A Baby for Easter by Noelle Adams Page A

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o’clock, which was when Jessica had told her to come. She’d gone to her parents’
house from work to get the salad bowl she needed and had just made the salad
there so she wouldn’t be late.
    She knocked, wrapping one arm around her salad bowl to hold
it steady.
    “It’s open,” Daniel called out from inside. “Come on in.”
    She opened the door and was greeted by a big, pure white,
long-haired dog.
    “Well, hello,” she said to the dog, who wagged its tail
happily and then sat down, obviously expecting to be petted.
    Alice obliged, laughing when the dog panted enthusiastically
and then jumped up and turned a couple of circles.
    “It’s okay, honey,” she heard from what must be the kitchen.
She recognized Daniel’s voice. “No one is going to care.”
    “It’s not okay. It’s terrible. I can’t ask anyone to eat
it!” That was Jessica, and she sounded very upset about something.
    “It tastes fine. It really does.”
    “But the consistency—” Jessica broke off as Alice stepped
hesitantly into the kitchen. “Come in,” Jessica said. “Sorry. I was just having
a minor food catastrophe.”
    “Oh.” Alice looked at the food in question—a loaf of bread
that had just been sliced. “It looks good. Did you make it yourself?”
    “Yes!” Jessica wailed, wiping her hands on her pants.
“That’s why it’s a disaster.”
    Daniel was leaning against the counter, laughing
uninhibitedly.
    Jessica swatted at him. “Stop laughing at my trauma and go
take the salad from Alice.”
    He grinned and winked at Alice as he took the salad bowl, as
instructed. “Ooh,” he said, looking down in the bowl. “Are those strawberries”
    “Yeah. I tried to dress the salad up some.”
    “Thank you so much for making it.” Jessica cut a little
chunk of the bread and handed it to her. “You’re a lifesaver. Now try this and
tell me if it’s edible.”
    “I’m sure it’s fine,” Alice said, popping the piece in her
mouth. When the taste was good, she nodded and mumbled, “Mm hmm.”
    “Just wait,” Jessica warned, while Daniel laughed some more.
    Alice chewed. And chewed. And chewed. And chewed. And
finally managed to swallow. At Jessica’s mournful look, she said, “It tastes
good. It’s just a little…chewy.”
    “Nice try,” Daniel said, elbowing her in a friendly way.
“But she’s not going to believe you.”
    “I’ve already called Micah and told him to pick up a loaf on
his way over. So we won’t be breadless.” Jessica leaned over to peek in the
oven. “Hopefully the roast turns out all right.”
    “Well, if it’s as chewy as the first one you made, at least
it will match the bread.” Daniel sidestepped out of the way when Jessica tried
to swat him with a hot pad. He was grinning as he grabbed the hot pad and then
grabbed Jessica in a quick hug.
    Growing up, Alice had always understood Daniel to be the
serious Duncan boy and Micah to be the laidback, laughing one. But they seemed
to have switched characteristics lately.
    Then Alice processed something that had been said earlier.
“So Micah is coming to dinner too?”
    “Yeah. He and Cara are coming. They’re just late because he
had to get the bread. Oh, and help yourself.” Jessica gestured toward a plate
of crackers and cheese on the counter, while Daniel started to pour out red
wine.
    Then Alice glanced over to the table and saw it was only set
for four. “No one else is coming?”
    “No. Just us.” Jessica smiled casually. “You may have
noticed that cooking isn’t my forte, so smaller dinners work better for me.”
    “Okay. Sounds good.” Alice was actually relieved, since
she’d been expecting a bigger group, which would mean she’d have to be “on.”
This would be more comfortable, and maybe Micah would be more himself around
his brother.
    She went to slice off some cheese and put it on a cracker,
so she had something to focus on when she heard Micah’s cheerful voice from the
front door. “We’re here.