“It is not!” Cordy shook her head. “His name is Iggy.”
“Aw, he’s such a love.” Ruby put on a baby voice. “Who’s a good boy? You are! You’re the best boy.”
Quint was watching his wife with a tender, pained expression. Like she was so beautiful it hurt his eyes.
Oh boy. Cordy’s heart squeezed too tight as she realized this man loved this woman. Desperately.
Ruby didn’t seem to notice her husband, though. Had Ruby even said hello to Quint?
Chance watched Ruby and his brother, his expression guarded. He probably wouldn’t ever look at a woman like Quint looked at Ruby. Tomcats didn’t fall in love, not with that kind offurious aching. They were off to the next alley before things got to that point.
Somehow, that made her heart hurt even worse.
“Cordy and I will start with the trailer,” Ruby said. She nudged Cordy toward it. “I’ve got some stories about Glenn and Justin.”
Right. There was a whole lot of unloading to do.
“What about Reed?” Cordy asked as they walked to the trailer. “Did you know him?” Ruby must have if she was friends with Hailey. “I like to hear stories about him so I can tell the baby one day.”
Ruby’s expression flickered with pity. “I never said it, but I am so sorry for what happened. You’re doing a hell of a job with all this.”
“Thanks.” Cordy swallowed down the tightness in her throat. “I feel like I’m barely keeping my head above water most of the time, though.”
“No, you’re doing great.” Ruby patted her arm. “More people are pulling for you than you think. You need to reach out and ask for help more often.”
Like when I posted the ad for a birth coach, and everyone laughed at me?
But even as Cordy thought it, she realized it wasn’t entirely true. Chance hadn’t laughed at her—he’d stepped up even when she’d told him to get lost. The Kessals were helping her move, and Ruby had even shown up. She was also making friends with Jaycee in her class. And there were Sam and Pierce, although they were more acquaintances than friends.
“It’s hard,” Cordy admitted. “I didn’t grow up in one place, and my parents were very much on their own. We didn’t have anyone to ask for anything. I was expected to be self-sufficient early on.” Cordy swallowed. “I never got in the habit of asking for help.”
Ruby stared at her for a long moment. Cordy worried Ruby felt sorry for her, which wasn’t necessary. Cordy had had a great childhood. She’d gotten to see the world. So what if she had no extended family nearby, close friends, or a proper home?
Ruby raised a skeptical eyebrow. “I see. Well, you’re about to have a baby, so tell me now if there’s anything you don’t eat so I can put that on the meal train sign-up.”
“Meal train?” Cordy had no idea what that was.
“Everyone brings you meals after the baby is born. If you’re lucky, they’ll do some cleaning when they come by, too.”
“They bring me food? Because I had a baby?”
Ruby shook her head. “You’ve spent too much time in bars. Yes, that’s the idea—everyone brings you food so you don’t have to cook. Don’t expect Chance to cook, either. He’ll probably be just as tired as you.”
“He… He…” Cordy’s brain was trying to keep up. “We’re not together. He won’t be getting up with the baby.”
“Mmm.” Ruby packed a lot of doubt into that little noise. She gave Chance a searching look. He was hauling the crib box inside and didn’t notice. “Trust me, he’ll be getting up with the baby. You won’t be able to stop him.”
Cordy had no idea what to say to that. She never expected that of Chance, but it wouldn’t do any good to tell Ruby that. She’d have to talk about it with Chance instead.
“I’m allergic to tree nuts,” Cordy said. “Peanuts are fine, actually, but no tree nuts. For the meal train.”
“Other kinds of nuts seem fine, though.” Ruby pointed at Cordy’s stomach.
Cordy choked back a horrified laugh. “Are all second-grade teachers like you?”
“Since I’m the only one in town, I couldn’t say.”
“Wait, really?”
