Page 3 of Derecho

I was never a petite woman, but with my pregnancy, every curve of my body felt like it had exploded, including the massive roundness of my belly. Probably not surprising for someone almost nine months in, but it still shocked me how many things I bumped into every day.

“Ugh. Could you maybe not wiggle so much until I have my fingers available to dig into my back?” Instead of listening to my plea, the little alien continued to roll and kick, all the muscles deep in my back spasming from the weight of the movements. I was two hours into prepping the meals I needed to deliver to my clients today, and although I had seen business explode over the last few months—enough so I’d been able to cut back on hours from my job as a receptionist at our local dentist’s office—I was starting to feel like I was running out of steam.

I pulled out my arm from under the water, drying it lightly with the hand towel I’d tossed on the countertop sometime earlier this morning, and got back to work.

It took me well past lunch time to cook, cool, and pack up the six deliveries I needed to make. As the high afternoon sun scorched my skin, I found myself truly contemplating my desire for this business to be more successful.

Just keep going. You need the money. It’s your safety net.

My back was starting to ache as my phone rang on the counter next to where I was wrapping up the latest tray to cool down. My sister’s name flashed across the screen.

“Hi, Birdie,” I answered, trying my hardest to sound chipper. I was working hard to repair our relationship after I’d almost lost her a few months back. She’d practically raised me after our mother left, and seeing her in that hospital…It forced me to face the fact that I was holding a lot back from her, and in the process, I was hurting her.

“Hey, Lainey Belle. Did I catch you at a bad time?”

“No. Not at all. I was just finishing up wrapping today's deliveries before I got on the road.” A squeal of delight hit my ears, and I smiled. “How’s Juniper?”

My sister was engaged to Beau Ford, her lifelong best friend. His sister Jessie and I used to be close back in high school…before I ruined our friendship. But now, Birdie was not only going to be Beau’s wife, but mama to his eight month old daughter.

“She’s good, growing like a weed. It’s been a while since we've seen you, and I just wanted to make sure everything was okay.”

“Oh yeah. I’m just exhausted. The little alien is keeping me up at night, and then working all day with the deliveries is just getting to be too much, I think.”

Birdie hummed in agreement. “I could always help⁠—”

“No. You’re still recovering. Beau would kill me if I asked for your help and you got set back with your physical therapy."

“He would not.” She chuckled. “Well, okay, he’d probably growl at the both of us, but I can still put him in his place. Even if my arm is a little weaker than it was before I was hurt.”

We sat silently on the line for a second before Birdie cleared her throat.

“I wasn’t going to ask, but I haven’t gotten anything in the mail about your baby shower. Is everything still on track?”

God, I’d completely forgotten that I told her Greg’s mother and aunts were handling the shower. But my stomach pulled when I later had suspicions that Greg’s family didn’t even know about my pregnancy. There were no excited grandparents asking how appointments went or showering us with gifts. No family asking to watch the baby once he was born.

“I actually haven’t heard in a while. I’ll call Greg’s mom today and see. We’ve still got time.”

“Not too much time.” I could hear the worry in my sister’s voice. “Sometimes babies come earlier than we expect. I could come over one day with Juniper and help make sure the baby’s room is all set? Just with the basics. I’m sure Greg’s family is excited to go all out for their first grandchild.”

I sighed, the baby starting to kick painfully in my side. “That sounds good. I’ll let you know when I have some time.” I rubbed my fingers over the spot where his feet were still pushing against. “I’m sorry, Birdie. I have to get going if I’m going to get back home at a decent time. But I have Lach’s deliveries today. Maybe I could stop over after?”

“Is he your last stop?”

“Yep.”

“Okay, yeah. Juniper and I would love to see you.”

“Perfect. I’ll text as I’m leaving Lach’s.”

“Love you, Lainey Belle.”

“Love you, too, Birdie.”

Sweat dripped down the small of my back, the air so stale it felt like it was going to choke me. And it was only going to get hotter. Even if I wasn’t almost nine months pregnant, I would still have been griping about the AC being out in my car. I set the trays down in the back seat and stood, glaring as an obnoxiously loud truck drove down the street.

I waited for it to pass. Waited for some relief from the noise. But the truck slowed down…and pulled into our driveway.

My fiancé was sitting behind the steering wheel of what looked like a brand new truck. And I saw red.