Ten

“So what do you think?” Kurt asked Talulah. It was only ten thirty but Jane had already left for the night, and he was about to leave, too. They all had to work in the morning, except Talulah, whose diner was also closed on Tuesdays.

Talulah didn’t look over, which wasn’t an encouraging sign. She was lying beside Brant on the couch, and there was a sports recap show on TV—something Brant had flipped to once the movie they’d watched with Jane was over. “I personally think you two would be wonderful together. I don’t care about the age difference, especially because it’ll matter even less as we get older.”

“But the stigma is still there?” he guessed.

“While that might make her uncomfortable at first, I don’t think that’s what would ultimately hold her back.”

Knowing he had to get going—6:00 a.m. came awfully early when he stayed out too late—he scooted forward in his chair. “Then...what would?”

“Kate’s no longer with Will.”

He got to his feet. “Are you serious? From what I heard they were going to get married.”

“Apparently, that’s off.”

Brant pulled his attention away from the TV long enough to join the conversation. “Since when?”

“They broke up this past weekend,” she replied.

“What happened?” Kurt asked.

Talulah sent him an apologetic glance. “I can’t say. It’s up to Kate whether she wants to tell people or not.”

“But you know the answer...”

Talulah didn’t confirm or deny it.

“What are the chances they’ll get back together?” Kurt needed that to happen, or he’d never have a chance with Jane.

“I wouldn’t say they’re high,” she admitted ruefully.

That meant the breakup had been bad—or there was a good reason behind it. “Shit,” he said as he rubbed his temples. “I had enough going against me.”

“I know,” Talulah said. “I’m sorry.”

“Terrible luck, bro,” Brant said.

Did that mean Jane would give up on her idea to have a baby? Put it off?

Maybe he should’ve said yes while it was still an option...

“Thanks for doing what you could,” he said. “I’d better go. Brant’s about to fall asleep.”

Talulah got up, and his brother followed her lead, although he moved more slowly, indicating he was, indeed, exhausted.

“Thanks for coming tonight,” she said. “I hope you enjoyed yourself in spite of...in spite of the bad news.”

“Dinner was great,” he said and gave his sister-in-law a hug. “I appreciate you making the effort.”

He needed to move on, find someone else who interested him and leave Jane alone, he told himself after he said goodbye and strode to his truck.

After he climbed into his truck, he pulled his phone from his pocket to text her. He wanted to say he’d had a nice time tonight and tell her he was sorry if he’d made her uncomfortable by trying to change the relationship. For him, it was a completely natural progression, but he was afraid to admit that for fear it would only chase her further from him.

He put in the code that would unlock his screen, but when he navigated to his text messages, he saw that he had a message waiting for him from someone else—Kate.

That had come in at nine.

She’d texted again at ten after ten:

She was already reaching out to him?

Yikes! But he supposed he shouldn’t be surprised. Considering their history, it would be natural for her to contact him. Besides, there weren’t a lot of single people in town their age, so she didn’t have that many options. “I can’t believe this,” he muttered as he stared down at her words.

Should he respond? If so, what should he say?

He decided it would be better to pretend he hadn’t gotten her messages tonight. He could always answer her tomorrow, when meeting her was no longer a possibility because he was at work, and let the delay maintain the distance and space that’d cropped up between them in recent years.

The less contact he had with her the better.

A soft knock sounded on Jane’s bedroom door before Kate’s voice came through the panel. “You still awake?”

When Jane had come into the house, her sister had been asleep on the couch. Jane had shut off the TV, which had turned to news, and covered her sister with a blanket. But apparently, Kate had awakened in the twenty minutes since then.

Jane pressed the button on the side of her phone that would lock it and turned the screen face down on the nightstand so it couldn’t light up if she got a reply to the message she’d just sent Kurt. She didn’t want her sister to know she’d had dinner with him—or that she was attempting to communicate with him right now. “I’m up.”

The door cracked open and Kate slipped into the room. “How was dinner tonight? Did you have fun?”

“I did,” she said, and then she held her breath because she knew what the next question would be.

“Who’d Talulah and Brant set you up with?”

Jane got up from her desk and pulled back the covers on her bed. Did she tell her sister the truth?

She knew she should always tell the truth. But she couldn’t bring herself to do it tonight. Knowing Kurt had been her date would upset Kate.

Jane could rely on Talulah and Brant not to say anything. She knew that. And she’d just texted Kurt to ask him to keep it to himself, too. She had no doubt he’d agree. “Some guy who knows Brant from the ranch,” she said.

“You mean he buys beef from the Elways or something?”

“I guess so...”

“What was his name?”

Jane’s heart began to pound as though she was running. “John,” she said because it was the first name that popped into her brain.

“You didn’t like him?”

Jane hated to keep lying. But there was no way she was going to discuss her relationship with one of Kate’s old boyfriends—or almost boyfriends, or lovers, or whatever Kurt had been to her. “I liked him fine. But there was no...spark.”

“Oh. That’s a bummer,” Kate said. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay.” Jane stripped off her clothes as they talked and pulled on a tank top to sleep in. “I enjoyed myself, like I said.”

“I’m glad.”

“Any word from Will?” Jane asked, eager to change the subject.

“Of course. He texts me constantly. He goes from begging me to come back to him to telling me he doesn’t care if I walk away if I’m going to be snooping around in his things and making something out of nothing.”

Jane felt her spine stiffen. “Don’t let him fool you. Cheating is not nothing.”

“I know. But if I could be sure he wouldn’t do it again—”

“You’d go back to him?”

“Probably,” she admitted. “Isn’t that pathetic?”

Jane didn’t bother denying it. “Yes. But it’s also what a lot of women would do. That’s what’s really pathetic.”

“You should be glad you’ve never fallen in love.”

“I am,” she said. No one had control of her heart. No one could hurt her.

But was being lonely any better?

Kate sighed. “I’d better let you get to bed. I need some sleep, too—if I can get any. We both have to work tomorrow.”

“Maybe you should give yourself the day off, call in sick.”

“I can’t. There’s no one to replace me on such short notice. And when word gets around town about the breakup, I don’t want Leon wondering if I was lying about calling in sick. I wouldn’t put it past him to say something to the Vidlars.”

“You think you can make it?”

“If I don’t want to risk losing my job on top of everything else, I don’t have any choice.”

Jane wished her sister could have more time. “Okay. Can you turn off the light on your way out?” she said and waited for Kate to do that and close the door before checking her phone for a response from Kurt.

She’d been afraid she’d messaged him too late, that he’d be in bed. He typically got up two hours earlier than she did, so it was possible she’d hear from him in the morning instead. That was what she expected. But he had a message waiting for her.

Surprised he’d be so candid, she propped her pillows behind her back while trying to decide how to respond. Should she just leave the conversation as it was? Or should she try to explain?

Because it took courage to reveal interest when that interest might not be returned, she decided to write him back.

The age difference bothered her, but she was old enough to realize how little it would really impact their lives.

She started to set her phone aside and scoot down in bed but saw her screen light up again.

Her heart leaped into her throat as she sat up again. He couldn’t mean...

Making love. She’d thought of that, of course. Allowed herself to imagine it a few times—just for the sake of a baby. After all, it would be the fastest and easiest way to go, and it would save her the cryobank fee and the insemination fee. It would also mean she wouldn’t have to keep the semen from going bad until she could get it to the appropriate doctor for storage before implantation—or worry about it being switched out for some other man’s sperm. And if she didn’t get pregnant, Kurt might be amenable to trying until she did...

It was the perfect solution in so many ways.

But getting that close to him came with obvious drawbacks. One was how Kate would feel about it if she knew. Another would be how uncomfortable it would be to see him around town afterward. She was trading their friendship for a child.

He had to understand that, which made it especially nice of him.

A trickle of excitement ran through her as she chuckled. He was so cute... But was she really going to do this?

She had to, didn’t she? Now was her chance—and she might not get another one.

She pictured Kate trying to go to sleep in the other room. Would she be doing her sister a disservice? Would it hurt Kate in any way?

Jane couldn’t see how it would, not if she and Kurt kept it a secret. Kate would never have to know she wasn’t artificially inseminated from semen purchased at a cryobank. Neither would Talulah or Brant, even though their children would be related. That would be a little strange—but also appealing.

Maybe one day she would be able to tell them...

It took him a few seconds to respond. But she was glad he was taking some time to think it over again. She didn’t want to get her hopes up only to have them dashed.

She was shivering—from excitement and trepidation—while burrowing beneath her covers when she received his answer.

Jane covered her mouth so she wouldn’t squeal with excitement. “Oh, my gosh... Oh, my gosh,” she kept muttering.

She set her phone on the charger, but it must’ve been hours before her pulse slowed to its normal pace and she finally fell asleep because it felt like she’d barely closed her eyes when she had to get up.

Ellen was back in town. Jane saw her when she noticed Talulah’s van parked in the alley behind the store and ducked into the diner to say hello. Although the diner was closed on Tuesdays, Talulah spent a lot of time there—cleaning, stocking and paying suppliers.

“How was your backpacking trip?” Jane asked Ellen.

“Incredible,” she said.

Jane knew Talulah had heard them when she poked her head out of the pantry to wave.

“So much for your day off,” Jane said to her.

Talulah shrugged. “Tuesdays are more of a prep day than a day off. I have to get ready for the week ahead.”

“You helping out this morning?” Jane asked Ellen.

Ellen lifted her leg, which had been hidden by a stack of boxes, to show she had it wrapped in an elastic bandage. “I’m not much good to anyone right now. That’s why I’m not at work myself.”

Jane saw the crutches lying nearby, which she hadn’t noticed before. “Oh, no! What happened?”

“I tripped and sprained my ankle coming down into a gulch. Can you believe that? Fortunately, it was on the second-to-last day of the trip, so it didn’t ruin the whole thing.”

“It’s not broken...”

“Just sprained,” she confirmed. “But it hurts like hell.”

Jane grimaced. “What a bummer!”

Talulah had gone back to whatever she’d been doing in the pantry, but her voice floated out to them. “Ellen, show her your new ring!”

Ellen had tattoos and piercings and used to color her hair pink or purple. Jane was under the impression she’d done those things to defy the status quo in the conservative town where she’d been born and raised and in Coyote Canyon, because these days—now that she was satisfied and happy—she seemed to be calming down and moving toward conforming. For the past year, she’d simply bleached her hair blond. But she still maintained the short, jagged cut that looked so good on her.

“You remember Hendrix used his mother’s ring to propose...” Ellen said.

Jane nodded. “I do. Since he lost his mother when he was so young, I thought that was a beautiful way to pay tribute to her.”

“That ring holds so much sentimental value to both of us. I told him I was totally happy with it. But it’s still an eighties ring, you know what I mean?”

“Not the best style?” Jane guessed with a laugh.

“Exactly. If it was something from the fifties or sixties, I might feel differently. But... Anyway, he insisted I should have a wedding ring that fits my taste, so he bought me this gorgeous lab diamond.” She stuck out her hand for Jane to see a yellow gold ring with a simple yet large, emerald-cut diamond.

“Wow! It’s gorgeous!”

“I love it, and now I wear his mother’s ring on this other hand.”

“He spoils you,” Jane said with a grin.

Ellen’s face turned red. She was tough—had started her own well-drilling business when she first came to Coyote Canyon and competed against her fiancé, who was in the same line of work. Not many women did that job, but she’d been successful at it. He often joked that she was stealing too much business from him, so he decided to join forces with her instead. “If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em. That’s what I always say,” he’d joke. Ellen wasn’t comfortable with praise. She’d never trusted that sort of thing—never trusted people in general—so it’d been remarkable to see her flourish in the sunshine of Hendrix’s love. Everyone who was familiar with them knew how much he adored her.

“We’re talking about having the wedding in August,” she said.

“And I’m doing the wedding cake!” Talulah called out.

“Then I know it’ll be beautiful.” Jane checked her watch. She had to get over to the store, or she’d be behind before she even opened. “I’m sure you’ve heard about the baby,” she said to Ellen.

“I walked over to tell her as soon as they got home last night,” Talulah said, still in the pantry. “I didn’t want her to hear it from someone else, and it wasn’t something I was prepared to text her about.”

“I’m so excited,” Ellen said. “She’s going to be a great mother.”

Jane smiled. “I’m excited for her, too,” she said, and she was, but at the same time she couldn’t help thinking about the last text exchange she’d had with Kurt. He’d agreed to help get her pregnant. So maybe she’d be shopping for cribs and other nursery items right along with Talulah. “We’ll have to throw her a shower.”

Ellen perked up. “That’s what I was just telling her!”

“I’ll bake the cake for that, too,” Talulah called back, jokingly.

“We can bake a cake,” Jane said.

“It might not be as pretty as one of yours, but...it’ll taste almost as good—I hope!” Ellen added.

Jane decided that even if she got pregnant, she wouldn’t tell anyone for as long as she could hide it. She didn’t want to steal any of the limelight from Talulah. Besides, people were more prone to take something in stride if it had happened in the distant past rather than the recent past. Why make Kurt suffer through nine months of gossip and conjecture when she could cut that down to three or four months simply by waiting until later?

Instead of being a year she’d simply have to endure, this was shaping up to be the best year of her life, she decided. She couldn’t believe she’d be planning a baby shower for her best friend—while expecting a baby herself.