Free Armed and Fabulous (Lexi Graves Mysteries) by Camilla Chafer Page A

g odmother," Serena added to sweeten the deal.
    Huh? Lily elbowed me.
    "Th ank you," I blurte d, instead of W hy me ? A baby shower? I've attended my share of them, but I' d never thrown one. I had a sneaking suspicion that Serena had terrified everyone else so I was her one last hope to hostess a good shower.
    "Thanks, Alexandra," said Serena, cutting off my protest before it even began. "My friend , Jane , threw a fabulous pink - and - blue themed party for our friend , Alison. We hand-painted sleepers with non-toxic fabric paint and did baby jar shots. Non-alcoholic , of course. I'll give you a list of names and a date."
    "How l ovely. Grandma O’Shaughnessy will be so excited! " squealed my mother, a smile spreading across her face as she contemplated a sixth grandchild to add to the existing brood. The mention of Grandma O’Shaughnessy sent shivers through the room. "Alexandra would love the challenge. It's not like she's b usy with her little temping job, " she added.
    I scowled and pinched my nose to stop my nostrils flaring in annoyance. Oh, how I wished I could have said I was now a super secret agent on the trail of a murderer. Except, so far , I'd done nothing but hide in a closet — mmm , nice memory of Adam there — and hand over the memory stick , as well as agree to snoop on everyone I knew at work. Nope, I couldn't say that . I had to keep my mouth shut and take the jibe , cross ing my fingers that Grandma O’Shaughnessy wouldn’t be planning a visit anytime soon. She was ancient and mean and probably born that way.
    "No problem," I smiled sweetly, elbowing Lily in the ribs . I f she thought I was tackling this alone, she was so wrong. "So, when's baby due?"
    "In three months. A fall baby," Serena clarified, just in case I was challenged at working out the season. All the same, I had to count backwards on my fingers. Serena was in her sixth month and none of us had noticed a bump. Now that I thought about it, it explained the flowing tops.
    "I'm very happy for you both," I managed , my smile echoing the size of my mother's , who was already chirping about clothing and knitting. I could have be en wrong, but I didn’t think she could knit.
    "I think we should have a celebratory drink," interjected Dad, ambling over to the door. I suspected self-medication was about to occur.
    "Non-alcoholic," chirped Serena, and I wondered if her unbearable perkiness was going to continue throughout the entire pregnancy, and if that was really an improvement on her normal self. Personally, I couldn't wait until she got cankles.
    "Double shots for the rest of us," said Dad, under his breath, but I'm pretty sure only I heard. Mostly because Mom and Sere na were squealing something about crib s and whether drop sides were really a safety threat or not. Apparently , it was something worthy of a lot of debate , given Traci ’s and Alice's contributions.
    "Let's go." I nudged Lily and we slipped out of the room, following Dad down the hallway into the kitchen . H e was pulling a bottle of emergency slash celebratory c hampagne left over from Christmas out of the refrigerator while simultaneously downing a shot of whiskey.
    "To the next generation," he toasted us a s he poured another one .
    Lily knocked him on the elbow playfully. "Not ready to be a grandpa again, Mr . Graves?"
    "Not ready to be a father," grunted my dad.
    "Oh, Dad, you'll be just fine." It's the rest of us that will suffer the most, but I decided not to share that. Gosh, I'm a good daughter.
    I sat with Dad to watch the news while Serena filled in Traci and Alice about her plans for the nursery. They were far better qualified than I t o discuss the intricacies of crib s and onesies . Serena was even receptive to the name tips from Rachel , who thought the names , "Pumpkin" and "Toodles" sounded great for a girl or a boy. Now as I thought about it, and after seeing her talk to Rachel, maybe Serena would make a good mother. And Ted probably would continue to