Annoyance fell off Duffy like fall leaves in a windstorm. He exhaled deeply and shifted his stance.
Jess ignored him. “You’d get rid of all the dead animal heads, Rutgar? That is true love.”
Since Duffy didn’t seem able to convey why they were here, Jess did, emphasizing the importance of the visiting researcher’s work—not that she understood what it was exactly—and the need to keep whoever it was safe.
“I see now why he brought you,” Rutgar said, accepting the plate of cookies. “And I accept your bribe.” He closed the door on them.
Baby did a bladder bounce, confirming Jessica’s assessment. “I declare our trip a success. Time to go.” She waited until they got in the truck to deliver the hard news. The decision that cracked her heart in places she hadn’t known she could hurt. “I’ve decided Eunice should be my Lamaze partner. You don’t need to drive us.”
He didn’t argue.
* * *
DUFFY WAS TRYING to watch a movie, but mostly he was staring at the screen and stroking Goldie’s fur on Friday night.
Jess loved him.
He glanced at the empty couch corner. The thought should have scared him. Instead, he felt oddly at peace, as if he was adrift in space, but tethered by this one thought: Jess loved him.
Eunice charged inside. “I need your help.” She ran around the couch, blocking the television with her purplish hair, which nearly stood on end.
“Who died?”
“No one died.” She shook her head. “Now I know how Agnes feels.” Stomping her foot, she exclaimed, “It’s Jessica. I need your help with Jessica.”
Duffy rocketed to his feet, sending Goldie tumbling to the couch. “Did something happen at class tonight? Is she in labor?”
“She’s fine. It’s me. I need help being her coach.” Eunice put a hand over her stomach. “They showed a film on C-sections tonight. I almost lost my meat-loaf surprise.”
“Is that all?” Duffy sat back down, body drained from a false alarm.
“No.” She shook a finger at him. “I couldn’t make her relax. I tried to help her breathe and nearly passed out myself. I panicked. Kiki had to take me out to the corridor. I am not cut out for this job.”
“She doesn’t want me,” Duffy said, which was a half-truth. She wanted more from him than he could give. And since he couldn’t dislodge that lump in his throat, he couldn’t give her anything.
“She may not want you, but she needs you. I need you.” Eunice got down on her knees, blinking her eyes wildly. “I can’t have this baby alone,” she wailed.
“Calm down.” He patted her shoulder clumsily.
“No.” She did the pendulum head shake. “You don’t understand. I’ve never had a baby. I may be a woman, but I am not made for childbirth.”
“Okay. All right. I’ll talk to her.”
Eunice threw herself at him. She smelled of hair spray and lemon drops. “Oh, thank you. Thank you.”
He managed to set her on her feet. “Don’t thank me until I talk to Jess.”
But Eunice was ecstatic. She practically ran out the door yelling, “I’m saved! I’m saved!” The door slammed and then almost immediately opened again. “Don’t forget. Tomorrow is the baby shower.”
Duffy knew he should have felt apprehensive about talking to Jess. Instead, he felt an odd sense of anticipation.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
“MUCH AS I like hanging out with you,” Shelby said to Jess Saturday afternoon, running a hand over her midsize baby bump, “shouldn’t you be working?”
Jess had her feet up on a chair outside the bakery. “I didn’t pass the health inspection. Turns out the state now requires a bigger sink or two sinks for the size of my kitchen.”
Before that shock had time to demoralize her on Friday, Agnes had been on the phone to Mayor Larry, demanding he install a second sink. Jess had offered to pay, but Agnes wouldn’t hear of it. “It’s his responsibility to get you set up for business.”
To repay Mayor Larry, she’d be baking scones for him every week for two years.
Flynn was in the kitchen with a plumber. Jess was outside trying not to feel like a mooch.
After all the rain, they were having an unseasonably warm February. It was seventy degrees outside. Birds were singing. Baby was peaceful. And hopefully she’d be able to pass inspection next week. Otherwise, her savings would be taking a hit. There was only so much free baking a budget could stand.
Only so much a heart could take, too. She might feel as if she belonged in Harmony Valley, but there was an ache that Duffy alone seemed able to fill. Rejection sucked. And to be rejected by both Dufraine men? Demoralizing. Her heart had taken its share of hits. She’d get over Duffy. Somehow. He was a good man. An honorable man. She just wasn’t the woman for him.
As if conjured by her thoughts, Duffy rounded the corner and headed their way, Goldie at his side.
From this distance, she could identify the mismatched colors—red and burgundy—and admire his confident stride. She could also pull herself together after her heart recovered from its initial Duffy-love flurry.
Her pounding pulse must have awakened Baby. There was shifting and shimmying, causing Jess to adjust in her chair. She wasn’t looking forward to a conversation with Duffy, but at least she had Shelby as a buffer.
“I should be going.” Shelby stood. “My baby is in the mood for a nap. Maybe next week you can give me a lesson on how to make scones.”
“Or we could start out with something easier,” Jess said, having heard of Shelby’s lack of skill in the kitchen from more than one Harmony Valley resident.
“Don’t forget. I’m bartering that bag of flour for your services.” Shelby headed toward Duffy at a brisk pace. A fat white goose that had been settled in the planter box hopped to the ground and honked, waddling after her.
Jess wasn’t fooled. She’d already had four people drop off ingredients today. Eggs. Butter. Flour. Sugar. Every person had said they’d take a batch of cookies or brownies in exchange for stocking her larder. It was charity. And charity was a hard lump to swallow. But she was trying to view each addition to her stock as a show of friendship. Friendship could be repaid with kindness rather than money.
The baby was practicing its soccer kicks now. Over and over.
Jess sat up. “Ow.”
Duffy jogged the last twenty feet to her side. “Contraction?”
“No. Just kicking.” She levered herself to her feet. “I need to walk Baby back to sleep. Don’t let me keep you from wherever you were going.” Coward.
“I was coming to see you.”
Drat. Jess walked faster. It felt more like the waddle of Shelby’s goose. “Give me a break,” she muttered, missing her femininity, longing for the days of belted blouses and feminine heels.
“What’d you say?” Duffy caught up to her.
Had she been walking that fast? Or had he been slow to catch up to her? “How are your parents?” Deft change of subject, girl. Pat yourself on the back.
“Fine.” He glanced over his shoulder. “Do you have time to talk? We can take Baby on a walk around the block.”
“I kind of thought we talked through everything the other day.” How much more could they rehash things? She loved him. He didn’t reciprocate. End of story.
“Something new always comes up.”
Be still her foolish heart, the one that hoped he’d learn to love her.
They reached the barbershop with its spinning pole. Phil, the elderly barber, sat in one of the chairs inside. He lowered his newspaper and nodded to them as they passed.
Who was she kidding? Love wasn’t an option on his radar. “If you’ve decided to give up on Goldie, it’s too late. That dog is yours. Even if I could keep her at the bakery—which the health
inspector would not approve of—she’d run straight back to you.”
Duffy looked aghast. Even Goldie seemed to give her a wide berth.
“Well, I’ll be...” Jess chuckled. At least one girl had won his heart. “You’re a dog owner. I never thought I’d see the day.”
“I live in fear that her real owners will show up.” He was slow to admit it.
“You’re her real owner now.”
They rounded the corner, working their way down the block toward the sheriff’s office. Baby was no longer a kicking machine.
“How was Lamaze class without me?” Was that longing in his voice? Or relief?
Jess glanced at his face. There was something she wasn’t getting here. “Turns out, I’m very good at breathing. Eunice, not so much.”
“Did she get kicked out of class for good?”
“Ah, she told you.” That explained the guarded look in his eyes. “She wasn’t kicked out. She was put in time out.”
They rounded the next corner. Harmony Valley being a historic town, the buildings weren’t long or wide. Therefore, the blocks weren’t long or wide.
She noticed he didn’t rush to volunteer to be her backup Lamaze partner.
And then a contraction hit. Hard. Her stomach solidified. Her legs stiffened. Her entire body felt like it was in a compression chamber. She walked like a pregnant Bride of Frankenstein.
“Whoa. Your face has turned beet red.” Duffy led her to a bench in front of the winery’s wine cellar.
Jess sat like a plank of wood on the bench. There was no relaxing.
“Can I do anything for you? Get you water? Remind you to breathe?”
Breathing. Air. Duh. Jess did several rounds of hee-hoo.
The contraction eased. She practically collapsed against Duffy. “I am so out of shape. If they pass out grades for labor, I’d predict mine to be a D minus.”
* * *
JESS WAS A WRUNG-OUT, sweaty mess. A beautiful, wrung-out, sweaty mess.
Duffy was supposed to keep her away from the bakery for another twenty minutes while the ladies prepared for her baby shower and guests arrived.
She sat up and tried to put herself back together—smoothing hair, wiping her face, trying to smile. Her hands began massaging her stomach in big, slow circles. “Pregnancy is not for the lighthearted.”
Duffy could relate. She’d scared him there, turning so red he thought she might pass out, until she began her Lamaze breathing.
“Unbelievable. Baby’s awake.” Her palm stopped moving. “Do you want to feel Baby kick?”
Feel something inside of her? “You’re making me uncomfortable.”
“I hear babies do that to men.” She smiled reassuringly, and held out her hand. “Come on. Be brave.”
“Baby doesn’t scare me.” The child within her shared Duffy’s genetic makeup. Babies were a fact of life, a propagation of the species. Duffy gave her his hand, scooting closer.
Not to be left out, Goldie hopped into his lap.
Jessica’s touch was gentle, yet she pressed his palm firmly against the fullness of her stomach.
“Nothing.” That wasn’t exactly true. Duffy felt the warmth of Jessica’s body, the strength of the muscles cradling the child and the contrasting softness of her skin.
“Baby can be shy.” Jess chuckled.
And then her stomach moved beneath his palm. Not a seismic shift, but more like a gentle flick of a tiny fist against his hand. And again. And again. And again.
The detachment that Duffy had been trying to uphold fell away. “There’s a baby in there.” His gaze rose to meet Jessica’s.
She smiled broadly. “You betcha.”
And not just any baby. Greg’s baby. A part of Greg.
His father’s words upon first learning the news returned to him: a do-over.
Greg, the brother he loved. Greg, who’d changed the lives of everyone he loved and then opted to live alone. Greg, whose crap lifestyle and lies had given Duffy Jess and Baby.
“Holy moly.” Duffy had just found two good reasons for forgiving Greg: Jess and Baby.
Goldie turned and licked his chin.
He grinned. It felt brighter than the sun, that grin. “This is awesome.”
Jessica’s face was near his. She was smiling and beautiful. She was making this do-over possible for Greg.
And then his gaze dropped to her lips. They were kissable lips. She was a kissable woman.
He remembered kissing her, drawing her body close, sheltering her from...from... She didn’t need sheltering from anyone. She just needed to be loved.
Holding her created a wanting, a longing and something that seemed like it could be love. As she’d said, his beliefs were a product of fear. The fear of the unknown was melting away. There were no more fears that Greg would return and bilk them out of more money. No more fear that he had to watch every penny in order to keep a roof over all their heads. No more fear that the connection he felt to Jess would drag him down, would be a burden. Loving Jess and Baby would be a privilege.
Am I too late?
Jess stood, breaking their connection. “I’d like to get back. They should be done with my sink.”
“Hang on.” He captured her hand with his, holding Goldie in his lap with the other.
She looked down on him. How easy it was to imagine him on one knee asking her to make a lasting commitment.
The old Duffy—the scared one—scoffed at the idea. People dated for years before they moved in together, waited years more before marriage. He’d known her for weeks. And yet, he knew her better than he knew himself.
The new Duffy—the one with an earth-shaking, wondrous feeling in his heart—gripped her hand tighter, was reluctant to let go. Had he ruined any chance with her by hiding behind the walls of fear?
He didn’t know. He couldn’t seem to ask. How would he start down this path to commitment?
Slowly.
“Sit back down.” When she didn’t, he added softly, “Please.”
She sat, raising a brow.
“It’s Eunice. The pressure of being your only Lamaze partner is too much for her.” That’s right. Come through the back door.
“Come on. She’s a trouper.”
“And she trooped right into my house after you dropped her off last night.” He was still holding her hand. That was success, wasn’t it? “It was the C-section video that did her in.”
Her free hand crept up to cover her mouth. “It was intense.”
He didn’t want to imagine. He’d never been a fan of slasher movies. All that blood. “If you let me back on the team, she can do it.”
She wanted him. He could see it in her eyes. But her defenses were up. “I don’t want to be another responsibility to you.”
“You wouldn’t be. I’m a changed man.” Trust me. “I have a dog.”
“Ha! You cheated. I forced her on you.” She shook her head. “Nope. I’m already the town’s project, and I’m trying not to let it kill me. Therefore, I can’t do the same to you. I can’t be your obligation.” She stood, but instead of releasing him, she tugged him up with her. “I keep saying we’re going to be friends.”
His gaze met hers. He thought about loving her until they were old and gray. The idea didn’t scare him. “Friends don’t let friends have babies alone.”
“Now you’re just reaching.” But she was smiling as they walked the rest of the way around the block. She smiled when he claimed Goldie needed a potty break in the town square. She smiled until they opened the door to the bakery and saw all the people, the decorations, his mother.
“Surprise!”
* * *
A BABY SHOWER?
Jess didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
There
was Eunice, blinking her eyes and posing by the cake, which had been decorated with amateurish pink and blue lines of icing. Agnes, Mildred and Rose stood near the door and a gift table. Flynn and Slade. Shelby and Christine. Duffy’s parents.
She turned to Duffy. “You knew?”
He held up his hands. “Guilty. I made sure we had pizza instead of meat-loaf surprise.”
Eunice grabbed Jessica’s arm and towed her to the back of the room where they’d set up a white baby crib. “We all chipped in. I made the baby quilt.” It had baskets of flowers in blues and pinks.
“You shouldn’t have.” The old resentment reared its head, snapping against the idea of charity. But it was for Baby and these gifts were from her new family in Harmony Valley.
“We wanted to.” Agnes hugged her. “You’ve brought so much pleasure and excitement to town.”
“It’s not the Taj Majal of cribs.” Rose patted the rail. “But it’s sturdy enough to hold an infant having a meltdown.”
“Rose,” Agnes scolded.
Rose crinkled her brow. “Kids have tantrums.”
“I love it,” Jess said.
Eunice grabbed her arm again and towed her into the kitchen. “This is from me.”
A wooden rocking chair.
“Eunice, it’s beautiful.” Blond wood. Sturdy wood. Expensive, for sure. “But I can’t accept. It’s too much.” She could accept small gifts or gifts where everyone had chipped in. But the rocker was worth something.
“I don’t see why you can’t accept it.” Eunice frowned. “If you don’t take it, when I die it’ll go to charity.”
“Wrong word, Eunice.” Duffy came up behind them. “She didn’t mean it like that, Jess.”
“Well, I could have said it’d go to the dump.” Eunice ran a hand lovingly over the chair back. “It was my mother’s rocker and I’d like to come over and rock a baby. Why is this a bad thing? Did I miss something?”
A family heirloom? Jess forgot to breathe.
“Can you give us a minute, Eunice?” Duffy put his hands on Jessica’s shoulders and guided her into the rocking chair. “I know what you’re thinking.”
A Memory Away Page 21
