absolutely nothing to worry about.”
“Easy for you to say,” Faith said quietly. She glanced at Ryan when he reached across the console and put his hand on top of hers where it’d been resting on her thigh. His heat soaked down into her skin.
“It is easy for me to say, because I know Mari, and I know you. What specifically are you worried about?”
Faith bit at her lower lip, hesitant to reveal her insecurities. Ryan tightened his hold on her hand, as if in reassurance.
“I know it’s ridiculous,” she murmured, watching as they passed the city limit sign for Harbor Town. “I’m thirty years old, not a teenager, but I can’t help but feel like she might think I’m...some kind of a...”
“What?” Ryan prodded when she faded off.
“Loose woman,” Faith burst out. It sounded so ridiculous when she said it, she couldn’t help but give Ryan a sheepish grin. He wore an incredulous expression that segued to amusement.
“ Loose woman? This isn’t the 1950s, Faith. Lots of women have babies who aren’t married, or even in a serious relationship.”
“I know. Maybe loose isn’t the word. Maybe stupid is. Women in this day and age aren’t supposed to get pregnant after a...a...” She struggled to finish her sentence, becoming increasingly uncomfortable when she couldn’t. When Ryan released her hand, she looked at him in alarm. Had she offended him? She hadn’t meant to minimize Christmas Eve, she just didn’t know how to describe what had happened between them.
Still.
“Mari isn’t going to judge you,” he said as he stared out the front window and drove. “She’s not a judgmental person, in the first place, and in the second place, there’s nothing to judge. She’s as aware as anyone that you can’t always plan life. You just live it as best you can.”
Faith inhaled slowly, studying his profile. He turned into a residential neighborhood featuring a tree-lined street and attractive older large homes. Of course he was right. How could she possibly feel the tiniest shame about the miracle of life growing inside her?
Ryan brought the car to a crawl.
“See that house there?” he asked, pointing to a lovely sprawling residence complete with a sweeping porch and swing that had been built in the Arts and Crafts style and lovingly restored. “That was our summer house.”
“It’s beautiful,” Faith breathed. “Isn’t there a beach down at the end of the street?” she asked, pointing to a wooded cul-de-sac. “What a wonderful neighborhood for kids this must have been.”
“Yeah, the beach is on the other side of those trees. We lived on that beach during the summer. A bunch of the parents on the street conspired to serve dinner at the same time every night so that only one of them had to go down to round us all up for supper,” Ryan said, smiling in memory.
“It’s for sale,” Faith said, pointing at the sign in the yard.
Ryan did a double take and frowned. “Mari and I just sold it to a couple a little over a year ago. They must have had a change of heart.”
A moment later Ryan turned into the driveway of an appealing white-shingled Colonial Revival-style home. He put the car in Park, but instead of getting out, he turned toward her, his intent manner taking her off guard.
“If it bothers you that much, the idea of being single and having the baby—”
He paused, leaving Faith puzzled as to what he was about to say, his gaze fixed out the front windshield. Faith saw a beautiful woman with long dark hair coming down the front steps of the house toward them. She wore an attractive green dress that tied beneath her breasts and above the small roundness of her belly. Her leather lace-up sandals and matching shoulder bag gave her a hip, sophisticated appearance. As she approached the car, Ryan’s sister smiled at Faith through the window. Faith stepped out of the car to greet her.
Within a minute of meeting Mari Kavanaugh, Faith fully recognized how baseless her fears
“Easy for you to say,” Faith said quietly. She glanced at Ryan when he reached across the console and put his hand on top of hers where it’d been resting on her thigh. His heat soaked down into her skin.
“It is easy for me to say, because I know Mari, and I know you. What specifically are you worried about?”
Faith bit at her lower lip, hesitant to reveal her insecurities. Ryan tightened his hold on her hand, as if in reassurance.
“I know it’s ridiculous,” she murmured, watching as they passed the city limit sign for Harbor Town. “I’m thirty years old, not a teenager, but I can’t help but feel like she might think I’m...some kind of a...”
“What?” Ryan prodded when she faded off.
“Loose woman,” Faith burst out. It sounded so ridiculous when she said it, she couldn’t help but give Ryan a sheepish grin. He wore an incredulous expression that segued to amusement.
“ Loose woman? This isn’t the 1950s, Faith. Lots of women have babies who aren’t married, or even in a serious relationship.”
“I know. Maybe loose isn’t the word. Maybe stupid is. Women in this day and age aren’t supposed to get pregnant after a...a...” She struggled to finish her sentence, becoming increasingly uncomfortable when she couldn’t. When Ryan released her hand, she looked at him in alarm. Had she offended him? She hadn’t meant to minimize Christmas Eve, she just didn’t know how to describe what had happened between them.
Still.
“Mari isn’t going to judge you,” he said as he stared out the front window and drove. “She’s not a judgmental person, in the first place, and in the second place, there’s nothing to judge. She’s as aware as anyone that you can’t always plan life. You just live it as best you can.”
Faith inhaled slowly, studying his profile. He turned into a residential neighborhood featuring a tree-lined street and attractive older large homes. Of course he was right. How could she possibly feel the tiniest shame about the miracle of life growing inside her?
Ryan brought the car to a crawl.
“See that house there?” he asked, pointing to a lovely sprawling residence complete with a sweeping porch and swing that had been built in the Arts and Crafts style and lovingly restored. “That was our summer house.”
“It’s beautiful,” Faith breathed. “Isn’t there a beach down at the end of the street?” she asked, pointing to a wooded cul-de-sac. “What a wonderful neighborhood for kids this must have been.”
“Yeah, the beach is on the other side of those trees. We lived on that beach during the summer. A bunch of the parents on the street conspired to serve dinner at the same time every night so that only one of them had to go down to round us all up for supper,” Ryan said, smiling in memory.
“It’s for sale,” Faith said, pointing at the sign in the yard.
Ryan did a double take and frowned. “Mari and I just sold it to a couple a little over a year ago. They must have had a change of heart.”
A moment later Ryan turned into the driveway of an appealing white-shingled Colonial Revival-style home. He put the car in Park, but instead of getting out, he turned toward her, his intent manner taking her off guard.
“If it bothers you that much, the idea of being single and having the baby—”
He paused, leaving Faith puzzled as to what he was about to say, his gaze fixed out the front windshield. Faith saw a beautiful woman with long dark hair coming down the front steps of the house toward them. She wore an attractive green dress that tied beneath her breasts and above the small roundness of her belly. Her leather lace-up sandals and matching shoulder bag gave her a hip, sophisticated appearance. As she approached the car, Ryan’s sister smiled at Faith through the window. Faith stepped out of the car to greet her.
Within a minute of meeting Mari Kavanaugh, Faith fully recognized how baseless her fears
Similar Books
