Page 47 of More Bite than Bark

“You two act like you’ve been married for years,” Mama said, sounding surprised.

“What do you mean?”Elizabeth glanced at her before checking the eggs.They weren’t quite ready to flip yet.

“You work together and move around the room as if you’ve done it for years.”She tilted her head to one side and watched them for a moment.“You communicate with a look or a touch, almost as if you’re reading each other’s minds.I don’t know how you can do that so quickly with Kevin when you never did it with Michael.”

Elizabeth bit the inside of her lip as she tried to figure out how much and what to tell Mama.

“That’s partly because Michael never let us be more than acquaintances.”

“That’s not true.”Mama frowned.“That can’t be true.You were engaged.”

“We were.But it wasn’t because we loved each other.I can’t speak to what he thought or felt.I can only tell you from my perspective.I dated him because it was easy.I said yes when he proposed because it was expected.But no matter how much time we spent together, he rarely touched me.I can count the number of times he kissed me, really kissed me, not just a peck here or there, on one hand.And it was at his insistence that there’s no chance this baby is his.”She was quiet for a couple of seconds debating how much to say.“I’ve found out since there were probably reasons for that, but it’s not my place to tell his secrets.”She ignored that she’d already said something about it to Mama, when they’d met at the diner the week before, but if Mama hadn’t caught it or didn’t remember it, Elizabeth wasn’t going to remind her.“Mama, I thought you would have figured it out by now.”She turned and looked at Kevin.

He met her gaze and lifted one brow.She nodded once, prompting him to say it.

“Sandy,” Kevin stepped in behind Elizabeth, sliding one hand around her waist to rest low on her belly.“The baby is mine.”

Mama stared at them both eyes wide and clearly at a loss for words.Now, if only they could be so lucky when telling his mother.

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Hexhadbeensurprisedwhen he’d gotten the call this morning that there was someone at the gate.But he’d gone up and had been even more surprised when Sandy was the one sitting outside the gate.But they’d told her she was welcome to visit, so he brought her back to the house, the whole time mentally scrambling for what they could tell her if Elle was still sick when they got there.

Thankfully, his worry had been for nothing.But there was no way he would be leaving Sandy alone with Elle any time soon.Not because he thought she was a danger to Elle, but because he didn’t want Elle upset and Sandy seemed to think nothing of the cutting and mean things she said to her daughter.

He would stay with them as long as Mama stayed so he could call an end to it if she went too far.

It had been all he could do to keep from grinning when Elle told her mother about her pregnancy.Not just because of the stunned look on Sandy’s face, but because Elle had stood up for herself.In all the years he’d known her, he couldn’t recall Elle ever standing up to her mother like that.He knew it wasn’t easy for her, and he was proud of her for it.When she moved back to the stove, he stayed close to her, letting her know without words that he had her back.

“That went better than I thought,” he said as he closed the door behind Sandy an hour later.

“It did.And thank you for staying so she didn’t get nasty again.”She moved in close and wrapped her arms around his waist.

“Any time, sugar, any time.I didn’t know you’d decided to tell her about the baby.”

“I hadn’t until she started to get nasty, then it occurred to me it would be an easy way to make sure she behaves.”She laid her head against his chest.

Hex wrapped his arms around her and closed his eyes as he took a moment to appreciate that she was here with him and this was where she wanted to be.

“Plus, all I’ll have to do for the next few months is lay my hand on my belly and she’ll behave.”Elle looked up at him, propping her chin on his chest.“But now we can tell your mom.How do you think she’ll react?”

He looked down at her face.

“I’d like to say she’ll be excited, but you know Mother.She’ll probably be as unhappy that we’re not legally married as Mama, but she’s already learned that I won’t put up with her being nasty so it should be easier, at least on that front.”

She stared up at him for a moment.He could tell by her expression she was thinking of something, but he couldn’t tell what.

“What are you thinking?”

She made a face that bared her teeth in an almost grimace.“That we should probably tell your mother, and soon, or Mama will.If you’re okay with that, then okay, but it will give her something else to be difficult about.”

Hex closed his eyes for a moment, he wanted to tell Mother, but they would have some of the same issues with her as they’d had with Mama.They weren’t married and at the moment, had no plans to get married.

Did Hex want to marry Elle?Of course.But she’s just had an issue with one wedding, he didn’t want to rush her into another.He didn’t want her to feel trapped.

“Let me call Mother and see what she’s got going on.This is something we should do in person, if possible, don’t you think?”He looked down at Elle, who still had her chin propped on his chest as she watched him.

“I do.”