Sister's Choice (17 page)

“It’s going to be a long pregnancy, isn’t it?”

“You don’t know the half of it, Sis. We’re both going to be very glad the day it’s over.”

W
ith the unshakable determination of a flock of geese heading south, the remainder of the summer flew by. Between registering the girls for school and preschool, buying supplies and school clothes, and making sure all their paperwork, immunizations and checkups were in order, the last few weeks passed quickly. Those hours when the summer had stretched endlessly had transformed into busy days filled with purpose, new friends and pleasurable visits to Cashel Orchard to see Lucky and Granny Grace.

The word was out, too, about the pregnancy, since at nearly fifteen weeks Jamie was displaying the evidence for all to see. She wasn’t sure how the details had become known. She suspected Elisa Kinkade had, in her gentle, reasoned way, explained the situation to key members of the Shenandoah Community Church, and they had passed the word.

Although some people purposely ignored the pregnancy, as if it were a missing nose or ear at which they were afraid to be caught staring, others found ways of showing quiet support. Helen Henry, who was still waging an underground war with Grace, arrived with fresh eggs and half a bushel of produce from the vegetable garden she kept with the help of Cissy Claiborne. Cissy added a dozen of the best biscuits Jamie had ever eaten and a chocolate meringue pie. The bee had begun work on a large crazy quilt made from different types of fabrics, so that the babies could lie on the floor and investigate the bright colors and varied textures with their tiny fingers.

Somehow, though, in all the flurry of preparation, Jamie had hardly seen Cash for more than a word or two. The Rosslyn and Rosslyn crew was working hard on the house, and more than a few times she and the girls had spent their days elsewhere to avoid the relentless beeping of heavy machinery and the whine of stone saws. When they were at home, Cash came and went quickly, since this wasn’t the company’s only project. Once he’d stopped by the cabin for a cup of coffee, but had been forced to drink it on her front porch when a subcontractor arrived to hash out the eventual placement of fixtures in a guest bathroom.

On the Friday morning before Labor Day, Jamie pulled out the dress she and Kendra had bought for the home builders’ association dance that night. Unfortunately, they had hit the stores between the summer clearance sales and the arrival of new fall merchandise. The fall dresses had seemed stodgy and plain, roomier than she needed and not dressy enough. The summer dresses had been largely picked over. She’d settled on a taupe jersey A-line with a nice drape to it, hoping that between her jewelry and scarves and Kendra’s, she could find something that would vault it from ordinary to wonderful. Now, staring at the dress, she knew she had her work cut out for her. So far, Kendra hadn’t brought her any appropriate jewelry, and her own was fairly tame.

Cash had said sparkly. With the distance of a few weeks she could see that she should have kept searching, perhaps taking a day in Northern Virginia at one of the larger malls. This dress would be fine if she ever went to church. It would be fine for dinner out. It was not and never would be fine for a dance.

Hannah and Alison were sitting on the bed watching with interest. “What color is that dress?” Hannah asked. “What do you call it?”

Hannah and Alison were both fascinated by color now. Grace was working with them on their quilts, helping them arrange the blocks they had cut into pleasing arrangements. It was “art camp” Grace style, and the girls had learned a lot—and quickly.

“Taupe,” Jamie said. “Which is what you call something that’s not gray or brown or beige. It’s a word that covers a lot of territory.”

“It’s Dirty Day color,” Alison said. “Like my pants on Dirty Day.”

“Out of the mouths of babes.” Jamie held the dress at arm’s length and screwed up her face. Alison’s opinion was too close to the truth.

She slid the dress back into the wardrobe, and one at a time lifted out the three other dresses hanging there. One might serve if she wasn’t pregnant, but she was fairly sure she could no longer zip it. The other two were simple cotton sundresses. She took out the taupe jersey again. She was stuck with it.

“I have a pretty lace scarf thingie,” she said. “And some good pearls. I’ll pretend I’m Grace Kelly.”

“Who’s Grace Kelly?”

“She was a princess and a movie star. Very classy lady.” The problem was that tonight Jamie wanted to look like Penelope Cruz or Scarlett Johansson. Not just classy, but daring, and definitely glamorous.

The cabin door opened, and a voice drifted upstairs. “Anybody home?”

The girls squealed and ran down the steps. Jamie went to the railing and peeked down at her sister.

“What are you doing here?”

“I’m supposed to pick out kitchen cabinets, and I brought you something.”

Jamie hoped that Kendra had finally located Riva’s discarded rhinestones, and that they would work a miracle.

She joined the crew downstairs and gave her sister a hug. Kendra rested her hand on Jamie’s belly. “Definitely bigger.”

“When I was this far along with Hannah, nobody knew it.”

“How are you feeling?”

“Like I’m going to set a world’s record for weight gain if I’m not careful. Morning sickness disappeared, and I can’t seem to get enough to eat.”

Kendra held up a shopping bag. “I brought you Lebanese deli food from our local market and fresh croissants from my favorite bakery.”

Jamie’s mouth watered. Middle Eastern food was a weakness of hers, one of those rare weaknesses that were actually good for her. And Kendra knew she would do almost anything legal for fresh croissants.

“If men only realized the real way to a woman’s heart. Yum! What’s in the other bag?”

“A couple of things I found at Nordstrom. You don’t have to wear either of them. I can take them back. But just in case you’re having regrets about that dress…”

Jamie closed her eyes. “Please, let it be true.”

When she opened them, Kendra looked pleased. “I thought you might. I went scrounging through old boxes looking for Riva’s rhinestones or something to pep it up, and it finally hit me that it’s the dress that’s the problem. So I did a little power shopping.”

Jamie was already reaching for the bag. “Whatever you have there, I’ll wear it. I’ll wear them both, one on top of the other.”

Kendra snatched back the bag. “Actually, there are a couple more things in here for later. Do you know how cute maternity clothes are these days?”

Jamie felt a pang. She knew Kendra had shopped for her because she really wanted Jamie to feel pretty on what was the closest thing to a date she’d had in her months in Virginia. But she also imagined that Kendra had felt some genuine conflict looking through the racks of pretty dresses. Kendra should be the one wearing maternity clothes, not Jamie. And no matter how grateful she was that Jamie was carrying her children, no matter how excited she was that soon she would be a mother, Kendra had to feel sad that the clothes were never going to belong to her.

“Thanks, sis,” Jamie said, putting her hand over Kendra’s. “Your taste is wonderful. I know I’ll love whatever you got me.”

“Then let’s have a fashion show. What do you say, girls? Do you want to see your mommy all dressed up?”

Half an hour later Jamie redonned the first new dress she’d tried on for her fashion consultants and studied herself again in the full-length mirror in the girls’ room. “This is the one. This is definitely the one I’m going to wear tonight.”

Kendra gave a wolf whistle. “Hard decision, since both the dressy dresses look great on you. Shall I take the other one back?”

“Over my dead body. I’ll find a use for it or die trying.” Jamie admired herself in the mirror one last time. This dress was black, with a velvet bodice, narrow rhinestone-studded straps and a long taffeta skirt. It tied in the front, so it would expand as she did, and although the “bump” was visible for anyone paying attention, she still looked feminine and sexy.

Decision made, the girls wandered off to play on the porch. Kendra got up and retied the bow at the waist, fussing with it as she spoke.

“I do have Riva’s jewelry with me, but I’m thinking nothing around your neck. The line is so pretty as is, and you have just the right tan for it. But dangly earrings. I brought some for you to choose from. And maybe one of her more discreet pins at the heart of this bow. You can try some and see.”

“I’ll wear my hair up.” Jamie paused. “I was just going to let it hang. I should have made an appointment somewhere.”

“Beat you to it. I made one for you in Woodstock—for a manicure and pedicure, too.” Kendra checked her watch. “In one hour. Will that work? I’ll stay with the girls.”

Jamie hugged her. Besides the black dress, Kendra had bought a short red cocktail dress with a discreet lacy overlay that would have made a hit tonight, too. And with them were three tops, a far more sedate green wrap dress for everyday and a pair of corduroy jeans for the chilly weather to come. Jamie liked them all.

“You’re awfully good to me,” she said.

“I want you to have fun. Now, do you need me to stay and take care of the girls tonight, too?”

“Grace is going to keep them at her house. I’ll go home with Cash afterward and spend the night, too.” She realized how that sounded. “With Grace and the girls.”

Kendra smiled. “I knew what you meant. That’ll work fine. I’m on a pretty tight deadline after the weekend. But anytime you need me to stay, just let me know.” She paused, then smiled more broadly. “Maybe this will turn into a habit?”

Jamie pretended to misunderstand. “I don’t think the home builders’ association has that many dances.”

“You know what I mean. Going out with Cash.”

“I’ll settle for just seeing him a little more often. He’s one busy guy.” Jamie glanced at Kendra to make sure she understood. “I’m not in this for keeps, you know. It’s nice to have a guy around to flirt with and talk to. It does get a little lonely here from time to time.”

“You’re not looking for someone to be serious about?”

“Would it matter? Look at me. Single mother of two active girls, pregnant with two more that aren’t my own. A long, time-consuming internship ahead of me. A terrible track record with men. A life history that points out serious flaws in my reasoning. What kind of bargain would I be?”

“Come on, you’re intelligent, talented, resourceful, cued in to your own shortcomings, a wonderful mother, beautiful and rich. Sounds like a great package to me.”

Jamie enjoyed her sister’s praise, but she was caught short by that final adjective. “I wonder if Cash knows I’m rich.”

“He knows Isaac and I can do almost anything we want with the new house. I’ve never discussed the details.”

“You know, I don’t think that would make one bit of difference to him.”

“I’d say that’s a mark in his favor. And I hope you’re right. I’m not sure what Cash is about, but he doesn’t seem to be about living off anybody else.”

“Do you think I should tell him?”

“Why? You said yourself you’re not in this for keeps.”

Jamie wasn’t sure, but she thought she heard the faintest taunt in her sister’s voice. “Well, I guess if we start trading portfolio advice, I’ll mention it.”

“Or maybe just trading the stories of your lives.”

Cash had already said a lot about his own past. Maybe it was time to come clean and tell him everything about herself. Maybe it would be good practice for the future.

Or maybe it was simply time to stop pretending that what he thought didn’t really matter.

Cash brought Jamie orchids. One was an old-fashioned pale lavender wrist corsage. According to the tag, the other one, with its bright pink bloom, was a Phalaenopsis orchid in a wicker basket to set outside on the porch or on the window ledge behind the sink.

“They’re not as hard to grow as you think,” he said when she didn’t respond immediately. “Just water it when it gets dry, add a little orchid fertilizer to the water and it’ll bloom every year.”

“It’s not that. I’ll take great care of it.” She looked up. “It’s just that I’m a big orchid fan. How did you know?”

“You’ve got the cutest orchid in the world at the base of your spine. More or less an advertisement, wouldn’t you say?”

She wasn’t given to blushing, but she felt her cheeks grow warm. “And what are you doing looking at the base of my spine?”

“Where else would a man look when your shirt rides up? Not that it has lately. That’s the thing about maternity clothes.”

“This is a maternity dress. How bad is it?” She spread her arms wide.

“You look like an angel. Well, maybe not an angel, exactly.” He grinned. “You look beautiful.”

“And you don’t look bad yourself. Dress clothes suit you.” The dark jacket made his hair seem even darker, and the blue in the tie brought out the unusual hue of his eyes.

Grace came out to the porch. Jamie had brought the girls up to the farmhouse in the late afternoon, then changed into her dress and done her makeup in the guest room where she would sleep tonight. Grace and the girls had already told her she looked gorgeous, but it was doubly nice to hear it from Cash.

“It’s cooled off so much today, I’m afraid you’re going to be cold later,” Grace told Jamie. “Would you like this?”

Jamie took the loosely knit shawl of black-and-silver yarn with just an occasional red nub. “It’s lovely. I brought a sweater, but this is much nicer. You’re sure?”

“There are half a dozen more where that came from. They go fast. I knit when I’m not quilting. More portable. Sandra’s begged me to quit giving her scarves and socks.”

Jamie rested her cheek against the soft wool. “Thanks. I’ll enjoy it tonight.”

“It’s yours to keep, dear. It suits you perfectly.”

Jamie gave her a hug as another thank-you.

“If we’re all done with the oohs and ahs, I think we’d better scoot,” Cash said.

“Shall I say goodbye to the girls again?” Jamie asked Grace.

“It would require a trip upstairs to my sewing room. I’d advise against it. When I left, they were fully occupied sorting darks and lights with a bit of friendly disagreement.”

“Thanks for taking them. They’ve been so excited all day.”