Behind the bar, Raymond saw her looking around and raised his eyebrows.
She shook her head; they didn’t need anything.
The bartender was such a sweetie. When Frankie told Bull to take the night off so she could get drunk and he wouldn’t hear her complain—or boast—about him, Raymond had volunteered to work.
Poor guy.
After a dramatic pause, Tina yelled out the joke’s punch line, and her audience burst into laughter. The postmistress pounded the table in approval.
Audrey tried not to pout. The party would sure be more fun if she could drink too.
“Hey, Audrey, have you and Gabe set a date, yet?” EmmaJean, the B&B owner, asked.
“We just did, actually.” Audrey smiled. “It’ll be at the beginning of November so I’ll be past morning sickness.”
“Ah.” Frankie smirked. “You want to be able to enjoy your honeymoon.”
Audrey felt her cheeks heat. Because…Gabe. “Um, yes?” She grinned. “A tropical beach has been mentioned.”
Beverly, the midwife, sighed. “I love beaches.”
She was echoed by Glenda, one of the owners of the arts and crafts store.
“Most excellent planning,” Lillian said. “Tourist season will be over, and JJ can easily handle the police work.”
“Speaking of our fine police officer, where is she?” Charlotte, the other store owner, asked.
Audrey flushed. JJ’d told Gabe he couldn’t work tonight…so he and Audrey could have their own private celebration after the party.
She had the best friends.
“JJ doesn’t get off duty until midnight,” Frankie said. “If we’re still here, she’ll join us.”
“That’s only half an hour away.” Kit snorted. “And it doesn’t look as if we’re quitting anytime soon.”
“This is such a blast, having a women’s night out. I hope we do it more often,” Tina, Chevy’s wife said. “Audrey’s book clubs are amazing, but there isn’t any alcohol. And men attend.”
“At the moment, the romance book club is all women,” Audrey said. Not that it was a rule, but that was how it’d turned out.
“You can thank me for that. Knox wanted to join the romance one to pick up sexy ideas.” Erica giggled. “I told him no.”
“Wise decision, my dear.” Lillian pursed her lips. “Comparing book boyfriends to real-life ones can leave a man with a lifelong inferiority complex.”
Regina barked a laugh. “No guy can compete with a book boyfriend.”
Irene, the postmistress, snorted. “My sweet husband is the love of my life, but I’m afraid his big chest descended to his belly many years ago.”
“My ex wasn’t so sweet.” Glenda wrinkled her nose. “He’d eat garlic cloves just so he could breathe on me.”
“That’s truly vile,” Lillian stated. “You were wise to discard such a foul deformity of nature.”
Audrey grinned. The mayor’s Shakespearean insults were as fun as Frankie’s Italian ones—and didn’t require a translation dictionary.
“Oh, man, talk about vile? Last night, Chevy let out this huge fart. I almost pushed him out of bed and ran away to Cold Creek.” Tina made a humming sound. “I could sure use me some hot panther shifters. Mrow.”
Everyone at the table burst out laughing and shouted out names of their favorite heroes. Calum. Ian. Adam.
Sipping her alcohol-less drink, Audrey looked around the table. These women were present simply to celebrate her baby-to-come. In one year, she’d gained more friends—and family—than ever before. Her eyes burned.
Leaning in, Kit rubbed her shoulder. “Are you okay?”
That did it. Tears filled her eyes and overflowed. “I’m just so happy, and you are all here, and you mean so much to me.”
Why in the world was she crying? Horrified, Audrey covered her face. “Sorry!”
“No, no.” Laughing, Kit gave her a quick hug. “You’re just getting the full effect of pregnancy hormones, my almost-sister.”
Audrey wiped her eyes. “Seriously?” She obviously needed to research the heck out of pregnancy.
“Oh, yes. Mood swings are a thing.” With a wry smile, Sarah raised her glass. “With each child, I had such a temper Uriah was sure I was incubating demons. Especially after I slammed the oven door so hard his bread fell.”
Tina giggled. “When I was pregnant with Niko, I totally craved tortilla chips and salsa. Chevy even drove through a blizzard to get some. My whining was just that bad.”
“No, child.” Lillian gave a nod of approval. “Your whining was most effective. And good husbands are susceptible.”
“Not Gabe. He’d never…” Audrey bit her lip. “No, actually, he probably would drive through a blizzard to get me something.”
On her other side, Frankie nodded. “Of course he would. He adores you.”
Oh great, more tears. Sniffling, Audrey wiped her face, then shot Frankie a glare. “You just had to say that.”
The New Yorker smirked. “And I’m sooo going to tell him how you reacted.”
“I’m rethinking my gratitude for you all,” Audrey muttered—and grinned as they laughed.
At the Hermitage, Hawk glanced around the gazebo. Interesting evening. The kids were in bed, and the gazebo was filled with his brothers along with Dante, Knox, and Chevy whose women were at Audrey’s celebration.
Leaning forward, Hawk warmed his chilled fingers at the fire pit. In his lap, Sirius gave him an affronted stare before settling back to sleep. Damn cat.
On the other side of the fire, Bull pulled his jacket closed. “Feels like winter will be early this year. But we’re ready.”
“The woodshed is almost full,” Caz agreed.
They all liked being prepared, but Mako’s survivalist preparations especially suited Hawk. His parents had often punished him by locking him up without food for a couple of days. He’d learned to keep a hidden stash of food.
Fingers now warm, Hawk sat back in his chair, jostling the cat again, and earning another stare. “Food storage is almost finished.”
With everyone working, they had a good haul of salmon—smoked, canned, and in the freezers. Berries had been frozen or made into jam. Garden produce was getting put up. Bull and Frankie had made up spaghetti sauce and canned it for quick meals.
The apple trees Mako had planted years ago should yield a good harvest in September. Finally. As with most fruit trees, apples didn’t particularly like Alaska.
They’d do some hunting to top things off.
“We’re about ready too. A moose in the freezer would help.” Chevy glanced at Gabe and added hastily, “once the season opens.”
Gabe grinned. Poaching in the area decreased after he took over as police chief.
Smiling, Hawk picked up his mug of hot chocolate that, unfortunately, lacked rum. But he’d lost the rock, paper, scissors game and was designated driver to retrieve Kit, Audrey, and Frankie from the roadhouse later. JJ, too, if she joined them after her shift. His pickup would be filled with drunken women.
Or maybe not. Kit said she never had more than two, and Audrey wouldn’t be drinking.