SHE WOKE A little fuzzy in the brain to the sound of snoring. Baffled, she pressed a hand to her mouth, but the sound continued. There was a light cotton throw tossed over her, and the table umbrella had been cocked to shade her.
The snoring came from Parker who was flopped on his back beside her chaise, his feet straight up in the air so he looked like a toy dog that had been knocked off its perch.
Her life might’ve been strange at the moment, but she didn’t think a dog could have moved the umbrella or brought her a blanket.
Even as she cleared sleep from her throat and pushed herself up, Stella came out the back door bearing two glasses of iced tea.
“Nice nap?” she asked.
“I don’t know. I slept through it. Thanks,” she added as she took a glass of tea. “What time . . . Wow.” She blinked at her own watch
. “I was out for almost two hours.”
“Glad to hear it. You look better.”
“I hope to God. Where are the kids?”
“Logan picked them up after school. They like going to jobs with him. Gorgeous out, isn’t it? The perfect day for drinking tea on the patio.”
“Everything okay at the nursery? This kind of weather brings people in.”
“And it did. We were busy. Look at those crepe myrtles. I love this yard,” she said with a sigh.
“You and Logan have done an amazing job. I was thinking that before. What a good team you are.”
“Turns out. Who’d have thought a cranky disorganized know-it-all and an anal-retentive overachiever could find true love and happiness?”
“I did. Right from the start.”
“I suppose you did. Smartie. Have you eaten?”
“I wasn’t really hungry.”
Stella wagged a finger. “Somebody in there might be. I’m going to fix you a sandwich.”
“Don’t fuss, Stella.”
“PB and J?”
With a shake of her head, Hayley gave in. “No fair. You know my weaknesses.”
“Sit right there. The fresh air’s good for you. I’ll be back in a minute.”
True to her word, Stella was back not only with the sandwich, but a sprig of purple grapes, bite-size wedges of cheese. And a half a dozen Milano cookies.
Hayley looked at the plate on her lap, then up at Stella. “Will you be my mommy?”
With a laugh, Stella sat on the chaise at Hayley’s feet. And began to rub them in a way that had every muscle in Hayley’s body sighing in relief. “One of my favorite things about being pregnant was getting pampered once in a while.”
“Missed that the first few months the first time out.”
“So, you’ll make up for it with this one.” Stella patted Hayley’s leg. “How you feeling—gestating-wise?”
“Good. Tired, you know, and up and down on the emotional scale, but pretty good. Better now,” she added after another bite of the sandwich. “And I hate admitting that—a long nap, comfort food, it’s doing the job. I’m going to take care of myself, Stella, I promise. I was careful carrying Lily, and I’ll be careful this time, too.”
“I know you will. Besides, nobody’s going to give you a choice.”
“I get . . .” She moved her shoulders restlessly. “Funny when everybody’s worried about me.”