by Jaclyn Hardy
“I’m good.”
Mandy and Thomas moved out of the way for the nurse to enter the room and then they went out into the hallway. She paced the floor of the waiting room until Thomas pulled her into his arms. She buried her face in his chest and sobbed.
Thomas held her, stroking her hair and whispering that everything was going to be okay. Even though he had no idea why she was bawling. It didn’t matter, though. Whatever she was having a hard time with, he was going to be there for her. She traveled across the country for him, and he was going to make sure she knew it was the right choice. He wouldn’t lose her again.
Mandy stretched and slowly lifted Thomas’s arm so she could get up off the couch. They’d been there all night, waiting for any news from Laura. Mandy should have realized it would take longer than an hour for her to have her baby.
Thomas still slept, his head leaning against the couch. They’d been up talking for most of the night. She checked on him one more time and then went to check on Laura. Everything seemed about the same as it was the night before.
Laura looked over at Mandy and smiled, her eyes tired. “Hey. You’re still here.”
“Yeah, I’m going to run and get some coffee for Thomas and me. How are you feeling?”
“Tired. In pain. The doctor thinks it will be any time now.” Laura grimaced while she had another contraction. “Of course, he said that three hours ago.”
Mandy slid past Justin to the other side of the bed and readjusted Laura’s blankets. “Want another pillow?”
“No, I just want to sleep. And be done with this whole thing.” Laura cringed again, squeezing Justin’s hand.
Justin jerked awake. “Are you okay?”
“No, dear. I’m not.” Laura opened one eye and focused on Mandy. “I think the doctor might actually be right this time. Can you send in a nurse?”
Mandy nodded and ran out of the room. She looked around for a nurse and found one at the nurse’s station. “Hey, I think my friend is ready to have her baby now.”
The nurse typed a few things into her computer and stood. “Looks like you’re right. I’ll page the doctor.”
Mandy stood wringing her hands, trying to figure out what she was supposed to do next. Her friend was in there in pain, and the thought of being in there was terrifying. “Can I do anything that’s . . . not in there?”
“You just stay in the waiting room. I’ll come and get you when the baby is born.” The nurse patted her on the arm as she walked past. “Honey, you’re not the first person who has felt this way when their family is in there in labor. It’s okay.”
Mandy smiled at her, but didn’t feel any better. She went back to the waiting room to check on Thomas and found him awake and talking on the phone. She leaned against the doorway, waiting for him to finish his call.
He finally stood and shoved his phone his pocket. “Oh, hey, I was about to come and find you. Any news?”
“The nurse says it’s time for her to have the baby. I’m going to go find some coffee or something to eat. Want to come?”
Thomas ran his fingers through his hair. “Sounds good. I let the Poultons know where we are. I’ll have to head over there in the next few hours to help out, though.”
“I can’t imagine we’ll stay long after the baby is born anyway. Laura is pretty exhausted.” Mandy’s hand twitched to check her hair as well. She hadn’t since she woke up, and it was probably flying everywhere. But she didn’t want to right after Thomas fixed his.
They found the cafeteria and ordered breakfast along with an extra one for Justin. The sausage and muffin sandwich wasn’t Mandy’s favorite, but it filled her up.
“I guess we won’t be going to look at my business today.” She crumpled up her napkin and set it on the tray.
“No, I think they kinda changed all our plans for the day. It’s probably better that way for me anyway. The crews who were supposed to be doing the electrical and water hit another snag and won’t be able to get out there today.” Thomas poked at the eggs on his plate. “So much for getting everything done before Thanksgiving.”
Mandy froze. Thanksgiving. “I completely forgot that’s next week. I’ve been too busy getting everything set up here. My mom is going to be ticked that I’m not there for that.”
Thomas set down his fork and pushed away his plate. “Do you think you need to go back?”
She shook her head. The thought of going back right now just made her panic. She didn’t want anything changing her mind about coming here. “I’m staying here. I have too much to do, and I can’t leave. Maybe if things have calmed down for Christmas, I can think about it.”
“Well, you’re welcome to have Thanksgiving with us. Well, me. Justin and Laura will probably have family here.” He tapped the table. “Huh. I guess I should probably figure out what I’m doing that day as well.”
Mandy laughed. “Well, I’ll be fully in the house by that time. We could always have our own dinner.”
Thomas’s eyes lit up. “We could do that. Do you . . . know how to cook Thanksgiving dinner?”
“Hey, I know how to cook. I’ll just have to figure out how to cook a turkey. And everything else.” Mandy squirmed in her chair. “Maybe we should make different plans.”
“I like this idea, though. But if you want to do something else, the hotel has had an amazing dinner there for the last couple of years. It started out at the ranch, but then they moved it over to the hotel because there’s more space.”
Mandy was torn. Doing it herself sounded like fun, but if they went to the hotel, everything would be done for them. “Which would you prefer?”
Thomas studied her for a moment before answering. “Let’s say we save the dinner by ourselves for whatever might happen to us in the future. And for now, we can have dinner at the hotel with family and friends.”
“And what, pray tell, do you plan to have happen in the future?” Mandy felt a thrill of excitement. She knew what he was getting at, but she wanted to hear it from him.
Thomas took her hand in his. “I plan to have you by my side. You’ve gotten away from me two times now. I don’t plan to let it happen again.”
“You make me sound a little flighty.”
“Not flighty. You just know what you want and you go and get it. But now that you’re here, it’s my turn.” His thumb caressed her fingers. “Think you can handle that?”
Mandy stared at their hands clasped together. She expected to feel a sense of panic. Or fear. But there was none of that. When she met his eyes, she could see the worry in his. “I suppose that the spoiled little Mandy can handle letting someone else get what they want for once.”
Thomas grinned. “Awesome.”
“That . . . doesn’t mean we’re engaged or anything, right? Because—”
“No.” Thomas put both hands up in surrender. “No, not today. I have nothing but a bunk bed in a bunkhouse right now and I’m thinking the other guys would frown on sharing with you. Give me a little time.”
Mandy’s phone buzzed, but she ignored it. “Agreed. We both have things that need to be done first.”
Thomas’s phone went off next. He checked the message. His eyes lit up. “The baby is here.”
Mandy blinked. She’d completely forgotten the reason why they were sitting in a hospital cafeteria. They ran out of the room—and had to go back to get Justin’s breakfast—and straight to the delivery room. The nurse told them Justin had already gone with the baby to the nursery, so Thomas turned to leave
Seeing Laura lying there looking very pale sent a jolt of fear through Mandy. What if something had happened?
“Hey, it’s okay. She’s just resting.” Thomas pulled her away and they rounded the corner to where the nursery windows opened into a room full of bassinets. Justin gave them a thumbs-up while his baby had her first bath. Mandy pulled out her phone to take pictures for Laura.
“She’s so tiny.” Thomas took a picture. “Mrs. Poulton would be ticked if I forgot to send a picture
to her.”
“You’re probably right.” Mandy put a hand on the wall next to the window and went on her tiptoes to get a better look. “Oh, she’s beautiful.”
“She looks just like her mama.” Thomas blushed when Mandy stared up at him. “Not that I think Laura is beautiful. I mean, she is, but I meant . . .”
“I get it. And she does.” Mandy’s eyes filled with tears. Her best friend had a tiny baby. Life really had changed.
The nurse finished with the bath and handed the baby to Justin. He held her up for them to see before sitting down in a rocking chair. Mandy took a few more pictures for Laura and then sent them to Laura’s mom as well.
“Are you Mandy?” A nurse asked as she walked up to them.
“Yes?”
“Laura is now in her room if you’d like to see her.” The nurse gestured for her to follow.
Mandy took Thomas’s hand as they walked down the hallway. She wasn’t sure why she was so nervous, but her stomach was all tied in knots. It was when she saw Laura sitting up and laughing that Mandy finally relaxed.
She grabbed Laura in a hug. “Oh, I was so worried about you.”
“Why?” Laura asked.
“You just looked so pale when I saw you last. I thought something had happened and no one was telling me.”
Laura’s jaw dropped. “You’ve never been this worried before. I must have looked terrible.”
“So bad. But oh, man, she’s so cute.” Mandy found the pictures on her phone and handed it to Laura. “Looks like she’s going to give you a run for your money with Justin. He’s totally smitten.”
“He really is. Hmmm.” Laura flipped through the others. “Thank you for these.”
“You’re welcome. I sent them to your mom too.”
Laura blinked, then burst into tears. “That’s so nice of you. Thank you.”
“Uh, Laura? Are you okay?” Mandy frowned. Laura never cried like this.
“I don’t know. I just can’t seem to stop.” Laura grabbed a tissue from the box next to her bed.
A nurse came in and chuckled. “It’s the hormones. You’ll have that happen a lot. Can I get you anything?”
“Can I have food yet? I’m starving.” Laura wiped her eyes.
The nurse checked Laura’s monitor. “Yes, I’ll grab you a sandwich and something to drink. Any preference?”
Laura burst into tears again.
Mandy sighed. “She loves apple juice if you have any.”
The nurse nodded and left the room. Mandy crawled up on the bed next to Laura and leaned her head against her friend’s shoulder. Thomas smiled and left the room to give them some privacy.
“So, Thomas, huh?” Laura sniffled.
“Yep.” Mandy hesitated. “He kinda sorta almost proposed to me in the cafeteria.”
Laura gasped. “Seriously?”
“Yeah, I told him it had better not be a real proposal, and he assured me it wasn’t. But really, it kinda was.” Mandy caught the glare from the nurse who walked in and she climbed out of the bed. “Sorry. She was just upset.”
“Yes, well, I hope you didn’t pull on her IV.” The nurse set the food down on the tray and then made a show of checking all of the cords and tubes.
Mandy couldn’t meet Laura’s eyes for fear of laughing. She’d been careful not to mess anything up. “When does Laura get to see her baby?”
“Whenever she’s ready.” The woman wrote a few notes in the chart.
“I’m ready.” Laura took a bite of her sandwich. “Oh, man. Ham and cheese never tasted so good.”
The nurse finished her notes and then scurried to the door. “I’ll have her brought right in.”
“Thank you.” As soon as the door shut, Laura burst into giggles. “Way to go, Mandy. You could have messed with things.”
“Yes, I know. I’m ashamed.” Mandy flopped onto the couch. “Has Justin shown you any of the pictures of my building yet?”
“They’ve already started?”
Mandy pointed to her phone that sat on the table. “There’s not much. Apparently, when you wave money in their face, people move faster. Most of what’s on the camera are pictures of what it will look like.”
“Wow.” Laura handed Mandy back her phone. “You’ve been busy.”
“I had to find things to distract me so I wouldn’t go running off and make a fool of myself in front of Thomas.” Mandy sat up. “All I need is a name.”
Laura leaned back against her pillow. “I thought Mandy’s Chic Boutique was the name you picked.”
“I just put that because they needed a name for the blueprints. Can you honestly see that working here?”
“Probably not.” Laura brightened as the door opened and a small bassinet was pushed inside the room.
Justin followed behind, looking both dazed and happy at the same time. He gently picked up his little girl and placed her in Laura’s arms. “Meet baby Chloe.”
Laura beamed up at Justin. “You decided then?”
“Yep. As soon as I saw her, I knew she was a Chloe.” Justin kissed the top of Laura’s head. “We did good.”
“Yes, we did.” Laura touched Chloe’s hands and her cheek.
Mandy took a few more pictures of the sweet family, then stood. “We’ll let you guys bond and get some rest. Thomas needs to get to work, and I should probably go help pack some more.”
Laura looked up, surprised. “Don’t you want to hold her?”
“Well, yes, but I didn’t want to interrupt. You just got her.”
Justin took Chloe from Laura and set her in Mandy’s arms. It was almost like holding air, she was so light. Her skin was soft, and she really did look just like her mom, but with Justin’s dimple in her cheek. Chloe stretched, her mouth opening wide in a yawn. Mandy was pretty sure she was going to explode with all the cuteness.
She handed Chloe back to Justin. “She’s adorable. Any time you need a babysitter, you’d better call me.”
“Yeah, you say that now. Just wait till she screams.” Laura smiled. “Thank you for being here and taking all the pictures.”
“You know I wouldn’t miss it for anything.” Mandy bent down to give her a hug, then turned to Thomas. “Did you want to hold her?”
“No, I really do need to take off. I can take my turn when we come back to visit.” Thomas clapped Justin on the back. “Congrats, man.”
Thomas and Mandy walked back to Thomas’s truck. Mandy could still feel the baby in her arms.
“You’re not already baby hungry, are you?” Thomas chuckled.
“What?”
He waved his hand in front of her face. “I’ve recognized that look before. All of Rachel’s friends had the same look when they first saw Evan.”
“I’m not baby hungry.” Mandy knew it was a lie even as it left her mouth. But babies would have to wait. “Okay, I am, but not really.”
“I’ve heard that before too.” Thomas opened the door for her and then went around to his side. “So, do you want to run to the hotel to get your things, or back to get your car so you have it?”
Mandy checked the time. “You need to get back to work. Why don’t you just drop me off at Laura’s and I can drive out there? Otherwise, I’ll be stranded at the hotel.”
“Unless you wait for me to get done with work and then I can take you in to town.” Thomas left the parking lot.
“As tempting as that is, we both have work that needs to be done. Why don’t you meet me at Esther’s when you’re done and then I can take you to where my store will be?” Mandy worried that Esther would try to pack things herself and that wouldn’t be a good thing.
Thomas set his hand on hers, sending tingles up her arm. It never got old. “Sounds good. I’ll get my chores done pretty fast. There’s not as much to do around the farm after the harvest. Then I’ll check on my lot before I come and find you.”
“Perfect.” Mandy wondered what would happen when he had work and she had her store. It was going to be hard to ever see each
other. But the good thing was that they were in the same town instead of across the country from each other.
A light dusting of snow lay on Mandy’s BMW when they got to the house to pick it up. Thankfully the roads were clear or she would have gladly gone with Thomas instead. He left to go back to the ranch, and Mandy turned her car around to head over to the store site. She wanted to check to make sure things were still getting done and she didn’t know if she’d get back there before it got dark later that day.
The lot was empty when she arrived, but it had been cleared and the foundation had been poured. It seemed so small, but she’d been very careful to use every inch of space wisely when she planned it. Some of the ideas had come from Walker Apparel. She loved the area where they could practice their runway skills—even if that would never happen here. Not to the extent she’d have in New York. But she hoped to have a few shows before the main dances where parents could come and see the styles available for the prom or Homecoming.
A few ladies walked by and one tsked. “I heard it was going to be another clothing store. Like we need one here. We have one already.”
“Oh, yes, but this one will be run by a New York supermodel. Like she’ll know how to run something in a town like this.”
The words were like daggers, but Mandy just laughed them off. A supermodel? Someone had really twisted that story. What she didn’t get was that no one should really know what was going in to the space. Laura and Thomas knew, but that was about it. Mandy pushed the worry away. They would see when she opened that this wasn’t here to compete with the other store. She’d serve the best she could for the community, but she also hoped to ship a lot of her clothes out to the rest of the country as well. That way it wouldn’t matter if things didn’t go as well here.
Mandy climbed into her car and drove west toward the hotel. She passed by the high school, and Mandy was a little tempted to stop and talk to her new friends there. That could wait. She hated to have Rachel hold on to the rest of her bags for any longer than she had to. While she’d hoped there would be space at Laura’s for it, their small home was already filled to the brim. It didn’t matter, though. She almost had Esther’s stuff packed up and they planned to have her move that weekend.
