Chapter 16
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
A my slapped her hand on the nightstand beside her bed, trying to turn off the ringing alarm. Then she remembered she didn’t have an alarm anymore. She grabbed her phone. “Hello?” Her gravelly voice barely sounded like her own.
“Amy?”
She nodded and realized the caller couldn’t see her, so she replied, “It’s me. Bella?” She was pretty sure she recognized the voice on the other end. “Are you okay? Is the baby okay?” Amy sat up in bed.
“We’re both fine. Everybody’s fine. I woke you up, didn’t I?”
Amy held the phone away from her face and squinted at it, trying to read the time on it. Before she could focus enough to read, Bella said, “I don’t sleep much right now, so I forget that other people aren’t awake at 6:00 a.m. I’m sorry. I’ll call you back later.”
“No! I’m awake.” Now. She probably wouldn’t get back to sleep, so she may as well help her friend.
“Cassie said that you drive to Nashville every Monday to get your newspapers. Is that right?”
“It is. Some days later than others.” This had been one of those days when she planned to leave about noon and take her time. As long as she made it back before rush hour traffic heated up in the city, she knew she’d have a nice trip.
“I have a doctor’s appointment at 10:00 a.m. They’re really hard to schedule with this woman. Micah was supposed to take me, but a court case was just rescheduled. He has to spend his entire day in research. Micah tried to tell me it would be okay if he took time off, but I’ve been around him long enough to know that isn’t true. So I called Cassie.” Bella paused for a moment. “She wasn’t awake either. I have to look at the clock before I call anyone from now on.”
Amy chuckled. If she didn’t say yes, Simone, Paige, or someone else in town would be next. “I’d be happy to head into town early so we can get you to your appointment on time.”
Bella released an audible breath. “Thank you! Such a relief. I still have a couple of months until the baby arrives, but it’s close enough that I want to make sure I keep all of my appointments. I’ll buy us lunch.”
“It’s a deal. I still haven’t had a chance to eat at Nick’s restaurant. Is that okay with you?”
“Better than okay. The food at Southern Somethings is delicious. Then I’ll see you about 8:00 a.m.? To make sure we have enough time to arrive on time.”
Amy held back laughter. Bella was very exacting about things like this. They needed nowhere near two hours, but it would be a good buffer, just in case.
“I only say that because if I’m more than ten minutes late, they cancel my appointment and charge me anyway.”
“I’ll be there.”
After they ended the call, Amy got up and opened her door, ramming into her brother as he came out of the kitchen. “Oof.”
The cup of coffee in his hand sloshed from side to side. “Careful, sis. What are you in such a hurry about this morning?”
“Absolutely nothing. I opened the door, and there you were. You need a roommate who sleeps in.”
“I already have one of those.”
She smacked him on his shoulder playfully. “I get my work done. Is there a game on later today?”
“I can always find a game on the sports channels.”
She sighed. She knew that to be true.
“Or I can work. I have a new client’s financials to go through.”
“You work so much. Have you met many of the guys in town?”
He shrugged. “I have met some of them, but I haven’t taken the time I should to get to know them.”
Amy put her hand on his cheek in a way she’d done since he was little. She’d played a bit of mother to him because she’d been eight when he’d been born. “Take the time, bro. If this is going to be your home . . .”
“It is. I like my house. I like the people I have met. It feels good to be home in Two Hearts.”
She couldn’t argue with that. Dexter had few memories of being here as a kid. She had more. He’d been so young that he didn’t have many connections with people from that time.
“You have a good day of work. I’m heading into the city. Do you want anything special?”
“Nothing comes to mind, but I’ll let you know if something does.”
Amy poured coffee down her throat, feeling increasingly alert with every gulp. Then she headed to the shower and finished getting ready.
By the scheduled time to leave, she’d made a list of articles she’d like to have in this week’s edition, had gone through her email, and prepared the social media she’d post later this afternoon when the newspaper was ready to be distributed. Every time she looked at the proposal photos, she broke out in a cold sweat. Was this really better than freelancing, than writing for someone else? She knew in her heart that it was if it helped her succeed with her own business.
Bella slowly climbed into the passenger seat, buckled herself in, and leaned back. “I am so excited about being a mother, but there are some steps on the path that I’m not as crazy about as I probably should be.”
Amy pulled away. “I can’t share any tips.”
“That’s part of the problem. My close friends here are childless. The only people who can share tips had children decades ago. Things have changed.”
Amy laughed. “I’m willing to bet that the basics are the same. You’re still going into labor to have a baby, right?”
Bella grinned. “That’s what I hear.”
For a second, Amy wondered if she should do a pregnancy and childcare column in the paper, but she definitely couldn’t write that without a lot of research. They rode along in silence for a few minutes.
Then Bella asked, “What about you? Do you want a family someday?”
Amy processed the question for a moment before replying. “I need a man first, but I probably won’t find one here. Many of the guys are taken. By women from other places, I understand.” Amy grinned.
Bella laughed. “Believe me when I say that I had zero intentions of moving away from cities. I would have happily moved to another city, mind you. Not that I don’t love Nashville, but any city would have worked over a small town.”
This opened up a subject that Amy had wondered about for a while. “Then why did you marry a man from a small town?” The two of them were clearly in love.
“Are you telling me that you, as a newspaper reporter, have been here for months and have never heard our story?”
Had she? She’d heard about Cassie and the motorcycle. Then Simone and Nick finally spent quality time together because of an alpaca. “I only know you got married quickly.”
Bella laughed. “Ours was a classic marriage of convenience.”
“A what?” Amy shouted. Then, in a lower voice, she said, “Sorry. You caught me off-guard there.”
“I was having business troubles. Micah’s grandfather was trying to con him into working for the family legal firm instead of staying a small-town lawyer. He’d set everything in motion to make things go his way.”
Amy slowed for traffic as they approached the city. “And?”
“If Micah didn’t get married within ten days, he had to come to work for the firm—and the next part wasn’t nice of him—or his sisters were going to have to put themselves through college.” Bella shifted in her seat slightly so she was better facing Amy. “Now, I know a lot of people pay for their own college, but these girls had been promised from birth that they were going to have that money. Both of them were going into careers that would need years of education. One a doctor and one an engineer. They’d have been paying off debt for years.”
“So you agreed to marry him?”
“I thought it was temporary. Up until that time, we hadn’t gotten along. Oh, he was easy on the eyes, but it definitely was not love at first sight.”
The city started coming into focus, and the roads became busier. Amy focused on her driving and making the turns to arrive at Bella’s doctor’s office, a place she’d never been before.
“We’re a half hour early. And I’m okay with that.” Bella patted her purse. “I have my ebook reader in here and a book I will be happy to spend time with until they call me back.”
“I need to hear the rest of your story.”
Bella opened the door. “Remind me on the drive home.”
Amy pulled away as Bella went inside the building. Bella’s story was entertaining. Maybe she should consider doing a feature every week for a month about how her friends had come to Two Hearts. That might bring more people to visit and maybe even move here. At the very least, it should make them curious about the following week’s newspaper. The love interest certainly tied in with her proposal photos—and the town’s wedding theme.
As she pulled up to the printer, the thought flashed into her head that she might be able to skip additional proposal photos if she found a better option. But, until then, she needed to keep doing those. If they were what it took to succeed, she’d be proposed to again. And again. Scott was certainly easy on the eyes and was super nice too. If she were going to be interested in someone—and she certainly was not at this point in her life—he would be a good option.
As always, the Two Hearts Times newspapers were stacked in bundles and tied up with string. She had ten bundles. Everything above the fold on the front page could be seen, and normally, she’d take a moment to glance at it.
Today, she struggled with that because the proposal photo would be there.
With everything stowed in the back of her vehicle, Amy headed over to the doctor’s office to pick up Bella. Since she hadn’t received a text saying her passenger was ready, she sat in her vehicle, tapping her fingers on the steering wheel as she tried to focus on more ideas for articles.
Finally, after ten minutes of wondering if she should look at this issue, she got out and opened one of the stacks. Newspaper in hand, she sat down. Amy closed her eyes for a moment and then opened them, took a deep breath, and stared at the newspaper in front of her.
It was every bit as bad as she had expected it to be.
Oh, the layout was wonderful. Scott had done a job at least as good as she would have, and she’d avoided the annoyance of doing it herself. She still hoped one of these days, she’d grow to love that part of the process. It hadn’t happened yet.
There they were, him kneeling with the ring box, her staring at him with open-mouthed surprise and delight. If only that had been what Logan had done. She’d worked at forgetting him and thought she had.
Until this proposal situation arose, she had moved on. When she stared at the photo of Scott, she realized she wasn’t pining for Logan so much as wondering about what might have been. Just when tears started to prick her eyes, her phone buzzed with a text.
Her passenger was soon climbing in. “I always feel so much better when I get a good report from the doctor. I know everything feels fine, but I’ve never done this before.” Bella turned to her. “Can you keep a secret?”
“Always. You’d be amazed at some of the secrets I’ve had to keep over the years as a journalist.”
“Rose.”
Amy wasn’t sure what she was talking about. The plant? A scent?
“Rose what?”
“Rose Elaine.”
Now Amy understood. She’d just been told the baby’s name. “It’s a girl?”
“Only Micah and I know, but I think you’re entitled to the secret since you drove me all the way here. And I woke you up this morning.”
Amy chuckled. “You didn’t owe me anything, but I feel privileged to know. When are you going to share the news?”
“We were still debating the name until just a few days ago. The first name is just a name we liked. The middle name is Micah’s grandmother’s first name, so we wanted to tell her first. She just came home from a Caribbean cruise, and we’re planning dinner for tomorrow night. Simone’s making a cake with the baby’s name on it.”
“Any grandmother-to-be would be thrilled!”
Bella glanced to her side. “Is that this week’s issue?”
Amy nodded. Keeping her eyes on the road. “Tell me what you think.”
Bella opened the paper. “I think Paige took some amazing photos. You guys look great. And you’re a better actress than you let on because you look truly delighted.”
That made Amy smile in spite of the situation. “I was Juliet.”
Bella laughed as she opened the paper. Amy still hadn’t looked at anything below the fold.
“This other photo is fabulous. How did you make the cow do that?”
Amy whipped into the parking lot of the grocery store they were about to pass and into a parking space. She threw the car into park and said, “One of the cow pictures is in there?”
Bella turned the paper so that Amy could see it. Sure enough, he hadn’t inserted just one photo of the proposal. Scott had also added one with the cow pushing between the two of them. She had to admit it was cute. But she also knew it hadn’t been there when she’d seen the first layout.
“You didn’t know this was in the paper? Don’t you do this by yourself?”
Amy bit her lip for a second as she thought about how to explain this. She had a feeling Bella was going to read more into it than she or Scott intended. “I’ll trade you a secret for a secret. Mrs. Brantley had been planning Scott’s schedule down to the second. It drove him nuts, so a few hours into her plan, I said I would show him around town. I felt sorry for him. And he’s a computer geek, so he helped me with my website and said he would lay out the newspaper this week.”
Bella’s eyes grew wider as Amy explained the situation. Then she nodded slowly. “He’s just helping you?”
“Of course. What else would it be?”
Bella grinned. “He’s a guy. You’re a girl.”
Amy shook her head vigorously from side to side. “I am definitely not looking right now. He’s a friend. Besides, he’s leaving town in a few weeks. He has an entire life back in Chicago that doesn’t include anything in the state of Tennessee other than his friendship with Greg Brantley.”
Bella sat back in her seat with a smirk. “If you say so.”
Amy pulled back on the road and pointed the car toward Nick’s restaurant. A few minutes later, she realized Bella had fallen asleep, probably because she was up so early. This whole pregnancy thing seemed to take energy. Amy turned the car in the direction of Two Hearts. They could eat at Dinah’s after Bella’s nap.
Unfortunately, she realized in hindsight a lot of people were going to think she and Scott were an item. And everyone who only looked at the pictures and didn’t read the story would think they were actually engaged.
Amy gulped. At least next week, when the next photo came out, it wouldn’t involve an animal in a photo bomb, and everyone would realize it was just for the newspaper and not real.
Because as awesome as Scott was, she truly wasn’t looking for anything more.
Scott headed away from his temporary home, debating the direction to go this morning. Breakfast had been great, as usual, but subtle questions about his plans for the day had caused him to rush out the door with the dog on the leash.
Amy had said she’d be in Nashville picking up the newspaper, so he couldn’t go to her office. She gave him an excuse and as much as he wanted to avoid a holiday romance, he found himself wanting to spend time with her more every day.
Even if it meant another one of those proposals.
Cookie turned toward the park, so he let her lead him there. As the park came into view, his phone rang. He held the leash in one hand and dug his phone out of his pocket. He just hoped it wasn’t work. They’d left him alone so far, and the break had been wonderful.
A familiar face peered up from his screen. With a smile, he answered, “Mom! How’s everything in Chicago?”
“ I’m fine.”
Scott’s heartbeat picked up a notch. “Is everyone else in the family okay?”
“Don’t worry. We’re all fine.” Her tone of voice was off somehow. “I wondered about you. I checked with your dad, brothers, and sister. No one has heard from you since you packed a bag and drove away.”
He chuckled. “You make me sound like a criminal escaping the scene of a crime. I sent a message to let you know I’d arrived safely.”
“Weeks ago. I’d started to wonder about this town in Tennessee you’d gone to. I know Greg is from there and is the sheriff, so I thought you must be safe.”
“Right. I’m safe here. I’m staying with Greg’s mother.”
“That’s nice. Now, tell me about the woman.”
“Mrs. Brantley?”
She gave an exasperated sigh. “The pretty blonde woman.”
An image of Amy came to mind, but his mother couldn’t be asking about someone she didn’t know existed.
“The words with the photograph say it’s a pretend proposal.”
Scott knew better than most how the internet worked, but it hadn’t occurred to him that anyone in Chicago would see the photos he’d put in the newspaper and helped Amy load onto her website.
“I’m helping her.” He could hear the nervousness in his voice. This could turn out to be even more embarrassing than he’d expected. “Amy needed someone to pose with her for the photos. She owns the town’s newspaper and hopes the photos will be a fun way to boost interest in the paper.”
He sat at one of the pink picnic tables, doing his best to ignore the color.
“You’re telling me you’re helping with fake proposals? That’s silly. Next, you’ll be a fake groom.”
He laughed. “Not a chance of my being any kind of groom. The proposals are because Two Hearts is wedding crazy.” He explained what he knew about the town’s rebirth through weddings.
His mother laughed when he told her about Cassie arriving in town wearing a wedding dress. “You sound different. Happier.”
Was he? He’d been here a short time, and it had been interesting. So far, he’d been hit with a stuffed fish, helped with a wedding, made a fake proposal, worked on the newspaper . . . and enjoyed himself. “I like Two Hearts. It’s the vacation I needed.”
“From what you’ve told me about Greg since he left Chicago, he seems glad he moved.” She paused, and then her voice grew more serious. “Are you considering a move there? Amy—is that what you said her name was?—seems to be happy you’re giving her a ring.”
“Mom! It’s pretend. Fake. Not real. And my job is in Chicago. My house. Everything is there.”
“Remember that Archer keeps asking you to go into business with him. You’d be able to work from anywhere then.”
Scott closed his eyes and leaned forward, his elbows on his thighs. “Mom, please. I’m on vacation. I’ll be home soon.” And back to everything in Chicago he’d just outlined. Why wasn’t he as happy about that as he should be?
“We’d come visit you.”
“What?”
“Your dad and I would visit you in Tennessee.”
The absurdity of her statement made him chuckle. “That’s good to know.” He stood. “I’m out walking Greg’s mother’s dog. I’d better head back.”
“One last comment about your time there.”
“Okay. One.” He started across the park, Cookie leading the way but moving more slowly than he had when they’d started.
“Amy looked like she meant the hug.”
“She’s acting.” Silence greeted him. “Mom?” She’d hung up. His mother had meant it when she’d said one comment, and she’d gotten in the last word.
As he walked, her words replayed in his mind. Was she right? Had Amy meant the hug? He’d almost kissed her but had thought that would be a mistake. Was she interested in him as more than a friend?
Thank you, Mom. Now I don’t know what to think.