Page 107 of Wilde Flame

“Are you okay?” Moreen asked with a caring smile.

“I’m fine. My mother’s probably going to freak when she sees it.”

At that very moment, my phone rang. I glanced down at my desk and groaned.

“I’ll let you get that. Twenty minutes until we open.”

“Thanks, Moreen.”

Taking a deep breath, I answered. “Morning, Mom.”

“Good morning, sweetheart. How are you feeling?”

“Better. The morning sickness seems to be going away slowly.”

“Are you at Caden’s?”

“No, I’m not home. I’m at the store.”

“You haven’t, by chance, seen the paper this morning, have you?”

I closed my eyes. What was she going to say about this? My mother hated drama even more than I did. “Yes, I’ve seen it.”

“I don’t know why that woman has to post such personal information. It’s just a daily rag.”

“And she knows that, Mom. The whole point of her article is to report town gossip.”

“Yes, but this isn’t about someone’s chickens being stolen. This is a person’s life. What if you weren’t ready for people to know you were pregnant? This makes me so angry, I have a mind to go down to her store and tell her what I think about her Daily Dirt garbage!”

I laughed. “Mom, you’ve always loved reading the gossip column.”

“That was before my daughter was in it!”

“It wasn’t that bad, Mom.”

“No, but don’t you think you should be the one who decides when to tell everyone you’re pregnant? Now the whole town knows, and they also know you and Caden are living together. I knew we should have just purchased that house down the street. There’s still time. No one has put an offer in yet.”

“Mom, please don’t do this to me. I’ve already moved in with Caden and I’m comfortable there. We have a good routine down.”

“Well,” she sighed. “I guess once the baby comes, he’ll be there to help.”

I didn’t dare tell my mother I thought Caden was avoiding me.

“Yes, he will. Mom, I’ve got to run. I’ve got someone scheduled as soon as we open. Talk soon?”

“Yes, of course. I love you. Don’t work too hard!”

Smiling, I replied, “I won’t. Love you too.”

I quickly ate my sugary breakfast and headed out to get ready for my first customers of the morning.

Leaning down, I carefully pulled the pan of lasagna out of the oven and set it on the stove. I drew in a deep breath and smiled.

“What smells so good?”

I glanced over my shoulder at Caden, who was looking as handsome as ever as he stood there, leaning against the doorframe, a baseball cap on and dressed in jeans, boots, and a long-sleeved shirt that had the ranch logo on the upper chest.

Looking away before I started to drool, I replied, “I got Nellie’s lasagna recipe.”