The air was cold, the bitter kind of wind that seemed to seep through any and all clothing right to a person’s bones. Jess stood on Rick’s front step, waiting for him to open the door. When he did her heart gave a mighty thump and the first thought in her head was, I’m having your baby. But she kept the words unspoken and smiled instead. “Can I come in? We need to talk.”
His face took on a wary expression. “That doesn’t sound good.”
She went into the kitchen and instantly smelled something delicious. Her gaze was diverted to a metal pan of still-warm brownies on the stove top.
“You made brownies?”
“I got hungry and the bakery is closed on Sundays.” He must have seen her ravenous look because he grinned and reached into the cupboard. “Would you like one?”
“Maybe a small one.”
He started to cut and she went over and put her hand over his. “Not that small…” She shifted the knife over so the brownie was nearly twice as big as he’d been going to cut. Rick laughed, a deep rumble in his chest, and Jess felt the warm flush, knowing in that moment what it was like to be in love.
They sat at the kitchen table, and Jess took a few bites. As Rick poured her a glass of cold milk, she thought of how it was good for the baby and once more the words sat on her tongue. But first things first. Nervously, she put down her fork and reached for his hand.
“Rick, I need to tell you something.”
“This sound serious.”
“It might be. Remember the necklace you gave me?”
He nodded. “Right. You were going to see if you could find out anything about it.”
“I thought I’d seen it before. And I was right. At least I’d seen one like it. So I did a little investigating.”
“And what did you discover?” His gaze sharpened and he, too, put down his fork.
She swallowed. “I saw a similar necklace in a picture at the Foster House.”
Rick’s brow furrowed. “The Foster House? Then how did my mother get ahold of it?”
“That’s what Abby and I both wondered. So I left it with her to do some digging around. I hope that’s okay. I designed Abby’s wedding necklace, remember? It was a replica of the one in her picture. That’s why it seemed so familiar.”
She paused, wondering how much to reveal. “Rick, I’m sorry. For getting someone else involved and not telling you what I’d done.”
He let out a sigh. “It’s okay. I mean … it’s not like you shared it at one of your crafty meetings or whatever. It’s just Abby. To be honest, I’ve been so busy the last few weeks I’d kind of forgotten about it.”
She nodded, relieved. “Well, Abby called me a while ago. Said she has news about it. She thought we might like to go over there together.”
“Sure, why not? It’d be nice to know where it came from.” He smiled at her. “Letting go isn’t as scary as it once was, Jess. I have you to thank for that.”
Jess smiled at him and squeezed his fingers. She was relieved he wasn’t mad at her for getting Abby involved, and doubly pleased that he wanted her by his side.
But she couldn’t escape the feeling that he wouldn’t be so content with it all if he knew she had told Abby his secret. Or if he knew she was hanging on to another surprise that was bigger still.
She was just waiting for the right time to tell him about the baby. That was all.
* * *
Once more Rick found himself in the foyer of Abby and Tom’s house. He’d tried to resist tapping his fingers nervously on the steering wheel on the way over, but a few times he’d forgotten and he’d caught Jess looking at him strangely.
“I made coffee,” Abby was saying, and she led the way down the hall to the kitchen. Jess took his hand and soon he found himself in the warmly lit kitchen, the rich scent of coffee and cookies in the air.
Tom was waiting, perched on a stool beside the butcher block. “Hey,” he said, looking up. “I think winter’s almost here by the feel of that north wind today. It could almost bring snow with it.”
The weather? Rick supposed they needed to break the ice somehow. “It’s bitter,” he acknowledged, rubbing his hands together.
“Go ahead and fix your coffee the way you like,” Abby instructed. She busied herself putting cookies on a plate and then put the plate in the middle of the butcher block. It seemed that counter space was going to be the center of operations, at least for now.