“It’s not the labor you should be worried about,” Helena said. “It’s the newborn phase.”
Chelsea put her hand on Cordy’s arm. “I don’t want to overstep, but will you have someone with you when you go intolabor? Or with you afterward?” She squeezed Cordy’s forearm. “Since you and Chance are only roommates and all.”
Cordy and Chance hadn’t discussed that. He’d said at their last class that he would be there, and she assumed he meant the birth. She’d been so relieved she hadn’t pushed it.
Her face must have given her away because Chelsea said gently, “If you want someone there, let us know. We probably can’t be there the entire time, but we can take shifts. Pretty much every mom in this town would help you.”
Cordy’s heart strained like it was lifting too big a load. It pushed and pushed, struggling with what Chelsea had offered her.
“Thank you,” she said huskily. She cleared the lump in her throat. “I appreciate it, and I will reach out to you. I promise.”
“When we bring you food, we’re going to clean the house,” Chelsea said. “So don’t even try to stop us.”
“Laundry, too,” Helena said.
Cordy hadn’t had someone do laundry for her since she was ten. It sounded…nice.
The doorbell chimed again. Cordy didn’t bother to look at who came in, but when Chelsea’s eyes went wide in shock, Cordy turned.
There was Hailey, standing stock still in the doorway.
seventeen
Hailey lookedlike she wanted to be anywhere else. Cordy refused to let that upset her. She was done being pushed around by this family.
Cordy stood up and pinned Hailey with her gaze. “We need to talk. Remember you said that?”
The other woman didn’t say anything. The Donut Palace had probably never been so silent. Cordy felt as if the entire town might be watching. Again.
Finally, Hailey turned on her heel and marched out.
Cordy went as fast as she could after her.
Hailey was waiting for Cordy on the sidewalk. The expression on her face was carefully neutral. So Cordy approached slowly, neither smiling nor frowning. At least they didn’t have an audience this time.
“Ruby wanted me to apologize to you.” Hailey didn’t sound like she was about to say sorry. “I… I want you to know my mom is having a tough time. Which my dad doesn’t know how to handle at all.”
“It’s been hard for me too.” Cordy wasn’t inclined to make excuses for any of the Saxons anymore. Maybe because she was so close to delivering. A hard deadline was coming up, and ifthey didn’t step up by then, Cordy was done. “They need to be there for me because Reed can’t.” She pressed her lips together. “But let’s be honest—your mom was never going to like me.”
“No one would have been good enough for Reed,” Hailey said bitterly. “But, yeah, you were always going to have a hard time with Mom.”
“And you?”
“You don’t textme.” Hailey tapped her chest. “You text my mom. And you don’t ask for help; you talk about fruit sizes. It’s kind of your own fault.”
Cordy’s blood pressure shot to the sky. “What? How is it my fault?”
Hailey gestured like it was obvious. “You’re so self-contained! You don’t hang out with anyone, you never seem to need anything—you put an ad for a birth coach up in the Donut Palace! That’s the kind of ballsy move that intimidates people.”
Cordy’s mouth fell open. It hadn’t felt ballsy. It had been terrifying.
“And then when you need a place to stay”—Hailey wasn’t slowing down—“you move in with the most confirmed bachelor in town. You didn’t even ask about Reed’s house.”
“Wait.” Cordy held up a finger. “What about that?”
“Reed died without a will. That means everything goes to his next of kin.” Hailey looked pointedly at Cordy’s belly. “Which would be your baby. She or he is going to inherit the house. You could make a case that you should use it now. I’m surprised you didn’t.”
Cordy felt like she’d been smacked. How had she… how had she not even thought of that? They’d always met up at her place, so she’d never seen Reed’s house. She’d thought maybe he rented or something. Honestly, she hadn’t really thought about it at all.
