Page 29 of Unexpectedly Falling
“They work at the elementary school,” Bea whispers to me.
“Yes, but you get to give them back.”
“And I’ll give this one back too. Lord knows I’m not ready to have one yet.”
“Why’s that? People have babies before they get married all the time,” Bea asks as I relax into my chair and enjoy the show.
“Because I’m gonna get one exactly like me and they’ll be a wild little hellion and I’m just not ready for Montana to look at me likesee what I’ve had to deal with?” The other two crack up as Ellison turns to me with a wry smile. “My fiancé is a very patient man.”
“That’s an understatement,” Cal murmurs into his coffee. She elbows him and he shoots me a wink. They remind me of Kinsley and it makes me miss my best friend even more.
“You don’t have to put up with me, you know,” Ellison snarks and Cal just shrugs.
“But I always wanted another sister.” He rolls his eyes dramatically then says, “Nessa, if you like reading or reading adjacent things, my sister, Hannah, has a shop called Wandering Pages in Clementine Creek. There’re soaps, jewelry, candles—a little bit of everything, really. She tries to keep her vendors local when she can.”
“She sells all of Bea’s products too. They’re amazing and I’m not just saying that,” Ellison adds as Bea’s cheeks heat but she nods.
“I own Bea’s Bubbles and Balms. I was sourcing the goat milk before but now…” She trails off, her lips twitching up into a smile.
“We house her goats,” Ellison says, with a manic sort of glee that means there’s a story there.
“They do and Hannah is amazing. You should definitely stop in and check it out.”
“I think Jensen’s guest bath is stocked with all your products. I really liked the lavender-scented lotion I used last night.”
“Everyone has been so kind supporting me.”
“It’s because you’re amazing and you make high quality goods,” Ellison states firmly.
Bea rests her head on Ellison’s shoulder and sighs before sitting up. “Speaking of, I have a couple of orders I need to fill today. Nessa, what’s your number? I’ll add you to our group chat.”
“Oh, umm…”
“We don’t get the camera face and we don’t get the runaround,” Cal chimes in.
“Exactly. Besides, you’re ours now,” Ellison adds.
“I won’t be here for very long. I’ll be back in Nashville the end of January.” I meet their annoyed expressions and feel my lips tip up in one corner as I rattle off my number.
“See? That wasn’t so hard was it?” Humor dances in Bea’s gaze as Ellison passes Remi to Cal.
“She’ll learn to like us,” Cal says, but I’m not sure if he’s talking about the baby or me.
“She has to—no takebacks, and you know how I feel about people.” Ellison sniffs.
“Yeah, you’re a real delight.” His smile says he knows how to push her buttons, and even though I hate to admit it, I do like these people already.
Dammit, Blackstone Falls, what did I ever do to you?
14
JENSEN
“Do you want me to do it?” Nessa asks, looking at me from where she’s lying on the floor next to Remi. My daughter hates tummy time, much preferring to be on her back where she can flail her arms and legs around.
“No, I can do it,” I say more confidently than I feel as I stare at my mama’s number on the screen.
“I mean of the two of us, my day waswaymore traumatic than yours.”
