Light Her Fire (Private Pleasures 2)

Guilty. “There is nothing dreamy about this situation.”

“I know you well enough to realize a part of you just planned a perfect autumn wedding at Bluelick Baptist, bought a big house on Edgemont, and picked out nursery furniture.”

“You couldn’t be more off base.”

Ginny gave her a “yeah, right,” look and she caved. “Okay, I planned a small backyard wedding, and bought your grandma’s old cottage on Overlook Road.” She knew her smile fell flat, but Ginny returned it sympathetically.

“The cottage is a wreck, honey.”

“Hey, it’s my happily-ever-after fantasy, and in my fantasy, Josh and I fix the place up—turn it into the kind of home your grandfather envisioned when he built it.”

“That’s the sweetest thing I’ve ever heard. But do me a favor, Mel. Leave some wiggle room in your happily ever after for Josh’s wish list, too. Whatever you and Josh work out will likely involve some compromise. Taking some old fantasy of your perfect future, tweaking a few details, and swapping Roger out for Josh isn’t fair to either of you.”

“I’m not.” Was she? Possibly, a rational voice at the back of her mind admitted. At the very least she was ignoring the facts. Josh wasn’t interested in settling down, and even if unintentionally becoming a father changed that, a pretty white cottage in Bluelick wouldn’t be his definition of happily ever after. She pressed her fingers to her temples and rubbed, hoping to ease the pressure building behind her eyes. “My fantasies—whatever they are—don’t alter reality. And accidentally getting pregnant with the man I’ve been involved with for a matter of weeks is a pretty daunting reality.”

“All right. I hear that, but here’s some more reality for you. You’d make a great mom. You’ve wanted to be one forever. Hell, you showed up on the first day of preschool with a doll baby in a stroller. Come high school, you were the busiest babysitter in town, and you’re amazing with your nieces. You’re a natural for the gig. Got it?”

She nodded, then reached out and hugged her friend. She loved Ginny like a sister, but she knew her like one, too. The girl had a mouth and she liked to run it. Not necessarily a bad thing. Thanks to Ginny’s talkative tendencies, the entire town bought into the phony rumor about the reason for her and Roger’s breakup. But this wasn’t something she wanted to share with the whole town. “Please, please don’t say anything to anyone.”

Ginny returned the hug. “I won’t. Believe it or not, I know when to keep my mouth shut. Every word of this conversation stays in the vault. I promise.”

She tightened her hold. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. Now”—she drew back and pointed to the door—“seems like we both need to pay a visit to Dalton’s.”

“I can’t buy a pregnancy test at Dalton’s! I do that and I might as well tattoo ‘I could be pregnant’ on my forehead and walk down Main.” She eyed Ginny. “You buy it.”

“Me? Hell no. I’m contemplating running for mayor. Sorry, but I can’t march into Dalton’s and buy a pregnancy test.”

“All right. All right. But you better actually run for mayor.”

“Doesn’t Ellie have tests at the office?”

“I’m not going to steal a test from work.”

“You’re not stealing it. You’re just…borrowing it.”

“I’m not borrowing it. Nobody wants it back once I’m done, and I wouldn’t feel right about taking office supplies unless I asked her first. She’s probably hot and heavy with Tyler by now. I’m not interrupting her evening to beg a pregnancy test off her.”

“Well, who can we get to buy it? I need to know…I mean, you need to know your status right away.”

Melody racked her brain, but there was really only one answer. She reached into her purse and found her phone, and hit the pre-programmed number. A deep voice was already answering by the time she brought it to her ear.

“Roger, I need a favor.”

Chapter Fifteen

Melody filed the last patient chart and closed the cabinet as Ellie wandered up. “Ugh. It’s still only Monday, right?”

“Right.” She slid her hands over her skirt, mostly to dry her sweaty palms, and smiled. No need to be nervous. Her relationship with Ellie had smoothed out nicely now that Roger’s secret wasn’t wedged between them. He’d come out to Ellie as soon as he’d returned from vacation, and as far as Melody could tell, Ellie had barely blinked. Whether the petite brunette knew it quite yet or not, she was totally wrapped up in Tyler Longfoot, and had been from pretty much the moment she’d returned home to Bluelick. “The good news is you’re officially done for the day.”

Ellie smiled and tipped her head to the side to stretch her neck. “You say that like there’s bad news to follow.”

Ellie was a perceptive woman. “I have kind of a personal medical consultation to beg from you.”

She straightened. “Absolutely. What’s up?”

The immediacy of Ellie’s reply, and the sincere concern brimming in her big brown eyes, calmed the worst of Melody’s nerves. “My hCG. That’s what’s up.”