“He’s on his way.”
“And Miss Jade?”
Donny had taken to calling Talon Dad easily. He’d grown up without a father. Calling Jade Mom was coming more slowly. Dale and Donny’s biological mother, Cheri Robertson, had committed suicide after her boys were taken, though the boys didn’t know that yet. Talon and Jade had told them she’d died in a car accident.
“She’s in bed.”
“Throwing up again?”
“I’m afraid so.”
“That baby in her belly is making her awful sick.”
“Yes.”
“Maybe we should get the baby out.”
“No, we can’t do that.”
“But if it’s making her sick…”
I sat down at the kitchen table and pulled Donny onto my lap, placing a kiss on his sweet-smelling head. “She and your dad want the baby very much. So even if it makes her sick, she’s going to stick it out until it’s time for the baby to be born so you and Dale will have a little sister or brother.”
“I hope it’s a boy,” Donny said, smiling. “What do you want it to be, Auntie Marj?”
“It doesn’t matter. As long as it’s healthy.”
“I suppose.” Donny hopped off my lap. “Can I have a drink of water?”
“Sure thing.” I rose and got him a cup out of the cupboard.
He filled it at the refrigerator. “I’m going to go play with the doggies.” He trotted out through the sliding glass doors onto the deck, where Roger, Bo, and Beauty were napping.
Not for long. Donny would have those dogs up and running and fetching in no time. The kid was full of energy.
I sighed. Being here was good for me. With all the commotion, I barely had time to think those horrible thoughts.
Except that now I was thinking them again.
I walked over to the refrigerator, but before I opened it, a knock sounded on the front door.
I quickly wiped my hands on a dish towel, walked through the kitchen and foyer to the door, and peered through the peephole.
My heart jumped.
Bryce Simpson.
Bryce was my brother Joe’s best friend. I’d known him ever since I could remember. Both he and Joe were thirteen years my senior, and I’d never thought of him as anything but Joe’s buddy…until he and I had almost shared a kiss after I’d babysat his young son, Henry, one time.
I’d followed him to check on the sleeping baby, and we’d smiled down at his angelic face. Then we’d turned to one another. My heart had stampeded as he leaned toward me, his gaze meeting mine and making me melt. I lifted my face to meet his lips.
We got closer…
Closer…
Had I stopped it? Or had he? I couldn’t quite recall. At any rate, a million things had happened since then, and I hadn’t seen him or Henry since Ryan and Ruby’s wedding a couple of months ago.
I knew one thing, though. Bryce Simpson was no longer just Joe’s best friend. Now he was the tall and muscular man with sandy-blond hair and blue eyes that made my heart beat a little faster.