A few days later, I met Lucy for lunch at Firehouse Café. I ordered tea again instead of coffee because my doctor suggested I cut back on coffee. Who knew this would be such a challenge? Armed with my tea and my favorite blueberry scone, I waited for Lucy to arrive.

Lucy was one of several friends I might grab a bite with here and there. Today, I needed advice. If anyone could give it to me, Lucy could.

Within a few minutes, the bell above the door jingled, and I glanced over to see Lucy walking in. I smiled the moment I saw her. She was so gorgeous with her almost fairy-like features—fine-boned and just plain beautiful. Not that she gave a damn. She worked in construction and dressed for her job. Today, she was sporting a pair of overalls over a fitted T-shirt. Her blonde hair was stuffed up into a baseball cap, and a streak of dirt on her cheek completed her look.

After ordering her coffee, she headed my way. Slipping into the chair across from me, she graced me with a wide smile.

“Hey! Amelia and I were just saying we haven’t seen you in a couple weeks. You missed our last girls’ night.

“I know, I was out at a training that day. Next one, I promise. Is it next week?”

At her nod, I smiled. “I’ll be there. Anyway, how are things?”

“Same, same,” she said with a smile. “We’ve been busy with the garage for Levi’s dad, and now Levi wants to do an addition on our house because he thinks we should have three bedrooms.”

“Why?” I asked.

She sighed, her cheeks cresting pink. “We’re talking about kids.”

“Perfect. If you want them, do it now. No sense in waiting.”

Lucy rolled her eyes. “Easy for you to say.”

I cocked my head to the side. “Why do you say it like that?”

“Because you always have life figured out,” she said simply. “It took me forever just to figure out how to even admit I was in love with Levi and now he wants to talk about kids. My childhood sucked. What if I’m a terrible mother?”

Reaching across the table, I curled her hand into mine. “You’re not going to be a terrible mother. There are no guarantees with anything, but you and Levi are great together, and you’ll make great parents.”

Lucy sighed again. “Fine. Let me be nervous about it and then I’ll figure it out. Anyway, what’s up with you?”

There was no way she could’ve known how on point her topic was. Yet, I still had to muster up the nerve to talk. Somehow, a sip of tea wasn’t quite as fortifying as a sip of coffee. “Well, I guess I’ll cut to the chase. Speaking of having kids, I’m pregnant.”

Lucy promptly spit out her sip of coffee. Handing her a napkin, my cheeks felt hot, but I pushed through. “Trust me, I’m as surprised as you,” I offered.

“How? When? Oh my God, what the hell is going on? I feel like I’ve walked into the twilight zone. Did I miss something? When did you get a boyfriend?”

At her jumble of questions, I shrugged. “Remember that guy Ward I mentioned?”

Her eyes widened. “Oh yeah. Ward was the guy you had the one night stand with, and he was moving here. You were all weird about him.”

“Right. Him. Well, it’s more than a one night stand now. A bit ago, he was here, and then he had to go back to be with his mom because she was sick. Well…”

I paused and rubbed my face, tunneling my hands into my hair. Saying it aloud made me realize how crazy the whole situation was. Resting my chin in my hands, I looked over at Lucy. Her eyes were wide, but she was patiently waiting. “We decided to have another night, but it was just going to be a one time thing, right?”

Being the gracious friend she was, Lucy nodded along.

“Well, even though we used condoms, I, um, I got pregnant.”

“Wasn’t this like over a month ago now?” she asked.

“Uh, over six weeks to be exact. How do you know how long he’s been here?” I countered.

Lucy rolled her eyes, casting an annoyed look at me. “In case you forgot, I’m married to one of the guys at the station. Levi mentioned the new superintendent was delayed for a month. So this happened six weeks ago and you never even mentioned it to us?”

“Lucy, I’m sorry. I don’t…”

She cut in. “Hey, you don’t answer to me. Sorry. Sometimes I get all caught up in this whole small town thing,” she offered with a wry smile. “I’m as private as you and now I’m worried, so…”

This time, I cut her off. “I get it. I do. I would’ve gotten around to talking about it, but I didn’t think it was a thing. A few weeks ago, I found out I was pregnant, and I’ve been freaking out since then. To make matters worse, I can’t keep my hands off of him. It’s a real problem. And now he wants to go to the doctor with me,” I said with something close to a wail.

Lucy reached over, this time curling her hand over mine. “Slow down. Okay, I’m caught up. You’re freaking yourself out. Don’t forget to breathe.”

“Okay, okay,” I said, nodding quickly. I forced myself to pause and take a deep breath. “I don’t know what the hell to do.”

“Let’s start with the basics. So it sounds like you want to have the baby?”

“Yes. Yes, I do. I didn’t plan this, and I’m kinda worried I’m crazy, but I do. I can’t imagine not having my baby. I know it’s crazy because I don’t really know what’s going on with Ward and me. But he knows I’m pregnant, and he seems okay with it. I just…” My words ran out and tears pricked at the backs of my eyes. I took a shuddering breath, but I couldn’t seem to get enough air into my lungs.

Lucy handed me a napkin, her gaze soft. “Just breathe. It’s okay. Slow down. This is definitely one of those times where the whole ‘take it one step at a time’ is really important.”

Lucy talked me through it, basically making me give her a blow by blow of everything that happened between Ward and me. I wasn’t embarrassed to tell her, but I kept the details very light. I mean, I wasn’t going to tell her how crazy hot our sex was. I didn’t mind admitting I couldn’t keep my hands off of him. Hell, trying to pretend otherwise was such a blatant lie, I couldn’t quite pull it off.

After she heard the whole messy story, she squeezed my hand again, looked me in the eye and said, “You’re just gonna have to figure out what you want.”

“What the hell? I thought you would give me advice here.”

Lucy‘s gaze never wavered. “That is my advice. You seem to have decided this is just a casual sex thing. Fine. But a baby isn’t casual. A baby is way serious. Plus, Ward’s actions seem to be saying he wants to be a part of this. To me, that means he’s not a total ass. Plenty of guys might get pissed off about an unplanned pregnancy. You’re gonna have to set some clear boundaries if you don’t want him to take things seriously when it comes to you two. But you can’t do this whole avoidance thing. Not about important shit like this. You’re having a baby! No matter what, I’m here for you, Amelia’s here for you, and Maisie’s here for you. You know your parents will move heaven and earth to help you. You are not alone.”

I took several sips of my rather unsatisfying tea and a deep breath. “Fine, I’ll tell him he needs to understand this isn’t more than it is,” I muttered.

Lucy nodded and then her eyes took on a gleam. “So, when the hell do we get to meet this guy?”