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“There’s nothing you can do about a few weeks of drinking. Did you binge drink? That’s several glasses in a few hours.”

“No, thank god. I read that’s the worst for a baby.”

“All you can do now is be as healthy as possible.”

“I plan on it.” She looked at Katrina, contrite. “I guess I’ll tell Justin whether I’m ready or not.”

“Aw, I’m so glad, honey.”

“I’ll do a special meal for him tonight and try to figure out a way to surprise him.”

“Let’s get home. I’ll drop you off at Spencer’s so you can shop, and then I need to get to my cottage to see if they are ready for me. Tomorrow is moving day!”

“I’ll be there to help,” Maggie said.

“Yes! I’ll need it.”

Back in Cypress Cove, Maggie got rib eye steaks to fix for Justin, and as a surprise, she bought a cake and had them place a plastic baby on it, with Congratulations Daddy written across on the top.

“Oh, Maggie! Congratulations!”

“Don’t tell anyone yet, please.”

“I swear,” the baker said, crossing his heart.

She lugged everything down to the dock. “Gus, I have news.”

“Good news?” he asked, taking the bags from her.

“Yes, wonderful news. But you must promise me not to tell a soul. Not even Grace.”

“I swear. We don’t do pillow talk. I’m too tired once my head hits the pillow.”

“Okay.” She closed her eyes and counted to ten. “The horse was right.”

He looked off into space for a moment, and then reality hit. “Oh, congratulations! Who-da-thunk? A baby at Bayou Cottage!”

“I know! I’m so excited. Now I have to get this cake home without smashing it and have a pleasant surprise for Justin tonight. He doesn’t have a clue. Well, except for Bubba and his big mouth.”

“Ha! Yeah, he’ll be tellin’ everyone that he’s a soothsayer now. You wait and see.”

“Ugh! Small-town life. I thought I’d be able to hide here.”

“Yeah, it’s too late for that, girly.”

Hugging each other, she nodded, tears welling up. With Gus’s help, she got the cake and herself down into the boat safely and waved goodbye, heading for home. Gus watched, grim, concerned for her welfare. People underestimated what living in a town like Cypress Cove was capable of.

It was chilly out on the water. With her left hand over her belly as she steered the boat with her right, the realization that there was a little person inside her smacked her in the face, and she cried. Hopefully, Justin would be happy when he learned he was going to be a father. Hopefully, he’d apologize to her again for what had happened. The baby had to be her focus. Nothing else. No wedding talk, nothing but preparing for a baby. That and its wellbeing.

The afternoon flew by as she got the dinner ready. She even put on a dress she’d dug out of the back of the closet, something Justin hadn’t seen, and impossibly high heels that made her long legs look even longer. The dress was snug across the top with her burgeoning breasts. Examining herself in the mirror, her stomach was still pretty flat. It was that ass that was out of control. She’d try not to gain too much weight, another issue the unpleasant doctor had mentioned.

At six, she heard Justin’s truck at the gate. Nervously looking around, she quickly lit the candles, had the steaks ready to broil, the salad tossed, baked potatoes made, and the cake with the baby front and center on the table.

She stepped out on the porch, and he saw her dressed up right away, pausing with the door open.

“Are we going out tonight?” he asked, climbing out of his truck.

He reached in for bags, and she could see he’d brought dinner home. Yet another thing he had been so good about. She had only said to him once, “I’m worried about having to do dinner every night,” and he took over the task.

Source: www.allfreenovel.com
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