I’d found Mr. Right a few years ago, but it turns out I was too late. His wife found him first.”
He gave her an appropriately sympathetic groan.
“After that humiliation, I swore off dating for a while.” She pulled a grimace then took a sip of cold cappuccino.
He grunted and cocked his head. “A loss to all single men. Any guy would be lucky to have a date with a lovely lady like you. I hate it when the jerks go and ruin things for the rest of us honest guys.”
The comment may have been the standard polite response, but it still caught Elise off guard. She yanked her gaze up to him, and the warmth of his smile stirred a flickering pulse inside her.
“I—I wasn’t fishing for a compliment.” She chuckled awkwardly. “Really. I—”
Their waitress arrived just in time to save her from her fumbling. After refilling Jared’s mug, their server left their check and bustled back to the counter.
“So … you want to talk about the elephant in the room now? The reason I asked you here before you went home?” he asked.
Elise’s gut tightened. “It’s a lot to process. Accepting that Grace died of a freak heart condition hours after birth was hard enough. But to think the same type of thing happened to another couple in town within months of Grace’s death is … spooky. Unsettling.”
“Exactly.” He furrowed his brow. “Did the doctor give you a medical explanation for Grace’s death? Was an autopsy done?”
“Yes. As I understand it, there was. All they told me was she had a weak heart, and she died of heart failure. I know I should have asked more questions, but to be honest, I was kinda numb.”
“I can understand that. I remember the shock that put me in a sort of daze after Kelly died. I got through it because my family rallied around me to help.”
She gave him a wan smile. “You’re lucky to have them.”
“Yeah, I am.” He gave her a nod and a smile that said he was counting his blessings. She didn’t want to envy Jared for the support he had from his family, but the ache of loneliness she’d carried in her bones since losing Grace swamped her with a dizzying wallop.
Clearing her throat, she forged on, not wanting him to see how vulnerable and alone she felt. “So I’ve been thinking about asking the hospital for Gracie’s medical file, but I’ve been putting it off because … well, I knew it would be hard. I’m kinda torn between wanting to know all the details to find some answers and shutting it all in the past and trying to move on.”
He nodded, his gaze focused on her, letting her know he was listening. She knew he didn’t have magic answers, but having him as a sounding board helped more than she’d expected. After months of carrying so much turmoil inside, having someone to listen to her ramble and unburden herself felt incredibly good, freeing.
“I mean, I know that, being a small hospital, they didn’t have the neonatal ICU facilities that might have saved her. Like Kim was saying tonight about the lack of advanced care at Crestview General, I’ve wondered so often what would have happened if I’d not been out of town that day I went into labor.”
He rolled one palm up. “Maybe that’s all it is. Maybe babies die at smaller hospitals more frequently because of the limited facilities. I mean, years ago, women and babies died during childbirth pretty regularly.”
She bit her bottom lip, considering his point. “Maybe.”
“If I were you.” he started and waited for her to meet his gaze as if seeking permission to be so bold as to give unsolicited advice.
She locked onto the incisive spark in his eyes, hungry for whatever guidance he had. “Yeah?”
“I’d make some inquiries. See if there are reports of other cases similar to yours at that hospital. Compare what you learn to the mortality rate of bigger hospitals. Gather facts, look for a pattern, see what comes out in the wash.”
“You don’t think Grace’s case was an isolated incident?” She narrowed an intent gaze on him. “You basically said as much earlier tonight … that Kim’s loss was too similar to be a coincidence.”
He spread his hands. “I don’t know. I may have been talking out of turn. But yeah, my initial gut instinct said something fishy was going on.”
Her heart beat an anxious tattoo. “Fishy as in …?”
He waved her off. “I don’t want to speculate. Look, Kim mentioned an online community with a message board. That’s a good place to start. Arm yourself with information.”
“That I can do. Between the internet and my contacts through the newspaper, I think I can get plenty of information.”
He arched one eyebrow. “You work at the paper?”
“Staff photographer,” she said, turning the conversation to her job. Next, he told her about his position as foreman with a local, family-owned construction company. As they swapped stories about their work, education and acquaintances they had in common, the mood between them relaxed and fell into the time-honored patterns of a first date. Elise found Jared easy to talk to, and she experienced a tingling rush in her blood whenever he flashed his lopsided grin.
“Well, it worked,” she said almost an hour later when she checked her watch. “Your pleasant company has kept my mind off what Kim told me tonight and saved me from sitting alone at home agonizing over what it could mean.”
He gave her a satisfied smile. “Mission accomplished.”
“I hope I haven’t kept you too late.”
He shrugged. “My mother might be a bit worried about what kept me, but as soon as she hears I was having coffee with an attractive lady, all will be forgiven. She’s been encouraging me to start dating again.”
A knot of regret tightened in Elise’s chest. “Jared, I, uh … I’m not in a place where I … well, I’m not ready to date. I’m not looking for a relationship.”
He nodded and raised a hand. “That’s fine. I’m not sure I’m ready to date again, either. But.” He twisted his mouth in a thoughtful moue, and his eyes took on a devilish spark. “We don’t have to tell my mother. As long as she thinks we might be an item, maybe she’ll back off trying to fix me up with her single friends.”
Elise scrunched her nose in a sympathetic wince and chuckled. “Oh, no.”
“Oh, yes.” A low, melodic laugh rumbled from his chest. “And let’s just say, there is a reason some of her friends are still single.” He rolled his eyes and whistled. “So the true nature of our friendship can be our little secret. Deal?”
She laughed harder, savoring the feeling. How long had it been since she had a reason to laugh? “So you want me to be your fake girlfriend?”
He pulled a face. “Well, we might not have to take it that far, but I’d consider it a personal favor if you’d be my excuse for not meeting Linda-from-accounting or Betty-from-her-scrapbooking-club.”
She flashed him a sassy grin. “Yeah, and what do I get
