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“When?”
“It takes a few months, sweetheart,” Nora replied, smoothing her hand over Evie’s hair.
“Is the baby gonna be a boy, like Eli?”
“Maybe. Or maybe it’ll be a girl. It’s too early to tell.”
“What do you think?” asked Lawson, rubbing a comforting hand across Evie’s back.
“It’s not just gonna be me anymore?” she murmured, her eyes growing glassy with tears.
Worried and a little taken aback at her emotional state, Nora held her daughter closer. “I know it was only you and me for a long time, but just because our family is growin’ doesn’t mean I won’t still love you with all my heart. You know that, right?”
Evie nodded, sending a couple alligator tears racing for her chin.
“Oh, baby, don’t be sad. This is happy news.”
“I don’t think she’s sad, songbird,” murmured Lawson as he gently brushed away one of Evie’s tears. Nora watched as he smiled at Evie before he said, “These are happy tears, aren’t they, pretty girl?”
Rather than speak an affirmative, Evie hiccupped as she shed a few more tears, this time wiping at her own cheeks as she offered Lawson a nod.
“Are you excited?”
“Yeah,” she whimpered.
Nora peered down at her daughter then at Lawson, struck by the way he was able to understand her on such an intrinsic level. She felt her own nose start to tingle as her eyes began to burn with tears, her sudden relief and joy more than she could keep contained.
“Are you happy, Evie-B?”
“So happy!”
“You are? Mini-me, you’re gonna make me cry, now.”
Lawson chuckled, the sound low as it rumbled softly from his chest. Both Nora and Evie looked his way as he shook his head. “Lord help me. I’d cherish another girl, but I sure hope it’s a boy.”
This made Nora laugh, and she was quick to wipe away her tears before kissing the side of Evie’s head repeatedly. “Okay. No more tears. How ‘bout we finish our breakfast so we can all get ready to go?”
Evie nodded and didn’t protest in the least when Nora slid their plates together. She accepted the silent invitation to finish the last of her pancake seated in her mother’s lap, for which Nora was grateful.
The next morning, Lawson drove his family to church in the new, black cherry, Chevy Traverse he’d bought for his fiancée. It wasn’t merely his masculinity that had him behind the wheel, but Nora’s insistence that the SUV was so big, shiny, and beautiful, she was afraid to drive it herself. He hoped, after a weekend of riding shotgun, she’d warm up to the fact that her old Honda was gone. If she wanted to get around, she’d eventually have to take full ownership of her new vehicle.
With plenty of good news to share with the rest of the Steele brood, Lawson fought his impatience for the end of mass the entire hour. His anticipation was almost childlike, and he found himself sticking close to Evelyn, their bond that morning fueled by their shared secret. More than once, he caught her eye, eliciting a conspiratorial smile. When he winked at her, she giggled softly. Nora-Jean, who tried to ignore the both of them so as not to encourage their behavior, shook her head every time she heard the sound. Nevertheless, she couldn’t fool Lawson. He knew she was just as excited as they were.
As soon as the procession was over, Evelyn reached for Lawson’s hand, signaling her readiness to finally exit their pew. He engulfed her hand with his own, giving her fingers a squeeze before they took their turn entering the aisle that would lead them out of the church. Much like every other Sunday, the Steeles congregated outside, saying hello to fellow parishioners and friends. Lawson stood with his siblings, Nora, and Mitzi while they waited for Gale and Keaton, who were caught upin conversation with the priest. He was so embedded in their routine and distracted by his simmering excitement, he was completely caught off guard when he heard her voice.
“Lawson?”
His spine grew rigid at the mention of his name from behind him. He knew, without turning around,thatvoice did not belong inthatplace. He thought about the calls he’d ignored, and the text messages he’d deleted and forgotten, all the while avoiding Nora’s gaze. He wasn’t ready for it any more than he was ready to greet the woman at his back.
It was the curious looks he got from Atticus and Justice that forced him to look over his shoulder. When his brown eyes found her stunning blue ones, she smiled. In that single instant, he saw the reason why he was drawn to her in the first place and regretted that he’d ever needed her comfort at all.
He’d never loved her, but he couldn’t deny he’d always thought her beautiful. The combination of her pale skin, her silky, dark hair, and her steel blue eyes was hard to resist. She was tall, like his sister, with a slim build and a generous bust which made her prey in any bar in any town. But why Ashlynn Rodgers was inhistown, he didn’t know.
“Hi,” she murmured.
“Hi. What are you doin’ here?” Lawson asked matter-of-factly.
For reasons unknown to him, this made her smile grow brilliantly. “I’ve been tryin’ to reach you. I thought, short of maybe a banner attached to a plane in the sky, there was only one way I was gonna get your attention. I knew I’d definitely find you here. The Steeles don’t miss church on Sunday.”
