We both jump at the honking directly to our right. I turn, prepared to tell off the driver.
Dave and Logan are grinning at us from Logan’s truck.
“Get in,” Dave says with a wave.
“We’re shopping first,” Ginny says.
“We’ll go with you,” Logan says as he hops out and opens the back door for us.
I smile up at him. “Thanks for thinking of this.”
He winks. “I had selfish motives, too, you know.”
“Oh, really?”
He nods as his hand goes to the empty belt loop on my jeans. “We haven’t seen each other much lately.”
“I saw you this morning.”
“Outside of the bar, I mean.”
He’s right. I’ve been working more than normal since my father’s accident last year. I keep saying things will stabilize, but I’m still waiting for that moment.
I lean into Logan’s strong shoulder. “I’ve missed you, too, cowboy.”
As I float lazily down the Guadalupe River with Ginny, Logan, and Dave each on their own separate rafts, Ginny grabs onto my float to hold me back with her.
“What is it, Gin?”
She lowers her voice to a tense whisper. “You were right. Something is going on with me.”
“What is it?”
“I’m pregnant.”
I take one look at Ginny’s wide, horrified eyes and know this was definitely not something she and Dave planned.
Thoughts of Mama’s own unplanned pregnancy with me flood my brain.
“Does Dave know?” I whisper as we continue floating down the river, the sun beating on our heads and the cypress and oak trees passing by as the current carries us along.
“I mentioned it to him. I’m pretty sure he’s in denial.”
I look ahead at Dave laughing with Logan and trying to balance his beer can in the river.
“Look, it floats!” he says.
“Yeah, he’s having a hard time handling it,” Ginny says in a sad voice. “Macey, what’s it like to be a single mother?”
“I wouldn’t know. I’ve never been with child.”
“You don’t need to give birth to be a mother. Come on, everyone knows you raised your three siblings. Your daddy was drunk, and your mama was…busy?”
My jaw tightens defensively.
But I can’t say she’s wrong. I did half-raise my three siblings. More than half, really. Mama kind of dropped off after birth. She loved being pregnant, but those infant and toddler years were a real bitch for Mama.
“You won’t be alone, Gin. Dave has always said he wants to be a daddy.”
