“Broody?”

“Like I need to nest with a chick or two.”

“Two?”

“Didn’t you ever want more than one child?”

He shrugged. “Devon was an only child and wanted Tiffany to be an only child. That was fine with me.”

“Tiffany wants a little brother.”

“I know, but she wants a lot of things she doesn’t get.”

“She doesn’t want us to see each other.”

He fit the tubes together. “When Tiff and I get back from Austin after the first, I’m sure she’ll be over it.”

Adele wished she could share his optimism.

“We’ll take her and Kendra to a movie or something.”

It could work, or it could be disastrous. “Okay.”

“It’s a date.”

She shook her head. “No dates.” She liked Zach, and the last thing she needed was for the curse to rear its head.

“What is it with you and your aversion to dating?”

If she told him, he’d think she was crazy.

Zach handed Tiffany a box of Christmas ornaments and reached in it for a gold-foil star. Even though they would be in Austin on Christmas Day, they trimmed the tree together every year. Devon had hired a professional, but he and Tiffany liked to pick out a tree and do it themselves. “Why didn’t you mention that you saw me kiss Adele the other day after the game?”

Tiffany shrugged a shoulder but didn’t look up from the colored bulbs in her hands. “It was embarrassing. I’m surprised it wasn’t on the news. The whole city saw you make out with her.”

That was a bit of an exaggeration. Only half the city had been there, and by no stretch of the imagination could the kiss he’d given her be confused with making out. Looking back on it now, he probably should have waited until he’d gotten Adele alone. But at the time, he hadn’t known Tiffany had been watching. “I like Adele.”

“I hate her.”

“You hate her ’cause I like her.” He climbed up onto a chair. “Which is a stupid reason.” Sometimes, Tiffany was so much like Devon that it worried him. “I haven’t noticed Kendra around here practicing this week. I hope you’re not taking out your anger on your friend.”

Tiffany hung a few bulbs on the tree and pressed her lips together. She didn’t speak, but she really didn’t need to say anything. Zach knew her well enough to know what she was thinking. He reached out for the top of the tree and shoved the star on top. “Is this straight?”

She looked up and nodded.

“I’m sure you would never cut off your nose to spite your face, sugar bug,” he said as he climbed down.

“What do you mean?”

“Just that you’re smart enough not to let how you feel about Adele get in the way of helping Kendra out. You girls have some big competitions coming up.” He knew what Tiffany wanted to hear, but that wasn’t going to happen. He wasn’t going to stop seeing Adele to make her happy. “I’d hate to see you lose because you’re mad.”

“I know what you’re doing.” She set down the box and picked up some tinsel. “I’ll be nice to Kendra ’cause I like her, and because we’re on the same dance team. But I don’t like her aunt, and I’m not going to be nice to her.”

Zach shook his head. That had gone better than he’d thought, worse than he’d hoped for. “You liked her until you found out I liked her, too. I never thought you’d be so ornery.”

“But Daddy”-two tears spilled over her lashes-“she took me shopping and talked about Momma, and I even gave her fashion advice about those stupid scrunchies she wears. And the whole time she only pretended to like me so she could see you.”

“Honey, I don’t think people have to pretend to like you.”

“Uh-huh.”

This wasn’t about Tiffany thinking people pretended to like her. That was the excuse she used. It was really about her not wanting any woman but Devon in their lives. He knew it, but he just didn’t know what to do about it.

He moved into the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of water out of the refrigerator. He and Tiffany were leaving in a few days to spend the Christmas holiday with his family in Austin. They’d be gone until after New Year’s. Maybe that’s what Tiffany needed. A break for a while. He’d told Adele that things would settle down when he and Tiffany returned. That she’d be over her anger, and he hoped he was right. He was more than ready for some postseason downtime and a little less drama.

No. A lot less drama.

Chapter 16

Christmas Day, the temperature outside Sherilyn’s hospital window was forty degrees. Brightly colored paper and bows littered the floor, and stacks of opened Christmas presents lay under and beside the little tree they had put up last week. Over cocoa and doughnuts, the three of them watched A Christmas Story on the hospital television and took turns feeling the baby kick and move within Sherilyn’s rapidly growing belly.

Adele took photos of Sherilyn and Kendra wearing Santa hats. They gorged themselves on chocolate and candy canes, and she told her sister about how hard it had been to get all the pieces of the changing table and swing together, but she didn’t tell her about Zach. Not yet. Her feelings were too new and confusing, and besides, it couldn’t go on forever. She was leaving when Sherilyn had her baby. She was looking forward to living in her own home again, surrounded by her own stuff and going about her own routines. Now that she was fairly certain her bad-date curse was broken or had run its course, she wanted to get back to living her life, but the thought of dating, of being with anyone but Zach, felt wrong. Her heart shied away from the idea of another man’s arms around her.

In the past two days that he’d been in Austin, he hadn’t called. Of course he was busy with the holiday and his family, but perhaps it was best that he was away. She needed time to herself. Time to think. With her sister in the hospital, taking care of a thirteen-year-old, and spending time with Zach, she needed a break from the emotional roller coaster that was her life here in Cedar Creek.

At four that afternoon, she and Kendra left the hospital. They ate a light dinner, and Adele went to bed. She didn’t wake until seven the next morning. She still felt tired and a little nauseous and guessed all of the excitement and chocolate had caught up with her. As she rolled over to go back to sleep, the telephone rang. For a few unguarded seconds, she thought it might be Zach.

It was the hospital. Sherilyn had just been wheeled into the delivery room. Her blood pressure had skyrocketed and they were taking the baby by caesarean.

“Kendra,” Adele called out as she ran to her niece’s room. “We have to go to the hospital. Your momma’s having the baby.”

They both grabbed up their clothes and dressed as quickly as possible.

“She was fine yesterday,” Kendra said, as frightened tears rolled down her cheeks.

Adele ran every red light on her way to the hospital, but by the time she and Kendra made it to the maternity ward, Harris Morgan had been born and whisked to the neonatal intensive care unit. Kendra sobbed uncontrollably in the tiny waiting room as they waited for Sherilyn to be wheeled to recovery. Adele held her niece and held it together until she finally saw her sister, covered up to her chin in a white sheet. She looked totally drained, and her eyes were red from crying. Kendra laid her head on her mother’s chest, looking very young and scared.

“Are you okay, Momma?” Kendra asked through her tears.

“I’m tired, but I’m fine.”

“I’m sorry I wasn’t here when you needed me,” Adele said, fighting back the tears stinging her eyes.

“You were here when I needed you the most,” Sherilyn said as she rubbed Kendra’s arm. “I don’t know what we would have done without you these past few months, Dele. Thank you.”

Adele smiled. “I’m glad I came.” And it was even the truth.

“Did you see him?” Kendra asked.

Sherilyn looked into Adele’s eyes for several more seconds before she turned her face and spoke against her daughter’s forehead. “He has dark hair just like you. When they delivered him, he started crying. Which is good. He sounded just like a kitten.” She lifted her gaze to Adele, and Adele wiped a tear from her cheek. “No more crying. I’m going to be fine. The baby is going to be fine. We’re all going to be fine.”

Later that day, Kendra and Adele wheeled Sherilyn down to the neonatal intensive care unit, and the three got to stare at Harris in his incubator. He had on a blue knitted cap and the tube to his nasal cannula was taped to his cheeks. He had a temperature probe stuck to his belly and an IV in the back of his tiny hand. The three of them touched his feet and legs, and he opened his eyes to look at them. Then he yawned, as if he’d had a tiring day, which he had, and went back to sleep.

The next three days were a blur of sleeplessness and worry. Sherilyn’s blood pressure slowly lowered, and Harris gained two ounces. Saturday afternoon, Sherilyn was well enough to be discharged, but the baby had to stay until he gained more weight. His lung function was good and improving every day, which had been the biggest worry.

As Adele and Sherilyn packed up Sherilyn’s belongings and waited for the wheelchair to take Sherilyn to the front doors, William Morgan walked into the hospital room. He looked older than Adele remembered. Shorter. His dark hair balding. She was relieved that he hadn’t brought his girlfriend with him.

“If you’ll excuse us,” he said pointedly to Adele in that dismissive way she’d always hated.

Adele looked at her sister. “Do you want me to go?”

Sherilyn shook her head. “Not unless you want to leave.”

Adele smiled and looked at her soon-to-be-ex brother-in-law. She sat on the edge of the bed and folded her arms across her chest. “I’ll stay.”