Page 77 of Blue Norther
Lily smiled as she sat next to me. “Lacy wanted to be here, and she made me promise to bring along her gift for you and the baby, which of course, I did.”
“That’s so sweet of her. But you didn’t have to bring anything along. I’m just grateful for the friendship. Book club does sound like a blast.” I sighed.
“I feel like I need to warn you that book club usually has absolutely nothing to do with books, but we’re all so excited to change that up and read yours!” Mae laughed.
“What are you all talking about at book club if you’re not discussing books?” I asked.
“Sexy times and cock—” Mae started to say before Sloane placed her hand playfully over Mae’s mouth.
“Dolly is right over there,” she hissed.
“Oh, honey. Don’t think I haven’t heard everything there is to know about a man, or what you can do with him. Hell, you wantto see Danny turn redder than a beet? Ask him what we were doing when he had his heart attack.”
“Ma!” Jessie groaned.
“What? There’s a reason why I ended up with five kids. I’m not just good at baking pies.”
“Speaking of kids.” Birdie cleared her throat, her long, blonde hair not hiding one bit of the blush that highlighted her full cheeks. “Are you feeling ready for the baby to come?”
I nodded. “Yes. So ready. And also, no. Not ready at all.”
“Well, don’t worry. Newborns don’t require a lot of things. So if you’ve got a car seat, a bassinet, and some pajamas, you’ll be okay.”
“His room is already done,” I admitted.
“Colt hasn’t said anything about that.” Dolly looked surprised. “I asked him the other day, and he just said the baby would be sleeping in your room with you.”
“Oh, he will be. But Colt put the nursery together…years ago. He told me it was just a storage room now when I first moved back in with him, but we went in there together and he showed me. It's all done, and it's perfect.”
“I had no idea,” Dolly whispered.
“Are you okay with that? It wasn’t too painful, was it?” Jessie asked.
“No. It was exactly what I needed to breathe a little, I think.” I turned towards Sloane and Lily. “I lost several pregnancies before our divorce. The last one was…It’s the reason I had to leave. I just hated seeing the pain I was causing Colt. He was meant to be a dad. And I couldn’t be the thing that stood in the way of that.”
“I get that.” Mae gave me a sad smile, Lily reaching over to grab her hand.
“Nothing bad is going to happen this time,” Lily whispered.
Mae’s words finally registered. “You’re expecting, too?” I asked.
Mae smiled with the rest of the women in the room as her hand went to her belly. “I am. We’re trying not to let anxiety get the best of us after our miscarriage. It’s such a common experience, and yet, it feels like the most isolating thing I’ve ever been through.”
“If you ever need someone to vent to who gets it, I’m here,” I offered.
“I appreciate that so much.” Mae blew out her breath. “Gosh, should we get presents underway? I didn’t mean to steal thunder and make that about me!”
“You didn’t at all,” I tried to assure her. “I’m grateful you shared that with me.”
“Well, if we’re doing presents, I would love to go first.” Dolly stood up, grabbing a white bag with blue and pink bows on it. “I have such big dreams of spoiling this little one absolutely rotten, honey. I hope you know that. But this is something special for today. Just for you. I’ve been working on it nonstop since you showed up for family dinner and finished it up last night, thank the Lord.” Dolly stood and brought her gift over to me.
“I already love it so much, Ma. Thank you. For still loving me. For welcoming me back.”
“Violet, you never left our hearts. Not for one minute.”
I smiled. Reaching into the bag in front of me, I felt the soft fabric as I pulled out the most magnificent cream colored quilt. I held it up, the fabric falling to the floor as my breath caught in my lungs. Around the border were horses with patches of violets at their feet.
“Colts and violets. I know it’s silly, but I just have always had a vision for it since the two of you were engaged. That one day, you’d lay your baby on this blanket behind your house, and they’d get some sunshine while you and Colt laughed about howcute they were.” Her voice caught and tears welled in my eyes. It was so thoughtful. Beyond beautiful.
