Page 69 of Lone Star Longing
“I don't feel different when it comes to her. Maybe if I see her, I’ll feel it, but now, damn, I feel like I’m eighteen again, and shattered.”
Beck and Lacey exchanged a glance, and Lacey decided it was time to change the subject.
“So, I heard about a job you might be interested in,” she told Beck.
That drew everyone’s attention.
“You’re looking for a job here?” Con asked, straightening.
“Ah, well, just temporary. Until Mom’s house is done.”
“You could come work for me,” Con offered.
Beck made a face. “Did that before. Kinda over mucking stalls.”
Con lifted a hand as if he was going to make a comment.
“This is something I think you’d be interested in,” Lacey inserted. “It’s a company in the basin who’s recycling wastewater from the oilfields. That seems like a perfect job for an engineer, don't you think?”
His eyes brightened when he looked at her. “I think it’s definitely something to look into. Thanks for thinking of me, Lace.”
“Yeah. Ah. Sure.” She was aware that she was now the focus of attention, and she squirmed on the bench seat. She was tempted to turn the conversation back to Britt, but instead she made her escape for the bathroom.
Times like these, being pregnant was pretty convenient.
*****
POPPY MADE A POINTto get a substitute teacher for Lacey’s next doctor appointment. Lacey would have come after her, anyway, because since the afternoon at The Wheel House, she had been avoiding Beck as intensely as he’d been avoiding her. Neither of them wanted their friends to misunderstand their friendship, and both figured the best way to do that was to put distance between them.
So Poppy agreed to go with Lacey, and this time they were totally going shopping and for a girly lunch before coming home. And Lacey was going to buy herself a little wading pool to put on the back porch so she could cool off at the end of the day.
And a bathing suit. One that was cute and would grow with her.
“Do you want to know the sex of the baby today?” Dr. Fredrick asked when she entered the exam room.
Lacey’s pulse leaped. “I didn't think it would be today.”
“Well, you’re far enough along, it just depends on the position of the baby. Do you want to know, or not?”
“Can my friend come back here with me, when I find out?”
“Of course. I’ll get Jane to call her back after I examine you.” She gestured to the nurse in pink scrubs standing by the door. “Any problems?”
“She wants spicy food all the time.” In fact, Lacey was going through bottles of salsa faster than the coffee she used to live on.
“You better watch out about that. You don't want acid reflux once the pregnancy progresses. It will not be fun.”
“Is it a little early for cravings?”
Dr. Fredrick shook her head. “When I was pregnant with my son, I wanted sour cream on everything, and that was before I even realized I was pregnant. The body craves what it craves.”
“The spicy food won’t hurt the baby, will it? I tried to look online, but I thought I’d ask to make sure.”
“He’ll be fine. You might want to dial back once you start nursing, though.”
“Oh. Yes.” She hadn’t even gotten that far, to think about nursing. She needed to look into it more. Her work schedule might make it pretty challenging, unless she could pump in the car between patients.
She scooted back on the exam table and put her feet in the stirrups, staring at the ceiling while she was examined.
