* * *
Over the next several days, Josh made no effort to work things out with Riley. But because their sons were best friends, she did see him several times.
Josh had Shane with him that week. And Shane and Dillon were always pushing for playdates. So Riley dropped Dillon off at Josh’s place. And he took Shane to hers. He always greeted her with a nod and a cool smile. They shared clipped conversations about who would pick up which boy when—and then they went their separate ways.
She thought about him constantly and longed to break the silence between them. But she restrained herself.
The distance between them made her miserable. She wondered how he was doing, if he missed her even half as much as she missed him.
But she also felt that Macy had been right. Josh had asked for space, and it was Riley’s job now to respect his wishes. She would not try to talk to him until he reached out to her.
But he didn’t reach out. As the last few days of April crawled by, she could barely curb her yearning to get on with it, to take the initiative and try to smooth things over.
Shane was with Lenore that week. Riley tried to think positive about that. At least now, when the boys got together, she didn’t have to see Josh, didn’t have to resist the overwhelming need to beg him to talk to her, to please be her friend again.
Instead, she saw Lenore.
Which was fine. She and Lenore got along well enough. No, they’d never been good buddies. Not back seven yearsago when Lenore had moved to town from Missoula and started dating Josh—and not any time since. They played it cordial and friendly with each other, and that worked out pretty well.
On Tuesday morning, Lenore called and asked if she could pick up Dillon at daycare when she went to get Shane. “The two of them can have a couple of hours together here at my place,” she said.
Riley agreed. “I’ll notify Bright Beginnings that he’s going home with you, and then I’ll be at your house to pick him up at five.”
“Perfect. Thank you.”
They said goodbye.
Several hours later, when Riley knocked on Lenore’s door, Shane’s mom answered with a big smile. “The boys are out in the backyard. Come on in, I’ll get Dillon for you…” Right then, Lenore’s gaze shifted downward. When she jerked her eyes up again, she gulped.
Riley pretended she hadn’t noticed Lenore’s stunned reaction. Yeah, okay. With this second baby, Riley’s bump had appeared sooner. The last couple of weeks it was getting close to impossible to hide.
But now didn’t really seem like the moment to tell Josh’s former wife that she was having his baby. So she said nothing. Because, come on. Shouldn’t Josh be the one to explain the situation to his ex?
“I’ll just wait here,” Riley said, blasting a fake smile to rival Lenore’s.
“Uh, sure. One minute, then.” Lenore left the door open and headed toward the back of the house.
Riley stood there fuming. Because now she was furious—at Josh. Okay, yeah. He’d needed space. But elevendays of space? This was getting ridiculous. She and Josh had to talk. Not next week or the week after.
Now.
“Mom!” Dillon came at her, red-cheeked and grinning with Shane right behind him. “We were playing T-ball. You have to see me. I can really hit that ball!”
“Next time,” she promised. “You have all your things?”
He was dragging his pack. “Right here.”
“What do you say?”
He turned to Lenore. “Thank you, Lenore. I had bunches of fun and the Hot Pockets were great!”
“You are so welcome.” Lenore ruffled his hair and then aimed another fake smile at Riley. “He’s always a delight.”
“Thank you for having him. See you soon.”
“You, too!” Lenore sang out with way more enthusiasm than necessary.
Riley hustled Dillon down the walk and helped him into his booster seat. He chattered away through the brief ride home. She’d calmed down a little by the time they got there. Because, hey. People were going to know. It was a simple fact. And if Josh didn’t want to talk to her, fine.
