Of course the baby was entitled to whatever Reed had left behind. How could Cordy have been so stupid?
Because you never had a home. You’ve never owned one, your parents never owned one,homeisn’t even something you understand.
“I didn’t know,” was all she could say. “I…”
When Glenn had kicked her out, she wasn’t entirely homeless—she could have used Reed’s house all along. She suspected the Saxons had deliberately not mentioned it to her.
She didn’t have to stay with Chance. She could have a house all to herself. The Saxons might kick up a fuss, but from what Hailey was saying, they might not.
Cordy preferred living alone. She’d done so since she turned seventeen, and her dad left her in Borneo because she was “old enough to take care of yourself in most cultures.”
So she’d taken care of herself all by herself.
Cordy could do that again. It would be for the best—Chance had made it clear this wasn’t anything like permanent. He wasn’t built for that, anyway.
You’ve got the nursery all set up, though. You’ll have to leave that behind.
Chance had even helped her put up curtains when he’d built the crib. Yellow ones patterned with teddy bears. They made her smile each time she saw them.
Chance had said she could stay until the baby was born. After, she could rethink things. Go back to the way she used to be: independent, unattached.
“I need to talk to a lawyer,” she said.
Hailey winced. “You don’t need to do that.”
“I do.” Cordy put her hand to her belly. “I’m going to make sure my baby gets what’s hers. I don’t know anything about this, and a lawyer will.”
“The probate lawyer should have contacted you,” Hailey said.
“They didn’t.”
“I’ll sort it out.” Hailey suddenly sounded very tired. “My mom found Reed’s christening gown. She wanted to give it to you. It’s what she was trying to tell you before…” Hailey lifted one shoulder. “Well, before she broke down.”
Hailey sounded half-broken herself. Like she had the weight of the world on her shoulders but could never shrug it off, only shift it for a bit.
My mom is having a hard time. My dad can’t handle it.
Hailey had lost her brother, but it sounded like she was losing her parents, too. She might be the only thing keeping the Saxon family together.
“You know,” Cordy said softly, “you don’t have to do it all yourself. You can ask for help.”
It felt strange to say it when Cordy was still learning that lesson herself, but she felt that Hailey really needed it right now.
Hailey smiled crookedly at the irony. “I’ll keep that in mind. Mom likes the updates you send. She shows me each one. She doesn’t reply because she isn’t sure what to say.”
“I’ll keep sending them then,” Cordy promised. Even if Janet never replied. “And I’d love to have Reed’s christening gown. It’s just… I don’t know anything about christenings. Maybe you could help me figure that out once the baby is here? I’m not sure what I’m supposed to do.”
“Of course.” Hailey wasn’t enthusiastic, but Cordy would take it. “Are you sure there’s not anything else you need?”
Cordy pondered that. “You should sign up for the meal train. Ruby’s organizing it.”
“We will. Anything else?”
“I could use some crib sheets. The nursery is yellow with teddy bears if you want a theme.”
Hailey looked at her. “Finally. Was that so hard?”
Well, now, that was pushing it a bit. Cordy suspected her relationship with Hailey would never be easy, no matter how much they tried to meet in the middle.
