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“I’M SORRY, MRS. CONOVER, I’m going to have to adjust my schedule next week,” Lacey said when she returned to the house on Wednesday. She missed Mrs. Conover being in town, but why spend the money when the house was livable again. “I need to go into San Angelo for my first appointment.”
“What day is that?”
“It’s Wednesday, so can I come on Thursday instead?”
Mrs. Conover harrumphed. “When will that Austin Driscoll get out of school and get back here? We’re paying for his med school so he can come back here and service this town, and he seems to be taking his sweet time about it.”
“Well, med school takes about twelve years, so it probably won’t be much longer.” She knew because she’d looked into it herself. She couldn't imagine Austin would be in any hurry to come back, though, to this town that blamed his mother for the bus accident that killed her. She bet he was sorry he ever made the arrangement to serve the town for ten years after med school in exchange for graduating with no debt.
She knew he’d done his undergrad work in two and a half years, because he hadn’t needed to work, just had to push himself through. So he was probably pretty close to being done, but she’d lost touch with him over the years, and didn't know how he was doing now.
In any case, she didn't want one of her friends becoming her ob/gyn. That would be just too weird.
“Anyway, I have an appointment next week, so I’m going to go, and I won’t be here on Wednesday.” She was having to adjust her whole schedule to accommodate the trip, especially since Poppy was going with her, and they would add shopping for maternity clothes on the list. Poppy was way more excited than Lacey.
“Fine, come Thursday, though I bet, if Beck really wanted to save money, he could learn how to take my blood pressure and test my sugars and you wouldn't have to come out here at all while he’s here.”
That threat took Lacey aback. “If that’s what you want,” she said, trying not to be stung by the threat. “I’m sure Beck can fix your meals and clean the house, too, if that’s what you want.”
“It is not what I want,” Beck said, coming in through the kitchen door. “One disruption to your schedule isn’t going to cause trouble, Mother.”
How much had he overheard? Lacey felt her face heating. Mrs. Conover noticed, too, because her tone grew sharper.
“She’s never spent such a long chunk of time out here as she’s been spending since you’ve come out,” Mrs. Conover accused. “She’s not coming here to see me. She’s coming here to see you.”
“Mrs. Conover, that’s not true.” Lacey didn't even think the accusation that she was spending more time here than usual was true. If she was, it was because the house was more chaotic with all the repairs going on. But she wasn't going to argue with the woman. She was going to do her job and head out. She needed to let her other clients, Mrs. Drexler and Mr. Dunfry, know she wouldn't be available Wednesday, either, though she didn't know if they knew she was pregnant yet. She tried to be vague about it because she didn't know who had heard the gossip and who hadn’t.
“I see the way you two look at each other, and I honestly don't know what you’re thinking, either one of you.”
“Well, then you can't say you know what’s going on, then,” Lacey clapped back. “Really, Mrs. Conover, I’m here to do my job and that’s it. So if you’d please.” She motioned to the living room. “Go rest. I don't want to take your blood pressure when you’re upset.”
“I’m not upset.”
“Yes, ma’am, your face is red, and your blood pressure is up. I’m going to clean up the kitchen, then I’ll come in there and take your vitals.” Lacey turned to Beck when his mother grudgingly shuffled out of the kitchen. “Is there anything I can help you with?”
He raised his hands in surrender and took a couple of steps back. “No, ma’am, I just came in to get something to drink, if that’s okay with you?”
She sighed, consciously relaxing her shoulders. “Sorry. What are you working on today?”
“Well, the bathroom tile is drying, so I’m thinking once you leave, I’m going to tear up the front porch and put down some new planks.”
“You don't have to wait until I leave. I can use the back door.”
He grunted and opened the refrigerator door, looking at the contents for a moment before selecting a bottle of water.
Mrs. Conover never wanted bottled water. She said her well was just fine though the water often had sediment in it. But since Beck was working so much, he’d stocked up on bottled water, and Lacey had noticed a bottle on the TV tray by Mrs. Conover’s chair when she’d walked through the living room.
“So you’re going to the doctor Wednesday?”
“So you’re eavesdropping on conversations?” she countered, reaching into the grocery bag to pull out the chicken she’d bought to prepare for them.
“Yep,” he said unapologetically.
“Yes. Doctor. Sonogram. They say that’s the best way to discover the due date.”
“You don't have to convince me. I’m all for medical advancements.”
“Have you kept in touch with Austin?” Beck and Austin had been in the same class, after all.
“No, not once I got into the service. You?”
“I got an invitation to his undergrad graduation, but I didn't go. I wish I had, now. He got through it in less than three years.”
“I think he’s pretty determined to prove himself.”
“He shouldn’t have to. People shouldn’t have said what they did about his mom. The accident wasn't her fault.”
“People want to blame someone, and she was the adult on the bus.”
“Sure, but there was nothing she could have done. And I hate that her memory is tainted by that, I hate that Austin has to hear people say that Why can’t they just let it all go?”
He stared at her. “And you’ve lived here how long?”
“Going on fifteen years.”
“You’d think you’d know how to answer your own questions, then.”
She shrugged one shoulder, accepting the logic of that statement.
“I better get back to that porch. Don't forget, use this door when you leave.” And he ducked out through the back door.
*****
LACEY WAS PRETTY EXCITED about going into San Angelo, even though she’d told Poppy otherwise. She wanted to see what was new in town, wanted to eat something she hadn’t cooked or something that wasn't served at the diner or the Mexican restaurant. She didn't know where Poppy wanted to go but she was sure she could find something she’d like.
She didn't see Poppy’s car waiting in front of the hardware where they’d agreed to meet. Huh. Poppy was usually the early one.
Instead...was that Beck’s truck?
Even as she realized it, Beck opened the truck door and stepped down. “Hey, you ready?”
“Ready for what?”
His brows drew together. “Poppy didn't tell you? She couldn’t get the day off, and she thought maybe you and I could go together instead.”
“She thought what?” Lacey plunged her hand into her purse and grabbed her phone, glaring at it.
Sure enough, a message displayed on the screen that hadn’t been there when she left the house.
“Can’t get a sub. Sorry. Beck said he had to go to town anyway so I thought....”
Of course she thought. Of course she did.
“When did she ask you?” Lacey demanded, shoving her phone back in her purse.
He backed toward the hood of his truck, like he was guiding her around to the other side. “This morning. She said she tried to get in touch with you but you don't always have great reception, so she told me what time to meet you.”
“I don't need a babysitter. I was looking forward to a girl’s day.”
“Yeah, I’m sorry about that. But we’re both going the same place, why not just go together? I have to go get flooring tiles for Mom’s house, and it’s just faster to go get it than to have it shipped.”
She looked at him suspiciously. “So you’ll go take care of that while I’m at the doctor?”
“Sure. Unless you want someone there with you.”
She would have wanted Poppy there. Not Beck. “Hang on a minute.” Even though she didn't have a lot of time if she wanted to make her appointment, she dialed Poppy and turned away, wondering if she’d answer since classes had already started.
“What the hell, Poppy? Why can’t you go?”
“You didn't get my message?”
“I got your text message that said you’re sending me to my first obstetric appointment with Beck Conover?”
“Geez, Lacey, don't think of it like that.”
“Well, I mean, I thought we we were going to do a girl day. My appointment, lunch, shopping. I’m not going to look at maternity clothes with Beck Conover.”
Beck stepped into her field of vision and gave her a little wave. “You don't have to say my whole name every time. There’s not that many Becks around, to be honest.”
“Could you not?” She waved him away. “Poppy. What happened that you can't come?”
“I told you all the details in the message. I had someone covering my summer school class, but they backed out at the last minute. Look, you know you don't want to ride all that way to another town you don't know so well by yourself. Let Beck take you. Plus. I think he likes you.”
“Oh my God, Poppy.” Why was she butting into Lacey’s business when she was still with Jesse? And wouldn't Jesse be pissed if Lacey went to her first appointment with another man?
But Poppy did have a point about Lacey not wanting to go to San Angelo alone. She hated driving in the city. The distance didn't bother her, but driving with the traffic and not really knowing where she was going made her nervous. She was going to let Poppy drive and she’d be the navigator.
She didn't want to do both on her own. And if Beck was really going...she’d take him up on the offer, even if it wasn't what she had planned. Even if it meant spending a couple of hours with someone she didn't really know.
“You need to figure out some way to make this up to me,” Lacey said low into the phone.
“Tell me everything when you get back,” Poppy said quickly before Lacey disconnected.
“I guess you’re stuck with me,” Lacey said to Beck. “If you don't mind.”
“No, of course.”
“Do you...want me to drive?” She thought she should ask instead of just assume.
“No, I need my truck.” He walked around the side of the truck and opened the door. “Let Beck Conover get that for you.”
She rolled her eyes and stepped on the side step thing to get into the truck.
For a guy’s truck, especially a guy who traveled all over the place, his truck was surprisingly clean and neat. She couldn’t stop herself from running her hand over the smooth leather seat as he walked around to the other side of the car.
“I drove out to San Angelo a lot when my dad was in rehab for his hip, you know. I could have driven myself.”
“I know. But I figured, and Poppy figured, you’d be nervous enough without having to figure out where you were going.”
Huh. Maybe Poppy hadn’t been the one to bail with her lame excuse. Maybe Beck had wanted Poppy to bail. But why?
She was being silly. Beck didn't like her. Why would he? She was pregnant with another man’s child. Why was she thinking he liked her? He was just being nice.
“This road sure hasn’t changed in ten years,” he said as he guided the big truck on the road out of town.
“Not much has.”
“Sometimes I feel like it’s good, you know, nostalgic, for nothing to change, and sometimes I think man, think about what everyone’s missing, hanging out in the last century.”
“Well, I wouldn't say we’re that far behind.”
“No, I guess not. So do you know what the plans are for the town? I mean, I know you said they built the new elementary with money from the Permian Basin.”
“Yeah, we did. We had hoped more of those families would move here and boost our economy. Everything stopped just on the other side of the interstate. People who can’t really afford to live in the basin were building out that way, but they all stayed in El Dorado county, didn't cross over.”
“I wonder why. That would be something to look into.”
“I guess I never gave it much thought.”
“It would be nice if we could get some of that money, improve the town. Would be good to have a hospital, some more businesses. Something to benefit the town.”
“Well, sure.”
“There should be a plan for that.”
“My dad is on the council, and I know they want that, too.” She turned on the seat to face him, drew one leg up on the seat and rested her head on her hand that she propped on the back of the seat. “I guess I’m surprised you’re thinking about it.”
“Well, I hate to see people having to drive an hour to get to a doctor or hospital. Even when Austin arrives, he’s not going to have access to the best equipment, and my mom isn’t getting any younger. Neither is your dad. No one in town is.”
“No, you’re right about that. But I don't know how we could attract something like that, not without promise of patients. I mean, the basin’s population is booming, but we’re just far enough away that we can’t get people to come here.”
“Maybe there’s a way.”
She didn't know what he was thinking about, because she could see by the crease in his forehead that he was thinking something. “Don't you have enough projects right now?”
“I do. But the good thing about working with my hands like this, it gives my brain some room to wander.”
“Where is it wandering?”
“It wanders a lot of places. Sometimes to California and Riley, wondering how they’re getting along without me.”
“Can’t you check on TV or online or something to see how he’s doing?”
“Yeah, I haven't brought myself to look.”
“Do you want him to do well without you, or not?”
He flashed a grin over at her. “That’s part of why I don't check. I don't want him to be doing badly, because I don't want to feel guilty for leaving him at this point in the season, but I also don't want to be replaceable.”
“I can see that. I wouldn't want to be easily replaceable, either.”
“So how did you get into this? Home health care?”
“Well, as you said, we don't have a hospital or doctor, and we needed some kind of health care. I like having a job that makes a difference. I like that people depend on me. I mean, yeah, sometimes it’s overwhelming, knowing that people are waiting for me, especially when I’m having trouble getting going in the morning.” A lot lately when she was having morning sickness. “And there aren’t that many more options. I mean, the diner hires kids from high school in the evening, and only has Ginny and Darla waiting in the daytime. And I could never be a teacher like Poppy. At least with my patients, I only have to deal with one at a time. And while your mom has enough attitude for a whole high school full of teenagers, at least she’s just one person, and it’s only three times a week.”
“And we appreciate your patience with her, more than you know.”
“Well, I’m not always patient.”
“But she keeps you around, so you have to be doing something right. You think you want to keep doing that when Austin gets back?”
“Oh, yeah, and actually, it will be easier, you know, because if something’s wrong, like someone’s blood pressure is up or their blood sugar, it’s going to be easier to get them to see Austin than to get them to go to San Angelo.”
“That’s true. And what about your dad? What’s he doing these days? Since he retired from the Air Force?”
“He’s doing work with the power company, or at least that’s what he’s getting ready to go back to. He’s been on medical leave for a couple of months. Honestly, when I was a kid, I thought we were just counting down to the days he retired, but he really loves it here, really loves the community. I kind of always thought he’d go back with Mom, but then she met Andrew, and well, that was the end of that idea.”
“You like him? Your stepdad?”
“He’s all right. I don't really know him. I don't get over to Houston much, and they don't come here, for obvious reasons. But Mom likes him, my brothers and sister like him, so he has to be a decent guy. I mean, Mom was miserable here, and not really happy being a military wife, so I’m glad she’s happy now. Though there was a time when I wanted my parents back together, I see they’re better off apart.”
“And your dad? You think he’ll remarry?”
“Probably not. Hard to meet someone when your daughter lives under your roof. And soon your grandchild as well.”
“Not to say there’s a lot of women to choose from.”
“He could always do a mail-order bride thing,” she said with a grin. “‘Wanted: one bride for a middle-aged man. Must be fine with living in the middle of nowhere, miles away from restaurants and grocery stores, in the same house with his grown daughter and his grandchild.’ I can see them lining up out the door now.”
“You never know. Some women might be feeling grandmotherly, or want to get away from the world.”
“Most likely she would be desperate. I don't want my dad with someone desperate.”
“You don't want him to be lonely, you know, like my mom.”
“I don't think it will happen. He’s really involved in town.”
“It’s not the same.”
“No, I know, but it makes him feel needed and wanted. It’s important. And I think your mom likes being alone.”
“I used to think she was mad because she was alone, because she wasn't included and that people had forgotten about her. But now that I’m spending time with her, I’m starting to wonder if she’s agoraphobic. I was thinking about selling the land because it’s just a lot for her, out there on her own. But now I’m wondering if that’s the best thing for her. Getting her out of that house will be torture for her.”
“How long has that land been in your family?”
“I don't know. My mom’s grandparents built it, I think. Moving her will be a fight. But it will be best for her to be closer to town, not so isolated, physically, if not socially.”
She blew out a whistle and turned to face the windshield. “I do not envy you that task.”
“Ah, no, I’m not going to do it. You are.”
“What?” Her shriek echoed in the cab, and he started to laugh.
*****
SHE WAS ALMOST RELAXED by the time they reached the city limits. She hadn’t thought she could be so relaxed around Beck. But now, as they got closer to the reason for the trip, she tensed again.
“Are you sure you just want me to drop you off? You don't want me to go in? I mean, this is kind of a big deal for you to go through on your own.”
Which was why she’d wanted Poppy, her oldest friend, with her. She didn't want Beck.
“No, I can do this.” She was going to have to do more on her own, harder things than this. “You go do what you need, and I’ll give you a call when I’m done.”
“Lacey, I hate sending you in there by yourself.”
Well, that was more than the baby’s father cared. “It’s okay, really. Enough that you drove me here, and kept my mind off my anxiety.”
He turned into the parking lot of the medical center. She wiped her suddenly sweaty palms on her skirt as she tried to spot her doctor’s name on the building.
“There it is. You can let me out here.”
He slowed the truck and she gathered her purse, then popped the lock and slid out when he’d barely stopped.
“Thank you,” she said, afraid that if she so much as looked back over her shoulder, she would take him up on his offer to go in with her. She didn't even wait for him to drive off before she hurried up the sidewalk and into the building.
The building was long and low, the front glassed in, with some angled red brick walls slanting toward the sidewalk, like it was built decades ago to look modern. She tugged at the heavy glass door, stepped into blasting air conditioning, and double-checked the directory for Dr. Fredrick’s office.
The office was nice, updated with navy print sofas and chairs lining the terra cotta colored walls. Nearly every couch was full, but a couple of empty chairs remained. But first she crossed the room to check in, then squeezed her way between a woman who looked about her dad’s age and another woman who was hugely pregnant and hugely uncomfortable, if the shifting and sighing was any indication.
The updated decor, however, didn't include fans, and the air was stifling. If Lacey was hot she couldn't imagine how hot the woman beside her was.
As Lacey looked around, she noticed none of them were accompanied by their husbands or partners. Glad she didn't invite Beck in, she still wondered at the lack of men’s interest in the pregnancy. She knew Jesse would never be here, so the idea that Beck had even offered seemed more special now.
She didn't have to wait too long in the waiting room, since she’d filled out her paperwork online, but once she was back in the exam room, time dragged. She would much rather be in the waiting room watching people. She didn't get to do that very often.
So she flipped through the magazines, scrolled through her phone, listened to doors up and down the hall open and close, and listened for footsteps.
Finally the doctor walked in, a middle-aged woman with a purple streak in her hair.
“Dr. Fredrick, nice to meet you,” Lacey said. She’d chosen a woman on purpose, but the woman’s age, and her inability to give in to that age, charmed Lacey.
“Lacey, what a lovely name. Tell me about yourself.”
Now she knew why she’d had to wait as she stumbled over what the woman might want to know.
“First pregnancy, probably close to my second trimester. The father is overseas, but he was here around Valentine’s Day, so conception is a pretty narrow window. I’m twenty eight, from Broken Wheel, and I’m a home health care provider.”
Dr. Fredrick’s eyes widened. “That’s a good job. A hard job. You have enough patients in a small town like Wagon Wheel?”
“Broken Wheel,” Lacey corrected. “I have six patients. Keeps me plenty busy.”
“You do heavy lifting, things like that?”
“Not too bad. I have some patients that depend on me to get around, but they also have a walker or a cane, so I don't bear all the weight. I do that, check their blood pressure and sugars, things like that, and then I clean their houses. Just light housework, you know, to keep them healthy. And meal prep.”
“That sounds like you keep busy. First pregnancy, you said. You live alone?”
“With my dad. Not a lot of single-occupant dwellings in town, and it just makes sense.”
“Will he help you with the baby? It’s best to have some kind of support, especially the first few months, especially your first baby.”
“Oh, yeah, he’ll help. I think he’s actually getting excited about it.”
Dr. Fredrick smiled. “It happens. First grandchild?”
“No, but the first that will be close enough for him to really know. The others are spread out over Texas.”
“Well, let’s get you on the table and see how things are progressing.”
*****
LACEY WAS SURPRISED to see Beck sitting in the waiting room when she finally emerged. The room wasn't as crowded as when she’d gone back, but Beck was the only man, and the other waiting patients eyed him warily. Eyes wide, Lacey hurried toward him.
“Is everything okay?”
“Yeah, no, everything is great.” He stood slowly, stretching. “I just thought I’d make sure you were okay. Everything okay?” He looked from her face to her belly.
“Yeah, sure, everything’s okay.” Flustered, she turned to the counter to schedule her next appointment, hyper-aware of him behind her, aware of the other women in the waiting room watching him with curiosity. Watching both of them.
Bad enough to have the people of Broken Wheel speculating about her. She didn’t need the people of San Angelo speculating as well.
She turned from the counter to Beck, aware she was holding her purse in front of her like a shield, gripping the strap with both hands.
“So you didn't go to the home improvement store?” she asked as they walked down the steps to the parking lot.
“No, I didn't want to be in the middle of something if you called.”
“I could have waited, just fine. The plan was for you to go shopping while I took care of business.”
“You don't mind going to the home improvement store, do you?”
The idea didn't exactly hold a lot of appeal for her, but she could find something to look at while he attended his affairs.
“I don't mind. But really, I could have waited. I’m not fragile.”
“Of course not.” Nonetheless, he came around the side of the truck to open the door for her.
She didn't think she’d ever been in a home improvement store as big as the whole of main street. She wandered around the nursery, talking herself out of a few plant purchases because they wouldn't travel well back home, not if she and Beck kept their plan to stop for lunch, and maybe a clothing store or two.
She ambled through the patio furniture, wishing Broken Wheel wasn't hot as Hades. She even wandered up and down the aisle of light fixtures before she settled in front of the rack of home improvement books and magazines, and thumbed through them until Beck texted that the truck was loaded and he was ready to go.
She looked at the load in the bed of the truck. Were they going to be able to get to go to lunch, with this vulnerable?
“It’ll be okay while we go to lunch,” he said as if reading her thoughts, pressing a button near the cab of the pickup, then drew it down the length of the bed to secure it at the tailgate. She didn't think it would fit over the boxes of tiles, but it did, and everything was hidden and secure.
“That was like magic,” she said, stepping up into the truck.
“Yeah, otherwise I would have stopped here last.”
When she got into the truck, she saw the backseat was filled, also, with things he obviously couldn't get at the hardware store back home.
“Where do you want to go?”
“I don't know Something that’s the farthest from being a diner as you can imagine.”
“I think I know the place.”
He didn't have to drive very far, since the shopping center was filled with restaurants as well as stores. In fact, she thought they could probably take care of her maternity clothes requirements without leaving the parking lot.
“Oh, a steakhouse?” she asked when he parked in front of the building with white-washed brick and a giant logo painted on the side.
“It’s good, I promise, and if you don't really like steak, they have other options. Plus they have lunch specials.”
Her mouth started watering just smelling the food when she slid out of the truck.
“Before we even go in there, I’m letting you know I’m buying,” she said. She would rather have this argument out here with customers streaming in and out, than in there in front of the waitress. “I was planning to take Poppy, so since you drove, I’ll treat you.”
“You don't have to do that. I volunteered.”
“You did, but I would like to do this, so please let me.”
She expected more of an argument, to be honest, but he finally nodded, then stepped ahead to hold the door for her.
The inside of the restaurant was cool, with murals on the wall and street signs from around the city. The place was busy, but they’d missed most of the lunch crowd, so the hostess led them to a table right away, and handed them heavy menus with pages of options. Lacey hadn’t even let herself think about being hungry until this minute, and now she wanted everything on the menu. She perused the lunch specials, sipping gratefully from the glass of ice water.
“What do you get here?” she asked Beck.
“I like the prime rib.”
“I don't think I’ve ever had prime rib in my life.”
“First time for everything.”
When was she going to have another chance? She closed her menu. “I’ll do that.”
“So did everything go okay with the doctor?” he asked once the waitress had moved away to place their order with the kitchen.
“Oh, yes. I liked her a lot. And she did the sonogram. You want to see the picture?” She reached into her purse before he could answer.
“Sure.”
She leaned over the table, holding the picture in her hands. “Here’s how she explained it to me. He’s laying this way.” She pointed.
“He?”
Lacey shrugged. “Assumption. Way too soon to tell, which I knew anyway. So he is laying this way, and this is his spine, or what will be his spine. His head is this way and his butt is this way.”
“He looks just like you,” Beck said solemnly, and Lacey laughed, then sat back and tucked the picture away.
“He’s due on Halloween.”
“Aw, poor kid.”
“Or lucky kid, depending on your point of view. I’ve always loved Halloween, myself. When I was a kid and we were stationed in North Carolina, we lived on the best street for trick or treating. Mom made us costumes, you know, there were four of us, and oh my gosh, we couldn't wait to get out to the street and run door to door. We’d come home with bags of candy so full, we could barely lift them. And Mom would almost always let us skip school the next day.”
“Sounds like a great memory. We didn't celebrate Halloween.”
“No? Because you lived so far out, or...?” She knew some religions didn't celebrate the holiday.
“That was a big part of it. I mean, neither of my parents wanted to drive us into town to trick or treat, so my mom kind of frowned on it, being the devil’s birthday, all that.”
“So you don't like Halloween?”
“I like it fine, now, but it wasn't a big deal for us growing up. Yours sounds like the kids in the movies, you know, the ones who are always blissfully trick or treating while Michael murders everyone in the houses.”
She laughed again. “Do you like scary movies?”
“Oh, yeah. Now that, we spent a lot of time watching growing up. Chucky, Michael, Freddy.”
“I like the haunted house ones. I could not live out there in the middle of nowhere and watch them, though.”
“That makes them even better,” he said with a grin, tossing back a swallow of ice water.
They talked about their favorite scary movies until the salads came, something she never thought they would discuss. In fact, she hadn’t thought they would have anything in common to discuss, and yet one subject tumbled into another, until she looked around and saw the restaurant was almost empty, the waitress’s shift about to change.
She pulled herself together and motioned for the bill so the waitress could get her tip before she clocked out.
“You ready to go, then?” he asked, tossing his cloth napkin on the empty plate.
“I’d better...run to the restroom after all that water. Don't leave me,” she said, sliding out of the booth.
“Not a chance.” And this grin was something different.
She wouldn't let herself think about it when she hurried to the other room.
*****
SHE DIDN'T WANT HIM to go into the shops with her, said she’d just be a minute, and that she was worried about the supplies in the car getting stolen, so he sat in his truck listening to the radio and blasting the AC, scrolling through his phone.
And yeah, he looked up Riley on Google to see his standings. He was doing well, but not as well as he would have been doing if Beck was still on his team.
Yes, that was arrogant, but true.
So he wouldn't dwell on it, he flipped over to another social media site to distract himself.
But nothing held his attention. His thoughts kept drifting back to the conversation at lunch.
Lacey’s strength had drawn him, and of course the connection they had because of the bus accident. But he’d watched her just light up talking about, of all things, Halloween and scary movies. She was funny and animated and he really liked her a lot.
And she was pregnant with another man’s child. No matter how much courage he had, he hadn’t worked up enough to ask what she was going to do about that, if she was going to keep him in her life, get married.
Those were important things to find out before he started letting his mind go down that road.
Damn, he should be in the store with her. Someone should be with her. He didn't want her to think she was inconveniencing him. She wasn’t. He wanted to be here.
But before he could make the decision to go inside, she was at the truck, holding a couple of bag, waving at him to unlock the door.
“That doesn't look like very much,” he said when she leaned the seat forward to toss her bags in the back seat.
“Oh, I got some versatile stuff, stuff that will grow with me, until I get really big, but I didn't want to get too much, you know, and it doesn’t matter all that much since I’ll be coming to town once a month for appointments.”
“Until Austin comes back.”
“No offense, but I do not want Austin in my personal business, if you know what I mean. I mean, I know him too well, and I don't want him to know me more than I know him.”
“It’s a long drive once a month.”
“I know. But I really like this doctor.”
“She probably won’t deliver the baby, though, will she? I mean, you go into labor, you’re not going to make this drive.”
“That’s probably true, unless we can schedule it.”
“What do you mean, schedule it?” He pulled to the exit, then into traffic.
“She can induce labor, if she thinks the baby is getting too big. Or a c-section.”
He glanced over in surprise. “You don't want a c-section, do you?”
“No, not if I can help it, but it’s an option I have to think about. And I have to think about childbirth classes. There aren’t any in Broken Wheel, but I’ll have to look to see if any are offered in Kimmel. Otherwise, I don't know what. Maybe I can do it online.”
He laughed, but realized she was serious.
“You know, Skype or something. So I’ll be participating, but not have to drive.”
“Ain’t technology grand.”
“Well, we’ll see if it’s even an option.” She rubbed her hand on her forehead. “I didn't think it would be so hard to be so far away. Maybe I need to think about moving.”
He heard the surprise at her own conclusion in her voice, the sorrow.
“Weird. I never think I love Broken Wheel until I think about leaving it. But when I go see my mom, or my sister, or go to San Angelo, I can’t wait to get back. And then I think about its limitations...I don't know. I guess I have some time to look into it.”
Not much, if the baby was going to be born in October, but he didn't say so.