“No way.”
“Oh, yeah. No one in town knew I even had a man in my life, and then suddenly I’m pregnant. And not a little pregnant—by the time I realized it, I was already pretty far along. We’ve only been married a few months. We didn’t get it done before the baby came.”
“In a small town like this?” Mel was flabbergasted.
“People were decent about it. I mean, we did have a flood, lost our preacher for a while, there was a huge drug raid out in the woods, one thing after another. And probably because they all took to Jim so quickly. But my dad almost had a stroke.”
“And maybe because Jim moved right into your house and wouldn’t let you out of his sight until you agreed to marry him,” Susan added.
“I had been single a long time,” June said. “I was a little nervous about the whole thing. I mean, we hadn’t even been together all that long—and my God, not very often. I don’t know how it happened,” June said. “But it sure happened fast.”
“No—you know how it happened,” Susan said. “This,” she said, petting the giant mound that would soon be screaming to be changed, “is the great mystery. We had to try for a long time to get Sydney. We needed a little help, in fact. I just don’t get pregnant.”
Maybe in time Mel would join in, share her secrets. For now, though, she just wanted to hear theirs.
“John and I were having a big fight,” Susan said. “We were barely speaking. I had him sleeping on the couch—he was such an ass. By the time I forgave him and let him back in bed with me, he was packing quite a punch.” She giggled. Her eyes twinkled.
“At least you’re married,” June put in.
“Tell us about your man,” Susan said.
“Oh, Jack’s not my man,” she said automatically. “He is the first friend I made in Virgin River, however. He runs a little bar and grill across the street from Doc’s—as much a meeting place as a restaurant. They don’t even have a menu—his partner, a big scary-looking guy named Preacher who turns out to be an angel—cooks up one breakfast item, one lunch item and one dinner item everyday. On an ambitious day, they might have two items—maybe something left from the day before. They run it on the cheap, fish a lot, and help out around town wherever needed. He fixed up the cabin I was given to stay in while I’m there.”
The women didn’t say anything for a moment. Then Susan said, “Honey, I have a feeling he doesn’t think of you as a friend. Have you seen the way he looks at you?”
She glanced at him and as if he could feel her gaze, he turned his eyes on her. Soft and hard all at once. “Yeah,” Mel said. “He promised to stop doing that.”
“Girl, I’d never make a man stop doing that to me! You can’t possibly not know how much he—”
“Susan,” June said. “We don’t mean to pry, Mel.”
“June doesn’t mean to pry, but I do. You mean to say he hasn’t…？”
Mel felt her cheeks flame. “Well, it isn’t what you think,” she said.
June and Susan burst out laughing, loud enough to cause the men to turn away from their conversation and look up at the porch. Mel laughed in spite of herself. Ah, she had missed this—girlfriends. Talking about the secret stuff, the private stuff. Laughing at their weaknesses and strengths.
“That’s what I thought,” Susan said. “He looks like he can’t wait to get you alone. And do unspeakable things to you.”
Mel sighed in spite of herself, her cheeks growing hotter. He can’t, she almost said. And ohhhh…
June took the baby off her breast and put him on her shoulder to burp him. The group of men seemed to turn as one and head for the porch, Jim first. “Sounds like trouble up here,” he said. He reached for the baby and took over the burping.
John lowered his lips to Susan’s forehead and gave her a kiss. His other hand ran smoothly over her belly. “How are you doing, honey?” he asked solicitously.
“Great. Right after dinner, I want you to get it out of me.”
He handed her his beer. “Here, have a slug and mellow out.”
Jack stood behind Mel and put his hand on her shoulder. Without even realizing it, she reached up and stroked his hand.
“I’ll start the grill,” old Doc Hudson said, going through the house.
They all sat around a picnic table in the backyard, talking about their towns, their cases. Mel got some tips from John on home births—he explained that he was an OB before doing a second residency in family practice. He’d never done a home birth in Sausalito, but once he’d arrived in Grace Valley he’d become the local midwife. He liked the hospital but couldn’t convince all the women to leave their homes to deliver. Small-town stories were told, laughter was shared, and too soon it was growing dark.
As Jack and Mel were leaving, Mel took an opportunity to speak with June about the baby—Chloe. She expressed her concern that they still hadn’t heard anything from social services.
June was frowning. “It’s true that the county has a lot of ground to cover, but they’re usually pretty good. One of my closest friends is a social worker, although she’s in Mendocino county. I could run this by her—get her impression.”
“Maybe you should. Especially if you think this is irregular,” Mel said.
“I’ll do it, and give you a call. Meanwhile, if you consider the baby your patient, you can assess the situation. See if you can find out anything. Doc Mullins is smarter than he lets on,” June said. “He’s a crafty old devil. Find out if he’s got something up his sleeve.”
Mel hugged June while Jack waited at the car. “Thank you. For everything. It was a perfect day.”
Driving back to Virgin River, Mel was lost in one of the most serene moods she’d felt in a long time. Her connection to this place had deepened with the new friendships, and no small part of that was their acceptance of Jack.
“You’re awfully quiet,” Jack observed.
“I had such a good time,” she said dreamily.
“Me, too. Nice people, your friends.”
“They liked you, too. Did you know that Jim is a former cop?”
“I got that, yeah.”
“And John and Susan came up here from the city a couple of years ago. And Elmer—the old doc—he’s a riot. I’m so glad we did that.”
They drove in companionable silence until they neared Virgin River. Jack said, “What do you want to do tonight? My place?”
“Would you be terribly hurt if we took a night off?”
“Whatever you need, Mel. Just so long as nothing’s wrong.”
“Nothing’s wrong. In fact, I’ve never felt more right with the world. I just thought I’d go home, shower off the picnic and get a good night’s sleep.”
“It’s up to you.” He reached across the front seat and grabbed her hand. “It’s always up to you.” He drew her hand to his lips and pressed a soft kiss into her palm.
He pulled up to the bar and they traded places so she could drive home. After a kiss good-night, she left him there and went out to the cabin.