Silent Night, Star-Lit Night (Second Chance at Star Inn)(5)

She knew why.

He’d see what she’d kept hidden the past few years. He’d know something was wrong and want to know what, and she was embarrassed. How does a successful young woman explain a cheating husband and a surprise half-brother to her unborn baby?

She’d been stupid to believe Daniel’s promises. “Once a cheater, always a cheater . . .” She’d heard the adage many times, so had she been downright foolish to forgive? Or had she taken Daniel back because she was desperate for a fairy-tale ending?

And here was Jed, Dan’s best friend, playing the knight in shining armor by escorting the grieving widow. When he eventually found out the truth, how would he feel? Would he be disappointed in his friend? In Daniel’s choices? And maybe in her.

She hated that people would wonder what she lacked that made Daniel go looking. Mostly because it was a question she asked herself every single day.

The baby stretched as if uncomfortable in her confined surroundings. She stretched again, then rolled enough for Mia’s shirt to flutter.

“Is that the baby kicking?”

They’d slowed to a crawl for a road construction bottleneck, and Jed’s amazed expression made Mia smile. “She’s begging for space right now.”

“I’ll say. Oops.” He cringed as if expecting a blow after his earlier reaction to Mia’s size. “I meant nothing by that. You’re not big. You’re . . .” He paused, pretending to search for a word that would keep him alive. “Perfect.”

She smiled. “Better. Comparisons to beached whales aren’t welcome at any stage of the game.”

“Is it hard to work in the E.R. when you’re this pregnant?”

Now was as good a time as any to tell him the truth. “I left my job this week.”

“You did?”

She winced and nodded. “I love working the E.R., but I want something different for us.” She laid a protective hand on top of the baby and the baby responded with a kick-kick-roll move followed by a long stretch of tiny arms and legs.

“I can’t believe you have all that going on inside you”—Jed dropped his gaze to the baby’s gymnast-style moves—“and you left your job.”

“I had six weeks of vacation stored up, and my savings. I just—” Traffic started moving again. Jed shifted his attention back to the road. “I need to change things up. That’s all.”

“We all do, now and again.” Facing forward, he merged left as traffic accelerated. “How do you manage to sleep with all that twisting and turning going on?”

“The baby?”

“Yeah.”

She laughed softly. “In spurts, but I guess that gets you ready for the reality of having a baby around, right?”

“Cows make it look so easy.”

“And this takes us right back to not comparing preggos with huge, lumbering animals, Jed.” She yawned. Talking about lack of sleep reminded her of how restless she’d been the past forty-eight hours.

He grinned, eyes ahead. “If you want to take a nap now, go ahead. I can turn the radio off.”

“No need.” She yawned again, grabbed the small pillow from the backseat, and tucked it under her head. “I probably won’t fall asleep.”

“Then rest.” He flashed that easygoing smile her way. “Resting is good, too.”

“It is.” She closed her eyes and let herself relax. Someone else had the wheel of life at the moment, and as the car moved north the hum of good tires on smooth pavement gave just the right amount of movement and white noise.

She slept.

*

Jed silenced his phone when her eyes drifted closed. He didn’t touch hers, but if sleep was as rare as she said, he didn’t want a phone call to wake her.

He drove north along the interstate, blanketed in endless sun.

It was a great respite from the November rains and the surprising dump of snow guaranteeing Roslyn a white Christmas, but he heard the longing in Mia’s voice. California wasn’t home. But with her grandpa dying and the discord in her family, was Roslyn home?

Maybe. Maybe not.

She woke up as he maneuvered toward a rest stop mid-day. “I fell asleep?” She stirred, stretched, and yawned, surprised.

“About two and a half hours back.”

“Seriously?”

“Yup.” He pulled into a parking spot at a convenience store with restrooms and pointed up the road. “They’ve got plenty of food places here, but it’s up to you. I’m going to gas up here; then we can decide.”

“Bathroom first and foremost with pregnant ladies. Then we’ll talk food. Where are we?”

“About halfway up the longest state ever, which in and of itself seems self-defeating. About five hours to go before we take the turn to Ninety-Seven.”

“And then a few hours to the hotel.” She pressed her hand to her back and nodded. “Okay.”

“Is your back hurting?” He moved to her side and put his hand at the small of her back. “Are you in pain? Are you in labor or something?”

“Yes, no, and no. I’m fine, just back twinges from shifting an extra twenty pounds of weight all strapped to my middle. Envision a bowling ball tied around your waist. You have to shift weight to support it. That’s all.”