emery too."
"At least your sister's on the right track. Going to college."
"First one in the family." I gave her money to pay for food and tuition. It didn't cover everything, but I helped out when I could. I didn't want her to end up with a ton of loans.
"You could have gone."
I laughed. "What would I major in? Construction?"
He punched me in the arm. "Business, you idiot."
"I'm figuring it out as I go." Did he think I wasn't able to run the business? "But I can take some business courses if you think that would help."
He shook his head as he moved into the next stall. "You do whatever you want to do. We'll support you either way."
"I appreciate that."
"This is a gut job. I don't know why I'm doing an inspection," he mumbled inside the second stall.
I lowered my shoulders. "Because you're good at what you do."
He came out of the stall, his expression serious. "You know, you're an equal partner in the business? You came up with the business idea. You're smart and capable. And no one else wanted to deal with the administrative side. You don't need to keep thanking us."
"I was stuck at those other jobs. This is an amazing opportunity." And he didn't have to give it to me.
"You showed us the spreadsheets, the projections. You're the vision guy. We can't do this without you."
I nodded, knowing I'd go back to feeling grateful all over again in a few minutes. No matter what he said, I only got here because I was lucky enough to befriend Morgan and Maverick in school.
He went through the rest of the stalls more quickly. When he finished, he sighed. "It's dated. I don't see how we do a few repairs and call it a day."
I nodded. "It's a gut job," I repeated.
"Can we do a full renovation during the holiday season?"
"Eve mentioned needing to get this done before a winter ball of some sort."
He threw a hand up in disgust. "That's the other thing. These bathrooms are attached to a ballroom."
"They should be nicer. Luxurious even."
He smirked. "Look at you, using big words like luxurious."
"Shut up," I said, more relaxed now that we were back to our usual dynamic, giving each other shit.
"You know what I mean. Women arrive in ball gowns.
Men in suits. These bathrooms don't match the parties that Eve throws here.
" We fell silent for a few seconds, and I added, "There should be a sitting room. "
"There's enough space for one in the women's. Let's take a look." Hudson led me into the women's room.
I walked around the extra space between the first door to the bathroom and the second one that led to the sinks and stalls. "There's more than enough room for a sitting area."
This was where I excelled, with the planning of a project. When I was working, I could focus on doing what needed to be done. Unfortunately, Aspen would have to be looped into this decision.
After dinner together, things between Aspen and me felt different. We weren't enemies anymore; we were in a weird middle ground, and I wasn't ready to deal with figuring out what that meant.
On Sunday, I went to the Sterlings' house for family-dinner night. It was something I started attending because I wanted a home-cooked meal, and then later it became a habit. Even though Maria insisted I come, I never felt like I fit in. Probably because my family looked so different.
But I never forgot the fact that they weren't my family and never would be.
By the time I arrived, the driveway was packed with vehicles, including several Sterling Brothers Contracting trucks. I parked on the street, not comfortable adding my vehicle to the driveway.
No matter how many times Maria told me not to knock, I still did. I wasn't sure how to act around Aspen. Should I ignore her? Should I act like the other night never happened?
I hoped she wouldn't mention that I cooked her dinner and bought flowers for the table. Her brothers would never let me hear the end of it.
Hudson opened the door, cuffing me on the side of my head. "Why are you knocking?"