Page 4 of Pining for Pierce
“Not very. We only found out yesterday.”
Laurel glances from Mallory to Cooper. “I’m guessing you didn’t mean to tell me?”
“Probably not,” he says, pulling Mallory close to him. “But there’s no way I could have kept it from Brady, so…”
Laurel chuckles, shaking her head. “No, you couldn’t. But do you want me to tell him, or do you wanna do it?”
“I’d like to tell him, if that’s okay with you?” Cooper says.
“That’s fine. I promise I won’t mention it.”
“I’ll tell him today,” Cooper replies. “So you won’t have to keep it to yourself for long.”
“Thank heavens for that. It’s so exciting, I’m not sure how I would have managed.” They all chuckle and then Laurel sits back slightly. “He’s gonna be so pleased for you… assuming…” She falters over her words. “I mean, assuming it was planned, and wasn’t…”
“It was planned… mostly,” Cooper says, and Laura chuckles. She obviously understands what he means, even if I don’t.
“So…” she says, “are you gonna carry on living above the clinic?”
Cooper shakes his head. “No. It’s not practical. To be honest, we’d already started looking for somewhere else before the wedding, but now we’re gonna have to up our game.”
“You’ll stay in Hart’s Creek, though, won’t you?” Laurel sounds worried, although Cooper sets her mind at rest with a smile.
“Of course we will. In fact, there’s a house just a few doors away from yours that we’re thinking of looking at.”
“Seriously?”
“Yeah. I only got a call from the realtors last night, so we haven’t had a chance to talk it through yet, but…”
“Oh, but having you as neighbors would be great,” Laurel says. “And Brady would be thrilled.”
“I know. He’s not the only one,” Cooper says. “Just think of all those late nights, chilling on the back porch with a beer.”
“Late nights?” Mallory says, looking up at him as Laurel chuckles.
“You won’t get many of those once the baby’s born,” she says, still smiling. “Trust me, all you’re gonna want to do is sleep.”
Mallory laughs and rests her hand on Cooper’s chest. “See?” she says. “I told you.”
He pulls her close to him. “I know. I was only kidding. Besides, based on how tired you are these days, I’m pretty sure late nights are a thing of the past for us.”
“You’re getting tired already?” Laurel says, looking at Mallory.
“You bet. We noticed it almost as soon as we got back from Bora Bora. It was one of the clues that made us do the test in the first place, but I didn’t realize it would be this bad. Honestly… I keep falling asleep at my desk, and I can barely stay awake beyond about eight in the evening.”
“So… it’s a honeymoon baby, is it?” Laurel says, tipping her head to one side.
“Who knows?” Cooper says. “It could have happened anytime.”
They all laugh and Mallory says, “The tiredness is one of many things I want to talk to the doctor about.”
“Oh?” Laurel asks.
“Yeah. I want to check whether it’s gonna get better anytime soon. It’s proving difficult at work. Although I suppose I didn’t need to come here, did I? I could’ve just asked you.”
Laurel smiles and says, “I don’t know. I think it’s always best to get a professional opinion. Pregnancy isn’t the same for everyone… or even for the same person, when they’re doing it the second time around.”
“Is this time different?” Mallory asks.
