When the Bough Breaks (Rose Gardner Investigations #6) - Denise Grover Swank Page 0,14

she was getting baby fever, but Bruce Wayne had told me only a few weeks ago he wasn’t ready to become a father. Not even close.

Maeve looked at my belly with a longing that broke my heart. Her only daughter had been pregnant when she was murdered a couple of years before, and her son, Mason, wasn’t even dating anyone. She lived vicariously through me, not that I minded. I was only glad she still wanted to be part of my life given Mason and I had a past.

“Would you mind watchin’ Muffy?” I asked her. “Neely Kate and I are gonna run over to the daycare.”

Maeve’s eyes widened. “I thought you planned on keeping the baby with you at the landscaping office.”

That was the plan, but now I wondered if Neely Kate had a childcare plan for after she got her baby. I couldn’t imagine her putting Daisy in daycare. Jed had enough money that she didn’t need to work, but she claimed she liked her job, especially the time she spent at the nursery now that she was part owner.

I didn’t want to worry Maeve over Ashley and Mikey, and apparently neither did Neely Kate, because she gave the older woman a warm smile as she said, “It’s always good to keep your options open. Right, Rose?”

“That’s right. Anyhow, we better get goin’.”

Muffy tried to follow me out the door, but Maeve picked her up to keep her from bolting after us.

When we got outside, Neely Kate asked, “Do you want to take my car or your truck?”

“If I get in your car, I’ll need a tow truck to pull me out,” I said.

She laughed. “Okay, but I’m drivin’. I’m not sure you can even reach the steering wheel.”

“Fine by me.” I handed her the keys and we both got in.

Neither of us spoke until she pulled out of the parking lot. Then I finally asked, “Do you know if you’re gonna keep workin’ after the baby?”

“I’m not sure,” she said slowly. “I know you’re plannin’ on workin’ your landscapin’ schedule around your baby, but I’m not so sure that would work so well at the nursery.”

“If that’s what you want to do, we could try it,” I said. “We can fit a travel crib in the back room.” I’d already gotten one for the landscaping office. I just hadn’t brought it in yet. “We can fix it up so it’s not so dark and a bit cheerier. And it might actually be easier with Anna and Maeve there, dotin’ on her.” I cast a glance at her. “When are you plannin’ on tellin’ everyone?”

“Not until we get her. I don’t want to jinx it,” she said, gripping the steering wheel tighter. “Our attorney says the birth mother seems adamant about her future plans and LSU, but we can’t count our chickens, you know?”

“Yeah,” I said. “I understand.” I’d heard of too many adoptions that had fallen through to question her logic.

She pulled into the daycare parking lot, and as she shut off the engine, she turned and looked me in the eye. “Maybe we should go about this another way.”

“How so?”

“What if Mike told her that she can’t share anything with you?”

“Then this will be a wasted trip,” I said. “Unless we see Mikey playin’ outside in the playground.”

“Exactly,” she said. “So we’ll go in pretendin’ you’re lookin’ for daycare for baby bruiser there, and we’ll throw out some won’t it be awesome that your baby will be goin’ to the same daycare as his cousins.”

“So you think the baby’s a boy too?” I teased.

“Joe’s reasoning has convinced me, not to mention I’ve felt him kick. After dealin’ with my cousins, I’m convinced that’s a future bear wrangler in there.”

“What?” I shook my head. “Never mind. It’s a great plan. We’ll go with it.”

I opened the truck door, and Neely Kate laughed as I slid out.

“That’s right, make fun of the twenty-eight-month-pregnant woman.”

She was still laughing as she met me on the sidewalk. “Elephants aren’t even pregnant that long. Two weeks will pass before you know it. And I’m not laughin’ at you. I’m laughin’ with you.”

“Only I’m not laughin’,” I said, trying to suppress my grin. “I’ve missed you.” I’d had too much solitude lately. Having Joe around was a relief, and I loved being with Neely Kate. It made me feel more like myself. James had been important to me—in some ways he always would be—but he wasn’t the only person who mattered. Far from