“Anna,” he called as he practically carried me across my room. “Anna, I need you to get moving.”
I pointed to my dresser. “I need to change my shirt. Can you grab the red one?” He pulled the drawer open and moved clothes around until he found the one I wanted. We had a routine down. If I got vomit on my clothes, he’d get the ones I needed and then leave so I could change. He’d offered to help once, but I drew the line at him seeing me naked.
His left eyebrow drew into a stern upside down V. “Call me when you’re done and I’ll help you up.”
Ten minutes later, the three of us were in the old ranchtruck, with Silas in the driver’s seat, Anna in the middle, and me on the passenger side. Buford was in the truck bed, licking the back window, trying to eat his way through the glass to get to us.
As Silas revved the engine, Anna glanced over at me, worry in her eyes. She squeezed my hand. “Are you okay?”
I nodded, but it clearly did nothing to alleviate her apprehension. Silas watched out of the corner of his eye, concern etched in the lines of his face. Wretching in the bathroom every day, spending half my life exhausted on the couch—it wasn’t normal and Anna knew it. When she asked if I was okay, I knew she was really asking, “Are you going to leave me too?” Maybe it was time to tell more than just Momma.
“Shoot.” Silas had barely gotten the truck in reverse. “I forgot my hat.” He put it back in park.
I pursed my lips and said to Anna, “A cowboy will die if he goes anywhere without his hat.”
She played along. “No cows will be roped, the grass will stop growing, all the equipment will break.”
One half of Silas’s mouth curved up. “Shut it, you two.” He hopped out of the truck and closed the door.
“Arooooo!” Buford barked.
Anna waved at him. “You’re okay, Bu. We’re going to Miss Lisa’s right now to take you home.”
He yipped and his tail wagged.
“Hey.” I poked Anna in the side, causing her to giggle. “You wanna know a secret?”
She sat up and turned to face me, her eyes dancing. “Yes.”
I pressed a hand against my stomach. “I’m going to have a baby. That’s why I’ve been so sick.”
Her mouth dropped and her eyes got huge. “Seriously?” She squealed when I nodded. “Oh my gosh, I can’t believe it, Aunt Lemon. That’s so awesome!” She squeezed me so tight I almost couldn’t breathe. “We’ll be a real family. I’m going tohave a brother or a sister. Wait until I tell Brooklyn.” She pulled out her phone.
A real family? “Wait.” I placed my hand over hers, stopping her from sending out the text. “I’m not telling anyone yet. Silas knows but nobody else. Miss Lisa doesn’t even know. I’m telling her next, but probably no one else until after the first trimester. Can you keep it a secret?” I should have asked that first. “You can’t tell anyone. Not even Brooklyn.” The last thing I needed was a giant Seddledowne-wide game of telephone to get things all jacked up. I’d tell Billy eventually, when I absolutely had to. Hopefully once the divorce was final, if he’d go ahead and sign the dang papers. But I’d do it on my own terms and not through the grapevine.
Anna bounced in her seat and locked her lips with an imaginary key. “Oh my goodness, this is the best news ever. You, me, Uncle Si, and now a baby.”
What did that mean? Did she think it was Silas’s baby? I scowled.
Her nose crinkled. “I guess Billy will be around some too. It’s his baby.”
I exhaled a little. At least she got that part. “It’s going to be harder than you think. Babies cry a lot. I mean, you did anyway.” I pinched her nose lightly. “Your momma and I were so exhausted. But babies are cute, so it makes up for it.”
“It’s okay. Between you and me and Uncle Si, we’ll take turns. You know what Granny always says. ‘Many hands make light work.’”
I didn’t want to kill her elation. I really didn’t. But somehow she’d gotten the idea that Silas was hanging around. Either that or she and I were moving to Wyoming. I wasn’t sure. I just knew she was deeply confused or misinformed. And the longer she carried those ideas around, the harder it would be when Silas left.
“Hey,” I said more seriously. “You know it takes nine months for a baby to be born, right?”
“Bruh. Momma gave me that whole birds and the bees talk back in sixth grade, remember?”
I tilted my head. “Then how do you figure that your uncle will be here when the baby is born?” She knew he had a job in Laramie. He talked about it all the time. Incessantly and annoyingly.
She bit her lips and covered her mouth, her eyes wide, looking ridiculously guilty.
“Anna?”
Her hands fidgeted in her lap. “I maybe, possibly, might be praying every single night for you and Uncle Silas to fall in love.”
