Her Secret, His Child

"And?"

The two women moved in unison to tend to the coffee Jamie had already started. Each with a steaming cup in hand, they stood leaning against opposite counters. Grinning like adolescents.

"Can you believe it?" Karen asked, taking a quick sip. "The idiot's been hoping for another baby for over a year. He just didn't want to pressure me."

"I can believe it."

The other woman looked down, blushing. "He says he loves my body like this."

"I knew he would." Jamie nodded, still grinning. All was well with her vicarious family again.

"And the only reason he quit praising my cooking and stuff around the house was that he thought his praise was upsetting me."

Jamie took a sip of coffee. ' 'Was it?''

TARA TAYLOR QUINN

"Yeah." Karen nodded. "I thought he was humoring me."

"He loves you too much to do that."

"I know." To Jamie's amazement, and delight, Karen blushed again. Her friends must have had some night together.

"He made me feel a lot better about things," Karen confessed, taking another sip of coffee. "About myself. He thinks the crafts I do are great, said he couldn't learn to do them if he had years of lessons."

"I don't doubt it. After all, I saw him try to repair that lawn furniture last summer. You had to throw it out."

Karen laughed delightedly, then ran some potential baby names by Jamie, laughing again as she reported some of Dennis's more obscure suggestions.

"Cornelius?" Jamie repeated the last one. "Was he serious?"

"Yeah, and I can just imagine what the kid's nickname would be."

"

Corny?" Jamie guessed, laughing. "Obviously, naming that baby is something we'll have to do when Dennis is out of town."

"Then it'll have to be quick," Karen set her nearly empty cup on the counter. "He's putting in for a job he's just been offered at the head office in Denver. Says he wants to be home for doctor visits and midnight feedings this time around."

"That's wonderful!" Jamie set her own cup down and gave Karen a big hug. And felt only a little

HER SECRET, HIS CHILD

jealous that life was working out so perfectly for her best friend.

With his resolution of the night before still in mind, Kyle collected Jamie and Ashley just after Kayla had left early Saturday morning. Jamie had suggested a family outing and in spite of the hour, she was all ready for their trip into Denver to attend the Family Fun Festival. She was wearing a lovely off-white pant suit, slacks with a long tunic jacket that belted at the waist. He felt a little underdressed in his black jeans and yellow oxford shirt.

Having had no idea what a Family Fun Festival entailed, Kyle was rather impressed with the more than three hundred booths set up, row upon row, in a large park somewhere in Denver. He'd never been to the area before, wasn't sure he'd be able to make it back there without Jamie's directions, but he liked what he saw.

' 'Let's go there!'' Ashley cried, pointing at some colorful balloons before he'd even parked the T-Bird.

"We'll see it all, honey, as long as you can hold up," Jamie told the child.

Kyle finally found a place and parallel-parked in one try. He wondered if his ladies were impressed with his driving prowess.

"I wanna have my face painted!" Ashley announced.

Jamie turned around and grinned at her daughter. "How do you know they even have face-painting here?"