Cooper was surprisingly hurt by her harsh words. “I’m not looking for rights. I’m just wondering what happened in the last half hour besides the fucking.”
“Nothing happened. Nothing’s going to happen. I told you that from the beginning, so please don’t act like I’m changing the rules on you or something. Nothing has changed. You should go now.”
Cooper sat frozen in place, staring at her for a full minute before he found the wherewithal to stand. “I don’t know what you’re so afraid of, Gigi, but it doesn’t need to be me. I’d never hurt you.”
“I know that.”
“Then why—”
“This is who I am, Cooper.”
She never blinked as she said those words, but her voice wavered ever so slightly. Just enough to let him know she wasn’t as unemotional as she seemed as she kicked him out of her home.
Though he wasn’t one to stay where he wasn’t wanted, he couldn’t leave her like this. He went to her, put his hands on her shoulders and gave a gentle squeeze. “I like you, Gigi. I like you more than I probably should. I understand that’s not what you want, but I can’t help how I feel. You’ve been through a lot in your life, had people disappoint you, so I get why you’ve learned not to let new people get too close. But you should know I don’t give up easily, and I want to show you something different, something you maybe haven’t had before now.”
“Cooper—”
He kissed her softly. “Sleep well, sweet Gigi. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“No, you won’t.”
He let her have the last word, but he hadn’t even left her place before he was formulating his plan for tomorrow.
* * *
At the clinic, Jared paced the hallway outside the cubicle where Lizzie was with the baby, who hadn’t stopped crying in what seemed like hours. They’d done everything they could think of to soothe her—fed her, changed her, rocked her. Nothing had helped. His nerves were shredded, and Lizzie’s had to be, too, even if she never gave up on trying to pacify the baby.
Dr. David Lawrence approached him. He was tall with dark hair and wore a white coat and an exhausted expression. Summer on Gansett was rough on a number of island residents, including the clinic’s only doctor. “So sorry to keep you waiting, Jared. We had a moped accident in town with multiple trauma patients that had to be stabilized before we could send them to the mainland.”
“Those damned mopeds.” Island residents hated them. Tourists loved them.
“You said it. I’d personally outlaw them if I could. We have a serious moped accident come through here at least once a week all summer long.”
“Are the new patients expected to make it?”
“They are, but it’ll be a rough recovery.”
“Sorry to hear it.”
“What’s up with the little one?”
“I wish I knew. She’s been inconsolable for hours. We weren’t sure if it was normal or something to be concerned about. We have no idea what we’re doing.”
“I’m sure you’re doing great. Let me take a look and see what we can do.”
Jared followed David into the cubicle where Lizzie was standing, swaying back and forth in her latest attempt to calm the crying baby.
“Let’s put her on the table,” David said.
Lizzie did as he asked, placing the baby on her back on the table.
The baby wasn’t having that. Her little face turned red, her hands curled into tight fists, and she screamed her head off.
Jared went to Lizzie and put his arm around her rigid shoulders. He hated seeing her so undone and wanted to rage at Jessie for doing this to them, even if he knew that wouldn’t help anything.
David performed a thorough exam of the baby, who’d finally stopped screaming. Figured. “I suspect we might be dealing with gas. Her abdomen is rigid.”
“What do we do about that?”
“I’ve got some drops we can give her to ease her discomfort. I’ll be right back.” He waited until Lizzie was there to make sure the baby couldn’t fall off the table before he left the room.
“Gas,” Lizzie said. “All this over gas. Who even knew that was a thing with babies?”
“Thankfully, David knew.”
“Maybe this is a sign that we’re not cut out for parenthood.”
“It’s not a sign, Lizzie. You’re doing great with her. You can’t be expected to know everything there is to know when you had a baby dumped in your lap. Most people have months to prepare themselves. You had minutes.”
The baby sucked on her own fists as her body shuddered with sobs.
“She needs a name. Something we can call her besides ‘the baby.’”
“We can’t name her.” With every passing second they spent with the baby, Jared felt more desperate to free them from this situation. Naming the baby would only drag them deeper into it.
“It wouldn’t be an official name. Just something we call her while she’s with us.”
“Hopefully, she won’t be with us for much longer.” He felt cruel saying that, but he had to keep things real with her. The baby wasn’t theirs, and he would remind her of that repeatedly if necessary. In a day or two, when Jessie realized the magnitude of what she’d done, she’d be back to collect her child. Jared was determined that neither he nor Lizzie would be decimated when that happened.
David returned and administered the drops to the baby, who lapped them up like they were candy. “That ought to give her some relief.” He handed the baby to Lizzie and the bottle to Jared. “You can give them to her any time she seems uncomfortable. If that doesn’t work, give me a call.” He handed Jared a business card. “Any time, day or night.”
“Thanks so much, Doc.”
“No problem. Still no word from the mother?”
“Nothing,” Jared said. “I know you have privacy rules and such, but if you have info on how to reach her, we’d sure appreciate any help you can provide.”
“I’ll take a look at the file and see what she gave us.”
“If there’s anything useful, and you’d be willing to contact Blaine, we’d be very appreciative. We’re trying to hold out until she comes back, but eventually, Blaine will have to get more formally involved.”
“I’ll do whatever I can.”
“Let’s get her home and try to get some rest,” Jared said, leading Lizzie from the room. “Thanks again for seeing us so late, David.”
“Happy to help.”
While Lizzie headed for the clinic’s main door, Jared hung back to speak to David. “Please help us find her mother. We can’t do this.”
Since their infertility journey had begun in the clinic with him and Victoria sending them to the specialists on the mainland, David knew why Jared had said that.
“I understand, and I feel for you guys in this situation.”
“Lizzie doesn’t want to turn her over to Blaine and social services, but I feel like that’s what we need to do for our own sanity.”
“No one would blame you if you did that, Jared.”