“Ma’am, where’s Mike?” Oh, she bet they were wishing for her husband now. He relied on charm and his good nature to persuade people where she believed in being much more direct.
“He’s busy. Powertools has given you plenty of business throughout the years. This is not a time to let us down. You know we have contacts in every area of this industry and we won’t hesitate to let our peers know that you’re no longer reliable and that you’re dishonest as well.”
Devon mouthed, Yeah, tell them!
“Uh, that’s…unnecessary,” the contractor practically squeaked.
“Then you’ll be at the site tomorrow to complete the work as indicated in our contract?”
“We’ll have to start at the ass crack of dawn so we can squeeze in two jobs.”
“So long as you are at our property first, our crew will meet you any time you like to oversee the installation.” Kate peeked over at Devon, who was nodding enthusiastically and flashing a thumbs-up.
A sigh loud enough that Devon had to be able to hear it rattled her ear. “I guess we’ll see you at four o’clock then. Or will Mike be back?”
Devon snorted when she heard the wishful note in the guy’s voice.
“He’s out of town working on another project. Devon will be the one in charge. Talk to her about anything you need and make sure the work is completed to her satisfaction.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Thank you,” Kate said sweetly before hanging up with a flourish and jab of her index finger.
“Holy shit!” Devon crossed the gap between them and squeezed her. Despite being petite, she was strong as shit from working construction and lifted Kate like she hadn’t put on an extra few pounds or ten lately. Then she started to swing her around. “You’re so good at that! Why doesn’t Mike have you do that for us all the time? Usually he just curses a bunch and promises to buy beer when they’re finished.”
“Really?” Kate laughed because she could totally picture it. Until Devon made one more revolution and her stomach lurched. “Uhhh, stop. Please.”
Devon kept cracking up and didn’t take her quite as seriously as she should have. Kate shoved at her friend’s shoulders until they broke apart and she stumbled away, staggering toward the hall bathroom.
She braced her hands on cool counter top, slammed her eyes closed, and focused on taking long, deep breaths until the world stopped glitching around her.
Devon was there, rubbing her back, encouraging her quietly. “Hey, you’re okay. You’re okay. Sorry, I didn’t mean to fuck you up.”
“It’s not you.” Kate moaned as her queasiness passed. She splashed her face with cold water, then carefully turned and sank onto the closed toilet, folding until her head rested on her stacked arms.
“Then what the hell is it?” Devon wondered.
“I don’t know. Stress? I haven’t felt right for weeks.” Kate groaned.
“Weeks? And what kind of not right?” Devon crouched down and scanned Kate’s pale face and the gaunt bags she knew were darkening the skin beneath her eyes lately.
“I feel like shit.”
“Obviously.” Devon tipped her head. “How have you been hiding this from Mike, and why?”
“He’s got enough on his plate.” Kate sighed. “He’s been preoccupied with Joe and keeping the rest of you from getting as upset as I think he is.”
“Okay, fine. So tell me then.” Devon squeezed her knee. “What’s bugging you?”
“I’m run down. Tired all the time. I’m starving, but every time I get near food it turns my stomach. I just about climbed Mike outside on the patio last night and I would have gone for about ten more rounds, but I fell asleep the instant my head hit the pillow. I’m cranky and anxious and…”
“Holy shit. When the hell are you going to learn?” Devon flung open the cabinet under the sink. When she apparently didn’t find what she was after, she popped to her feet to rummage through the medicine cabinet too.
“What are you looking for?”
“A pregnancy test,” Devon mumbled beneath her breath.
“A what—?” Kate gasped, her stomach flipping again. “I’m not…”
“Are you sure? Like sure, sure?” Devon glared at her. “Remember when Morgan was convinced she had some fatal disease because she was in denial? This is looking a whole lot like that.”
Devon drew a big circle in the air around Kate, who simply gawked.
“I’m having déjà motherfucking vu.” Devon leaned her hip up against the counter and grinned. “Look, I’m just a construction worker, not a doctor. But if I had a hundred dollars in my pocket right now, I’d bet it all on you being knocked up.”
Kate did some quick mental math and couldn’t make it compute. When was the last time she’d had her period? She couldn’t quickly recall, but maybe it was the shock of the bomb Devon had dropped on her. Could she be right?
“I would ordinarily call one of the guys to get us a test plus ten spares for when you don’t believe that first one, but…” Devon shrugged.
Kate winced. “Yeah. Don’t do that.”
They both remembered the time Joe had gone out for a box and Dave had gotten in his near-fatal wreck. It was bad juju to even bring it up.
“So will you be okay if I leave for a few minutes?” Devon asked.
“Yeah, yeah. I’m fine. As long as I don’t move. And don’t go in the kitchen. And…” Kate pinched the bridge of her nose. Was it her imagination or was her chest still aching, and maybe not from Mike pinning her to the wall the night before.
“Right. Well, I’m going to the drugstore down the street. I will be back in five minutes. If you’re gonna hurl, do it while I’m gone, huh?” Devon teased because she understood Kate well enough to know that alone would steel her guts and make sure she fought the wave of illness threatening her as she considered the possibilities.
Could it be true?
Her kids were well out of the infant phase. Would she even know how to start over?
A baby would change everything.
Again.
5
Kate tapped her fingers on the steering wheel of her car. She’d never driven this far by herself before, especially without Mike knowing what she was up to. He would probably be pissed, but she’d been careful. Plus, the rest of the crew were well aware of where she was going and when to expect her call telling them that she’d arrived safely.
Besides, he’d get over it when she informed him of her big, and still unbelievable, news.
She rested her hand low on her stomach. As the miles rolled away, she took the chance to really think about everything for the first time. With Morgan and Joe in Middletown for at least the entire summer, and probably longer, she was going to have to figure out how to be pregnant on her own.
Sure, the rest of the crew would be there, but neither Kayla nor Devon had ever wanted kids and they couldn’t understand what she was about to go through the same way Morgan always had. Both of the other times she’d done this, Morgan had been pregnant too. They’d been inseparable since elementary school and, somehow, going through this without the support of her best friend seemed nearly impossible. Especially now that she was older and things were riskier.