Read Somebody Like You for Free Online

I know that—but I don’t think I’m dealing with a rational person. I can accept the warning to turn my porch light off—even if it does freak me out a bit that some guy must be driving around at night checking out porch lights. But it feels like they’re trying to find things to hassle me about.” Haley motioned toward the garage. “And I still haven’t unpacked the Great Wall of Boxes—”
    “The what?”
    “All the boxes piled up in my garage. And my fence is . . . leaning or something. My bathroom toilet is leaking. The sliding glass doors don’t want to slide. The shutters need to be repainted—not to mention I didn’t like some of the room colors when I moved in, and I still don’t. Orange only works on a pumpkin.”
    “Haley, you know some of the guys will help you. Let me have Finn organize a work crew.”
    “I was talking out loud, Claire, not asking for help. Everyone’s busy—they have their own families to take care of.” She forced herself to refocus on the list of childbirth classes. “Sorry. We were talking about options.”
    “Whichever works for you, I’ll go with you.”
    “You have a husband, not to mention a job. And if I remember correctly, weren’t you talking about training for a marathon? You don’t have to take care of me.”
    “I’ve already told Finn I’m your coach. It’s all settled. I talked to my supervisor and explained the situation, and she’s willing to adjust my shifts so I can go to your classes.” Claire commandeered the mouse, moving the cursor along the listings. “What about the one offered at the hospital? It’s close.”
    Haley nodded as Claire clicked on the link. Stared at the web page.
    “Or . . . there’s always the one offered at that instructor’s home. She has a lot of experience.” Claire switched back to the previous web page. The black and white images of smiling, peace-filled women holding newborns blurred before Haley’s eyes.
    Just do the next thing.
    This wasn’t about having the baby. Yet. She was doing what she needed to do to be ready when it was time to have the baby. To be a mom. By herself. Without her husband, who didn’t—
    Charm bracelet jangling, Claire rested her hand over Haley’s where it sat next to the computer keyboard. “I’ll be with you, Haley.”
    “I know.”
    “For the classes. For labor and delivery. Everything.” Claire squeezed her hand.
    “I hate to ask you to do all this, Claire.” Haley scraped together her confidence, which had been undermined just by looking at web photos. “I can manage.”
    “You’re kidding, right?” Claire grabbed her by the shoulders—gently—and turned Haley to face her. “You are not having your baby alone. End of discussion. Moving on.”
    Haley allowed Claire to hug her, leaning into her for the briefest of seconds before squaring her shoulders. Inhaling. Exhaling. “Now all I need to do is figure out what kind of classes to take. What do you think?”
    “No experience in this category, my friend.” Claire masked the shadows Haley glimpsed in her hazel eyes by leaning forward to study the screen, causing her shoulder-length black hair to fall forward like a shield. “So, we’re back to you: What do you want to do?”
    Haley’s troubles were no reason for her to ask careless questions. “Here’s what I want: anything and anyone to ensure I have a fast, uncomplicated delivery.”
    “That’s what every pregnant woman wants.”
    “Then someone should have figured it out by now.” Haley closed the laptop sitting on the table with a soft click, standing to stretch her back before moving past the archway into the kitchen. Through the sliding glass doors, the solitary tree in the backyard seemed to lift its branches in supplication to the muted gray sky. “I’ll look at that again later. You thirsty?”
    “Sure. Hot tea?”
    “For you, always. For me, soda.” She pulled a Plexiglas bowl of rinsed green grapes and a smaller bowl with some mini