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With the pasta draining, she stepped over to the slow cooker to check on the marinara and meatballs. She’d put that together this morning, in anticipation of Ted and Emma bringing their baby back to the ranch today.
Everything looked ready in the slow cooker, and she took out her phone and sent a text to the group string.Dinner’s ready. Come when you can. There’s plenty for all.
Before she knew it, the back door opened, and voices filled the space. Hannah scurried about getting down plates and setting out forks. She opened three bags of Caesar salad and mixed it all up.
Ginger came to stand beside her. “This looks amazing, Hannah.” She put her arm around her shoulder, and Hannah grinned at her. She leaned into her friend’s hug, because she enjoyed the human touch.
“This is going to be you in a month.”
Ginger put her hand on her very pregnant belly and smiled. “Maybe.”
“Maybe?” Hannah asked. “What do you mean?”
Anxiety blipped in Ginger’s eyes. “I just mean…I’m silly, of course.” She tried to laugh, but it honestly sounded like a strangled croak. “Most women survive childbirth. Heck, Emma’s done it twice.”
“Survive childbirth?” Hannah stared at Ginger, trying to make her words like up. “You’re worried you won’t survive?”
Ginger swallowed. “It’s irrational, I know. Some people do die giving birth.”
“Ginger, you’re going to be at the hospital,” Hannah said in a firm voice. “There will be a lot of doctors and nurses, and you’re going to be fine.”
The redhead nodded, and Hannah couldn’t quite believe the normally strong, powerful, and knowledgeable woman was scared of having a baby. She wanted to wrap Ginger in a tight hug and reassure her over and over.
“Hey, beautiful,” Nate said, sweeping his arm around Ginger and stealing her away. He surely told her she’d be fine, and Hannah understood having unexplained fears. After all, she lived in fear every day that she’d never find the right man for her, no matter how many dates she went on and how many men she went out with.
“All right,” Jill said, setting a huge tray of garlic bread on the counter. “Quiet down. Quiet!”
The chatter in the house stopped then, because Jill had a loud voice and a fun, vibrant personality. Everyone loved her, and she loved everyone she met. She and Slate Sanders, Luke’s best friend, had gotten engaged just before Christmas, and Jill wanted a spring wedding with a lot of flowers. Bluebonnets, poppies, lilies, roses, daisies, everything. Those had been Jill’s words.
They’d selected a date in late April, to make sure both babies had come, and that life would be somewhat normal before Slate and Jill left the ranch for their honeymoon. The time between seasons was one of the busiest, but Ginger had assured Jill that she could have her spring wedding.
Hannah wanted her to have it, even if it made her throat tighten and squeeze as if she’d swallowed a capful of vinegar.
“All right,” Jill said, looking at Hannah. She smiled and nodded, as if to say,Go on, now. Tell ‘em what we’ve got.
Hannah smiled back at her, feeling the world narrow. Jill still lived in the West Wing, but in just two more months, she’d be gone. Only Hannah would be left, and she wasn’t sure she could survive in the huge house alone.
She’d told herself over and over that her friends lived nearby. Heck, Ginger and Emma lived in cabins only a hundred yards from the West Wing. Jess and Dallas lived in town, but it only took ten minutes to get there. Jill and Slate had claimed a cabin too, and Hannah wouldn’t truly be alone.
She would be, though, and she knew it.
Talk about irrational fears, she thought just before opening her mouth. “It’s nothing fancy, but one of Ted’s favorite foods is spaghetti and meatballs, and I’ve heard Emma say more than once that she could eat garlic bread for every meal.” She smiled at her friend, working hard to keep the emotion out of her voice.
“I added the salad just to pretend like we’re going to be healthy around here.” She smiled at the group of cowboys and cowgirls who’d come in off the ranch, as well as all the women who’d once lived right here in the West Wing.
“Come eat,” she said in conclusion, and the noise swelled again.
Hannah got out of the way, because she never led the group through the line. Rather, she’d go nearly last just to make sure the food didn’t run out.
Jill kept the garlic bread coming, and Hannah opened a couple more bags of salad before she picked up a plate. The tangy, salty scent of her grandmother’s marinara met her nose, and a smile graced her face. She twisted a beautiful pile of spaghetti on her plate and added three meatballs.
She’d skip the salad if it didn’t fit on her plate, and for today, she wouldn’t feel bad about it. She had a body-shaper and a couple of pairs of pants that slimmed her as well.
Hannah turned toward the large dining room table and stepped toward an open spot. The noise swelled, and Ted and Nate both stood at the same time.
“There he is,” Ted boomed, his loud laugh joining the fray of sound. He looked past Hannah to someone over her shoulder, and Nate laughed too.
Slate twisted and looked, and he got up too, saying, “Luke. You made it.”
Luke.
Hannah’s heart leapt into the back of her throat, and while every system in her body sped up, she seemed to be moving very slowly. Her legs trembled, and her hands shook, and as she turned around, she dropped her plate of spaghetti.
The shattering of the plate silenced everyone, and about that same second, Hannah’s eyes met Luke’s.
Lightning struck her from head to toe, and then Slate swooped in between her and Luke, hugging his best friend and breaking the connection she’d always felt to the sexy cowboy ex-con.
