if Vanessa was the mother, they needed to have a sit-down with her about her responsibilities. She needed to take on more and not count on Mamie.
But if the test proved she wasn’t Cody’s mother, that left them with the troubling question of who was.
Grady rubbed his head, the pain there battling the pain in his leg.
You should let Chloe help you. Maybe she can do something for you?
Grady held that thought a moment, trying to imagine himself showing exactly how vulnerable he was in front of a woman he hadn’t been able to stop thinking about.
He couldn’t. He just couldn’t.
“So what are you going to do now for employment?” Lucy Benson took a sip of her coffee, her green gaze flicking around the patrons of Maggie’s Coffee Shop.
The place was busy. Abigail Bardera zipped around carrying plates of steaming food, her long black hair pulled back in a glossy ponytail. Maggie poured coffee, helping take orders.
“Blunt much?” Amelia said with a note of reprimand, shaking her head at their friend, her blond curly hair bouncing on her shoulders.
“May as well lay it out on the table,” Lucy said.
As soon as Lucy had heard about Chloe’s situation, she’d called Amelia and insisted that they take Chloe out for coffee and pie at Maggie’s.
“I don’t know.” Chloe poked her fork at the flaky apple pie Amelia had insisted she order. “I already talked to Maggie about working here, but that’s a no-go.” She fought down the too-familiar sense of panic at the thought of being unemployed.
She was supposed to have worked today but yesterday Dr. Schuster had told her to consider Thursday her last day. He had hoped it would give her some more time to find a job.
“Would you move back to Fort Worth?” Amelia asked, her tone concerned.
“Too many bad memories there, though if there’s work there I might. To coin a phrase that has been the mantra of my life lately, beggars can’t be choosers.” Her stomach roiled again at the thought of having to leave. Start over. Find her balance again on her own.
Just her and her baby.
“I know things are bad when you’re resorting to clichés.” Lucy tucked her short blonde hair behind her ear, her eyes holding Chloe’s as if trying to encourage her.
“My life is a cliché,” Chloe grumped, then waved the complaint off. “Sorry. I shouldn’t whine. It’s just getting hard to find the silver lining.”
“Well, every silver lining has a cloud,” Lucy quipped. “And it’s not your fault Jeremy cheated on you. I always knew he was a jerk.”
If she only knew how much of a jerk.
Chloe cut off that thought. She didn’t want to give Jeremy any space in her mind. Bad enough he didn’t want to have anything to do with the baby she carried. And that he had disappeared after emptying out the bank account.
“At least you’re not going to tell me I told you so,” Chloe said. “You did warn me not to marry in haste.”
“Are you not listening to Lucy?” Amelia said with a warning wag of her finger. “You’re spouting clichés again.”
A sudden burst of laughter at one end of the café caught Chloe’s attention. Carson Thorn stood by a table of people, laughing at something one of them had said.
“Carson looks more relaxed lately,” Chloe said.
“Getting reunited with his childhood sweetheart probably helped mitigate the stress of all these thefts that he and the other members of the league have been dealing with,” Lucy said with a wry tone. “Nice that there can be happy endings in this town.” She shot a glance over at Amelia. “And speaking of happy endings, how are you and Finn getting on?”
To Chloe’s surprise, her friend blushed. She hadn’t thought spunky and vivacious Amelia knew how to blush.
“Quite well. Making plans.”
Lucy sighed. “Like I said, I’m happy for happy endings.”
Chloe gave her apple pie another stab, wishing she could hope for a happy ending in her particular story. She doubted any man would want to take her on now.
“You’re looking pensive,” Lucy said. “I thought that was my job?”
Chloe knew Lucy had been on edge the past few months, the pressure of all the thefts in the area making her extratense and vigilant. “That’s why I’m trying not to complain. I know you’re under a lot of stress lately.”
As well, Chloe wasn’t ready to divulge her secret to Lucy and Amelia. Not while she was still adjusting to the idea, trying to figure out what shape her life would take.
“This string of thefts has been a frustrating nightmare.” Lucy looked as if she wanted to say more when someone stopped by their table.
“Good afternoon, ladies.” Mamie Stillwater’s smile encompassed the three of them, the light from the windows beside them glinting off her glasses and polishing her gray hair. “I’m sorry to interrupt, but is it possible to talk to you alone, Chloe?”
“I have to head out right away,” Lucy said, giving Chloe a look she interpreted as “tell me everything later.”
“And I have to meet Finn to go over some wedding plans,” Amelia said, getting up as well and dropping a few bills on the table. “This should cover everything.”
Chloe was about to protest but Amelia just shook her head and gave her a bright smile. “And now we’ll leave the two of you alone.”
“Thanks so much.”
“We’ll talk more later.” Amelia walked toward the entrance, but Lucy stopped by the table where Carson stood. Chloe guessed she would be asking him if he had heard about more thefts or people receiving anonymous gifts.
“You know we have little Cody at our house,” Mamie said as she sat down in the chair Lucy had vacated. “My niece Eva used to be his nanny, but she’s married now. I have a cook but Martha Rose went to go help her mother who broke her leg, which means I can’t spend as much time with Cody as I’d like. And Grady was supposed to be doing physical therapy with you and he isn’t.”
She stopped there and Chloe waited, not sure where Mamie was going with all of this.
Mamie gave her a tight smile. “I’m sorry, but I overheard Dr. Schuster talking to you about your job, or lack of one...”
“How did you know about that?”
Mamie paused, her hands folded, fingers tapping against each other as she gave Chloe an apologetic look. “I didn’t mean to listen in. I was in the room behind you when I heard him say that.”
