“So you get sprung today!” All but sailing into Florence’s room, I took in the sight of her sitting in the chair by the window.

The pins and rods were gone from her leg.

She’d undergone a second surgery last week and was now in a cast.

After nearly three weeks in the hospital, she was going home.

I was staying with her and Astor in the main house. For the past few weeks, while she’d been in the hospital, I’d spent my days here.

Several of my nights, though, had been spent with Glenn.

Things were…changing between us.

I was happy again.

Happy, but now I was afraid to trust it.

Still, I wasn’t going to totally let that ruin everything.

“You're in a good mood.” Florence teased, smiling at me from the chair.

“Absolutely not. Neither is Harrison. Neither is Astor.”

“Why am I not in a good mood?” Astor asked as he came striding into the room. He went straight to Florence and kissed her lavishly before straightening to look from me to her.

“Because Florence is coming home and we have to say so-long to this wonderful place.” I dropped down on the neatly-made bed. Not once had I come in here in the past few weeks and found it in any other manner. Her old nurse wasn’t working on this floor anymore, either. I hadn’t asked why, nor did I care. Florence was being taken care of, and that was what mattered to me.

And best—she was coming home.

“Oh, you’re going to miss it,” Florence said with a wry smile. “Coming out here to visit, eat hospital food…listen to shoes squeaking on linoleum floors all day?”

“I can’t get enough of it.” Rolling my eyes, I took the suitcase Astor had brought in and put it on the chair. I wanted her packed and ready to go—so we could go. Go, be gone, adios…and out of here.

I had a date with Glenn tonight.

Astor had haltingly approached the idea of them spending their first night alone when Florence would be home, and I’d assured him I’d make myself scarce.

Behind me, I heard Astor and Florence talking, voices low. They were already lost in their own world, and I envied them, wishing Glenn and I still shared that.

It was the need to find that again that had driven me to say yes to our first real date since I’d been back.

But, beyond that, I wasn’t ready to plunge back into things with him head-on.

I couldn’t.

“You don’t have to do that, Maya,” Florence said from behind me, gesturing to where I was folding some of her personal items.

I glanced back. “Well, it’s easier for me than it is for you.” Waggling my eyebrows at her, I added, “And I think the two of you are too preoccupied for Astor to do it.”

Waving off her next argument, I went back to thinking about Glenn and our upcoming date.

* * *

“I could never be a nurse.” Collapsing into a chair in the living room, I gratefully accept a glass of lemonade from Harrison.

Upstairs, Astor and Florence were alone together—really alone—for the first time since her accident almost three weeks ago.

Three weeks. Wow.

Absently, I rubbed at my slightly rounded belly. Although I had a good eye for clothes, and there were certain styles that were popular that made it a bit easier to hide, I felt like my baby bump was pretty conspicuous. It wouldn’t work for much longer, though. I wasn’t embarrassed about the baby, but this wasn’t the sort of time when a single woman could be pregnant and not have some sort of consequences attached.

But, I’d deal with that when the time came.

Lately, I’d been wondering whether I’d be having a little boy or girl. Sonograms were probably some ways off, but I had no idea. It wasn’t like I’d investigated stuff about pregnancy back in my time. Of course, if I had known expectant mommy tips would be useful, I would’ve done just that.

“You’re thinking some pretty deep thoughts, Miss Maya.”

I looked up to meet Harrison’s eyes just as he sat in the chair across from me. He was rarely informal, and it made me smile. “I guess I am.” The hand on my belly came to a stop and I shrugged, feeling self-conscious. “I guess I’m trying to figure out what to do from here, how I’m going to handle everything. Sooner or later, I’ll look like a whale and…”

“Does he know?”

Caught off guard, I shook my head. “Does he…Glenn? Does he know what?”

Harrison looked at me with a look of such patience, I almost felt silly. “Does he know the baby is his? Has he accepted that?”Gripping the arms of my chair, tight, I shook my head. “I’m…” Pausing to lick my lips, I gathered my thoughts then tried again. “Why do you think it’s his?” I asked calmly. “It seems…well—you do realize I was already pregnant when I got back, right?”

Harrison lifted his eyes to the ceiling and I didn’t have to see his face to know he was having some seriously deep thoughts himself. His big shoulders went up and down, then he met my eyes once more. “You know, I grew up in Louisiana. Just outside New Orleans. My mama…she always believed…well.” He smiled and shook his head, looking away. “Things that might not make much sense to a lot of people. The stories she told us…but it made me always open to seeing things from a rather particular viewpoint.”

He lapsed into silence and watched me.

Waiting.

Mouth dry, I reached for my lemonade. Draining half of it, I put the glass down, then immediately picked it back up just so I’d have something to do with my hands. Twisting the icy glass around and around, I asked, “Just what is it you’re saying? Or asking? I’m not really following, Harrison.”

He nodded and then reached into the pocket of the pristine white shirt he wore under an equally pristine black jacket.

“I didn’t know what to make of these when I picked them up off the floor. Normally, I’d never pry, but I’d been in the hall earlier doing my regular walk through the house, setting things to rights.” He unfolded two small squares of paper.

My heart lurched, then started to race, beating so hard I felt lightheaded.

“You yelled, sounded upset. I started to come inside, but when I looked in—you’d left the door open—you were staring in the mirror.” He gave me an apologetic look. “I truly wasn’t trying to pry, Miss Maya. I was simply concerned. Do you remember what day I’m talking about?”

I looked back at the notes in his hand. Although I couldn’t see the writing, I knew what was on them. My hands had been shaking when I'd done the math to confirm what a part of me had already known.

“Yes.”

Harrison nodded and folded the pages back up, offering them to me.

“You looked quite calm, even happy then, so I left. I had an idea as to what the circumstances were. I’d seen that look on my sister’s face when she found she was expecting,” he added. “That smile is something unique to a woman who realizes she’s going to have the baby of the man she loves.”

Slowly, I accepted the hand-written calendars. “You still haven’t explained why you think the baby is Glenn’s…?”

“I’ve seen how you are with him. Then…well…” He grimaced. “These walls are paper thin in some areas, Miss Maya. I heard certain things. I thought about the notes. I thought about how you look exactly the way you did three years ago. Not a thing has changed. I decided I could choose to believe you were disturbed…or I could choose to believe something unlikely. And I’ve witnessed some unlikely things myself.”

“Thank you.” It took forever to get those words out. Forever.

He rose then and came to pat me on the shoulder. Lingering a moment, he asked, “Now, does Mr. Jackson know that’s his baby?”

I nodded, blinking back tears.

“Well, alright then.” He squeezed my hand and left the room.

* * *

“You’re too quiet,” Glenn murmured, passing the tub of popcorn over to me.

“I’m just enjoying the movie.” I gave him a glib smile and stared at the scene as it played out on the screen in front of us. “I haven’t been to a drive-in since I was a kid. I forgot how much I loved them.”

“If you loved them, why haven’t you kept going?” He toyed with my hair, eyes on me instead of the screen.

“Kind of hard when you’re eight and your feet don’t reach the gas or the brake.” With a shrug, I grabbed a handful of popcorn and tried not to feel self-conscious as the scrutiny continued.

“So, you never went to one with your guy when you were in school?” he asked.

His hand slid down to my neck.

“I didn’t have a guy in high school. Not really.” With a quick look, I met his eyes. “I dated some, but my parents were pretty strict and the nearest drive-in was like an hour away.”

He’d been easing in closer, but now he pulled back. “I thought you said you grew up in Philadelphia.”

“I did.” The confusion on his face didn’t make sense—at first. Then I smiled, a little sad. “Drive-ins aren’t exactly a thing in…”

Now I felt self-conscious again, not wanting to say the year.

“They aren’t as big a thing in your time.” Glenn eased back, his eyes tracking to the screen again.

Inwardly, I braced.

He sensed something because his eyes came to mine. “What is it? Don’t tell me nothing, because I can tell it’s definitely something.” He lightened it with a smile, but I knew I couldn’t keep hedging, either.

“I…” Sighing, I reached for the lemonade he’d brought with him. I’d tried once to talk about the effects of caffeine and the like on babies, but I’d gotten an odd look, and decided just not to bother. Avoiding it didn’t hurt me, and it wasn’t like it was hard to find things like lemonade or Sprite and water. Wetting my throat, I took a deep breath before meeting his eyes. “It’s not that I’m not…happy, okay? But part of me is waiting for everything to fall apart again.”

“Why do you think things are going to fall apart again?” He reached up and cradled my cheek in his hand.

“Maybe because every time I’m almost happy, they do fall apart?” I shrugged. “I can’t help but think that it’s going to happen again.”

“You can’t live the rest of your life fearing the worst.” He pushed his hand into my hair and tugged gently until I lifted my head to meet his gaze. “That’s no way to live.”

“I know,” I whispered.

His mouth came down over mine for a soft kiss. “Listen, I can’t explain any of this, Maya.” The words were murmured against my lips. “But I know I love you.” He covered the swell of my belly with his hand. “When I do this, I feel something hot and possessive, something…mine. Just like you are. I believe in us, Maya. And I believe we’ll have a wonderful future together.”