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Lyric almost laughed. “Glad to hear—”
“There she is!” Tess rushed at her with Kyra not far behind. “I hear you have news to share.”
Yes, and the Ladies had practically shared it with the whole café already. Lyric turned to Minnie. “Can we get our coffee to go today?”
“You bet.” The woman scurried away humming the tune to “Chapel of Love.”
“I’ll need the decaf,” Tess called. Then she frowned at Lyric. “Apparently, I missed all the juicy details about you and Thatch. I can’t believe I didn’t pick up on something sooner. I’m usually very observant. I want to know everything right now.”
“We have all afternoon.” And she’d rather not talk about Thatch here. “I thought we could wander through that new consignment shop and maybe check out the boot selection at Ranchers Outfitters.”
“I’m game.” Tess peered over her belly at her tennis shoes. “I feel like my feet have grown three sizes with this pregnancy.”
“Perfectly normal,” Kyra assured her.
“Oh, yes.” Doris had settled herself back on her stool. “With my third baby, I had to buy all new shoes.”
Thank God. Talking about babies and shoes would keep them distracted.
Tess smiled. “I guess there are worse things.”
“Three coffees to go.” Minnie handed Lyric a drink container with three cups. “Decaf’s on the right.”
“Got it.” Tess stole the cup and, after a quick goodbye to the Ladies, the three of them paraded outside.
Spring was Lyric’s favorite time of the year in Star Valley. Most of the snow had melted off the mountainsides, making room for the emerald-green grasses to carpet the landscape. Pops of color dotted the slope with wildflowers that had already begun to bloom. And today, the slight breeze carried the scent of lilacs. The sunshine seemed to have drawn most people outside, luring them to the quaint benches that sat underneath the blossoming ornamental cherry trees lining Main Street. Lyric walked along with her friends smiling at the familiar faces passing by and drew in a lungful of the mountain air before slowly exhaling. “So it would seem the entire town knows about Thatch and me.”
“You had to figure that was going to happen.” Tess slung an arm around her as they meandered down thestreet past the last arched windows of the Meadowlark Café and Hotel. “There’s no hiding anything around here.”
“Thatch sure didn’t seem to mind people seeing you two kiss.” Kyra turned to Tess. “You should’ve seen him smooch her. It was adorable. Very tender.”
If Lyric hadn’t known better, she would’ve agreed. The kiss had shocked her. But instead of wanting to push him away due to the sheer surprise of it, she’d sunk into him, held on to him.
“It’s not fair that I wasn’t there,” Tess whined. “You’re going to have to re-create that for me. Silas and I have had a bet going on how long it would take you two to get together. He said with how stubborn Thatch is, it could be another year, but I said no way.” She pumped a fist in the air. “And I was right.”
“You had a bet?” That revelation was reason 532 this fake relationship had been a bad idea. It seemed everyone in town had been discussing Lyric and Thatch’s future behind their backs. This ruse would only feed those big expectations.
“The bet was just for funsies.” Tess squeezed her hand. “All I really care about is your happiness, of course.”
“That’s good because Thatch and I are just having fun. There’s probably no future there.” Lyric held open the door to the ranching supply store, which also had a nice women’s apparel selection. She might as well start setting the stage for their impending breakup now. Before things got out of hand. “You know me. I like my independence.”
Both of her friends merely laughed.
“That’s what I said too,” Kyra muttered.
Lyric ignored her friend’s teasing. “So how’re you feeling, Tess?” Nothing like an abrupt subject change to steerthe conversation away from things she’d rather not talk about.
“Huge.” Tess’s hand rested on her rounded belly. “But also elated. I mean, I never thought I would get to do this again.” Her eyes got all misty. She might’ve blamed the pregnancy hormones, but Lyric’s eyes were misty too. When her friend’s husband died on a mission in Afghanistan, the light had gone out in Tess’s eyes. Lyric had walked through much of that time with her, helping where she could—taking the girls for an evening, cleaning their house, bringing them meals. In fact, the whole town had come together to get Tess through. And now her friend had her joy back. That kind of restoration was beautiful to see.
Tess paused at the rack of new cowgirl hats. “And pregnancy is way better this time around because I don’t have to drive all the way to Jackson for my appointments, thanks to the clinic.”
Kyra plunked a flowery hat onto her head. “I’ve loved being a part of the journey.”
“I have too.” Lyric removed the hat for her, lest she get any ideas about purchasing the monstrosity. As a transplant from Florida, their friend was still getting the hang of authentic mountain style. “Speaking of, when are you coming for another prenatal yoga session?”
“Soon.” Tess shifted her hips with a wince. “I really need to stretch out. My hips are so tight.”
“Well, you’re welcome anytime.” Lyric spotted a rack of new sunglasses. “Oh, I need some new shades.” She moved in that direction and then stopped suddenly. Elina and Franco stood a few feet away from the display. It appeared they were in the middle of an intense discussion,with hand gestures and everything, but she couldn’t hear what they were saying.
