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Cadence waited for Emily to finish up at the bag check before seizing her arm. She’d have her friend smiling in no time. She launched into a volley of questions: “What are you up to? I’m dying to hear how you’ve been. Where have you been hiding yourself?”
“Harvest Ranch.”
Cadence’s nose wrinkled.Where is that?
Emily laughed. “Oh, it’s really small, but beautiful. My brother met his wife there.”
Oh wow! The famous River Mackenzie had found love? No one besides Cadence and Emily could possibly know what a miracle that was. The two were in their last year of college when Emily’s country singing brother had wrapped his Ferrari around a telephone pole in a drunk-driving accident.
Poor Emily was beside herself. Cadence had held her in the waiting room at the ER, trying to help her friend figure out how to reach her brother. She knew too much about the harm caused by drug and alcohol abuse because of the homes where she’d stayed in the foster care system. Strangely, because of her own pain, she could help Emily.
“You’ve got to be tough,” Cadence had said. “You have to lay it all out on the table. He’s going to fight you. He’s going to try to talk his way out of this like he’s done every time, but he’s at his lowest point and you’ve got to reach him now when he just might listen. I know it’s hard. You’re going to feel cruel because he’s hit rock bottom, but you have to say it how it is. It’s the only way to save his life.”
And it had worked! River was alive to talk about his recovery. It sounded like he was happy in this quiet town.
Emily’s brother had turned his life around… and so had Cadence. She’d come a long way from her foster home days. Life was beautiful, wasn’t it?
“It’s a great place to raise a family then?” Cadence asked.
“Oh, definitely!” Emily seemed more relaxed when she was talking about Harvest Ranch. She must really love it there. “It’s so pretty. Lots of green pastures. And this time of year, the mountains are perfect for hiking. The people there are so friendly… just like the country songs say they are.”
Cadence giggled, suddenly realizing that there was something more for her friend than just a cute little town. “What about the men? You got anyone special over there?”
Emily reddened and Cadence hid a smile.
Called it!
“No one special… exactly,” Emily said. Typical Emily. She was always too shy to admit her true feelings. “I mean, there’s a family of really nice guys.” She hesitated and then grinned sheepishly. She must’ve felt Cadence’s teasing gaze on her. There was too much history between them to keep anything back. “They have twins,” she admitted.
“Twins?” Here it was.
“Yes, very attractive twins—too attractive, if you ask me. One of them is here in Nashville. I haven’t seen him yet, but…”
Cadence noticed Lacy standing behind Emily’s shoulder. He was talking to investors, but she knew the moment that Lacy realized she was nearby, too, because he stole a long glance at her. His brown eyes melted into hers, and for the first time since suspecting this surprise pregnancy, she really breathed.
He’d do the right thing by her. He loved her. He’d love this baby.
She bit her lip. Cadence had never been so sure of anything in her life, but she still would feel better if she talked to him as soon as possible. She needed some reassurance.
“… Anyway, you’d love it.” Cadence caught the tail end of what Emily saying. She noticed that Emily was now watching her with concern. “You should come and visit. Take a break from your job. I bet it’s exhausting.”
“It is.” But for a completely different reason than Emily would ever know.
Cadence felt tired, veryverytired.
“You know!” Emily’s eyes sparked with sudden excitement. “I won’t be there for the next few months, but… Hey! You look like you could use a break.”
Had Cadence really been so transparent? She tried to adjust her expression to more indifference.
Emily seemed to see right through her. “My apartment is adorable. It’s just above the soap shop where I used to work sometimes—Sudz. It’s really cute, too. Makes the apartment smell amazing.”
Cadence glanced back at Lynch. He was drifting away from her. Her stomach lurched like it moved everywhere he was.
“The point is,” Emily said with eyes steady on her, “that if you ever find that you need a vacation away from it all, come housesit or something, I’d love for you to water the plants while I’m away. But… yeah…”
Cadence swung back to her in time to catch this touching offer. Her skin tingled with sudden warmth. What was she so worried about? Cadence could never forget that she had friends who loved her. If things went south, she was no longer that fragile, unlovable child that she once was.
And if everything went well when she talked to Lynch today? She could still visit Emily for arealvacation. She needed one… and carrying a baby would be exhausting. She already felt bone weary. Cadence’s secret trembled over her lips, but she stopped herself before she told Emily that she was pregnant. No! There was someone else who needed to hear it first.
