Small Town Love

Chapter Twenty-Four

Chapter Twenty-Four

Grace was awakened by the scent of bacon frying which had stomach rolling and her scrambling from the bed and rushing to the bathroom. Her gags and heaves soon drew an audience. She glanced at the door to find Ester, Meg, Patricia and Cadence watching her with frowns on their faces.

"Are you sick, mommy?" Cadence asked, laying her little hand on Grace's back.

Grace's stomach was still weak and she was light headed as she stood up straight and leaned against the wall. "A little, gremlin."

"Just pre-wedding jitters, I'm sure!" Patricia said a bit too loudly. "Now come on Ester and Cadence. Let's go finish breakfast so we can all eat and get starting on making the bride beautiful."

"My mommy is already beautiful," Cadence argued as Patricia led her down the hall.

"Yes, I know, but we're going to make her a bombshell," Patricia replied.

"What's a bombshell?" Cadence asked, her brow wrinkling in a frown and they moved too far away from Grace to hear their conversation.

"Grace?" Meg said quietly as she stepped into the bathroom and grabbed a washcloth from the cupboard. She ran it under some cold water and handed it to Grace who placed it against her mouth and breathed deep. "I've done this for you before," her friend stated bluntly.

"Yes, you have," Grace whispered, resting her free hand over her stomach.

Meg put her hand on her arm gently. "Are you pregnant?"

Grace fixed her gaze on the faded yellow paint across the room and tried to focus on breathing instead of giving in to her queasiness. Was she pregnant? It would explain the weak stomach she'd had the last couple of days and the sudden exhaustion that she had explanation for.

"I might be," she whispered.

"How does that make you feel?" Meg questioned, keeping her voice even. It dawned on Grace that they'd had this exact same conversation over ten years ago when she had discovered she was pregnant with Cadence.

How did she feel about the possibility of being pregnant? She didn't have that overwhelming sense of dread and hopelessness that she'd felt the last time. Vince was a good man--a great man--and he'd been a natural father with Cadence. Money wouldn't be a concern and the baby would be well provided for and Grace wouldn't have the stress of raising the child alone.

Grace found her mind wandering to what their baby might look like. Would it have her gray eyes and Vince's dark hair? Or perhaps her auburn hair and his sharp green eyes. Would he or she share their father's little half smile or have her wide expressive grin?

Grace felt her lips curving into a smile. "Happy," she finally replied. "I'm happy."

"I'm going to run to my house and get a test," Meg offered. "I always keep them in the cupboard just in case," she added at the sight of Grace's raised brow.

Grace nodded and Meg gave her a small hug before bouncing away down the hall. Grace was unable to stop herself from groaning at the sight of all Meg's energy. Today was supposed to be her day to be energetic and happy. She certainly wasn't supposed to feel like death.

Tears pricked behind her eyes, furthering her belief that she was already suffering from pregnancy hormone overload, and then she gripped the toilet and fell to her knees as her stomach rolled.

***

"Nothing to do now but wait the full two minutes," Meg stated as she sat the test on the sink and covered it with a washcloth to keep herself and Grace from peeking. Then she took a seat on the edge of the tub with Grace.