“Because we wanted to eat first.” Also, because she was nervous.
Kate scoffed. “I’m the only one who ate. Let’s do this.”
“I guess it’s time—after we clean up the dinner mess.”
“It’ll keep for a while. No more delay tactics. I want to find out if you’re pregnant almost as badly as you do. So, march your behind into the bathroom now, or I swear, I’ll drag you in there.”
Lana saluted. “Yes, ma’am.”
Minutes later, she sat on the toilet lid, holding her breath while she waited for the results of the digital pregnancy test.Kate was perched on the edge of the bathtub, the timer on her watch marking off the minutes. Naturally, Lana’s cell phone rang. Several bars of Shenandoah’s “Mama Knows” tinkled through the air.
She moaned. “That’s my mother. She always did have impeccable timing. I’ll let it go to voice mail.”
In what seemed seconds later, her phone rang again. Refusing to look at the screen, Lana rolled her eyes.
Kate eyed the timer, then nodded at Lana’s phone. “You’re popular tonight. You want me to pick that up for you? We still have a about a minute left.”
“Are you kidding? There’s no way I can talk to anyone right now.”
“Hand over your phone and let me check who it is.” Kate’s eyes widened. “You won’t believe this. It’s Sly.”
“I definitely can’t talk to him,” Lana wailed.
“Yeah, that’d be really awkward.” Kate returned her phone and Lana set it down.
Feeling as if she’d die if she didn’t find out soon, she glanced at her friend. “Now how many seconds to go?”
Kate checked the timer. “About thirty.”
Those moments dragged on forever, but finally, the timer buzzed. For all her impatience, she sat frozen in place.
“Well?” Kate asked. “Aren’t you going to check the results?”
“I can’t.”
“Hand that stick over.” Kate studied the LED display with a blank expression.
Uh-oh. Lana’s heart sank. She wasn’t pregnant after all. “Bad news, huh?”
“Actually, it’s the opposite.” Kate beamed at her. “Congratulations, Lana. You’re pregnant.”
Certain she’d misheard, she shook her head. “Say that again?”
Kate held out the results for her to read. “In big, bold letters, it sayspregnant.Congratulations, Lana. You’re going to have a baby!”
Afraid to hope—she’d waited and suffered for so many years to be where she was now—Lana covered her mouth with her hand. “Maybe I should take another test, just to make sure.”
“Since you bought three different pregnancy test kits, be my guest. But the packaging and instructions on the one you just used claim that this test is ninety-nine percent accurate.”
“Which means there’s a one-percent chance it’s wrong.”
“All right, have it your way. Go ahead and retake the test. But I’ll bet my last paycheck the results come out the same.”
In the end, Lana took all three. Every time the results were the same.
“I’m pregnant! I’m pregnant!” Laughing, she hugged Kate hard. “I never imagined this could happen to me.”
“It seems all you needed was one night with a big, strong cowboy,” Kate said. “And what a cowboy he is. Between your pretty face and his rugged features, you’re going to have one gorgeous child.”
