The Strawberry Hearts Diner(68)

“Now you’ve got it. This is not the end. There’s at least one more chapter. Support them and pretty soon, all that disappointment will disappear. In less than a year, you’ll wonder why you ever felt the way you do today.” Jancy smiled. “Emily is a lucky woman.”

Emily wasn’t a woman. She was still a girl. Just yesterday she’d taken her first steps with wispy blonde hair finding its way out of her two-inch braids. How could she have grown up so fast?

Jancy squeezed her hand and then let go. “It’s a lot like the steps you go through when you lose someone. First there’s denial, then shock and then anger. After that is acceptance, and then you move forward. This, too, shall pass.”

“I am so mad that I’d like to kick something or shoot Ryder for getting my daughter pregnant. I wish you or someone would make this pass faster,” Vicky said.

“It takes two to make a baby, Vicky. Emily’s halo might not be as tarnished as mine, but it definitely got a few dings. I am here for you if you need to talk,” Jancy said.

“Talk about what?” Emily sat down on the floor with them. “Ryder and Shane have gone outside with Nettie. They’re trying to decide whether to put the deck on the front or the back of the trailer.”

“We need to talk about what kind of wedding dress you want,” Jancy said quickly. “If you want a long one, we’ll have to rent a length of carpet. You can’t have a train draggin’ on the gravel parking lot.”

Bless Jancy’s heart for such quick thinking, but Vicky had always envisioned her daughter with a train that went halfway down the center aisle at the church.

“Mama, can I wear Granny’s wedding dress? It’ll fit me, I know it will. I’ve always loved that portrait collar. And I’d like to wear the pearls that she and you both wore.”

“But we were going shopping for a fancy dress,” Vicky sputtered.

Emily slung an arm around her mother. “You can pick out the veil, but nothing over my face. And you and Nettie and all four of my bridesmaids need dresses. Plus, we need to figure out how big my bouquet of roses needs to be.”

“Roses?” Vicky managed a weak smile.

“Red, like you carried. Can I borrow your wedding ring to tie into the bouquet for good luck?”

“Who’s going to walk you down the aisle . . . I mean, across the parking lot?”

Emily hugged her tightly. “You are, Mama.”



If that didn’t melt Vicky’s anger, nothing ever would. Jancy could feel the tension turning into sweet love right there in the narrow hallway.

“I don’t have to wear a tux, do I?” Vicky smiled.

Emily giggled. “I’m thinking that something in red would be nice.”

“The same color as the glaze on top of the strawberry tarts?” Jancy asked.

“Yes! Now let’s go outside. I can’t believe those guys did all the cleaning for us. Ryder said it was because I didn’t need to inhale fumes. He’s so protective of me and the baby.” Emily got up and offered her hand to Vicky.

Jancy followed them into the living room and out to the backyard, where Nettie, Shane, and Ryder were pointing and talking. It was a perfect spot for a deck, right off the kitchen door, overlooking nothing but a wooded area. She could picture sitting on a swing and watching the sun set every evening.

Shane slipped an arm around her and drew her close to his side. “This is all pretty awesome, huh? I didn’t get to spend as m-much time w-with you as I w-wanted this past few days, but I had to help Ryder get it all cleaned and aired out for Emily. Do you think that she w-was surprised?”

Jancy nodded. “Definitely, and very happy.”

Two emotions battled inside Jancy. She loved these people. They were great folks, and every one of them deserved happiness. But a touch of sadness mixed with the joy, because she really had to talk to Shane. His opinion could change things. Not that she would leave Pick before the baby came—she’d promised Emily that much. But if this beautiful bubble that she and Shane were floating inside burst? She didn’t want to think about that now.

Shane squeezed her shoulder. “W-would you like to see m-my place?”

No, put it off a little longer, the voice in her head said.

“W-we’re here and—”

“Yes!” She cut him off midsentence. She was taking total control of her life and what she did. She refused to be influenced by other people’s thoughts or her own insecurity. She slipped her hand into his and smiled up at him.

Easier said than done, that irritating voice whispered.

Maybe so, but I’ve got some really good examples around me, she argued.

“Hey, w-we’ll see y’all later,” Shane yelled. “I’m goin’ to show Jancy m-my place. I’ll have her home by m-midnight, Nettie.”

“If you don’t, your truck will turn into a pumpkin,” Nettie told him.

“W-will you m-make pies out of it if that happens?”

“No, but Jancy might.”

He didn’t let go of her hand when he opened the gate leading into the yard. The back porch couldn’t be called a deck by any stretch of the imagination. There wasn’t room for a swing, but it held two old wide-armed rockers with deep seats and comfortable-looking cushions. Red roses trailed up the porch railing, and impatiens supplied splashes of color in the flower beds.