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They walked through several rooms, discussing what they liked. Micah paused by a display with classic baby furniture done in a pale gray. His body tensed, and his smile faded.
“Adriana and I were going to buy this one. We were about to place the order when she and the baby were killed.”
Dena stared at him, horrified to realize how difficult walking through the store must be for him.
“Micah, you shouldn’t have brought me here,” she said frantically. “I’m so sorry. I never thought. We’re going right now.”
Even though she tugged on his hand, he didn’t move. Instead he pulled her in front of him and cupped her face in his hand.
“Being here brings back memories, and they make me sad, but aren’t they supposed to? I’ll always love her. I’ll always regret we never picked a name for our son. It was a senseless loss, but that doesn’t mean I’m incapable of moving forward with my life. I wanted to bring you here, Dena. Nothing about that has changed.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Can’t I be sad and happy at the same time?”
“I want to say yes, of course, but I’m not sure I believe myself.”
His smile returned. “You’re always honest.”
“It’s easier. There’s less to remember.”
He chuckled. “That’s true. Now, come on. Let’s go find a princess bed. If you’re having a girl, I think it’s a requirement.”
“What if she’s not the princess bed type?”
“Then you can blame it on me.” He looked around the store, then pointed. “I see one over there.”
As they walked to the very impressive princess collection, Dena wrestled with the realization that, if she did have a girl, by the time her daughter was old enough to complain about the furniture, Micah would be years gone. He was only in Wishing Tree for the holidays. Once they were over, he would be returning to wherever it was he lived, to pick up the pieces of his life.
She’d been so busy telling herself that he wasn’t ever going to notice her as more than a friend for an assortment of reasons, including the fact that he was still in love with his late wife, that she’d forgotten an equally important fact. He wasn’t staying. He never had been. So even if there wasn’t an Adriana holding his heart, geography was going to do them in.
She would be a fool to allow herself to fall for him, and while she’d made mistakes before, she liked to think she’d never been foolish. Wouldn’t it be a shame for her to start now?
Chapter Twenty-Two
Reggie sorted the pictures her sister had emailed into chronological order. She wanted the slideshow to be about fifteen minutes long, which meant they would need close to two hundred pictures. She currently had about a hundred forty. Dena had a couple of albums for them to go through together.
Once she’d rearranged everything, she started the slideshow on her computer and sat back to watch. She’d barely gotten through the courtship part of their relationship when she heard Dena calling her name.
Belle rose from her bed and walked to the base of the stairs. As Dena walked down, Belle’s long tail began to wag, going faster and faster as her favorite aunt got closer.
“Look at you, beautiful girl,” Dena said, shifting two huge photo albums to her other arm and reaching for Belle. “Are you enjoying being spoiled by your grandparents? Are you a happy girl?”
Belle stepped close for plenty of pats, leaning on Dena and nearly causing her to stumble. Dena grinned.
“I always forget how powerful she is.”
“Physically as well as spiritually,” Reggie teased, getting up to collect the photo albums from her sister. “Now that she’s gone toe-to-toe with Burt, she’s kind of full of herself.”
Dena dropped her coat and gloves on the sofa, along with her handbag, then took a seat at the big craft table where Reggie had been working.
“How are you feeling?” Reggie asked. “Your color is good. You were looking wan for a while.”
“I’m doing great. The morning sickness is now pretty much only in the morning.” She held up both arms. “I’m still wearing my motion sickness bracelets, and they’re helping a lot.”
“I’m glad. Those few weeks were really hard on you.”
“They were. I’m glad they’re over.”
