Annette’s frown was back. “Well, I wanted to make myself crystal clear. Because I’m not going out with him, so there is no need for him ever to bring it up again.”
“But… Well, why not give him a chance? That’s all I’m asking. I mean, it’s only dinner. If you don’t have a good time,that’swhen you decide you’re not doing that again.”
“So your question is why didn’t I give him a chance?”
“Yes. That. Exactly.”
“Well, I will tell you why, then. Because there are rules.” Annette smiled serenely.
Riley gulped. “What rules are those?”
Annette looked away. “I’m not going out with him. That’s all anyone needs to know on the subject. Now, please, can we leave it at that?”
Riley longed to keep after her, to beg her to get past the crap in her head and give Miles a chance. But Annette clearly didn’t want to hear it.
With a slow nod, Riley gave in. “Yes, of course. We’ll leave it at that.”
“Excellent.” Rising, Anette held out her arms. Riley went into them, and they shared a quick hug. “Anything else?” Annette asked as they both stepped back.
“Nope. I think I’ll see how things are going at the front desk, then head out for a quick lunch.”
“Enjoy,” said Annette.
Twenty minutes later, as Riley strolled down the street to get a Cobb salad at Henry’s Diner, she couldn’t help but stew a little over Annette’s remark about “rules.” It was no secret that her mother-in-law was conservative. But really, what exactly did Annette mean when she said,Because there are rules?
Did Annette actually believe that a widow should be celibate for the rest of her life? If she did, how would she react when she learned that her widowed daughter-in-law was pregnant by her dear friend and secret lover, Josh?
Riley’s stomach went queasy at the thought—or was that from the baby?
No. Probably not the baby. She’d had very little morning sickness when she was pregnant with Dillon. This time around, she’d ended up hugging the toilet twice but only between her sixth and ninth weeks. No queasiness at all since then.
It did bother her to think that Annette might disapprove of her love affair with Josh—and be upset that Riley was pregnant without a ring on her finger.
Shaking her head, she tried to put any worries about the possibility of conflict between her and her mother-in-law from her mind.
At Henry’s, she skipped the Cobb salad and ordered ginger ale and chicken noodle soup instead. The light meal was soothing to her suddenly iffy stomach, and all of it stayed down.
Sadie Bravo, who owned the diner with her parents and was married to Josh’s older brother, Ty, came by Riley’s small table to say hi. As they chatted about the weather and local goings-on, Riley kept thinking of Annette. And of Josh. She thought about how the people who mattered in her life needed to know that she was having a baby.
She really would have to start telling people.
Soon. Very soon…
* * *
The next morning, Dillon knocked on her bedroom door at five thirty. “Mom! We have to get going! Shane says we have to be there when the fish are biting.” The door opened a crack. “Mom, can I come in?”
She sat up and turned on the lamp. “Come on.”
He came running, scaling the bed and jumping on her. She wrapped him up in a hug, one that he allowed formaybe ten seconds before he started in again about how they had to hurry and get on the way.
“We’re fine,” she reassured him. “Josh said to be there by seven. That’s an hour and a half from now. Plenty of time.”
Dillon wasn’t buying. He narrowed his eyes at her, as though trying to see through her to the truth she was hiding. “You sure, Mom?”
“Absolutely, positively.”
He considered her reply and then shrugged. “Okay, then. But I amsohungry right now.”
