A Baby for Easter by Noelle Adams Page B

The bread crisis is averted.”
    Alice turned around and moved into a corner out of the way,
sipping her wine and holding her cracker in the other. She saw as Daniel went
over to take the bread from his brother and make a dry comment about “delusions
of bread grandeur.”
    Micah had Cara in one arm, her baby bag over one shoulder,
and her empty carrier in his free hand. He wore khakis and a slightly better
shirt than normal, and he was grinning at his brother and at Jessica when she
ran over to him.
    “Hello to you too,” he teased, when Jessica grabbed Cara out
of his arm and hugged the baby.
    Then his eyes finally drifted over to where Alice was
standing, and she saw it happen. He stiffened, almost imperceptibly, and his
grin faded. “Alice,” he said, obviously surprised.
    Clearly he hadn’t been told of the guest list either.
    “Hi,” she said, trying for casual, although she was hurt by
the way he’d lost all his warm, teasing demeanor when he’d seen her. She’d
thought they’d been getting along pretty well lately. “I had to get the salad
bowl from my mom, or I guess we could have ridden over together.”
    Micah’s blue eyes shifted from her to Jessica and then to
his brother, but he didn’t say anything.
    “Alice made the best salad,” Jessica said. “It’s got
strawberries and what looks like glazed pecans and, ooh, blue cheese on it. Put
it on the table, will you, Micah, and, Daniel, cut the bread and stop eating
all the cheese.”
    Daniel grabbed another slice of cheese before he went to
slice the bread. Alice wasn’t sure what to do, so she poured a glass of wine
for Micah and handed it to him when he returned from putting the salad on the
table.
    Jessica had to relinquish Cara, so Alice went to put the
baby back in her seat and brought her over to the table. Since she seemed quiet
and content for the moment, she settled the carrier in the dining area and
hoped the baby would give them a chance to eat before she started to fuss.
    Dinner was better than she’d expected. Micah was quiet at
first, and Alice was a little uncomfortable, but Jessica and Daniel were in top
form, and soon Alice was giggling and Micah was more like himself. They talked
about the church and about how far along Micah was in the house he was flipping
and about Alice’s interview at the college. They talked about Cara’s
grandparents—Heather’s mom and dad—who had come into town yesterday to spend
time with Cara. And they talked about Bear, the big white dog who sat at
attention during the entire meal, obviously hoping to be rewarded with a bite.
    She’d given Cara one disdainful sniff and then studiously
ignored her—perhaps seeing her as competition for attention and food.
    The meal was good, since it was supplemented with bakery-bought
bread, and Alice was enjoying herself when Cara started to whimper, evidently
tired of being left out of the excitement for so long.
    Micah reached for the baby and pulled out a prepared bottle,
since she was probably getting hungry.
    “Oh, can I feed her?” Jessica asked, scooting her chair back
from the table a little.
    Micah handed Cara over, and Alice watched as Jessica cradled
her and offered her the bottle.
    Cara didn’t care who was offering the bottle, as long as it
was offered. She sucked greedily.
    “She’s so beautiful,” Jessica murmured, glancing over at
Micah. “Those are definitely your eyes.”
    Micah gave a half-smile. “She’s a lot prettier than me.”
    “Thank God for that,” Daniel put in.
    “That’s right,” Jessica cooed at Cara. “You’re much prettier
than your daddy, aren’t you? He’ll have to scare all the boys away when they
start to come around when you get older. He’s not going to like that at all.”
    “Jessica,” Daniel murmured. His voice was low and gentle but
held a kind of quiet authority.
    She looked in surprise at her husband, who gave her a
significant look and made a slight gesture of his head toward Micah.
    Jessica