Page 113 of Lone Star Longing
“Sometimes. But mostly I read books.”
“On your phone?”
“Sometimes that’s the best and fastest way to get them. Do you watch movies, too?”
“Just YouTube mostly.”
“They love to watch other kids do things on YouTube. I just don't get it,” Tanya said.
“Says the woman who likes to watch other people buy houses on television,” Leonard teased fondly.
“So are you having any cravings?” Joyce asked Lacey.
“I was craving sour cream for a while. Anything with vinegar. Right now, not too much.”
“And it’s a boy and a girl?”
“That’s what the last sonogram showed.”
“And Jesse is definitely out of the picture?”
Lacey glanced a little anxiously at the kids, not wanting to have that discussion in front of them. “He made himself clear.”
“His loss,” Leonard said.
“Thank you,” Lacey said. “I think so, too.”
“So your plan is...to raise them by yourself?”
Lacey had wondered how she was going to bring up Beck to her family. She had kind of thought it would just happen. He had asked if she wanted him to show up tonight, but like with Marianne, she wanted to keep tonight with just her family.
“My plan is to raise them by myself, with Dad’s help, but I actually am seeing someone.”
Again, she didn't want to go into details in front of her niece and nephew. Her mother and sister’s reactions told her all she needed to know about how that conversation was going to go.
“You’re seeing someone? In your condition?” Joyce demanded.
“Um, yes. We have gotten close over the last couple of months, and he’s actually been to a c couple of my birthing classes and doctor appointments, though I’m sticking with Poppy as my birthing coach.”
“Who is he? Do we know him?”
“Beck Conover.”
“Beck Conover. How do I know that name?”
“The family’s been here for a long time. They live on the outskirts of town. He’d left town to join the service, then he went to school and worked for Riley Foster a while. He came back to town because his mom wasn't doing so well—she’s one of my patients—and he’s been fixing up her house, and now building one of his own.”
“And you’re, what? Going to live there with him?”
“We aren’t sure where we’re at yet.” Okay, she wasn't sure where they were, because she had the same doubts she could see on the faces of her mother and sister. She didn't want to say he’d proposed and she’d turned him down. If they found out, she’d deal with it. But she wasn't going to volunteer the information. “Look, he’ll be around, and I didn't want to blindside you, but I’ve been talking about myself since you got here. Let me hear what’s going on with you all.”
Her sister, as expected, had tons to tell about her new job as an attendance clerk at her kids’ elementary school, the first time she’d been in the workforce in years, since she had the kids. Now that they were both in school, Tanya was working, and she loved it. Granted, she’d only been working about a month, since Caydence had just started kindergarten in August.
Her mother filled her in on the social events she attended as a successful lawyer’s wife. She talked about all the shopping she enjoyed as she hunted for new outfits for the different occasions.
“God I missed shopping when I lived out here. I could shop every single day. What do you do? Where do you get your maternity clothes? I didn't see anything between here and the highway, so I know the selection here hasn’t improved.”
“Poppy and I go shopping when we go in to San Angelo for my appointments. Otherwise I just order online. There’s never a day you don't see a UPS truck in town.”
