Page 57 of Derecho

“That means a lot to me. And I’d love to use some of Beckett’s old clothes. Thank you, Jess. Really. Thank you.”

“Good. Okay, I’ll text Hawk and put him to work.” She laughed, pulling out her phone while I started to move down the aisle again.

“Come on.” Violet slipped her arm through mine, changing the direction I was heading in. “We have another place to be.”

“We do?” I asked. I thought we were only coming into town for the bookstore.

“Yep.” Birdie laughed. “We were given strict instructions from Lach to make sure we fed you on our adventure today before bringing you back home.”

“Why? I can just eat at the house…” Lach hadn’t had a problem with me cooking while I’d been living there. Was he actually upset and needed time to decompress?

“He also told us not to bring you back until after 2:00, and that lunch was on him.” Jessie laughed. “I can’t wait to eat my weight in Ma’s chicken.”

We left the shop, walking the length of the block before turning onto Ford Avenue right at Dolly’s Diner. I hadn’t been in ages, but as soon as the door opened, the smell of fried chicken made my mouth salivate.

“You ready to go?” Violet asked as I sat back, holding my belly as it tightened. I hadn’t been walking as much these last few days, and clearly the little space invader hadn’t appreciated the effort it took to get from the bookstore to the diner.

“Yep. This was delicious, but I fear I’m running out of room to put food with how big he’s getting,” I groaned.

“I remember that feeling. I didn’t make it to my due date, but Connor was already so jam packed in my belly, I can’t imagine how much bigger I could have gotten.”

Birdie’s hand landed on my belly, her eyes narrowing. “How long has your belly been tight like this?”

I brushed her away. “Off and on for a while. It’s just Braxton Hicks.”

The table went uncomfortably quiet. “You, uh…agree with that assessment, Birdie?” Hayes asked, his eyes so wide I wanted to laugh.

“Yeah, I do.” But my sister stayed right by my side as I moved out of the booth and to the register.

“Lach already paid, honey. You go right home and rest.” Dolly smiled as she wiped down the counter. I knew she didn’t work here full-time anymore, and I couldn’t help but wonder if she’d come in just because we would be here for lunch.

“Dolly, could I have a slice of your chocolate silk pie to go?” I asked.

“It really is so good, isn’t it? I don’t blame you one bit for taking some home for later.”

“Oh, it’s not for me.” Her face fell. “No, no. It was delicious and I would love to have some later…it’s just that, you said it was Lach’s favorite when I ordered it with lunch, and I thought he should get to have some, too.”

“Well, that’s very thoughtful of you, Lainey. I’ll pack up a pie and you both can enjoy it.”

“I like chocolate pie, too!” Hayes whined, winking at me.

“And you’re perfectly able to march your behind over here and buy one if you’d like.” Dolly smirked as she slid the pie tin into a white cardboard box and handed it over the counter to me.

“I’ll just carry Lainey’s to the car.” Hayes took the box from me.

“Thank you for taking that, but I’m not giving away a piece of Lach’s pie without his permission.”

“Glad my brother has such a loyal friend.” He walked to the front of the diner, opening the door as we all said goodbye to Dolly.

“I think you’re really going to like that book Jessie suggested,” Birdie whispered a few minutes later as Hayes helped me into Violet’s SUV. He handed me the seatbelt, and stood by like he wanted to watch me click it into place.

“Uh, thanks…but I’ve got this. You can get in the car.”

“I feel like I should buckle you in. You know, Lach would kill me if something happened to you.”

“I’ve got it.” My sister chuckled as she grabbed the seatbelt from my hand and clicked it into place. “Stand down, Hayes. She’s safe.”

I turned back to Birdie as the car door shut gently beside me. “I feel like I probably should have picked up that book months ago.”