It was official. The town hated me.

To be fair, they were pretty unhappy with Jacob, but they took the majority of it out on me.

I was the “other woman.” I was the reason Jacob and Katie broke up. I was the interloper who was tempting the good doctor away.

Despite the fact that none of this was true didn't matter. It was the will of the Ladies' Bridge Club. I was cast as the villain in their eyes.

It manifested in small ways. My number was never called at the deli. The checkout line somehow always “broke down” right before it was my turn to checkout. No one would speak to me on the street. I started bringing my lunch instead of going out. I drove to the next town over to buy my groceries.

Not everyone was awful. Katie's Bakery still made me the best sandwiches. Katie made sure her employees knew not to mess with me or Dr. Matthews. They honored her request because she was “being the bigger person” according to the Ladies' Bridge Club.

It just made her more perfect in their eyes. I didn't blame Katie, but it was rather discouraging.

It was lunch time and I was getting a grilled cheese sandwich. I'd brought a frozen meal from home, but Donna took it out of the freezer and left it on the counter to melt. She said it was an accident since she was cleaning the freezer out, but I had a hard time believing it.

So, I stood in line at Katie's Bakery. Luckily, the tourists didn't know my history and talked amicably among themselves as we waited. The locals didn't say anything, which was nice. It was nice to have a moment that didn't feel like I was universally hated.

“Don't get discouraged,” Katie said, handing me my sandwich and an extra bag of chips. “They just need to get the next gossip going and they'll forget all about you.”

I sighed. I knew she was right, but I had no idea how long that was going to be. And given that my pregnancy could very well be the next piece of gossip, the sentiment wasn't as uplifting as Katie hoped it would be.

“Thanks, Katie.” I smiled and turned to nearly run into Karina.

“There you are!” Karina said, giving me a big hug. “Are you staying to eat?”

“I was thinking I'd go back to the office...”

“Leigh Ann and I have a table outside. There's a breeze and it's great. Come sit with us,” Karina said, taking my arm. She smiled around the room, making sure that everyone knew her loyalty was with me.

God bless that girl.

Sitting outside under the large table umbrella was Leigh Ann. Her face lit up as soon as she saw me.

“Aunt Hannah!” She grinned and ran over to give me a hug. I snuggled into her, smelling the sunshine on her hair.

“I'll be right back with lunch,” Karina told her daughter. She flashed me a smile and went back inside.

“Do you want to see my scar?” Leigh Ann asked. Without waiting for an answer, she lifted her bright pink tank top to show me the little scars from the surgery. They'd managed to do it all laparoscopically, so the scars were tiny and healing fast.

“Wow,” I told her. “You were so brave.”

She grinned. “Plus, I have a loose tooth.”

“You are having one heck of a summer.” I grinned at her and she grinned right back. I slipped on an over-sized pair of sunglasses that managed to hide a lot of my face. It was more for the summer sun than hiding, but they were good for both.

“Are you gonna marry Dr. Matthews?” she asked me, smoothing out the front of her shirt.

I didn't know what to say to that. We hadn't talked about it. I was pregnant, but that didn't mean that I wanted to rush into marriage. I would love to marry Jacob, but I also wanted it to be a mutual thing and for the right reasons.

“I don't know,” I answered truthfully. “It's kind of complicated.”

Leigh Ann nodded like she understood. “You should marry him. Then he'd be my uncle and come to all my parties. Mary Louise would be so jealous.”

I chuckled. “I will make sure to tell him that.”

“What are you two giggling about over here?” Karina asked, coming up to the table with sandwiches and drinks. She set a meal down in front of her daughter with a smile.

“Aunt Hannah's gonna marry Dr. Matthews,” Leigh Ann explained.

Karina raised an eyebrow at me. “Is that so?”

“That's what Leigh Ann wants,” I quickly told her. “She wants Mary Louise to be jealous.”

Karina shook her head. “The two of them were inseparable this spring, but Mary Louise got a new bicycle and has been lording it over Leigh Ann.”

I nodded. The drama of girls started young.

“So, tell me. How are things between you and Dr. Matthews?” Karina gave me a sly grin as she sipped on her soda. “You told me some things, but I want more.”

I glanced over at Leigh Ann, but she was now engrossed in her sandwich.

“Things are good. Well, as good as they can be with the town telling him to break up with me and get back with Katie.” I picked at my sandwich. Two bites and I was full. I knew I should eat, but it no longer looked appetizing.

“You two are perfect for one another, you know,” Karina took a big bite of her tuna sandwich. The smell made my stomach flip a little and I shifted so I wouldn't be so close.

“What do you mean?”

“He's the bad boy and you were Miss Perfect,” Karina explained. “Plus, I see the way he looks at you. He looks at you the way I look at pie.”

I chuckled at the image in my head. Karina loved her pie.

“I heard they are opening up a new hospital across the highway,” Karina said. “It shouldn't be too bad a commute. Not that I want you to go work there,” she quickly explained. “Just in case the town gets to you.”

I nodded. Jacob and I had already talked about it. Dr. Taggert wasn't happy with him and he had two weeks to turn things around. At least Dr. Taggert was giving him a chance. There was still a very good chance I would be fired soon, though. If enough patients refused to come because of me, I would be a liability to the clinic.

Still, we both were brushing up our resumes. I hated it. I'd just gotten comfortable here and I really liked my job. Jacob loved being a small town doctor more than Karina liked pie.

That, and with the baby coming... I hadn't told Karina that yet. I hadn't told anyone but Jacob, and I didn't dare tell her in a crowded place like this.

“Oh, Leigh Ann don't tip the cup...” Karina motioned to her daughter to stop tipping her ice laden soda up, but it was too late. “...like that.”

Ice, soda, and straw all rained down on Leigh Ann's face. Her eyes went big at the sudden cold and she let out a yelp of surprise as her shirt suddenly became very cold and wet.

Karina sighed. “Let's go get you cleaned up. We'll be right back, Hannah. Don't leave, okay?”

“I'll stay, but just for you,” I promised.

Karina took her daughter's hand and led her inside to the restroom to get cleaned up. I sunk down in my chair, keeping my back to the street and hoping that no one recognized me.

“Did you hear about Cassandra Reynolds?” A woman's voice said behind me. I snuck a peak to see two local women sit at the table across from us. They were both active members of the Ladies' Bridge Club and I assumed they just didn't see me sitting there.

“No,” the second woman said, taking her seat. “What about her? Who is she?”

“She's Libby's daughter” the first woman explained. “She just graduated college.”

“Oh, yes. I remember. Dark hair. Quiet.”

“She's pregnant,” the first woman announced, her voice haughty and condescending.

“No!”

“Yes. And by Richard Smoke's boy.”

“You mean the little boy that used to eat dirt?” the second woman asked.

“He's grown now and manages the feed lot, but yes.”

“Oh my.” Second woman fanned herself and if she had pearls on I think she would have clutched them. “What in the world is the town coming to? I thought we raised our children better than this.”

“It's a disgrace is what it is,” the first woman replied. “How does such a thing happen?”

Well, I thought to myself, when a man and a woman start feeling something and they act on it...

It's not that complicated.

“Libby is all excited about a grand baby, but honestly, they aren't married. It's just not something that I, or the town, should abide.” The first woman crossed her arms and preened.

I ducked as low in my seat as possible and prayed that they didn't recognize me. Listening to them was like having a running commentary on how my future was going to go. I could just hear it:

“Did you hear about Hannah O’Leary? She pregnant. The horror!”

It made me want to run and hide, but I'd promised Karina I'd stay and I was afraid if I moved they'd see me. I half suspected the members of the Ladies' Bridge Club to be like the T-Rex. Maybe they couldn't see me if I didn't move.

Luckily, Karina and Leigh Ann appeared. Karina looked frustrated.

“We have to go change,” Karina announced. “They have paper towels, but she's soaked through.”

“No worries,” I told her quietly. “I was just heading back to work.”

Karina gave me a hug followed by Leigh Ann. I didn't even mind that I had a wet spot on my scrub top because it was good to hug my favorite kid. Well, favorite kid outside my body.

“I'll see you guys soon,” I said as we went our separate directions.

I smiled as Leigh Ann reached up and took Karina's in hers as they walked across the street. I could see the small, proud smile cross Karina's face.

I was going to have that. Even if this town was awful and hated me, I was going to be a mother. They couldn't take that away from me. It wasn't the end of the world if I had to find a new job and stay on the outskirts of town.

I could make it work.

Losing the clinic would be a huge financial and emotional blow to Jacob, but I knew he could get a job at the hospital in thirty seconds of walking in the door. Our lives would change. Our hours wouldn't be quite as regular and we wouldn't get to work together like we did now, but we would make it work.

For the sake of our child, we could do it.

With a new found sense of hope, I flashed a smile at the two Ladies' Bridge Club members. They both looked aghast at me, which just made me laugh. Just wait until they heard the rest of the gossip.

“Did you hear about Hannah O’Leary?”