Beth laughed so hard she snorted. "I already love Maeve, and I've never met her. Was she in apron or full battle mode?" I'd told her all about Chance's endearing cousin but not about Chance himself.
"Both. She practically vibrated the lectern."
For a moment, the only sound was Gerty's dry cackle and Beth's soft, rolling giggles. The tension in my neck actually eased a bit.
Laurel Gap's only stoplight flashed yellow, empty. I pulled onto my street, the headlights cutting between black trees. Inside, everything was warm and bright. Outside, it was nothing but wind and rain.
I turned off the car, yanked my keys out, and let the call switch to the phone automatically. I tucked the phone under my chin, juggled my folder, and unlocked the door.
Beth was still going. "Carter is determined to bring Huey a Santa hat, by the way. He swears it'll make him an internet star."
I laughed, but it came out shaky. "Huey would probably eat it."
Gerty cleared her throat. "Beth, give me a break. Tash is not okay. You haven't listened to a thing we said since you got in."
Damn it. Caught.
I set the folder on the counter and stared at my hands. Even my skin buzzed. I could just hear the girls moving around in their rooms upstairs, so I didn't bother them yet.
"Are you going to tell us what's wrong," Gerty prodded, "or do I need to drive up there with a lie detector and a case of vodka?"
"Did something more happen at the meeting?" Beth asked.
I took a breath. It was time to fess up. "No," I said. "Not about SkyArc. It's the twins. I… Okay. This is not a drill. I found their father."
The air sucked out of the room. Even from two towns away, Beth and Gerty went dead silent.
"What?" Beth squeaked, volume rising.
Gerty practically yelled, "I fucking knew it. I could tell something was up."
I unloaded everything. No edits, no drama filter, just everything I could think of in one big rush. "His name is Chance Meyer. We met in college, one wild night, then he vanished. I tried to find him for years. His mother told me he was sterile, and said there was no possible way the girls were his."
"Yeah," Gerty interrupted. "We knew that part. We were there, remember?"
"Right, but the thing is, his mother, Livia, lied to both of us. He never knew about the pregnancy. When I moved back here, I found him. He works at the bakery. Co-owns it with Maeve, actually. He lost his mind when he saw me, and when I told him about the twins? You could've knocked him over with a feather."
Beth actually clapped, full-on, through the phone. "That's so romantic. Like, fate or something!"
Gerty snorted, pure disbelief. "It's risky, is what itis. Do you even know this guy? What if he's nuts or worse?"
I bristled but covered it with a joke. "He bakes. How could he be nuts if he bakes?"
Gerty wasn't letting go. "You're deflecting. You always do this. Do youlovehim?"
My heart went sideways. I slammed a cupboard just to have something to do.
"This isn't about me," I snapped. "It's for the girls. They want to meet him. That's all."
"Keep telling yourself that," Gerty purred. "I give it two months max before you're eating cinnamon rolls off his bare chest."
Beth shrieked with laughter. "Oh my god, stop. Tash can't even make eye contact right now, I bet."
She wasn't wrong. My face might've been red enough to cook an egg. Heat crawled up my throat at how fast one night with him still lit me up.
Gerty backed off, but just a hair. "Are you okay, Tash? Really?"
"Yeah," I said, and this time it wasn't even a lie. "The girls decided to meet him tomorrow. I'm just freaked out about them getting hurt."
