25. Lainey
Lainey
“Istill don’t see why we all had to come into town to do this?” Jessie groaned from the front seat of Violet’s SUV. It’d been three days since the springs, and I still couldn’t look Lachlan in the eyes.
That man was…God, I was acting like a flustered fiend around him.
And it wasn’t his strong arms covered in tattoos, or the thin gold chain he wore around his neck that moved every time his muscles flexed when he talked, or the beautiful scars on his legs that kept me blushing every time I looked at him.
It was the endless loop of his gorgeous ass—that I, of course, had looked at as soon as he got out of the water—playing over and over in my mind!
It was good to get out of the house, even if I was now stuck in a car with someone who absolutely despised me.
“Because. It’s big girl bonding time. I feel like it’s rare that it’s just the four of us. No kids…well, except for Lainey’s little one, but unless she goes into labor, we’re good there.” Violet laughed.
“Sorry, is that a possibility?” Hayes looked horrified as his head poked out past Birdie’s face.
The three of us were in the back seat, packed tightly like sardines in a tin.
Ugh, why had I thought of that? Now I was going to be nauseous all morning.
Canned fish was horrific. My belly tightened, as if the little creature agreed with me.
“Lainey? You okay?” My sister’s hand landed on my arm.
“Oh, yeah. I’m fine. No baby today. I’m sure he knows there’s a few weeks left on the schedule. But I’m not sure why I had to come along for girl bonding…”
“I have to be here…and I’m not even a girl. Of course you would be invited!” Hayes grumbled.
“Knock it off, Hayes. You volunteered to help me bring my books down to the bookstore before the storm rolls through. I won’t hear any slander from you now,” Violet chided.
I liked Violet. She reminded me a lot of my sister and Dolly. A strong woman who was meant for motherhood. She kept Hayes in line like she was a seasoned mom, even though Connor was less than a year old.
We pulled into the parking lot of the bookstore on Cherry Street, and I’d never been happier to get out of a vehicle in my life. My back was killing me today, and as soon as I was able to stand, relief hit me like a tidal wave.
While everyone else got out of the car, I walked to the sidewalk, stretching my back as the sun warmed my face.
This street was always so charming, lined with trees and flower planters.
There were cars parked all along the pavement, a testament to how our community still committed to shopping locally.
A wave of unease suddenly washed over me.
I looked up and down the road, but couldn’t place why it felt like someone’s eyes were on me.
Looking over my shoulder, everyone had congregated around the trunk.
Violet was clearly deep into giving Hayes instructions, and both Lainey and Jess turned to make their way toward me.
As soon as I faced the street again, I saw him.
A man in a car. With his phone pointed toward me.
“Ready to go inside?” My sister’s hand landing on my arm made me jump. “You okay? What’s wrong?”
I turned to her, smiling. “There’s a guy across the street in a red car, and I think he just took a picture of me, or something? I don’t know. He was staring at me, and then I noticed his phone was out.”
Birdie turned, her face set in stone and she stepped away, but my hand caught her before she could go any further. And the guy clearly took the hint, his car pulling out of the parking space and taking off down the street.
“Ew. That was so weird.” I shivered, even with the warm summer sun making me melt. “Let’s go into the shop.”
“I hope he wasn’t one of those guys who has a fetish for pregnant women…” Jessie whispered.
“Oh my God! Do you think—”
“Why else would a stranger be taking a picture of you?” she asked.
Her question made my stomach ache. Clearly a theme for today as I huffed my way inside the shop, my belly feeling tighter than it ever had before.
“Hi! Welcome in, guys! I’m Hadley. Is there anything I can help you find?”
Violet greeted her with a big smile. “Hi Hadley, I’m Callie Ford. Maggie placed a wholesale order from me for my latest release, and I finally got the books in. My brother-in-law is grabbing them from the back of the car to bring inside now.”
“Oh, wonderful! It’s just me here today, and I’m sorry I’m still learning the ropes, but I’m more than happy to slip them in the back room until Maggie is back tomorrow.”
“Perfect. Is it okay if we look around a bit, too?”
“Of course!”
I’d wandered away from the girls, finding the small section of pregnancy, birth, and parenting books just a few steps away from the register.
The bell over the door chimed, and I watched Hayes stroll in with two large boxes stacked one on top of the other, his eyes going wide when he looked at the woman behind the desk.
“You’re not Maggie.”
She smiled. “Hi, uh no. I’m not. I’m Hadley. I just started here. But I’m guessing those are Callie Ford books in those boxes?”
“Yep. Where do you want them?”
“Oh, right here is fine. I’ll bring them to the back in a bit.”
“I can carry them back there.”
Smooth, Hayes.
“Uh, yeah. Okay, sure. Let me show you where to set them.”
Hayes followed behind Hadley, his eyes wide and his face slightly more red than I’d ever seen it before. Hm. That was interesting.
My eyes wandered back to the shelf in front of me.
Was there any sense in looking at these?
I’d already practically made it to the finish line of my pregnancy in a totally oblivious state.
I hadn’t even downloaded one of those tracking apps that tells you the size of your baby in fruit, or weird shaped things from the 90s.
“I liked that book during my pregnancy, but this one…” Jess’s voice startled me as she reached past me to grab a book near my shoulder.
“Yep, this one was great for when Beckett was a newborn and we were surviving those first few crazy months. It talks about all the milestones their brains are going through and how to best support them through it.”
“Oh, thanks.”
Her hand released the book as I took it, but she stayed in place, like she had something she needed to say to me. Probably another warning to leave her brother. I squared my shoulders, ready to listen to what she had to say.
“Lainey, I’m sorry about the other day at the spring. I should have thought of a nicer way to voice my concerns.”
“You were right to say what you did.”
“Well…” Jessie smiled, her eyes going back to the bookshelf. “I’d like to work on becoming friends again, if that is something you’d be interested in.”
Holy shit! “I’d really like that, too. Thank you for giving me a second chance.”
“It’s not just for you.”
I understood, she was trying to be peaceful for her brother. But I would take the kind gesture.
“I get it. And I appreciate it.”
She nodded. “I know you still have some time to get things for the baby, but Beckett’s newborn outfits and some of his toys are just sitting packed away. I’d be happy to pull things out and drop them off at Lach’s.”
Relief washed over me. I really didn’t want to shop, and Birdie kept reminding me of all the things I still needed to get. To not have to ask for handouts, but to be offered hand-me-downs…it was such a generous offer.
“That means a lot to me. And I’d love to use some of Beckett’s old clothes. Thank you, Jess. Really. Thank you.”
“Good. Okay, I’ll text Hawk and put him to work.” She laughed, pulling out her phone while I started to move down the aisle again.
“Come on.” Violet slipped her arm through mine, changing the direction I was heading in. “We have another place to be.”
“We do?” I asked. I thought we were only coming into town for the bookstore.
“Yep.” Birdie laughed. “We were given strict instructions from Lach to make sure we fed you on our adventure today before bringing you back home.”
“Why? I can just eat at the house…” Lach hadn’t had a problem with me cooking while I’d been living there. Was he actually upset and needed time to decompress?
“He also told us not to bring you back until after 2:00, and that lunch was on him.” Jessie laughed. “I can’t wait to eat my weight in Ma’s chicken.”
We left the shop, walking the length of the block before turning onto Ford Avenue right at Dolly’s Diner. I hadn’t been in ages, but as soon as the door opened, the smell of fried chicken made my mouth salivate.
“You ready to go?” Violet asked as I sat back, holding my belly as it tightened. I hadn’t been walking as much these last few days, and clearly the little space invader hadn’t appreciated the effort it took to get from the bookstore to the diner.
“Yep. This was delicious, but I fear I’m running out of room to put food with how big he’s getting,” I groaned.
“I remember that feeling. I didn’t make it to my due date, but Connor was already so jam packed in my belly, I can’t imagine how much bigger I could have gotten.”
Birdie’s hand landed on my belly, her eyes narrowing. “How long has your belly been tight like this?”
I brushed her away. “Off and on for a while. It’s just Braxton Hicks.”
The table went uncomfortably quiet. “You, uh…agree with that assessment, Birdie?” Hayes asked, his eyes so wide I wanted to laugh.
“Yeah, I do.” But my sister stayed right by my side as I moved out of the booth and to the register.
“Lach already paid, honey. You go right home and rest.” Dolly smiled as she wiped down the counter. I knew she didn’t work here full-time anymore, and I couldn’t help but wonder if she’d come in just because we would be here for lunch.
“Dolly, could I have a slice of your chocolate silk pie to go?” I asked.
“It really is so good, isn’t it? I don’t blame you one bit for taking some home for later.”
“Oh, it’s not for me.” Her face fell. “No, no. It was delicious and I would love to have some later…it’s just that, you said it was Lach’s favorite when I ordered it with lunch, and I thought he should get to have some, too.”
“Well, that’s very thoughtful of you, Lainey. I’ll pack up a pie and you both can enjoy it.”
“I like chocolate pie, too!” Hayes whined, winking at me.
“And you’re perfectly able to march your behind over here and buy one if you’d like.” Dolly smirked as she slid the pie tin into a white cardboard box and handed it over the counter to me.
“I’ll just carry Lainey’s to the car.” Hayes took the box from me.
“Thank you for taking that, but I’m not giving away a piece of Lach’s pie without his permission.”
“Glad my brother has such a loyal friend.” He walked to the front of the diner, opening the door as we all said goodbye to Dolly.
“I think you’re really going to like that book Jessie suggested,” Birdie whispered a few minutes later as Hayes helped me into Violet’s SUV. He handed me the seatbelt, and stood by like he wanted to watch me click it into place.
“Uh, thanks…but I’ve got this. You can get in the car.”
“I feel like I should buckle you in. You know, Lach would kill me if something happened to you.”
“I’ve got it.” My sister chuckled as she grabbed the seatbelt from my hand and clicked it into place. “Stand down, Hayes. She’s safe.”
I turned back to Birdie as the car door shut gently beside me. “I feel like I probably should have picked up that book months ago.”
“Nah.” Jessie looked over her shoulder at me. “You saved yourself a lot of anxiety. But you should definitely read the front part about labor, because what a wild ride that is. And just be prepared for everything you plan for to go right out the window.”
“I don’t know.” Birdie smiled. “I think it all worked out perfectly. It was fun delivering Beckett on the ranch. We could do it again if we needed to. Right, Lainey?”
“Absolutely not. I’m heading to the hospital.” By myself. Shit, the thought made my heart hurt. Not that I would have been better off if Greg was there, but the way Lachlan held me the other night…that felt nice.
There was absolutely no way I’d ask him to go all the way to the hospital with me. I knew what that would cost him. And he’d try, I was sure of it…
“Well, I’d say that was a successful trip.” Violet smiled as she put the SUV into reverse. “What do you guys think?”
“Yeah,” Hayes sighed, “I think I met my wife.”
“What?” Birdie coughed.
“You are absolutely ridiculous.” Jessie laughed from the front seat. “You know nothing about that woman.”
I was so lost.
“What woman?”
“Had-ley,” Jessie said in a singsong voice, batting her lashes back at Hayes. “Honestly, Hayes. She wasn’t flirting with you. She’s just good at customer service.”
“She laughed at my joke, Jess. The same joke Dad told Ma on their first date. And she fits the pattern.”
“The pattern?” I asked.
“For the guys in the family. Jessie’s the only girl, so she’s an outlier and doesn’t count.”
“You’re an ass.” Jessie sighed.
Hayes continued, completely unfazed by his sister. “Daniel met Dolly. Colt has always loved Calliope—”
Violet gasped. “Do NOT use that name again, Hayes. He loves me, and I’ve been Violet for a really long time.”
“Yeah, but that wasn’t your name when he fell in love with you. So I’m still right. It’s always been Beau and Birdie. And now Lachlan and Lainey, too.”
“What?!” I choked on my saliva, Birdie tapping on my back as Jessie handed back a bottle of water. “Your brother…it’s not…we’re not…he’s just helping me get back on my feet.”
Hayes stared at me, stone faced. “Right. Just so you know, no one in this car or on the ranch believes that except for you and Lach. And just like your sister and my other dumbass brother, you’ll both eventually realize I’m right.
Anyway…I just met a beautiful woman named Hadley… and the convention stands.”
“God, I feel so bad for her already,” Jessie snorted as downtown Silver Springs disappeared from view.
But from the dreamy look on Hayes’s face as we passed the first pasture on our way back to the ranch, and the warm feeling in my own chest at the thought of getting home to Lach, I had a feeling he was onto something.