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There technically wasn’t one in Snowy Pine Ridge, but there was one in the next town over. It was bigger, but not by much. But at least their hospital was state-of-the-art, and once they hit the highway, it only took them about twenty minutes to arrive. The entire time, Lacy was practicing her breathing and talking to her stomach, commanding the baby to stay exactly where it was until they got to their destination.
The baby, thankfully, obliged. The moment they arrived at the hospital, all four adults exited the car and made their way through the front door, Lacy refusing to allow anyone to fuss over her. But when the nurse at the welcome desk saw her walk in, taking note of her protruding belly and the wet spot on her jeans, she immediately knew what was happening.
Zach felt like he’d only had enough time to blink before Lacy was being loaded into a wheelchair, which she initially tried to shrug off but the nurse insisted, and then she and Derek disappeared behind the door that led to the labor unit.
Colette turned to face him, her eyes still wide with the exciting turn the day had taken.
“I guess now we wait,” she said, nodding her head toward the area filled with chairs, magazines, and TVs.
They curled up in two seats that were side by side, with Colette resting her head on his shoulder as she watched theFrosty the Snowmanmovie playing on the television in front of them.
“You know,” Zach said, unable to stop the smirk from spreading across his lips. “This town isn’t nearly as boring as I thought it’d be.”
Colette snorted but didn’t say anything else as she snuggled deeper against his shoulder. A sense of certainty and clarity rushed through him, as he glanced from Colette to the TV, and thought of what was happening with Derek and Lacy somewhere in the hospital. Or maybe it was the feeling of comfort, the kind that roots itself into your soul. The kind that only come from being home.
They didn’t say anything else after that, opting instead to stay nestled together in the waiting room of the hospital, finding comfort in the others presence as they waited for a new life to be brought into the world.
CHAPTERTWENTY-SIX
The bell above the door to Sweet Thing Bakery chimed merrily, pulling Sarah out of her thoughts as she whirled to face the entrance and see who had walked in. Colette was smiling at her from the doorway. She looked tired, but also so happy that it was coming off of her in waves.
“The baby is here,” Colette said in lieu of greeting, and her body was practically vibrating with the force of her joy.
Sarah’s eyebrows pulled together in confusion. “What?”
“The baby,” the other woman announced, finally arriving at the counter. “Derek and Lacy’s baby. Little Miss Piper Lee.”
It all clicked for Sarah then, and she decided to blame the lapse on the amount of baking she had done the last few days. Her heart leapt with excitement and love as the news settled in, and she stared at her friend with a smile.
“That’s a beautiful name,” Sarah mused. “How is everyone?”
“Tired. Understandably so. But they’re so, so good. Momma and baby are both happy and healthy. And Derek is over the moon.”
“Exactly how I expected them to be.” Sarah smiled softly at the picture forming in her head, showing Lacy, Derek, and their brand-new baby all smiling at one another. “Was it just you at the hospital?”
The other woman shook her head. “We were all at brunch together. Me, Lacy, Derek, and Zach when it happened. Me and Zach both went to the hospital with them.”
Sarah arched an eyebrow. “And he stayed the entire time?”
Her friend blushed. “He did. He was so great about it too.”
“So things are going well?”
“They are,” Colette started to answer, but she hesitated, seeming to weigh her words before she said them. “I like him a lot. More than I should this early on, if I’m being honest. But the truth is he doesn’t live here. As far as I know, he still plans on going back home, and now that he’s painting again it’ll probably happen sooner rather than later. And I don’t know what that means for us.”
Sarah gave her friend a knowing smile. “I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised when it all works out.”
“And how areyoudoing?” Colette asked after giving her friend a slight roll of her eyes.
“What do you mean?”
“How are things with Mindy? How are you feeling now that the bake-off is over?” Colette prompted.
“Amazing, actually.” Sarah shook her head slightly. “We got the chance to talk quite a bit at the party. I never thought that we’d have so much in common.”
Colette nodded, giving her friend an exhausted but satisfied smile. “Sounds like the start to a beautiful friendship.”
“I think it might be.” Sarah eyed the other woman up and down. “Now let’s get you some caffeine. I love you, but it looks like you need it.”
