Chapter 2
Two
E sther’s stomach growled as she rinsed the rice for her dinner. She’d forgotten to cook it when she cooked the shrimp and vegetables, so now she was doubly hungry. After she ate, she was going to sink into a bath with some wine and hopefully relax. Her brain was so scattered.
The phone rang across the kitchen. She glanced over her shoulder, but couldn’t see who was calling from where she stood.
Picking up the saucepan, Esther held the dripping strainer over it while she took a few steps back to look at the phone where it sat on the opposite counter. Her sister’s face lit up the screen. She set the strainer in the pot, then swiped the screen to answer and put the call on speaker. “Hi, Edie. I’m cooking dinner.”
“Oh, yum. What are you having?”
“Nothing special. Stir fry. What’s up? It’s not movie night.”
“Can’t a sister call to talk?”
“Sure. But you usually have a reason. Is everything okay?”
“It’s fine.”
Something in Edie’s tone told her otherwise. She put the rice pot down and waited, knowing her sister would tell her what was wrong when she was ready.
Edie groaned. “Technically, everything is fine. I’m just—I’m just not—” She stopped again and huffed. “I’m pregnant.”
Esther sagged into the counter. “You’re what?” she squeaked.
“Pregnant. And I’m not sure how I feel about it. I mean, I’m happy,” she hastened to add, “but I’m—scared? Nervous. Nervous is a better word.”
“Does Jordan know?”
“About the baby? Yes. He figured it out before I did. When we sparred the other morning, I just didn’t have the same energy I usually do. Then we made breakfast afterward, and I told him the bacon smelled rancid. After we ate, he disappeared for a bit, claiming he had an errand to run.” A snort came over the line. “His errand was to the drugstore. He came back with a pregnancy test.”
Esther laughed. That sounded like him. She also wasn’t surprised that he’d picked up on the changes in her sister. Jordan was a perceptive man, and he adored Edie. “So, does he know you’re nervous?”
“Probably. I haven’t said as much, but obviously, he can read me like a book, so…” Edie blew out a breath. “I just wanted to talk to someone without any stake in things, you know? You always give it to me straight. Help convince me everything will be okay, Essy. Because I don’t know how to be a mom.”
Esther pushed away from the counter and picked up her saucepot. “Sure you do. You had a great example. Mom’s going to be thrilled, by the way. And you better tell her soon. If you keep this from her like you did your marriage, she’s liable to fly down there and skin you.” She dumped the water out, then tipped the rice from the strainer into the pot.
“Hey, I had a good reason for keeping Jordan a secret at the time. I came clean as soon as it was safe.”
Esther turned on the water and added some to the rice. “Maybe so, but you know you could have told us before. We wouldn’t have said anything to anyone.” The entire family had been a little hurt when Edie broke the news of her nuptials. She claimed it had been to keep them safe from the person terrorizing Jordan, but Esther had a feeling she’d also done it so she didn’t have to deal with the emotions involved. Edie only had so much emotional bandwidth.
“Well, you know now. And yes, I promise I will tell Mom and Dad soon. I just need to get a handle on it myself. It’s only been a couple of days.”
“How far along are you?” Esther shut the water off and set the pot on the stove, turning on the burner.
“We figure about seven weeks. With all the chaos around here lately, I haven’t paid that close attention to my cycle.”
“Chaos?”
“Margot and the twins officially moved down. Her divorce went through, and she finally got her house sold. We’ve been busy getting them settled.”
“Hey, that’s great. Hopefully, she can move on now.” Margot’s story was a complicated one. Her husband left with no warning, leaving her to raise twin toddlers on her own. Thankfully, Edie’s friends had stepped up to help. She wasn’t alone, and the girls would grow up with an amazing group of role models around them.
“Yeah. She already looks more relaxed. I’ve been watching Em and Lily a couple times a week so she and Annabeth can work on the clinic. Their goal is to open right after the new year. I know the locals are ready for them to open. There just aren’t enough doctors here, especially pediatricians.”
“Well, that will be one less thing you’ll have to worry about when your baby comes. There will be two doctors close by.”
“True.” She groaned again. “This is nuts.”
Esther laughed. “You’ll be fine. You’ve done some wild and crazy things in your life, Edie. And you’ve overcome even more. A baby is nothing compared to that.”
Edie scoffed. “Hardly. Because this isn’t only about me. I just found out about this kid and I’m already worried about everything that could happen. Not just in the delivery, but as he or she gets older. Like, what if they’re born with some sort of congenital disorder or they get really, really sick some time?”
Leah flashed through Esther’s mind. That would be rough, definitely. But her sister was the strongest person she knew. “You’ll be fine. And you’re not alone. Jordan will be there through it all.”
“I suppose that’s true.” She sighed. “I’m being a worrywart. That’s new too. I don’t fret like this. I’m a mess.”
“Welcome to pregnancy.” Esther grinned. Her brother-in-law was going to have his hands full over the next few months.
Edie moaned. “Okay, let’s talk about something else. How’s your week going?”
“Fine.” She glanced out the window. The fog had only grown in density since she arrived home. “Wet.”
“It’s the Pacific Northwest. That’s a given.”
“I know. I wish I was down there, though.”
“Uh-oh. I know that tone. What happened?”
“Nothing.” She leaned her palms on the counter and stared at the phone. “I’m just in a bit of a funk, I guess.” Truthfully, she had been since Edie got married. It had highlighted how far she was from having the family she craved. Hearing Edie’s baby news didn’t help. She was thrilled for her sister, but she was also a little jealous. Esther had always wanted to be a mom.
“It’s too bad you don’t have a break until Thanksgiving. I’d tell you to come down here for a little getaway. I could use an in-person movie night.”
“Me too.”
The bubbling of the rice pot drew her attention. She turned the burner down and put a lid on the pan.
“You need to shake things up,” Edie said.
“I don’t have time to shake things up.”
“I’m not talking anything crazy. Go on a date.”
Esther snorted. “With whom?”
“I don’t know. Aren’t there any cute, single teachers at your school?”
“Single, yes. Cute—well, if you like baby men, sure.” There was a second-grade teacher fresh out of college who was easy on the eyes. But she didn’t want to date a guy so much younger. She was twenty-eight, but Mark was only twenty-three. The only other single male teachers at her school were forty-something divorced dads. That was too far in the other direction for her. And as much as she wanted to be a mom, it would take a special man for her to consider starting that part of her life with teenagers already in the mix. None of her colleagues fit that bill.
“It’s too bad Jordan doesn’t have a brother,” Esther quipped. Jordan MacDowell was a catch. Handsome, successful, kind—he treated her sister like a queen.
“No, but I have some friends…”
Esther could hear the smile in Edie’s voice.
“Asher’s single. So is Max,” Edie said.
“Max is not single. He and Margot just refuse to admit it.”
Edie chuckled. “He’s too old for you, anyway.”
“Margot’s only a few years older.”
“Yeah, but that woman’s got life experience coming out her ears. But you’re in luck. Asher’s still available.”
Dark hair, laughing brown eyes, and a bright smile beneath a full beard flashed through Esther’s mind. That man was sex on a stick. And he knew it. He was also so not her type. “Asher would drive me crazy inside of a week.”
“Eh, maybe. He’s not as nutty as he first seems.”
Esther raised an eyebrow but said nothing. If that were true, she hadn’t seen it on her trip down there. He’d been the life of the party at every gathering.
“I think Asher uses his humor to protect his feelings. The man’s a genius, and it’s hard for him to connect with people sometimes.”
“Well, in any case, it wouldn’t work. He’s there and I’m here.”
“Love finds a way, dear sister. That’s something I’ve learned in the last year. It doesn’t matter who you are or where you live. Love finds a way.”
“Well, I wish it would find its way here.”
“Maybe I’ll send him your way. He could use a vacation.”
“Edith, don’t you dare!”
Edie laughed.
“I’m serious. You won’t have to worry about Mom skinning you. I’ll do it for her.”
Edie continued to laugh. “I’ll hold off for now. Maybe I’ll ask you again in a few months.”
“The answer won’t change.”
“We’ll see. So what’s got you in a funk? Other than the weather.”
She wasn’t about to admit she was jealous of her sister’s life. Edie didn’t need that burden, because it wasn’t her fault.
“I’ve been thinking about my job.”
“Your job? You love your job. Don’t you?”
“I do.” And that was true. “I adore my students. Kindergarteners are the best. And it’s not really school that’s bothering me. It’s the home tutor job I took on.”
“It’s not going well?”
“The kiddo is great. Leah’s bright and funny. Eager to learn. But her family—I’ve never met her mother. She’s always at work. And her dad gives me the creeps.”
“Has he tried something?” Edie’s voice turned hard.
A small smile toyed with Esther’s lips. Her big sister would be on the next plane, pregnancy or no pregnancy, ready to beat someone if Esther said yes. “No. He just stares at me and grunts when I ask him questions. They don’t live in a great neighborhood, either. I was going to ask when we had movie night on Friday, what’s a good kind of pepper spray or taser to carry?” It wasn’t just Rob who creeped her out. So did Hoodie Man.
Silence came over the line. It lasted so long, Esther frowned and looked at the phone to make sure the call hadn’t dropped. “Edie?”
“We’ll come up with a different way to pay for your plane tickets down here. You’re a decent artist. Maybe Brooke will?—”
“No. We’re not exploiting your friends. I’ll be fine.”
Edie huffed. “I won’t have to ask. If Brooke gets wind about any of this, she’ll be the first to offer her help. All I was going to suggest was for you to paint a few pictures of the area down here and see if she liked them enough to buy them for the resort.”
Esther hummed. She might. She had enough photographs to get her started. And it would give her some new material to work with. Lately, she’d been struggling to find any inspiration. Nothing sparked her desire to paint.
“In any case, I think you need to quit that second job. Let the district send in a man.”
“We’ll see. I might broach the subject of quitting the home tutor position with my principal. Tell her to start looking for a replacement. I can’t leave Leah in the lurch, though. That girl’s already been through a lot.”
Edie went quiet again for a long moment. “Fine,” she eventually growled. “But if you feel more unsafe?—”
“Don’t worry. I will quit if I feel truly threatened.”
“I’m still going to worry about you.”
“I know. That’s what sisters do. I’m going to worry about you too. And pity Jordan.” Esther chuckled. So did Edie.
“Yeah, he’s in for it. I’m all over the place. All right. I guess that’s all I can ask for without flying up there and becoming your shadow.”
“No shadowing is necessary. Do you feel calmer now?”
“I’m certainly distracted.”
“Well, at least my problems are good for something.”
Edie laughed softly. “I guess so. Okay, well, are we still on for Friday night?”
“Wouldn’t miss it.”
“Great. I’ll talk to you then. Love you, sis.”
“Love you too. Bye.”
“Bye.”
Esther touched the end call button and pushed away from the counter. Well, damn. That was a twist she wasn’t expecting.
A slow smile spread over her face. Excitement pushed out the melancholy. She was going to be an aunt.