The Strawberry Hearts Diner(67)

Vicky came inside with Nettie behind her and clapped her hands. “It’s a lovely little starter place. Your father and I would have been glad to have something like this. Now show me the nursery so we can start planning where we’ll put the crib. And you’ll have to have one of those monitor things and a bassinet that will roll around to whatever room you are in at the time.”

“You mean to take to the diner?” Emily laughed.

Ryder heaved a sigh of relief that only Jancy caught sight of. She shot a wink his way, and a smile covered his face.

“See,” Shane whispered, “I told you that wh-when Vicky got her m-mind wrapped around a new baby, she w-would be fine.”

“We want all y’all to go with us when we pick out stuff for that room.” Emily slipped her arm around Ryder’s waist and leaned on his shoulder. “We bought bedroom stuff and a big old comfortable sectional for the living room. That’s enough to get us started.”

“We got a bar and two cheap stools.” Ryder slipped his arm around Emily. “What do you think, Vicky?”

Jancy shared Emily’s happiness at that moment and wondered if Ryder was right when he said that they were like cousins. With both of them having ancestors in Pick, maybe somewhere back in the history books they did share an ancestor or two.

“You could have parked it next to our house and then the new baby would be close to her grandma,” she answered.

“But,” Shane quickly said, “he w-wouldn’t be close to his uncle Shane.”

“His?” Nettie asked. “Do you know that it’s a boy?”

“Not yet,” Ryder said. “We aren’t sure we want to know.”

In her mind’s eye, Jancy could see a beautiful baby girl with Ryder’s dark hair and Emily’s big blue eyes. The baby was dressed in a cute little pink smocked dress and was wrapped in a hand-stitched quilt. Yet when she blinked, a boy with a mop of blond hair toddled along behind Shane and Ryder. Both visions were so vivid that she wished the children belonged to her.

“I’ll have a swing on the front porch by the end of next week.” Ryder led the way down the hall to show them the nursery and their bedroom. “Emily says we have to have a swing in case the baby has colic. She’s been researching all kinds of things.”

A porch swing had always been at the top of Jancy’s wish list when her dad went looking for a place. Rental property seldom had anything special like that, so she’d never gotten one. Someday—she promised herself—she would have a swing and at least two children.

Nettie settled into a lawn chair. “My baby gift will be a good sturdy rocking chair. You can’t swing a baby in December. Poor little thing will catch pneumonia. Pass me one of those chocolate-covered doughnuts.”

Ryder handed Nettie a paper napkin and opened the box to give Nettie first choice. “Right there at the end of the box. Emily’s been craving chocolate ones, too, and thank you for the offer of a rocking chair.”

“Did these come from Andy’s?” Nettie asked.

“Yes, they did. You said that he brought some to the hospital and you liked them.” Emily poured lemonade into red plastic cups for everyone. “Can you believe that I’m a hostess in my own house for all y’all? When we get back from the honeymoon, we’ll have real glasses and plates when y’all come over.”

Lemonade and doughnuts might not constitute a party in some people’s eyes, but Jancy thought it was the best one she’d ever been to.



The world spun around Vicky too fast as she headed down the hallway toward the bathroom. Holding on to the vanity and staring at herself in the mirror, she held back the tears. She wanted to throw a two-year-old’s tantrum or smash her hand into the mirror to destroy the image staring back at her. From the time the doctor laid that precious baby girl in her arms, she’d had a plan for Emily’s life. In no way did it involve living in Pick in a trailer house. She had to accept it because she couldn’t change it—but dear God, if she could, she would. She’d put on a happy face for Emily, but all she wanted to do was cry.

She pasted on a grin and stepped out into the hallway to find Jancy sitting on the floor, her back against the wall and her knees drawn up under her chin. She eased down beside her and stretched out her legs.

“You waitin’ on the bathroom?” she asked.

Jancy shook her head. “Came to see about you. You looked like you were about to cry when you asked if the plumbin’ was workin’.”

“I’m fine,” Vicky whispered.

“You can fool Emily, because she wants you to be okay with all this, but not me.” Jancy took Vicky’s hand in hers and squeezed. “You’re doin’ a fine job of coverin’ up what’s inside.”

“I hope so. I want this to be a happy time for her, but Jancy, I had such big plans for her,” Vicky’s voice broke.

“When you read a good book and reach the end, how do you feel?” Jancy asked.

“What’s that got to do with right now? Are you trying to take my mind off my disappointment?” Vicky couldn’t begin to understand where that question came from.

“Just answer it. The end. Now tell me, if there was one more chapter, what would you want?”

“To know that the hero and heroine would live happy ever after and that all the other characters would support them.” Her eyes grew wide.