Oh, how naïve she’d been. How blind and stupid.
Bilbo nudged her knee, and she swiped at the side of her mouth as she pushed back from the toilet. She’d been vomiting for nearly half an hour, and there was nothing left. Well, nothing except the nausea.
She tugged at a piece of hair that was stuck to her face and made no effort to stop the tears that slid down her face. She watched them fall and splash onto the floor, When Bilbo nudged her once again, she buried her face in his fur and clung to him until there were no more tears.
“I can’t do this,” she whispered as she finally got to her feet. A haunted face stared back at her from the mirror. It was gaunt and thin and pale and just so incredibly sad.
I can’t do this.
Bilbo barked and cocked his head, his big dark eyes settled on her with an intensity that was almost human. Sometimes at night, when the shadows were long and covered her whole, he looked at her a certain way, and she actually thought he was human. How crazy was that?
He barked again, and she jumped.
“Okay, I know I need to shower and get to the doctor’s.”
An hour later, she at least looked better, more like herself. She was still too thin, but thanks to a smoky eyeshadow pallet and all the other stuff in her makeup bag, her eyes popped, her cheeks glowed, and her lips shone with a soft pink gloss. Her hair was left long. In fact, it had gotten curlier in the last few weeks, and she’d pulled on a pair of jeans that she’d tucked into brown suede boots, and slipped into a black sweater that she practically drowned in. She scooped her purse from the shelf in her closet and headed for the door.
“I won’t be long,” she said, kissing Bilbo’s head before pulling a pair of large sunglasses over her eyes.
She waved to Mr. Bugle, the old man who lived beside her. He was outside, hands on hips, a stern look on his face as he perused his overgrown boxwood hedge, and beside him stood a man who was kind of familiar. He was tall, a few inches over six feet, and dressed in jeans, work boots, and a thick red-and-black-plaid jacket. His hair was long, touching his shoulders, and when he glanced up at Emily, an easy smile lit up his handsome face.
And he was handsome, no way around that, though his nose was crooked as if it had been broken at least once, and he’d not shaved in a few days.
Emily gave a nod before sliding into her car. Her doctor was new to town and practiced in the clinic not far from the golf course on the other side of the lake. Emily was grateful Dr. North had taken her on as a patient, because the receptionist at her old family doctor was notoriously loose with her lips.
By now, the entire town would have known she was pregnant.
Her stomach rolled at the thought as she navigated her way across the bridge that led to River Road, and by the time she reached the clinic, she was once again nauseous and feeling sorry for herself. The nausea passed, but that feeling of sadness stayed with her. She tried like hell to shake it, but Dr. North picked up on it right away.
She looked up from her tablet thoughtfully. “How are you doing Emily?”
“I’m good,” Emily replied, forcing a smile she didn’t feel.
“I don’t think you are. Now I know we haven’t discussed the father, and if he’s not in the picture, that’s okay. A lot of women raise children on their own. I just want to make sure you have a good support network in place.”
“I have friends,” she replied softly. Who I never see, not through any fault of theirs. “And family.” Mom lives in Arizona with her new husband, and Dad is never around. “And a dog.”
“Okay, but don’t be afraid to ask for help if you need it,” Doctor North said, standing up before glancing at her tablet. “Overall, you’re in good health. I’m a little bit concerned about the weight loss. Ideally, you should be gaining at this point. If the vomiting continues, we might have to look at prescribing medication.”
Alarmed, Emily rose. Fire erupted inside as a wave of heat rolled over her. “But the baby?”
“The baby is fine. Try to rest and eat and take your vitamins, and don’t hesitate to call if you’re concerned about anything. I want to see you in ten days, though.”
Emily’s heart dropped, and her doctor smiled gently.
“Don’t be alarmed. Your pregnancy is progressing normally. I just want to keep a close eye until you start feeling better and gaining some weight. Penny will call with the appointment.”
She ran a few errands. Bilbo was nearly out of food and needed his allergy pills refilled, and Emily’s cupboard was almost bare. She headed back to Crystal Lake and the grocery store not far from her home. It was old and family-owned—couldn’t compare in size and scope to the new one on this side of the lake—but Emily knew where everything was, and sometimes the familiar was better than the shiny and new. When she was done there, she stopped by Molly’s vet clinic and managed to grab Bilbo’s food and pills without seeing her friend. Molly was too observant and would know something was up.
By the time Emily got home, it was early afternoon and she was surprisingly hungry. She’d just popped the trunk and was reaching for one of the large bags of food when a noise caught her attention and she glanced over her shoulder. The man from Mr. Bugle’s stood a few feet away, a slow grin touching his mouth.
“You don’t remember me, do you?”
“I…” Emily frowned and shook her head. “Sorry, you look familiar, but I can’t quite place you.”
His grin deepened, and he strode forward, reaching over her to grab the bag and scoop up the others.
“Connor Jenkins.”
Connor Jenkins? The name brought to mind a chubby teenager with bad acne and not much else.
“From high school?”
He nodded. “One and the same.” He winked. “Puberty came late for me. I changed a lot after graduation.”
“I’ll say.” The words fell out of her mouth before she could snatch them back, and, embarrassed, she was about to apologize when he laughed and headed for her front door.
“It’s all right. I’m used to that reaction.”
She followed him with Bilbo’s food and stood back while she unlocked the door. Connor put her bags on the kitchen counter, while Bilbo flopped down and rolled onto his back, immediately begging for a belly scratch.
“I was sorry to hear about Rick,” Connor said when he straightened, voice subdued. “He was a good guy.”
“He was,” Emily murmured, not in the mood to talk about her dead husband. “So what happened to you after graduation? Where’d you end up? As you can tell, I never left Crystal Lake.”
“I joined the forces became a SEAL and…” His features tightened as a dark shadow crossed his face. He cleared his throat. “I’m taking some time to figure out my next move. Got a job working for Cam Booker, so that keeps me busy, though my dad isn’t too happy about it. He’d rather I put on a suit and tie and take up the family business.”
“Real estate, isn’t it?” Jenkins Real Estate was one of the largest outfits in the state.
Connor nodded. “I’m not a suit-and-tie guy, and he doesn’t quite get it.” He shoved his hands into his pockets, and a few moments of silence fell between them. “I should go.”