Chapter Nine

Mallory

The Fall Festival is everything I thought it would be… and more.

It's an explosion of oranges, yellows, reds and greens, all mixed into one celebration of everything the town has to offer at this time of year. There's so much on sale here, from home-made cakes and fudge, to stained glass, locally grown vegetables and fruits, and hand-knitted children's toys. It's like stepping back in time, but in a nice way, and I don't think I've stopped smiling since we arrived.

Naturally, that's mostly to do with the man walking beside me. I'm so used to seeing him in scrubs, and occasionally in jeans and t-shirts, it took me by surprise when I opened the door to find him standing there in a button-down shirt, open at the collar. I wanted him to take my hand… or better still, to pull me in to him and kiss me. But we've got all afternoon, and hopefully all evening, too. There's no need to rush things. We're together, and that's all that matters.

"Do you want to—" he says and I turn, looking up at him, just as he spins around. There are two people standing right beside him, and although I hold back slightly, I can't help noticing how good they look together. The woman is probably around the same height as me, and although she's also got blonde hair, it's not as blonde as mine. It's a lot wilder, though, worn in crazy curls and ringlets. I've always wanted hair like that, but have never been able to achieve it. The man beside her looks to be about the same age as Cooper, and I have to say, he's gorgeous. Not as gorgeous as Cooper, obviously… but gorgeous. He's carrying a baby, strapped to his front in a baby carrier, his arm resting on the infant's back, in the most adorable way, and just for a second, I can't take my eyes off of them.

"We've been calling to you," the woman says, getting my attention and looking up at Cooper.

"Sorry. I was distracted." Was he? To be honest, I've been distracted myself, looking around at everything… and I feel a little guilty for ignoring him.

"Clearly," she says with a smile, looking at me. "We haven't met before, have we?"

I step forward just slightly so I feel more like I'm a part of their group, returning her smile. "Not unless you've had any dental work done in the last three months." She hasn't. I know that already. I'd remember her hair, if nothing else. "I'm Cooper's receptionist."

I'd like to say I'm also his girlfriend, but it seems too soon for that particular label.

"Ahh… I see."

Cooper turns to me. "Mallory… this is Peony and Ryan…" He suddenly stops talking, looking at the two of them. "I was gonna say Peony and Ryan Andrews, but Peony kept her maiden name when they got married, so she's still Peony Hart."

I can't help smiling again as I look up into his bemused face. "That wasn't at all confusing, Cooper."

We all laugh, and the noise makes the baby whimper. Ryan rubs gentle circles across his back, cooing in his ear, and then he kisses his head. It's a beautiful sight to see, and for a second or two, we're all mesmerized.

"It makes more sense when you get to know us," Peony says, her eyes fixing on mine. "Which I'm sure you will now." I don't think there can be any mistaking her meaning, and I love the fact that, even if Cooper and I haven't publicly acknowledged our relationship, his friends seem to have already accepted it… and me. There's something welcoming about that, but before I can say anything, she returns her gaze to Cooper, who coughs to clear his throat.

"Was there a reason you were trying to get my attention?" he says.

"Only that Laurel called to let me know she'd hurt her back. I haven't been able to get over there this week, because Rory's had a bit of a cold, and I didn't want to give it to her. I figured it's the last thing she needs, on top of everything else, but do you know if she's okay? Has Brady told you what's going on? Laurel keeps saying she's fine when we talk on the phone, but you know what she's like." She rolls her eyes, smiling, and Cooper smiles back.

"As far as I know, she's getting better."

"She is," I say, and everyone turns to me. "I saw her yesterday when I went to fetch some milk. She was walking to the school to fetch Addy."

"And?" Cooper says, tilting his head, like he's urging me for more details.

"And she seemed fine. She was a little stiff, but she said she's a lot better, and that Brady's been looking after her."

"That's not an enormous surprise," Peony says with a chuckle.

"Of course it isn't." Ryan puts his arm around her, tilting his body so he doesn't crush their baby, and she looks up into his eyes. "We all do whatever it takes to care for the women we love. Isn't that right, Cooper?"

We all turn to look at the man beside me, and I notice the cutest blush creeping up his cheeks. He opens his mouth, but nothing comes out, and to save him from having to make an obviously uncharacteristic public display of affection, I nudge in to him and say, "I'm sure it is, but to get back to Laurel, she said she'd be here today. I remember her mentioning that Brady had to work, but that she'd be bringing Addy, just for an hour or two."

Peony turns to me, nodding her head. "I'll have to call her," she says, pulling her phone from the back pocket of her jeans before she looks up at Ryan. "I can find out what time she's coming and we can meet up. We need to talk about when she'll be able to get together to discuss their wedding plans."

"Wedding plans?" I say.

"Yes." Cooper turns to face me. "Brady and Laurel are getting married at the beginning of December."

"So soon after moving into their new home?" I'm surprised by that.

He smiles. "Yeah. It was a crazy enough schedule before Laurel hurt her back, but now…"

"Oh, we'll cope," Peony says and Ryan chuckles as Peony connects the call and they step away.

"I take it Laurel's a friend of Peony's?" I say once they've gone, and Cooper's eyes meet mine as he twists and lowers his head, looking down at me.

"They've been best friends since they were at school."

That's a concept I don't understand, but I nod my head. "I assume Peony and Ryan live in the town?"

He nods his head. "Peony owns the apple orchard, although she's recently converted one of her barns into a wedding venue."

"Which is why she wants to get together with Laurel to discuss her plans?"

"Yeah."

I move just a little closer to him, studying his generous lips, wishing he'd kiss me.

"H—Have she and Ryan been married for very long?" I ask, unable to think of anything to say that doesn't involve begging.

"The wedding was the week before Christmas."

"Last Christmas?"

"Yeah."

"They didn't wait very long to start a family."

He smiles. "No. Not long at all."

I'm about to ask whether the pregnancy came before the wedding, when his attention is caught by someone and he nods his head toward another couple, who walk straight up to us. Like Ryan, the man is tall, dark and handsome… and also carrying a baby. This one seems a little older than Rory, and is a girl, judging by the pink ribbon in her hair. Beside him is a beautiful brunette. She's a little taller than me, but I'd have said the same shape and size, her curves enhanced by the pretty floral dress she's wearing.

"Hi," the man says as they get up close. "I've been meaning to call you."

Cooper looks confused. "You have?"

"Yeah. I need some help."

"Oh?"

I stand, looking at the couple, feeling a little on the outside. Cooper hasn't introduced me, and I don't feel as though I can interrupt their conversation to do it myself.

"Yeah. I need to know how dental records are used to identify bodies."

There's a moment's pause, and then I laugh. I can't help myself. Cooper turns, looking down at me, with a curious expression on his face, and a smile touching at his lips. "Th—That's different," he says, with a stutter in his voice. "I can't say I've ever been asked that before."

"I'm sure you haven't," the man says. "But I'm coming up on an episode of McKenna's Mill, in which a murder victim is gonna be found in a burned-out car. The car's been rented with a fake driver's license, so that won't help with identification, and the only option left will be using dental records. I've got some technical questions about exactly how it's done."

I realize now that this must be Walker Holt, recalling the conversation we had with Brady and Laurel over dinner at their place the other night.

"Okay. Do you wanna come see me?" Cooper says, turning to me. "I've got some free time later in the week, haven't I?"

I look up at him, shaking my head. "I don't know. Believe it or not, I don't carry your diary around in my head."

He chuckles and turns to his friends. "Meet my receptionist."

"Who has a name… which is Mallory," I say, shaking my head at him, before I look at Mr. Holt. "If you wanna call on Monday morning, I'll schedule you in for later in the week."

"That's perfect." He smiles down at me. "We're Walker and Imogen, by the way."

"It's nice to meet you."

"You, too."

"I hate to cut and run," Imogen says. "But we need to find Stella and Dylan. I promised her we'd meet them for lunch."

Walker rolls his eyes, although he's grinning. "One of the many joys of my wife and her best friend having had babies within a couple of weeks of each other is that they're even more inseparable than they were before."

"Are you complaining?" she says, turning to him and tipping her head back to look up into his face.

"About you? Never, baby." He leans in and kisses her forehead, just as their baby lets out a soft cry, and Walker chuckles, looking down at her. "Okay. I won't leave you out, Ava." He dips his head, kissing his daughter's cheek, and she smiles up at him, my heart overflowing at the cuteness of it all.

"I'll see you next week," Cooper says.

"Sure. I'll call Mallory and set it up." Walker looks at me with a smile, and I smile back as they turn and go.

"They're a lovely family," I whisper, once they're out of earshot.

"Yeah. Imogen's not from around here, but she's fitting in okay."

"Is that a problem?" I ask. "Not being from around here, I mean," aware of the fact that I'm from the other side of the country.

"Not generally. Although it can be. It depends on your attitude. Hart's Creek isn't a place to make changes, so it pays to fit in, rather than try anything radical."

"I see. Or I guess the other way of doing it is to marry someone who's lived here all their life?" I look up at him, noting the confusion behind his eyes, and realize the need to backtrack before he gets the wrong idea. "Someone like Walker Holt," I say, hoping he doesn't think I was dropping hints about us. Even if I've been in love with him since the moment I first saw him, when he was an image on a screen, three thousand miles away, that's no reason to scare him off with thoughts of marriage.

"Yeah. Someone like that." He coughs, pushing his fingers back through his thick, dark hair. "Walker and Isabel got married this time last year."

"They did?" He nods his head, looking surprised by my reaction, and I have to smile. "It looks like they didn't wait too long to start a family, either."

He grins and leans closer, whispering, "I'm pretty sure the pregnancy came before the wedding in their case, but you didn't hear it from me."

I nod my head, looking up into his molten brown eyes, and am about to ask if everyone in Hart's Creek is so keen on having kids straight off the bat, when another couple approach. I know the man this time. It's Nate Newton of the Hart's Creek Courier. He's the one I went to see when I placed the advertisement about Saffron. As for the woman beside him, though… she's more of a mystery. I'm sure I've seen her around the town, but I don't know her name, or what her connection is with Mr. Newton. She's very pretty, though, and I have to say, I love her outfit. Her dress is thigh-length and copper-colored, and she's covered it with a chunky cardigan, finishing the look with ankle boots and an amber necklace.

"You already know Nate, don't you?" Cooper says, stepping forward to make proper introductions this time.

"Yes, we've met."

"This is my wife, Taylor," Nate says, looking down at her with a smile. "You know, it's been five months, one week, and two days, and I still love calling you my wife just as much as I did on the day we got married."

"Even though you're together twenty-four hours a day?" Cooper says, shaking his head, and Nate tears his eyes away from his wife, although the smile doesn't leave his lips as he focuses on Cooper instead.

"When you find the right woman, twenty-four hours a day isn't long enough," he says.

"And it works, does it?" Cooper asks, sounding interested. "Working and living together?"

"It works for us," Nate says. "Although we won't be doing it for very much longer." Taylor looks up at him, her eyes sparkling, the two of them seeming to share a moment before they look back at us and Nate smiles, saying, "Taylor's pregnant."

There's just a second's pause before Cooper steps forward, offering his hand to Nate. "Congratulations," he says, and I offer my own good wishes, but don't bother with a handshake. Not only do I not know them very well, but it seems Nate likes to have a protective arm around his wife… and I admire that.

Taylor's eye is caught by something, and she nudges into her husband. "We need to go deal with that."

"What?" We all follow the line of her gaze toward a young man with a camera in his hand, and Nate shakes his head.

"Is something wrong?" I ask.

"Not really. It's just we've taken on a new junior reporter and I thought he'd be up to the task of covering the Fall Festival." He sucks in a breath, letting it out slowly as he takes Taylor's hand in his and kisses the palm. "It looks like I was wrong." They move away, and although I watch them go, I can't see that the young man is doing anything obviously wrong. I guess they know what they're doing, though.

"They waited," I murmur, once we're alone, and Cooper turns to face me, looking down into my eyes.

"Waited? What for?"

"To get pregnant. Nate said it had been five months since they got married, and there's no way Taylor's five months pregnant."

"No. But I imagine she's three months or so."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I can't believe they'd have told us if they'd only found out this morning. They'd have waited a while. It's what most people do… at least in my limited experience."

"It seems most people around here are quite romantic, too," I say.

"Some are." His reply is a little disappointing. I'd hoped he might take the bait, but it seems not… although I refuse to be defeated and I move a little closer.

"They like babies, too."

"Some do."

"Don't you?" I ask, although he doesn't reply, and I lower my head, wondering if my questions are getting a little too personal for him. I don't see why I shouldn't be allowed to ask personal questions, though. It's not as though we're at work, and he asked me to come here with him today. What did he think we'd do? Discuss cavities and extractions all afternoon?

I can't think what else to say, and I look up again, noticing that he's staring into the distance, over my shoulder. I turn, my eyes falling straight onto Meredith Sims.

His ex.

She's standing behind a display of her art, which is enough to put me off looking for too much longer… as is the fact that she's kissing another man. Or, to be more precise, she's all over another man. They're practically ripping each other's clothes off, and I wonder if I should suggest they get a room. It might lighten the suddenly tense atmosphere. I look back up at Cooper, surprised by the pained expression on his face.

What's that about?

He must have realized Meredith would be here. Surely.

They only broke up a week ago, so he must have been aware that she was planning to come… although I doubt he knew she'd be here with another man. A man who's currently pawing her ass.

Should I say something? Maybe suggest we move somewhere else? I'm wondering how to phrase that when Meredith pulls back from the other man and turns, her eyes locking on Cooper and me. She frowns, and then her face falls. At exactly the same moment, he steps closer to me, and I glance up to see a smile touch at his lips.

It only takes me a second to work it out and to realize what's going on here. Laurel was wrong. I'm not a hot date. I'm a goddamn trophy.

I step back from Cooper, and even though my throat feels like it's closing over, and I'm struggling to breathe, I look up at him.

"I—I'm going."

He startles, dragging his eyes away from his ex and focusing on me.

"Going? Going where?"

"Home. I—I've got a headache." It's in my chest. In the place where my heart used to be, before you ripped it out.

He steps closer, a look of fake concern filling his eyes. "I'll come with you."

"No!" I raise my voice, but then see the surprise in his eyes and calm myself. "I'm fine, really," I say.

I don't give him a chance to reply, but turn, trying not to stumble as the view before me blurs, and I pick up my pace, making my way back to the clinic.

I fumble with the lock, letting myself in, and climb the stairs, running up the last few to let myself into my apartment, slamming the door behind me.

I'm torn between tears and fury, and as I throw my keys onto the couch, narrowly missing Saffron, who jumps down onto the floor and glares at me, fury wins out.

"How dare he?" I yell, making the cat scamper behind the couch.

Cooper clearly knew all along that Meredith would be at the festival – together with her new boyfriend – and only invited me so he wouldn't have to go alone, and feel like a loser.

"How could he do that?" How could he belittle me?

I pace the floor, but not for long. I'm getting dizzy and making the cat nervous, so I sit and she joins me, tipping her head, like she doesn't understand, until I pat my thigh and she gingerly climbs up.

"It's okay," I whisper, giving her head a stroke.

It's not okay, though, is it? It's very far from okay.

Wasn't it bad enough that Jonah cheated on me? Wasn't it embarrassing enough that he did it all so publicly? Did Cooper have to treat me so badly, too?

Is there something wrong with me? Something that makes men feel it's okay to behave like that… to treat me like that? Why do they think they can use me? And more to the point, what am I going to do about it?

Doing nothing isn't an option.

I have to work with Cooper. He's my boss. He's my landlord, too. I enjoy my job, and I like having somewhere to call home, and while I wouldn't say I feel safe yet, I certainly feel more settled than I ever have before.

Besides which, I have a cat now. I stroke her just to prove the point, and she purrs, nestling against me.

I have responsibilities, and no matter what Cooper's done, I can't just leave.

Why should I?

I'm not the one at fault here.

He is.