“I’m telling you—if he proposes, marry him. You’ll fall in love later.”
“Think back to our childhood and the fights that our parents had—the yelling and Mom throwing things and Dad swearing and storming around slamming doors. Oh, no. You can forget the marriage thing. I’ll work this out. It’s just takes some getting used to and careful planning.”
“At least consider what I’m saying. If this man is such a nice guy, that’s different from Mom and Dad.”
“You know Dad can be a nice guy when he wants to. Mom just goads him. And vice versa. Here comes lunch.”
“Try to eat a little. You’ll need it.”
“It helps to have someone to talk to about it.”
“Do you have anyone in Royal?”
“Of course. You should remember Edie. We’re close enough that I can talk to her about it. She’ll understand, too. Actually, I can probably talk to Lark Taylor.”
“I know Lark, but not as well as you do since you’re both the same age. She’s not the friendliest person until you get to know her.”
“In this storm, believe me, we got to know each other. She and the other nurses from the hospital were out there every day trying to help. So were others that I feel are lifelong friends now. Megan Maguire, the shelter director. I feel much closer to some of the people I’ve worked with since the tornado. I can talk to them if I want.”
“Is he good-looking?”
“I think so.”
“Well, then you’ll have a good-looking baby.”
“Frankly, I hope this baby doesn’t look exactly like him.” Stella smiled. “I’m teasing. I’ll think about what you’ve said. Actually, Aaron is in Royal. I’m having dinner with him tonight.”
“There,” Linda said, sounding satisfied, as if the whole problem was solved. “Go out with him some before you tell him. Give love a chance to happen. You’re obviously attracted to each other.”
“I might try, Linda. It’s a possibility. But that’s enough about me. How are the kids?”
They talked about Linda’s three children, their parents, progress in rebuilding Royal and finished their lunch.
As they stood in the sunshine on the sidewalk saying their goodbyes, Linda asked, “You’re coming for Christmas, aren’t you?”
“Yes. I’ll fly in late afternoon Christmas Eve and then back home Christmas afternoon.”
“Think about what I’ve said about marrying the dad. That might turn out a lot better than it did for Mom and Dad.”
“I’ll think about that one. You take care. See you next time.” She turned and hurried to the rental car.
She paused to do a search on her phone and located the nearest bookshop, which was only two blocks away. She drove over and went inside. It took a few minutes to find a book on pregnancy and what to expect with a first baby but before she knew it, she was back in the car, headed to the airport.
All the way to Dallas on the plane she read her new book. She would have to find a doctor in Royal. She was certain Lark could help her there. She knew of two who were popular with women her age.
When she changed planes for Royal, she tucked her new book into her purse and tossed away the shopping bag in the airport.
As she flew to Royal her dread increased by the minute. She felt as if she had gained ten pounds and her waist had expanded on this trip. She felt uncomfortable in her own skin.
When she stepped off the plane, Aaron was waiting. He had on jeans and a navy sweatshirt. There was no way to stop the warmth that flowed over her at the sight of him and his big smile. She had mixed reactions just as she always had with him.
“Hi,” he said, walking up and draping his arm across her shoulders to give her a slight hug as they headed for the main door leading to the parking lot. His brown-eyed gaze swept over her. He saw too much all the time. How long did she have before he could tell she was expecting?
“How’s your sister?”
“She’s fine. I enjoyed seeing her and all is well.”
“Good. I hope you had a restful day.”
“I did. How was it here?”
“I imagine if you’d been here, you would answer, ‘The usual.’ I saw a great deal of the construction and talked to a lot of people. I’ve been at the Texas Cattleman’s Club most of the day. Repairs have begun on the clubhouse. They didn’t have total destruction, so it should be done before too long. Actually, I helped some with the work there today.” They reached his car and he held the door for her. She watched him walk around the car and slide behind the wheel.
As soon as they were on the freeway, he said, “Let me take you to dinner again. We’ll eat at the Cozy Inn if you prefer.”
“Thanks, Aaron, I would like that. There’s still time for me to go by the hospital this afternoon. By the end of the day, all I’ll be up for is the Cozy Inn for dinner. Right now I want to go back to my suite and catch up on emails.”
“You may regret doing that. What if you have over a hundred emails waiting? You might have to go look for another lost dog.”
She smiled, feeling better.
“I’ll tell you one thing,” he said, “people are really grateful to you for all you’ve done. I’ve had a lot of people out of the blue mention your name. I guess they assume everyone knows who you are and they’ll just start talking about ‘Stella did this’ or ‘Stella did that.’”
“I’m always happy to help.”
“A lot of people are also talking about Royal needing an acting mayor because it’s obvious now that the mayor can’t return to work anytime soon. And people I talked to are mentioning your name in the same breath they talk about needing an acting mayor.”
“Aaron, I’m an administrative assistant. A lot of us are helping others.”
“You’ve been a big help to lots of people and they appreciate it.”
She shook her head and didn’t answer him as he pulled to a stop at the front door of the Cozy Inn.
“I’m letting you out here and heading back to the club. I’ll see you at seven.”
“Let’s just meet in the lobby in case I get delayed.”
“Sure,” he said as a doorman opened her door and she stepped out. She walked into the inn without looking back.
In her room she went straight to her mirror to study her figure. She didn’t look one bit different from when she had checked earlier, but she felt different. For one minute she gave herself over to thinking if only—if she were married to Aaron this would be one of the most joyous occasions for her.
With a long sigh, she stopped thinking about being married to Aaron and faced the reality that Aaron was in his thirties and still single. She thought back to the night she had met him after the storm. She had been comforting Paige Richardson whose husband, Craig, had died in the tornado. Others had come to call on Paige and someone introduced Stella to Aaron. He was staying in a motel on the edge of Royal, but he offered to take Stella back to the Cozy Inn. They had talked and one thing had led to another until they were in bed together—a rare event to her.
The next morning, when she told Aaron the night was totally uncharacteristic of her and she wanted to avoid further contact, he had agreed to do whatever she wanted and also told