Page 109 of Heartbeats & Highways

“Wow.”

“Yeah.”

“Is he the father?”

“Aren’t we getting bold with our questions,” I drawled.

“Sorry, I’ve been kind of lonely in my apartment. And now that I have a human to talk to, I’m taking full advantage.”

I let out a chuckle. “I appreciate the honesty. No, he’s not the father.”

“Ah. I get it now. You were running from a bad relationship. That’s how you wound up in this halfway house, huh?”

I shook my head. “No. My bad relationship ended when my husband died.”

“Oh wow,” she murmured, biting her lip as her brow furrowed.

“You want to ask another question, don’t you?” I said with a laugh.

“Kinda.”

“Go ahead,” I urged.

“When did he die? I mean, did you know you were pregnant?”

“He passed before I knew.” I shook my head. “Boy, that was a shock.”

“I’ll bet.” She paused. “I was in a bad relationship too.”

“I’m glad you got out.”

“I’m glad you got out too.”

Cozy fell asleep on my couch sometime around four o’clock in the morning and I didn’t have the heart to wake her. After covering her with a blanket, I tromped back to the bedroom. I dozed off for a while but then woke up when I heard Cozy moving around.

My morning sickness wasted no time in asserting its control of the situation. When I’d composed myself, I went into thekitchen. Cozy had made herself a pot of coffee and was eating a piece of homemade sourdough bread.

I smiled.

“Hope you don’t mind,” she said.

“I don’t mind at all. I thought for sure you’d have gone back to your apartment, though.”

“Nah, I didn’t want to sneak out like a one-night stand.” She giggled. “So I thought I’d stay and see if you needed help.”

“Help. With what?”

“With . . . I don’t know.”

She didn’t want to be alone, and neither did I.

“You ever been to Pie in the Sky?” I asked suddenly.

She shook her head.

“I’m about to change your life,” I stated. “I’m gonna shower, and then I’m taking you to the best bakery in the world.”

Her face brightened. “Really?”

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