Kate Little - The Baby Plan

But if she didn’t try to laugh at it, at least a little, Julia was afraid she might cry.

Julia marched down Main Street toward her office. Had the entire world gone off the deep end, believing anything was fine and dandy as long as two people claimed to be in love?

It almost made a person feel nostalgic for a bygone day, when marriage was a much more formal arrangement. Like a business negotiation. Between the parents, primarily. A bride and groom sometimes didn’t meet until the wedding day and notions like romance and love didn’t figure in at all.

At least back then, if a man was marrying a woman for her fortune—or vice versa—people were honest about it.

Thinking of the days of arranged matches reminded Julia that she’d forgotten to pick up Rachel’s copy of Pride and Prejudice, which they were reading for their book group this month. She had no plans for tonight and was looking forward to a relaxing evening by the fire, reading a cleverly written classic. She’d have to call Rachel and figure out how to pick it up. She didn’t have many days left to finish it.

Julia found herself passing the Blue Lake General Store. She needed another cup of coffee before she started work. And even something else to eat. Her daily bran muffin just hadn’t done it for her. She craved something sweet and buttery and loaded with fat grams and carbs. The bad kind.

This was a state of emergency. She was allowed to fall off the fiber wagon once in a while.

Ella Krueger stood behind the counter and greeted her with a wide smile. The coffee line was usually long at this time in the morning on a weekday, but there were only a few people—workmen mostly on their way out to a building or painting job—waiting for breakfast sandwiches, which Ella’s husband was cooking up on a grill.

“Coffee, Julia?”

“Yes, please. Large black.”

“Anything else today, hon?”

Julia tried to resist the tempting offerings in the breakfast pastry case.

Then she saw it. Crumb cake. Ella’s own, homemade and fresh from the oven. “I guess I’ll have a piece of crumb cake. Not too big though,” she added quickly.

Ella laughed. “We only give out big pieces here. Did you know my crumb cake is a prize winner at the county fair? See, it’s hanging up there,” she said, pointing to a plaque. “Best crumbs, five years running. Most people can’t get them that big. They fall apart. Mine stay big. And they stay on the cake. It’s a secret recipe.”

Julia wasn’t surprised. There seemed to be a lot of secret recipes in this town.

Ella rang up the sale and Julia handed over some money.

“Well, I won’t try to guess. But it is delicious.”

“What’s delicious?”

Julia turned her head slightly. Sam Baxter was standing close by. She wondered how long he’d been there, watching her. Rude of him not to make himself known and just stand there…spying. She did feel caught in the act, the damning evidence in her hand.

“The crumb cake. It’s very good. Ella makes it herself.”

“Prize-winning crumbs?” he asked.

He was a gourmet chef, Julia realized. He probably thought Ella’s pride was cute but misplaced. Julia felt annoyed at him on Ella’s behalf. But she knew that wasn’t entirely it.

“How long have you been standing there?”

“Not too long.” The corner of his mouth twitched and he nearly smiled. “I’m sorry…I didn’t mean to sneak up on you. I just came out for a walk and wanted some coffee.”

“She makes good coffee, too. Enjoy.”

Julia cast him her best real-estate-lady smile and nodded, then tucked the newspaper under her arm and turned to go.

He watched her for a moment, then quickly tried to catch up. She was just about out the door when he finally did.

“I’m glad I ran in to you…I thought we should talk, if you have a minute.”

He stood very close, staring down at her, his hands dug into the pockets of his leather jacket. The wind lifted a few strands of his dark hair and blew it across his eyes. She had the wild temptation to reach up and push it back for him.

“Sorry…I’ve got to get over to my office and open up. Saturday is very busy.”

Which was partly true. But since it was the doldrums of the winter, there wasn’t much going on and several employees had keys.

Julia picked up her pace, hoping to lose him. Most men, even tall ones, had trouble keeping up when she did her speed walk.

He didn’t seem to notice and kept up easily. It appeared to be his preferred pace.

He wore the same leather jacket he’d worn last night, she noticed, with jeans. A gray sweater showed underneath and a brown wool scarf was slung around his neck.

Julia had hoped her reaction to his looks had been a fluke. But all in all, he looked just as sexy and appealing as he had last night. Maybe even better, if possible.

Finally, they reached the realty office. Julia felt a bit winded and felt a slight sheen of sweat on her forehead, but tried not to show it.

He stared up at the sign painted on the storefront window. “Home Sweet Home Realty. Cute.” He smiled at her. But she didn’t smile back. “I didn’t take you for the type to go for cute.”

“It’s memorable and sets a comfortable tone.” Julia sometimes thought the name of her business was too cute. But she didn’t need him pointing that out to her.

She approached the door, key ring in hand. But her assistant, Marion McKenzie, had already arrived and opened up, making her feel a bit foolish for acting so urgent.

“Looks like someone beat you to it. Too bad, you were really moving. Were you on the track team in college?” Sam sounded mildly amused.

“Tennis,” she said shortly. “I have a wicked serve.”

“I wouldn’t doubt it.”

She dumped the keys back in her purse. She glanced up at him, prepared to make another excuse about getting to work. But her curiosity got the better of her.

“So, you want to talk about our parents. Have you changed your opinion about their engagement? You seemed pretty supportive last night.”

“And you’re definitely not. At least that’s what your mother says. She called Lester this morning at the crack of dawn.” He made a face. “She says you’re very upset and demanded that she call it off.”

Julia felt awkward hearing her words tossed back at her. Especially by him. He made her sound like some sort of shrew.

“I am upset. But I never demanded anything. I know my mother. She’s like…like a cat. You just don’t get very far delivering ultimatums. I never said call it off. I did say slow it down.”

“So you do have reservations,” he said, choosing his words carefully. “Some strong reservations.”

“Of course I do. For one thing, they hardly know each other. And this goat farm idea…it’s totally absurd. My mother wouldn’t last one week on a farm that grows costume jewelry, no less one filled with animals. To think for one minute that she could…that just goes to show how little your father really knows her.”

His eyes narrowed. She hadn’t meant to sound so harsh, but somehow she couldn’t control it. Somebody had to face facts around here. It seemed as if she was the only one who would.

“I don’t know your mother. I do know my father. He’s a good man. Solid. Dependable. If he says he’s going to do a thing, he’ll do it. He’s talked about this venture for years. He’s taken classes. He’s done research. He’s visited farms just like it. It’s not just some pie-in-the-sky fantasy.”

“All right. I’ll buy all that. But tell me this. If he’s been dreaming about this cheese business for so long, why hasn’t he gone ahead and started it? Is it because he never had the capital?” she said quickly, before he could speak. “Of course, if he marries my mother, that sticky little problem is solved, isn’t it?”