Firefly Lane (Firefly Lane 1)

She moved into the circle of his arms, loving the feel of him against her.

All around them, people stepped back, making room for the newly-weds to dance. She could feel them watching, smiling, saying how romantic the song was and how beautiful the bride looked.

It was the Cinderella-at-the-ball moment that Kate had dreamed of all her life. "I love you," she said.

"Youd better," he whispered, kissing her gently.

When the song ended, the audience burst into applause. Champagne glasses were raised alongside bottles of beer and cocktail glasses; guests shouted, "To the Ryans!"

It wasnt until the tail end of the most magical of nights that Kates smile first left her. She was at the bar, getting another glass of sparkling cider and talking to her Aunt Georgia, when it happened.

Later, over the years that followed, especially in troubled times, shed wonder why she looked up at precisely that instant, or why, with all the people in the room, dancing and talking and laughing, shed had to look up at just that moment to see Johnny, standing all by himself, sipping a beer.

And looking at Tully.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

I dont know who writes these directions, but I dont think the assholes speak English. "

Kate smiled and stepped cautiously down the ladder. They were in the downstairs bedroom of the houseboat, readying the nursery. She could tell that Tully was about thirty seconds away from throwing the screwdriver at the freshly painted wall. "Let me look at the sheet. "

From her place in the middle of the floor, surrounded by piles of white sticks and boards and groupings of screws and washers, Tully held up the long, wrinkled piece of paper. "Be my guest. "

Kate studied the ridiculously complicated directions. "We start with that long flat piece. It dovetails into that piece, see? Then you screw that part on there . . . "

For the next two hours, they sat or stood, hunkered together and hunched over, putting together the most complicated crib of all time.

When it was done, and tucked in place against the sunshine-yellow wall with the Winnie-the-Pooh border, they stood back and admired it. "What would I do without you, Tully?"

Tully put an arm around her. "Thankfully youll never have to know. Come on, Im making margaritas. "

"I cant drink. You know that. "

Tully grinned at her. "My deepest apologies for that, but youll notice that I have no bun in the oven. I dont believe Im within eight hundred miles of a bun, in fact. So, not only can I have a margarita, but after putting together that crib—a job which, I might add, is totally Johnnys and in fact required a scrotum to complete in less than a full day—I deserve a margarita. And you, O fattening one, can have a virgin drink. Ironic, dont you think?"

Arm in arm, they went to the kitchen and made the drinks. All the way there, and back to the living room, where they sat in front of the fire, they talked. About little things, mostly—the speeding ticket Tully got last week, Seans new girlfriend, the class Mom was taking at the local community college.

"Whats it like," Tully asked when Kate got up to put a log on the fire, "being married?"

"Well, its only been three months, so Im hardly an expert, but so far its great. " She sat back down and put her feet on the coffee table, resting her hand on the barely noticeable bump of her stomach. "Youll think Im crazy, but I love the routine, the way we have breakfast together, each reading our own stuff; I love that hes the first person I see every morning and that he kisses me goodnight before I fall asleep. " She smiled at Tully. "But I miss sharing a bathroom with you. Hes constantly moving my stuff and putting it away—and then he forgets where he put it. How about you, Tully? Hows life in our old apartment?"

"Lonely," Tully said, shrugging and smiling as if she didnt care. "Im getting used to it again. "

"You can call anytime, you know. "

"And I do. " Tully laughed and poured herself a second margarita. "Have you guys figured out the plan for life after my godchilds birth? Will they let you have a few weeks off?"

This was the subject Kate had tried to avoid. Shed known what she wanted to do from the moment Johnny had married her, but she hadnt had the courage to tell Tully. She took a deep breath. "Im quitting. "

"What? Why? Theyve got you on the best accounts, and you and Johnny are making good money. Its 1987 for crying out loud. You dont have to quit your job to be a mother. You can hire a nanny. "

"I dont want someone else raising this baby. At least not until kindergarten. "

That got Tully on her feet. "Kindergarten? What is that, eight years?"

Kate smiled at that. "Five. "

"But—"