And while I miss them sometimes, I’m also extremely grateful that I’m living under my own roof and away from their teenage craziness.
“There is something about a house full of people. Emmett always wished he had a sibling.” There is a note of wistfulness in her tone that’s hard to miss. “But now we have Kate and Penny,who’re both like daughters to me, and there’s this little one who definitely keeps us on our toes with her shenanigans.”
Kaylee turns to her grandmother and flashes her a shy smile, which in turn has the older woman’s lips curving up. “I’m talking about you, yes. And very soon, you’ll be a big sister too.”
“Best big sister.” Kaylee claps her hands, which has us all chuckling.
“That’s right. I heard congratulations are in order.”
“Thank you. We’re so excited for Emmett and Kate. I can’t believe we’ll have a new little one soon. And Kate’s handling it like a champ.”
Her comment grabs my attention.
“Nauseous again?”
Kate had a difficult first pregnancy. She’s been throwing up constantly and barely managed to keep any food down.
“Yes, but we’re taking good care of her. I go check in on her, probably more than she’d like, and bring her soup. I swear that’s the only thing she can eat these days.”
“Well, if she’s not feeling well, don’t hesitate to give me a call. We can give her a look at the ER.”
Mrs. Santiago nods decisively. “Oh, trust me, we’ll be doing that.”
“Doing what?” Kate asks as she joins us, her hand resting on her small bump.
“Just chatting!” Mrs. Santiago chuckles. “Don’t mind us. Did you eat something?”
Kate shakes her head, and I decide to switch the conversation away from the food to Kate’s work. She’s recently added a new horse to the stables for her rehabilitation center, and she excitedly tells me all about it as Savannah, Rose, and Becky join our table.
Becky hands me a plate of cake as Mrs. Santiago turns to Rose.
“We heard you moved in with Chase.”
Rose’s cheeks turn pink at the attention from the women, her gaze darting toward the man in question just as he high fives her seven-year-old son.
“Yes. After everything, we decided there’s no sense in pretending. He was spending most of the time in the cottage anyway, and it’s not like Kyle didn’t know about us.”
Mrs. Santiago nods. “You found yourself a good one. And I’m not just saying that because I consider him one of my own.”
“Maybe now he’ll be less grumpy,” Becky chuckles, digging into her own cake.
“What about you, Jessica?” Mrs. Fernandez asks. “Still dating that boy? What was his name? David?”
I wince at the question. Is it bad to wish the ground would open and swallow me whole? “Damien. And no.”
“Oh, she broke up with him the other day,” Becky snorts. “About damn time if you ask me. The guy is a douche of epic proportions. I’m surprised I haven’t seen him calling you. He isn’t one to take no for an answer.” Her expression darkens. “The next time he comes to the Reading Nook, I’m giving him the boot.”
I wince inwardly.
So much for hoping she didn’t hear about that little tidbit.
I guess now’s not the time to tell her that the only reason he isn’t calling me is because I blocked his number.
“Why?” Mrs. Santiago glances from Becky to me. “What happened?”
“It’s noth?—”
“He cornered her in the café, wanting to ‘talk.’” Becky uses air quotes and rolls her eyes. “As if she wasn’t clear enough when she dumped his ass.”
