It was time to tell his mother he’d been an absolute idiot. As Kurt parked in front of his parents’ house, he could see his father’s truck in the drive and wished Derrick wasn’t there. He’d rather tell Jeanie and let her tell his father after he left. But both parents were waiting for him to have lunch, probably assuming he had some good news to share—like he’d finally found the woman he wanted to marry.
Once he turned off his engine, he hesitated, mentally preparing himself for the emotional storm he was about to create. But he couldn’t procrastinate for long. His mother must’ve been watching for him because he saw her face in the kitchen window.
“Here goes nothing,” he said and climbed out, forcing one foot in front of the other until he’d reached the doorstep.
He put his hand on the doorknob, but it opened seemingly of its own accord, and there stood his father.
“Hello, son.”
“Hey, Dad.” So far, he’d downplayed in his mind what he expected his father’s response to be, but it certainly didn’t seem as unworthy of concern at this point in time.
A smile spread across Derrick’s face. “Your mother said you have something to tell us...”
“Don’t you get him to tell you first!” his mother yelled from the kitchen. “Come on in here, Kurt! I’ve got chicken enchiladas ready.”
Kurt’s heart sank. She’d made his favorite meal. He should’ve tipped her off that this would not be a pleasant lunch. But then she would’ve worried and that didn’t seem like a nice thing to do to her, either. “I’d better tell you both together,” he mumbled, and the smile slipped from Derrick’s face.
“What’s going on?” his father asked.
“You won’t like it,” Kurt admitted.
Derrick’s expression grew even more leery. “Will it upset your mother?”
That had always been a cardinal sin in the Elway family. Derrick felt it was his job to protect his wife from as much heartache as possible, so it made him angry when his sons’ goals weren’t in proper alignment.
His mother came to the entrance of the kitchen. “What are you two doing? Get in here, so we can eat while the food’s hot.”
His father shot him a warning glance, but Kurt had to do what he had to do. He couldn’t change anything now.
Ducking his head, because he felt like such a shit, he trailed his father into the kitchen, where his mother slung orders at them both until they could get everything on the table.
After the blessing, in which his mother thanked God for her four healthy sons, Jeanie picked up her fork and looked at him expectantly. “So...what is it? You said you had something to tell us.”
From the corner of his eye, Kurt could see his father cringe and brace for the worst, but his poor mother was wide open with positive expectation. She was about to be blindsided. “Jane’s going to have a baby,” he said.
Jeanie blinked. “Your baby?”
“My baby.”
“Whew! For a minute there, you had me scared,” she said with a laugh. “I mean...your father and I have been after you to give us grandkids for a few years now, but you didn’t have to get her pregnant before you could even marry her!”
“You’ve been after him,” his father clarified.
His mother ignored the interruption. “When’s the wedding?”
“And don’t you know what causes that?” his father growled at him.
His mother looked over. “Derrick, don’t overreact. These days, kids often don’t marry until later. Jane’s a nice girl, a good person. We’re happy with your choice, so don’t worry, son,” she said, turning back to him. “We can plan the wedding around the baby.”
His mother smiled as if that was that. But there was more.
“Problem is...” Kurt shifted in his seat, searching for the best words he could use to mitigate her anger and disappointment. But the truth was the truth. “There won’t be a wedding.”
His mother put down her fork. “Why not? Don’t you love her?”
“She doesn’t love me,” he clarified.
“But...how can that be?” She blinked several times. “What woman wouldn’t love you?”
It was a testament to her love that she could say that with a straight face. She was completely convinced—which made it even harder to spell out the reality of his situation. “She doesn’t want to settle here in Coyote Canyon, Mom. She wants to move away, live somewhere else, once she’s in the clear with her grandfather.”
His mother’s chair scraped the hardwood floor as she scooted away from the table. “What does she think she’s going to find that’s any better than you?”
Derrick didn’t say anything at this point. He just kept looking between the two of them, as if their dialogue was a Ping-Pong ball. To him, remaining calm was always of paramount importance; he didn’t like histrionics. Poised to react to settle them down, as had always been his role, he seemed to be waiting to see which way things would go.
“She didn’t say,” Kurt said. “I only know she plans to have the baby on her own.” Although he’d come prepared to tell the whole truth, at the last second, he decided to leave out that he’d agreed to a genetic donation and simply pray Jane and those who already knew never told anyone about that part. It was much better to let Jeanie believe he’d accidentally gotten Jane pregnant—and it seemed plausible, since she thought they’d been seeing each other.
Maybe he shouldn’t have been so mad at Ranson for giving him away; what Ranson had done was helping now. He supposed they had been seeing each other. For a short while, the line had begun to blur. But she was now standing resolutely on one side of it—the side opposite to him—which made it feel as though it was impossible to reach her. He couldn’t leave Coyote Canyon, even for her. His family, his future—everything was here.
He wished his child would be, too...
“She doesn’t know what she’s missing,” his mother said.
Kurt cleared his throat. “I think her mind’s made up, Mom.”
“Oh, hogwash,” she said, waving his words away. “Nice girl like Jane? She’ll come around and do what’s best for her baby.”
“That’s just it,” he said. “I don’t want Jane to stay out of guilt or obligation—make her feel she has yet another reason she can’t live her life as she sees fit.”
“But she’ll be happiest if she stays,” his mother argued. “Let me talk to her—”
“No,” he insisted. “Leave her alone. What happens next is up to us.”
His mother narrowed her eyes as she studied him.
“What?” he said.
“If she leaves, you’ll both be sorry.”
He knew that was true as far as he was concerned. But he wouldn’t use their baby, the baby he’d tried to give Jane, to control her. He only wanted her to stay in Coyote Canyon if she’d be happy here. The baby mattered to him, but so did she. “Don’t get involved,” he reiterated.
His mother gave him another hard stare, but he stared right back to let her know he meant what he said.
“You finally give me a grandchild, and this is the way it goes?” she said.
“We’ll do the best we can,” he replied.
Jane was sitting on a stool she’d dragged in from the storage room because she didn’t feel strong enough to continue standing when her phone lit up with another call from her mother. She groaned when she saw it because she knew she had to answer. Her mother had tried to reach her earlier today. Jane had ignored that call because she’d been helping a customer, so then her mother had sent a text message:
You’ve got to be kidding me.
That was it. No context. Nothing else. She didn’t know exactly what her mother meant, but those words were ominous. Had Kate told her about the baby?
She’d been trying to work up the nerve to return Karen’s call. But now her mother was calling back, so her time was up.
After taking a deep breath, Jane answered. “Hello?”
“Please tell me what I’m hearing isn’t true,” her mother said.
Jane had to swallow hard to keep from running to the bathroom again. The morning sickness she’d been having was bad enough when she wasn’t upset. She didn’t want to have an argument with her mother on top of it. Maybe when she was feeling better, she’d be able to cope with this conversation, but she was too diminished right now. As the days wore on, it was all she could do just to keep up with Papa’s needs and her regular workload.
But she knew she’d better deal with this now, or her mother would only become more upset.
“What have you heard?” she asked.
“Are you pregnant? Because the last thing you said to me was that your relationship with Kurt wasn’t serious.”
“It’s not,” she insisted.
“Well, if you’re expecting a child, it’d better get serious fast.”
“I can’t believe Kate told you,” she muttered .
“It wasn’t Kate,” Karen said. “It was Jeanie. She told me that Kurt wants to marry you, but you’re not interested.”
Jane stiffened. “Kurt has never even mentioned marriage!”
“Doesn’t matter. He doesn’t want to lose you. That’s the point. Jeanie said it’s you who isn’t interested in a long-term relationship. That you’d rather take your child and move away.”
“You know I’ve wanted to leave Coyote Canyon for a long time,” Jane said weakly, but even to her ears her decision sounded selfish.
“Right. But I always thought that was to find love. What else is out there?” her mother asked. “What more could you be looking for?”
An older couple came in, giving her an excuse to get off the phone. She told her mother she’d have to call back later and battled through the nausea welling up until Mr. and Mrs. Glover, who owned the gas station at one end of town, bought a reading journal and an antique opal ring for their granddaughter’s birthday and left. Then she had to run for the bathroom again.
Throughout it all, she kept telling herself that it was fair to want what she wanted. She’d never misrepresented her intentions to Kurt or anyone else. But her mother had made a good point. If it wasn’t love, what exactly was she looking for?
Averil had just left Talulah’s house, where she, Ellen, Hendrix, Brant and Talulah had ordered pizza while making plans for the lake. They had Jane’s store covered. Hendrix was going to look out for Ellen’s drilling business, since he knew her jobs inside and out anyway, and Ellen was going to take over at Vintage by Jane whenever Averil had to work at the feedstore. Then, after hours and on her day off, Averil would relieve Ellen.
Brant had already called his father, who’d agreed to help Ranson and Miles with the ranch for a week, and Talulah’s sister, Debbie, who lived in Billings, was coming to town to run the dessert diner. Talulah said if she did enough baking beforehand, and froze her most popular pies and cakes, Debbie should be able to get through the week. Handling the diner that way wasn’t optimal; Talulah preferred everything to be fresh. But she deserved to take a vacation every once in a while, and they all thought this was important enough for Jane that they should do what they could.
The only thing left on their list was to contact Kate to see if she’d stay with Papa while Jane was gone, and Averil had volunteered for that assignment. She didn’t tell the others why, but she felt she could probably best identify with the jealousy Kate would feel when Averil explained they were hoping to get Kurt and Jane together—or get them to at least open their hearts and minds to a committed relationship before deciding against it since it affected the future of Jane’s unborn child and so many other people who loved them.
Averil checked the time on her phone while trying to decide whether she should swing by Will’s house before heading back to get Mitch from her folks’ or simply call Kate once she got back to her apartment. Talking to Kate over the phone would be easier. But she thought it might be more effective to speak to her in person, so she turned left where she would otherwise have turned right and drove over to Will’s house. It wasn’t hard to find his place. Over the years, Charlie had taken her with him to play poker there on numerous occasions.
Once she parked in front of the house, she leaned down so she could see out the passenger window. It could get weird if Will wasn’t at work—her showing up to discuss a man Kate had shown a great deal of interest in recently—but she didn’t see his truck. That was hopeful. A horse trainer could easily be working on a Saturday, she told herself, and assumed that was the case as she got out to approach the door.
She had to knock twice before Kate answered. When Jane’s sister finally appeared, it was obvious she’d been in the shower. She was wearing a man’s robe and had her hair up in a towel. “Averil. What are you doing here?” she asked.
Afraid Will would pull up any second, Averil glanced back at the drive. “I was hoping I could have a minute to talk to you.”
Kate was understandably taken aback. “About what?”
“Your sister.”
She grimaced. “What’s wrong now?”
Averil glanced back again. “Where’s Will?”
“Shoeing a horse. Why?”
“I was thinking this might be an easier conversation without him.”
Obviously perplexed, Kate swung the door wider. “Come on in.”
Averil stepped into the small living room/kitchen combo and closed the door behind her.
“What is it?” Kate asked.
“I was hoping I might get your blessing on something Talulah, Ellen and I are hoping to do for your sister.”
A skeptical expression came over her face. “Why do you need my blessing?”
“Because it involves Kurt.”
“I have no claim on Kurt.”
That was exactly what Averil had been hoping to establish, and Kate had just acknowledged it. That was a good start. “So you wouldn’t mind if he got together with your sister?”
She didn’t answer for several seconds. “I don’t know,” she said at last and walked over to the couch.
Averil moved farther into the room, and sat across from her. “He’s in love with Jane,” she said. “Jane’s pregnant with his baby.”
“Jane doesn’t want to stick around Coyote Canyon,” Kate responded. “It’ll never work.”
Averil scooted forward. “Are you sure of that? Because if any two people deserve to be happy, I think they do.”
Kate didn’t say it, but Averil could guess she was thinking, And what about me?
“You deserve to be happy, too,” Averil said. “But Kurt’s already a lost cause where you’re concerned. Even if Will wasn’t in the picture, it’s not as if he could ever change his mind now and start seeing you. He’s having a baby with your sister.”
“That doesn’t mean they have to be together. She doesn’t even want that.”
“I’m not totally convinced of that,” Averil said. “She could be holding back for other reasons. Maybe because he’s younger and she’s embarrassed about that? Or she’s worried you’ll resent it? It might even be that she’s afraid of getting hurt.”
“She’s afraid of being stuck here. That’s what she’s afraid of,” Kate said.
“So why not let her say so?”
“She’s said it.”
“I mean after truly considering what it might be like to have Kurt in her life as a romantic partner.”
Kate adjusted the towel on her head. “I don’t know what you’re getting at.”
Averil explained what they had in mind, and how they were going to execute what they had planned.
“You think a week away is going to fix everything?” Kate said when she was done.
“We don’t know, but it’ll give them time—time together—to figure this thing out. We hope whatever comes from it will be for the best.”
“And you need my help to make it happen.”
“Yes. You’re her sister. Who could love her more than you?”
Kate sat deliberating for several seconds.
“You won’t be losing anything—nothing you haven’t already lost,” Averil reiterated.
Finally, she sighed loudly. “I know. It’s just...”
“I get it,” Averil said when she didn’t finish that statement. “If anyone understands, it’s me.”
Kate nodded. “I guess that’s true.”
“So, will you do it?” she asked. “Will you stay with Papa for a week so that Jane doesn’t have that as an excuse to refuse Talulah’s invitation to go to the lake?”
“Jane loves Talulah, but she won’t want to take off just to sit around in a cabin with Talulah and Brant as a third wheel,” Kate pointed out.
“She’d know something was up, for sure,” Averil agreed. “Which is why Talulah will invite her to the cabin not only for some ‘me’ time but also for diet, exercise and prenatal wellness classes.” This was something they’d come up with as they’d fine-tuned their plan, and Averil thought it was brilliant.
Kate looked intrigued. “That’s a pretty good idea,” she said, sounding surprised.
“Do you think it will work?”
“Giving her such a great place to escape to and a good reason to go at the same time, when she’s been feeling so sick? Actually, I do.”
Averil smiled in relief. “Does that mean you’ll help?”
Kate unwrapped the towel and shook out her damp hair. “Of course,” she said. “It’s been hard to get used to the idea of Jane being with Kurt, but I want her to be happy as much as you do.”