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“What’s the verdict, hon?” Laura asked, easing herself onto the floor next to Kate and gathering her into her arms.
Kate was grateful for the comfort, for the grounding presence of her friend, but all she wanted was for the arms that held her to be Emile’s arms. Except, they never would be again, which only made her cry harder. He would have been so kind in this moment; she let herself imagine his reaction, how he would at first be scared, just like she was, but that they would work it out together, the way they had done with everything before. Emile had made everything feel possible, but now she was facing the impossible without him.
“I’m pregnant.” Admitting the words out loud, even if it was just a whisper, made them all the more real.
“Oh, honey.” Laura hugged her harder, and Kate laid her head on Laura’s shoulder and wept. She had been wrong, there were so many tears left to cry and now they were staining the soft fabric of Laura’s sweater.
The two of them sat there as the sun set, casting the room in darkness, until Laura peeled Kate off the floor and gently wiped her face with a cloth, leading her out to settle on the couch, where she covered her in a blanket.
“He’s gone,” Kate whispered.
“I kind of figured,” Laura replied gently, tucking her feet underneath her as she sat down.
“I don’t know what I’m going to do.”
“What do you want to do?”
“I wish I knew. I always wanted a family of my own. A do-over.”
Laura knew the situation with Kate’s own family, so she merely nodded, encouraging Kate to speak.
“Part of me, despite how I may look right now, is happy. A baby is a blessing, of course. But Emile is gone. What do I do about that?”
Could she raise the baby on her own? And if she did, what would that mean? She had no way to contact Emile now that he had left the country but the baby was half his, and he deserved to know. The baby would deserve to know his father. And that was without the added complication that his father was the prince of a European country and that would mean that they were in line for the throne. Kate’s head reeled with the possibilities.
“You don’t have to decide today, okay? We’ll figure it out tomorrow.”
We.
Kate wasn’t alone. She had Laura. She had Miller Springs. Maybe, just maybe, it would all be okay.
CHAPTER25
KATE
Kate had had to make some big decisions in her life. Running away from home as a teenager. Settling in Miller Springs. Taking ownership of the cafe. She had rarely hesitated, knowing her own mind and what she thought was best for herself. But, she couldn’t decide what to do now. The path in front of her was so murky, and every time she thought she had landed on a way forward, she started to doubt herself and ended up right back where she started.
“You feeling any better today?” Tom asked, as he sauntered in for his morning coffee.
Kate was grateful for the routine of the cafe, even as the rest of her life felt off-kilter. People still needed coffee. They still needed pancakes. They were going about their lives as if nothing had changed, even though it felt like the whole world had imploded around her, and it gave her something to hold onto when she felt adrift.
“I’m not too bad today, thanks, Tom.”
Kate had been suffering with nausea ever since she’d found out about the baby. She wasn’t sure if it was morning sickness or just a natural reaction to the turmoil she had found herself in, but it had been hard to hide from everyone so she’d just embraced the fact that everyone knew everyone’s business in Miller Springs.
The word that she was pregnant and that Emile had left had spread like wildfire, and although she had braced herself for commentary, all she had been shown was kindness. It seemed as if everyone wanted to check in on how she was, and no one had pressed her for more details about her relationship with Emile, or what she was planning to do.
That didn’t mean she wasn’t thinking about it every moment of every day. Even with what felt like the whole town invested in her wellbeing, she felt so alone in making the decision about what to do with Emile. Although she didn’t have a direct way to contact him, she knew where he lived and there surely had to be a way to get in touch. But did she even want to? Would it be more painful if she reached out and he never responded or acknowledged their baby? That didn’t feel like something Emile would do, but she was questioning everything.
“Kate, darling, I’m here to relieve you of duty.” Charlotte bustled her way into the cafe right on time, as pristine and efficient as she always was. The women in Kate’s book club had rallied around her, bringing endless casseroles which she couldn’t face eating, and volunteering to help her at the cafe now that she was, once again, without help.
“Thank you, I really appreciate it.” Kate hung up her apron, glancing down at where a bump was just starting to show. Another reminder that this was all real. She dropped her hand onto her stomach, marveling that there was a little life growing underneath her palm.
“Oh, look at you! I want to be the first to see the scan pictures.” When Kate looked back up, Charlotte was beaming at her. “This is so exciting.”
It was exciting. Kate allowed herself a small moment to remember the good thing that was happening. Even without Emile, she was going to have a baby and that was something that she had always wanted.
“Thank you for the reminder. And for covering for me.”
