Total pages in book: 57
Estimated words: 55305 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 277(@200wpm)___ 221(@250wpm)___ 184(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 55305 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 277(@200wpm)___ 221(@250wpm)___ 184(@300wpm)
Janey swallows, then shakes her head. “It’s weird. She guessed. We haven’t told anyone yet… it’s early and…”
Janey doesn’t finish her sentence, but Brandy offers a kind but startled smile. “Well… congratulations.” She looks between us once more, then her expression softens. “We should catch up properly while you’re in town. I’d love to hear how you’ve been.”
Janey nods, still gathering herself. “I’d like that.”
They exchange numbers before Brandy excuses herself to continue her rounds.
After that, the visit winds down quickly. Mom grows tired and confused again, her attention drifting toward the window as though what’s beyond the glass has called her away. I kiss her cheek, promise I’ll come back soon, and Janey squeezes her hand with a tenderness that nearly undoes me.
“Goodbye, Angela,” she says softly.
Mom looks at her for one clear, fleeting moment, then her gaze lowers again, briefly, to Janey’s stomach. “Sweet baby,” she murmurs.
Janey goes very still. I place a hand at the small of her back, gentle enough that she can step away if she wants to, but she doesn’t, and we leave the room together.
***
Janey stares out the window, one hand resting on her belly and her mind lost elsewhere as we drive home. I don’t push her to talk. I know better than that by now. Some thoughts need room before they can become words. Still, every now and then, I glance over at her.
She seems shaken, but there’s more in her expression. Wonder, maybe. Or fear. Mom, for all her cognitive challenges, gave the baby a name, and that name has made it real.
When we pull up to the house, Mason emerges from the barn.
Janey kisses him, and she makes her excuses to freshen up inside, but I know she needs space to process.
I tell my brother everything, and Mason listens carefully, arms crossed, his attention fixed on every word. When I mention that Mom called Janey “Melissa” twice, then pointed at her stomach and said “the baby,” his eyebrows shoot up.
“She knew?” he asks.
“Seemed like it. Janey’s barely showing, and you saw what she was wearing. There’s no way mom could tell she’s having a baby.”
Mason rubs his jaw, quiet for a long moment. Then a slow, awe-filled smile spreads across his face.
“Melissa,” he murmurs. “Could be a girl.”
The possibility settles between us, warm and startling.
A daughter.
Do I believe that Mom felt the pregnancy? Like a second sight. Has she made a prediction, or was she babbling?
I look toward the house, where Janey is moving around in the kitchen. I can see her through the window, one hand braced on the counter, her head slightly bowed as if she's still feeling the impact of what happened. The thought of a little girl with her honey eyes, Mason's stubborn streak and my love of books makes my chest ache with fierce protectiveness.
Mason claps a hand on my shoulder. “One day at a time, brother.”
I nod, but the idea stays with me long after we head inside for lunch.
A girl.
Our girl.
I already know I would move heaven and earth to be part of her life.
Chapter 19
Janey
The living room is quiet, except for the low hum of sports highlights on the TV. I’m curled up on the big leather couch between Mason and Brookes, exactly where I’ve started to crave being every evening. My head rests against Brookes’s shoulder while Mason’s hand absently strokes my thigh. The warmth of their bodies on either side of me should be comforting.
Instead, I’m still reeling.
My hand rests protectively over my belly, fingers tracing small, unconscious circles. I keep thinking about Angela Fletcher’s clouded eyes locking onto me, pointing straight at my stomach, and saying “the baby” as though she could see right through me. I’m barely showing. How did she know?
The memory won’t leave me alone.
Mason laughs at what’s on the screen and squeezes my thigh. “You alright, sweetheart?” he asks softly, noticing my distraction.
I nod, forcing a small smile. “Just thinking.”
Brookes presses a kiss to the top of my head. “You’ve been quiet since we got back. Want to talk about it?”
“No.”
He nods and doesn’t pry any further, and I’m grateful. Their mom gave the baby a name. A sweet name. Melissa. She took a step I haven’t even thought about making because I’m so wrapped up in the explosive impact this situation is going to have on my life.
All the things I should be feeling are lingering behind the wall of my own creation. I pull my hand from my stomach, fearful that touching myself there will somehow bond me further to a baby that…
My train of thought is interrupted by my phone vibrating on the coffee table. The screen shows “Mom.” My stomach drops instantly.
I don’t want to answer it. I really don’t. But if I ignore her, she’ll keep calling. Then she’ll start texting. Then she’ll call Joelle or someone else until she gets answers. That’s how she operates. If she digs too far, she’ll end up unearthing the very thing I don’t want her to know.