She and Chloe had breakfast, then she dropped her daughter off at a friends house, where she would spend the day. For her part, Bailey was going to head into town. All the stores would be decorating for the holidays and that was fun to watch. There was also a new store opening, and she was meeting Isabel there. Tomorrow, she and Chloe would go look at all the store windows and stay for the towns tree lighting.
Back at her place, she made quick work of cleaning the kitchen, then dove into her closet. She wanted to clear out as many things as possible before the move. She and Chloe had already done her daughters room. Chloe had given up a couple of boxes of toys to be donated. Clothes that were too small would also go to charity.
When Baileys cell phone rang, she was trying to decide if she was ever going to lose the twenty pounds necessary for her to get back into several pairs of jeans she owned or if she should simply donate them.
Hello? she said without glancing at the display.
Hey.
All it took was a single word spoken by a specific man. Her slightly fake good mood shattered and the jeans dropped to the carpet. She sank onto the bed.
Kenny.
A thousand emotions struggled to find room inside. She thought of the child hed lost and how she would never have guessed he suffered such a tragedy. She thought of the way his smile made her toes curl and how knowing he was a great guy made her crush just a little harder to get over.
Ive got all the bins in place, he said.
It took her a second to mentally switch gears. Right, the toy drive. That was still their responsibility.
Thank you. Theres a schedule for collection. You have that, right?
Yeah. I know my days.
The parents helping do, too. I appreciate your help with all this.
Were in it together.
The truth, but when said in his low, sexy voice... Well, she wanted it to mean a lot more than it did.
Were still on for Sunday? he asked.
Hed offered to take her to Sacramento to look at bedroom furniture for Chloe. She needed to get her order placed and thought the Black Friday craziness would be over by then. Only after last night, shed assumed she would be on her own.
You dont mind?
Id like to go with you, he told her. Were friends, Bailey. I dont want that to change.
Friends was better than nothing, she told herself. Friends was the mature response to their situation. Friends was enough. Although that last one might be stretching the truth a tiny bit.
Thank you, she said. Id love the input. Chloes going out to Castle Ranch for riding lessons with several of her friends, so the timing is perfect.
Ill pick you up at noon.
Ill be ready.
See you then. Bye.
He hung up and she did the same.
This was good, she told herself. She and Chloe would go to church and be back in time for an early lunch before her daughter headed out on her own adventure. Bailey and Kenny would go to Sacramento and buy furniture. It would be nice. Pleasant. Friends hanging out together. Nothing more. No matter how much she wanted a little more in her life.
* * *
DIAMONDS AND PURLS, a yarn and bead shop close to Brew-haha, had been open all of two hours and was already packed. Bailey sipped her cup of complimentary hot cocoa as she studied the bins filled with what seemed like hundreds of types of yarn. There were different weights and textures, dozens of colors. Yarn that was impossibly soft and yarn that glittered.
On the other side of the store were the beads. Millions of beads, she thought with a grin. Inventory in this place would be complicated.
I love it, Isabel said, coming up next to her and linking arms. Doesnt this place make you want to be creative?
Bailey smiled at her friend. Are you saying youre going to take a class?
The tall blonde shook her head. No. Im going to think about taking a class. Theres a difference.
A big one, Bailey told her. Chloe and I already talked about taking a beginners knitting class together.
Isabel tried not to look horrified. Im sure it will be fun.
Noelle Boylan, owner of The Christmas Attic, joined them. She, too, was a pretty blonde. Her usually slim physique had a little more curve to it these days, along with a definite baby bump.
Great store, she said, then sipped her hot chocolate. I miss coffee. And wine.
How are you feeling? Bailey asked.
Better. Almost four months to the day, like you said.
Noelle had spent the first three months of her pregnancy feeling nauseous. Bailey had gone through the same thing. By the fourth month, everything calmed down.
Noelle grinned. Gabriel is going crazy, though. I think its harder for him because hes a doctor. He has just enough training to make him totally freak out every single day.
But its nice, right? Isabel said, eyeing Noelles stomach. Having him hover.
Most of the time. Except when I want to smother him with a pillow.
They laughed. Bailey joined in, even though her feelings were bittersweet. Shed spent much of her pregnancy alone. Will had been deployed. Hed arrived back in time for the birth, but hadnt been with her through her pregnancy. He hadnt seen her as shed gotten bigger or felt the baby move for the first time.