Chapter Nine
“Good night, and thank you for coming,” Jessica called to the last of her departing guests. Except for Spence and Melanie. They’d actually tried to excuse themselves once, but Jess had stopped them with a look.
She shut the door and turned to face her captive audience. “Okay, get comfortable and let’s talk.”
Spence tried, again. “Look, Jess, it’s late and I know you’re tired. Why don’t we—”
“Nope. You know what Melanie told me, don’t you?”
Cal looked at him in surprise. “You mean you know—”
“Hell, yes, I know!” Spence roared. “Don’t you think I should?”
“Well, of course, but I haven’t told Tuck and Mac, so—”
“I would hope you haven’t!” Spence returned.
“Well, I would!” Cal raised his voice. “I don’t want anyone to think I’m not happy about the baby.”
“Thanks, but I don’t think—”
“Thanks? Why would you thank me? It’s my baby!”
“It is not! She may have—I mean, it’s my baby! I can’t believe you’d say that in front of Jessica!”
The two men were standing nose to nose, their hands on their hips, until they noticed Jessica rolling on the couch with hysterical laughter.
“Wait a minute,” Cal said, frowning. “What’s so funny, baby?”
Melanie sat by herself on the other sofa, staring at her hands clasped tightly in her lap. Spence couldn’t read anything from her expression.
Jessica sat up, wiping her eyes. “Guys, you are so funny. But I think I can ease everything if I tell you there are two babies.”
Cal turned to stare at Melanie while Spence did the same to Jessica. “You’re pregnant?” they both asked simultaneously.
Both ladies nodded, Jessica proudly and Melanie with determination.
Then the men looked at each other before they wrapped each other in a congratulatory bear hug.
“Now do you see why we need to talk?” Jessica asked, patting the sofa beside her. “Come on, Cal, sit down. You, too, Spence.”
Spence didn’t need any urging to take his place beside Melanie. He’d scarcely gotten close to her all evening.
The logistics were the first things on Cal’s mind. “But you two haven’t shown any interest in each other until the last few days. How could you already be pregnant?”
“Gee, Cal,” Jessica drawled. “That was so tactfully put. If we made you ambassador, we could have another war on our hands.”
“Well, baby, you’ll have to admit—”
“It was at your wedding,” Spence said abruptly.
“What was?” Cal asked, losing track of his original question.
“When Melanie got pregnant.”
Cal blinked several times, then grinned at Spence. “Well, I’ll be damned. The baby race is on.”
“What do you mean?” Spence asked.
“We figure that’s when Jessica got pregnant, too.”
Spence shook his head. “Lordy, lordy, we’re in for it now.”
“How long can we keep it a secret?” Cal asked his wife.
“At least another couple of months, I hope,” Jessica said, her hands coming to rest on her still flat stomach. “With the first one, I’ve read, the lady doesn’t show as quickly.”
Spence sent a furtive glance to Melanie’s trim figure. Only by touching her had he felt a difference in her figure. “Uh-oh,” he said, suddenly remembering, “Jerry knows.”
Jessica stared at Melanie. “You told Jerry?”
Melanie continued to remain silent.
“It’s my fault. She asked to go to another town to get her prescription filled, but I insisted—I thought she was trying to hide, I mean, I thought—”
Melanie reached out and touched his arm and Spence subsided. But he also took her hand in his and wouldn’t let go.
Cal smugly looked at his friend. “We took our prescription to Muleshoe,” he said, naming a nearby town.
“Quit bragging. That was my idea,” Jessica reminded him with a laugh.
“Do you think Jerry will keep it quiet?” Cal asked, returning to the problem at hand.
Spence squared his jaw. “He’d better. I’ll have a talk with him tomorrow.”
“Did anyone see you in Doc’s office?” Jessica asked. “We went afterhours.”
Melanie chewed on her bottom lip.
Spence was beginning to feel like the most hamfisted, bungling oaf in history. He’d forced Melanie into visiting Doc in the middle of the day, when his office was full. “I didn’t think.”
Melanie spoke for the first time. “If anyone asks, I can say I had the flu.”
“Or that you were getting a prescription for birth control pills,” Jessica added. “Of course, that would crush your mother,” she said, looking at Spence. “And she doesn’t seem happy as it is. What does she have against Melanie?”
Melanie stiffened and tried harder to free her hand.
“Honey, it’s not you,” Spence hurriedly said. “It’s me, again. I don’t seem to have done anything right lately.”
“What do you mean?” Melanie asked, leaning toward him.
He liked the sweet concern he saw in her gaze. As a reward, he snatched a quick kiss, which had her pulling at her hand again. “I told her you were in love with someone else. She was afraid I’d be unhappy if we got married.”
“You will be,” she whispered. “A marriage based only on a baby is a disaster.”
Cal leaned forward. “Are you in love with someone else?”
Spence felt Melanie’s agony as her cheeks flamed. But he stared as much as the other two when Melanie shook her head no.
Wait a minute. Was she lying to protect herself from further embarrassment? Of course she was. And he didn’t blame her. It was an embarrassing situation.
Jessica answered Cal’s question. “She had a crush on someone, but she doesn’t any longer.”
Spence stared at Jessica. “She told you?” He turned back to stare at Melanie, who continued to keep her gaze fixed on her feet.
“That’s not the point,” Jessica said calmly. “We need to decide if we’re going to announce our pregnancies now, or wait a while. I vote for waiting until we have to. I think it might be fun to see if Mac and Tuck’s parents can pull off a—what do you call when there are four? A trifecta is three. Would it be a quatrifecta? Is there such a thing?”
“Baby, it doesn’t much matter what you call it. It isn’t going to happen,” Cal assured her.
“I don’t know,” Jessica said, grinning at her husband. “When I first heard of the bet, I didn’t give it a chance to work on even one of you staunch bachelors. Now there’s a fifty percent success rate. Pretty impressive.”
“Yeah, but Mac isn’t going to marry—or get anyone pregnant,” Cal added, slanting a grin at Spence. “He’s very careful. And I don’t know what’s going on with Tuck, but the way he acted tonight, he’s looking for quantity, not quality.”
Silence fell as they contemplated their friends. Then Jessica spoke. “Oh, well, what’s it to be? What do you want to do, guys?” she asked, looking at Spence and Melanie.
Spence turned to Melanie, but she didn’t look up. And she didn’t look comfortable. He turned to his friends. “Well, the biggest decision I see isn’t when to tell, but what to tell. Until Melanie agrees to marry me, I don’t have any announcements I want to make.”
“You haven’t convinced her yet?” Cal asked incredulously.
“She thinks I’ll be unhappy,” Spence muttered, his gaze returning to Melanie.
Jessica left Cal’s side to take Melanie’s other hand. “Melanie, for the sake of the baby, I think you should marry Spence at least until it’s born. I was an illegitimate baby. I wouldn’t want my child to have to carry that label, even today.”
Melanie looked at Jessica in surprise. “I didn’t know.”
“I was very lucky. Not only was my mother strong, like you are, but I also had Cal’s friendship. He became my protector. People didn’t dare insult me because they knew Cal would beat them up. But I knew. Inside, I knew I was different from everyone else.”
Melanie took a deep breath that was more like a sob to Spence’s ears. He dropped her hand and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. “It’s okay, Mel, don’t cry.”
“No, I won’t cry. But. . .but I don’t know what to do. I want my baby to be happy.”
“Our baby is going to be happy because we’re both going to be there for him, married or not. But I think he’d be happier if we’re married.”
“She, not he,” she said, but Spence thought her reminder was automatic.
“Whichever,” he told her with a grin.
Cal put in his two cents’ worth. “I agree with Spence. And, Melanie, he’s a man of his word.”
Spence didn’t know which words were the most persuasive, but he didn’t care. Melanie raised her gaze to his and murmured the most precious word he’d ever heard. “Okay.”
 
MELANIE LAY IN BED the next morning, wondering what she’d agreed to. She should’ve waited until today to make her decision. She’d been swayed by the emotions of the moment. Swayed by Jessica’s words, Cal’s reassurance, and most of all, by Spence.
Damn! She was going to commit a double mistake, according to her mother. She’d gotten pregnant by the man . . . and she had lost her heart to him.
He was so sweet, so supportive. Not always making the right decision, but never backing down. Never going away. Of course, they’d only been talking again since Friday. But he’d tried to establish a relationship with her after the wedding.
She’d been too scared. Scared of her response to him. Embarrassed that she’d abandoned her principles in a split second. Afraid he considered her easy game.
She dismissed that thought, since it was too late now, and returned to the more urgent one. Last night, on the way home, Spence had wanted to discuss details. But she’d pleaded exhaustion.
Immediately, he’d pulled her to his side, wrapped his arm around her and told her to rest.
How could she resist such sweetness? She’d laid her head on his shoulder, planning on pretending to sleep so she wouldn’t have to make any more decisions. Instead, he’d had to awaken her when they reached the apartment.
But now she had to face her decision. And she was scared.
Even as she realized that thought, her stomach told. her it wasn’t a happy one, and she raced to the bathroom.
An hour later she ran into the drugstore, almost late, knowing she didn’t look her best. Jerry’s eagle eye was on her as she sped down the aisle, but she reached the time clock just as the minute hand struck eight. She threw her belongings in the small room they ludicrously called the employee lounge and rushed back into the store to begin work.
“Good morning, Melanie,” Jerry said formally. He’d been scrupulously polite since his encounter with Spence.
“Good morning, Jerry,” she returned and began stocking the shelves with the delivery that had come in last night.
The manual work, needing little thought, was soothing, and after half an hour, Melanie’s stomach began to settle and she thought she’d be able to make it through the day.
The bell jingled over the door. She looked up, a smile on her face, ready to greet a customer. Instead, all she could see was a huge arrangement of long-stemmed red roses. The man holding the flowers walked forward and she realized it was Mickey Blankenship, the owner of the one florist shop in town.
“Melanie Rule?” he asked, stopping in front of her.
She nodded.
“I thought that was you. Look what I have for you. These were just shipped in this morning in preparation for Valentine’s Day. I sure didn’t think I’d be delivering them today, but then, you never know. Aren’t you a lucky lady?”
The lady who worked behind the soda fountain, Lucy, came rushing over. “Oh, Melanie! Who are they from? Aren’t they beautiful? I’ve never seen such pretty roses.”
Jerry also came forward. “You’re supposed to be working, Melanie, not taking personal time.”
Mickey frowned at the owner. “Come on, Jerry, give the lady a break. It’s not every day anyone gets a gift like these. Cost a pretty penny, too, let me tell you,” he ended, laughing with excitement.
“Hon, would you like to put them on the end of the lunch counter? That way, everyone can see them,” Lucy suggested.
Oh, good. Just what she wanted. “Uh, I—”
“That’s a great idea,” Mickey agreed. “And everyone will see my tag on the flowers and know where to come if they want the same thing.”
Melanie could practically see dollar signs ringing in his eyes as he beamed at her.
Still, she wasn’t prepared to advertise anything because she knew it would draw a lot of questions, questions she didn’t want to answer. She opened her mouth to refuse Lucy’s offer when the bell over the door jingled again.
The sudden fear that Spence might have followed his roses froze her.
“Hi, Mac,” Jerry said, his voice suddenly showing a nervousness that in other circumstances might have amused Melanie.
All she felt now was relief. It wasn’t Spence.
“Hey, you never did say who sent these,” Lucy pointed out as Mac came to stand beside Melanie. “Was it you, Mac Gibbons? Are you courting our Melanie? Flo will be so happy.”
“No, it’s not me,” Mac said with a smile. “But I did come to talk to Melanie. Jerry, mind if we have a couple of minutes to chat?”
Jerry suddenly became the magnanimous employer. “No, of course not. Take all the time you need.”
Mac took Melanie’s arm and led her to the back of the store where Jerry had a couple of chairs for those who had to wait for prescriptions.
“Wait!” Melanie called, and hurried back to Mickey and the bouquet of flowers. She carefully unpinned the card, then opened it. Spence had signed his name but that was all. What had she hoped for? A declaration of love? She put the card in her pocket and hurried back to Mac.
Lucy took the flowers from Mickey and carried them to the soda counter, displaying them prominently. Melanie watched her with a sigh.
“Melanie?” Mac said, drawing her attention. “I have good news. Spence called me this morning and told me I could tell the Poindexters about your marriage. They were pleased and agreed to sign your offer at once.”
She stared at him, excitement, panic, anger, joy, all running around in her stomach. Then she leaped to her feet and rushed to the back of the store, hoping she made the ladies’ room in time to avoid embarrassing herself in public.
 
SPENCE FROWNED as he came into the drugstore. Usually this early in the morning, there wasn’t a lot of traffic.
When he identified Mickey Blankenship, he realized his gift to Melanie had been delivered. He hoped she was pleased.
Then Mac came from the back of the store. Had he already talked to Melanie? Spence had only talked to him half an hour ago, but he thought they should get the ball rolling. ,
Where was Melanie?
He started toward Mac but was interrupted by Jerry. “If you’re here to see Melanie, she’s in the back with Mac. I let her have time for a personal conference.”
The man acted as if he should be rewarded, Spence thought in disgust. But something more important was on his mind. “She’s not with Mac. He’s here. Mac, where’s Melanie?”
“She got up and ran to the back of the store. I’m afraid she may be sick.”
Spence immediately started to go after her, but she appeared suddenly, pale-faced, and walked toward them. She barely acknowledged his presence, a sure sign that she was upset. Instead, she turned her attention to Mac. “I apologize. I think I have a touch of the flu.”
“Maybe you’d better sit down,” Mac suggested.
Spence put his arm around her for support and felt her stiffen. Not a good sign.
“If Jerry doesn’t mind, maybe you could take a break. We’ll go sit down in a booth and get you a little soda to drink,” he suggested, looking at Jerry.
“Mac, too?” Jerry blurted. His cheeks red, he added, “Of course. Take a break. I always take good care of my employees. Wouldn’t want them working if they didn’t feel well. You go ahead, Melanie. Feel free.” He turned and almost ran back to the pharmacy counter.
“What’s gotten into him?” Mac asked as he moved with Spence and Melanie to the side of the store.
Spence said nothing.
Melanie muttered, “Ask Spence.”
Mac accepted Spence’s quick shake of his head. They reached the booth and Melanie slid in with a thankful sigh. Mac sat opposite her.
“I’ll get Melanie a soda,” Spence said, and turned away.
“Hey, get me a cup of coffee, while you’re at it.”
“No!” Melanie protested at once.
Mac was startled. He stared at her, waiting.
Spence frantically tried to think of something to say, realizing Melanie’s dilemma.
Melanie was quicker. “I’m sorry, Mac, it’s just that the smell of coffee . . . it’s so pungent. . .makes me more nauseated. If you—”
“No problem. I didn’t think of that. I’ll take a soda, too, Spence.”
With a relieved sigh, he smiled at his friend. “Three sodas, coming right up.”
He gave their order to Lucy and she insisted he go visit with his friends and she would bring their drinks. He decided that might be a good idea. Melanie seemed fragile this morning and Mac might ask the wrong question.
He slid in beside her, putting his right arm behind her on the back of the booth. “Lucy’s bringing them. Why are you here, Mac?”
“Well, after you called me, I talked to the Poindexters and they were ready to sign on the dotted line. I wanted to tell Melanie.”
“Oh, good. I’d hoped to talk to her before—I mean, I hadn’t told her I was going to tell you,” Spence explained. He was watching Melanie out of the corner of his eye. “It occurred to me this morning.”
She still said nothing, remaining rigid in her corner.
“You are pleased, aren’t you, Melanie?” Mac asked. “You still want the store, don’t you? Oh, and by the way,” he added with a grin, “congratulations, you two.”
“Thank you,” Melanie replied, sounding a little more composed. “Yes, I do still want the store. You surprised me by your news, that’s all.”
“I guess I shouldn’t have acted on Spence’s word, but—well, it’s Spence. He wouldn’t tell me something that wasn’t true, so I assumed—”
“It’s all right, Mac. I understand,” she assured him.
“Are you still feeling bad?” Spence asked. She didn’t sound right to him.
“I’m fine.”
Before she could say anything else, Lucy arrived at their table with three glasses of soda.
She beamed at them. “Well, I guess I don’t have to ask again who sent you those flowers, Melanie,” she said. “It must’a been Spence.”
Spence didn’t hesitate to take credit for the roses. “Yeah, it was me, Lucy. Better not be anyone else sending Melanie roses or I’ll want to know about it.” He grinned at the older lady, pleased with himself.
“I’ll keep an eye on her for you,” Lucy promised with a chuckle, then returned to her post behind the counter.
Melanie glared at him. “How could you?” she demanded, anguish in her voice.
Mac burst out laughing.
Both Spence and Melanie stared at Mac in surprise.
“Sorry,” he said, holding up a hand as he tried to bring his laughter under control.
“What’s so funny?” Spence demanded.
“Melanie’s the first woman I’ve met who complains about receiving long-stemmed roses. You’re going to have an inexpensive marriage if she gets upset if you spend money on her.”
Melanie felt very small. Mac was right. She was being ridiculous. “Spence, I’m sorry. I’d thought we’d—that is, I’m not comfortable being the center of attention.” She peeked a look at him and was grateful he didn’t appear to be upset. “The roses really are lovely.”
He gave her an apologetic grin that had her longing to kiss him. “I would’ve sent them to your apartment, but you’re never there.”
“I know,” she agreed with a sigh.
“Why don’t you give your notice to Jerry? You can—”
There he goes again, she thought. Like a whirlwind, he was ready to rearrange her life before they’d even worked everything out. “Spence, we haven’t discussed the, um, details yet. Don’t you think that would be a good idea?”
“And when are we going to do that? You’re working two jobs.”
“I know but—”
“When will you have time to work on your new store?” Mac asked.
She felt her head spinning. So much was changing in her life. She needed time to think.
“And since we’re getting married in three days,” Spence added, “you have a lot to do.”
“Three days?”