he any good?”
“As far as I can tell. But now that you’re going to be living in a small town, it’s best to realize that’s how they do things here.” Cooper was a transplant himself, first from Detroit and then the military, and during a previous conversation he’d confided that he was still adapting to the slower-paced life. “Everyone knows somebody who is related to someone else who can get things done for you. It took me a while to get used to it, but the system can be beneficial.”
“Okay. Have him email me an estimate and a contract. As long as people up there know how to mind their own business, then I’ll hire whoever they want.”
Coop laughed. “Now, I didn’t say they know how to mind their own business. But the community as a whole is a tight-knit group, and if they like you well enough, they wouldn’t sell you out to some big-city paparazzi. How did that talk with your old man go, by the way?”
Cooper was one of the few people who knew Garrett was related to the famous television producer. But that’s because the guy would investigate the depth lines on a ship’s anchor if he felt like it. And when he’d been hospitalized with two consecutive knee surgeries and nothing else to look forward to, the marine had been bored enough to investigate his surgeon.
“It went as expected. He wanted what he always wants, which is for me to return to California and start filming alongside him. I told him about my new plans. He said there’s no reason for me to go into private practice in some—no offense—Podunk town where my patients will only be able to pay for my services in taxidermy animals and squirrel meat casserole.”
“Ouch. Although, that’s what I expected, too, before I actually visited Sugar Falls.”
“Well, let’s hope for everyone’s sake that my dad and his entourage of cameras never decide to visit.” Garrett thought about his former patient’s family history and realized he might sound like a spoiled, ungrateful child. “Don’t get me wrong, I love the man. But I should’ve known better than to meet him last night. If it weren’t for that stupid dinner, I never would’ve gotten so pissed off and...”
What? He never would’ve walked to the hotel bar and experienced the most magical evening in his life?
Of course, he couldn’t say any of that to Cooper. Even though the two men’s relationship was moving into friendship territory, Garrett wasn’t ready to confess to anyone that his unsinkable heart had nearly been caught in a rip current.
He climbed into his late-model truck and dropped his head to the leather-covered steering wheel. He was too embarrassed to say anything to anyone and didn’t need a bored police chief to start asking too many questions.
Wait a second. Having Cooper asking questions on Garrett’s behalf might be another thing altogether. The idea of having his friend assist him in finding the mystery lady was ridiculous, but that wouldn’t stop him from exploring the possibility of it later. When he didn’t already have eight hundred things to do before the big move.
“Anyway.” Garrett started his engine. “Speaking of expectations, tell me more about some of these small-town neighbors I’m going to be meeting in Sugar Falls.”
Eight weeks later, while her two best friends sat in her living room for their regular Thursday night dinner together, Mia came out of the bathroom holding the small plastic stick in her hand.
“That was quick,” Kylie Gregson said, looking down at the empty box. “It says that you needed to wait three minutes for the results.”
“I know. But I didn’t want to wait in there alone to find out. Here.” Mia set the pregnancy test on a paper towel on the kitchen counter then rushed back to the couch and pulled her favorite throw blanket up to her chin. “It probably needs about two more minutes. I can’t look. You guys tell me what it says.”
Maxine Cooper walked over to the counter and looked at the stick. “Well, I don’t think we need to wait that long. The second blue line is pretty clear already.”
“What do two blue lines mean again?”
“It means positive,” Kylie said, checking the instructions.
“Let’s give it a little more time,” Mia whispered. “Maybe the other blue line will go away.” But she was a smart woman with a bachelor’s degree in fine arts. She knew none of this was going away.
She was pregnant. Single and pregnant.
A flood of emotion overcame her and she didn’t know how to feel at first. Even though she’d thought about this possibility well before she’d sent her friend around the corner to Lester’s Pharmacy to pick up the test, she knew she wasn’t upset.
She was terrified, but she’d dealt with scarier things in her life. She was in denial, but then, she’d lived as a shell of herself for the past few years, so the feeling wasn’t too uncommon. She was ashamed, but there was something else pushing her guilt aside and giving her a glimpse at a happiness she hadn’t experienced in a long time.
“Aw, sweetie,” Kylie said. “I know this is overwhelming, but you’re a strong woman. And you have us to help you.”
“I know,” she said, tears threatening to spill from her eyes. “I promised myself I would forget about that night in Boise. And it was almost getting easier until I realized my cycle had never been this late. I guess in my determination to forget everything, I didn’t think about the consequences, either.”
“Do you want to talk about your plans?” Maxine asked.
“I’m scared. Obviously. I don’t know how I’ll do it.” As soon as she realized she was late, a fear set in. But so did another emotion—excitement. “Like a tiny part of me is kind of looking forward to having this baby. I know this sounds selfish because I hated growing up without a father and I always swore that if I had kids of my own I wouldn’t make the same mistakes that my mom made with me. But I’m actually a little bit excited.” She rubbed her knee, which was getting sorer with each passing day. “That bastard Nick took so much from me—and not just physically. I thought I’d never recover after he attacked me, that my life was ruined. Yet, the thought of having a baby—having someone who is only mine and who needs me—is unreal, but in a positive way. This pregnancy might make me feel like I have a purpose again.”
Both of her friends looked at each other before turning back toward her. Then Kylie asked, “What about the baby’s father?”
“What about him? It’s not like I know him or would even know where to find him.”
Maxine hesitated before saying, “Cooper has some connections with the Boise PD and he can talk to the hotel security, maybe ask some questions on the down low—”
“No,” Mia interrupted. “What if the guy is married? Or a psychopath? I don’t need him. We don’t need him,” she corrected, as she put her hands protectively over the not yet visible bump of her tummy.
Her friends looked at each other again and Maxine shrugged. “Nobody has to make any decisions right this second. How about you let everything sink in and then, if you change your mind, we’ll help you find him.”
Mia
