Free Bailey's Irish Dream by DEBBY CONRAD Page A

at her sister, silently asking for her help.  She didn’t know how to get out of the hole she’d dug for herself.  
    “I knew you two were telling secrets last night,” Mimi said, frowning.  “I put two and two together on my own.  You could have told me, Bailey.”
    Bailey put the mug back in the cupboard.  She’d have to do without her caffeine fix this morning.  Maybe she could sneak a cup once her mother wasn’t around. 
    “Katie, why don’t you come with me while I get dressed, and we can talk.”  Bailey nodded her head toward her mother, trying to signal Kaitlyn again, but her sister didn’t seem to notice.
    “More secrets?” Mimi said, looking hurt, her eyes darting between her two daughters. 
    “No.  I don’t have any secrets from you, Mom,” Bailey lied.
    “Everyone keeps secrets from me.  Including your father.  He said he was going for a drive this morning, but I know what he was up to.  He went to see if he could find Stanley.”
    Bailey’s mouth dropped open.  “He what ?”
    Mimi shook her head.  “He sat up half the night watching the house next door.  He was waiting for him to come home, but Stanley never showed.”
    “Omigod!”
    “You can lie all you want, but I know you and Stanley weren’t arguing about baby names last night when you were standing in the driveway.  I know it was something more serious than that.  A mother knows these things.  She senses when something’s wrong with her children.  Is Stanley unhappy that you’re going to have his child?”
    Bailey lifted her eyes toward the ceiling.   Calm down , she told herself.  There was no way her father would be able to find Stanley, or Quinn rather.  Just play it cool.  “No, Mom.  I mean, never mind.  It’s just so complicated.” 
    “You just wait until your baby is born,” Mimi went on, shaking her finger at Bailey.  “Then you’ll know how it feels to be shut out.”
    “Mom,” Bailey said, pulling a chair out and sitting down.  “I’m not trying to shut you out.  In fact, I have a confession.”  She glanced at Kaitlyn and cleared her throat.  “I’m not pregnant.  And I’m not getting married.  Stanley dumped me.”  There, she’d said it. 
    Kaitlyn stared at her wide-eyed, then grimaced.
    Mimi looked at her for a moment, then shook her head sadly.  “Bailey, you’ve always had a problem telling the truth.” 
    She had?   So, maybe it was something she’d been born with.
    “I want you to promise me you’re going to stop telling lies.”
    “Okay.  I promise.  No more lies.”  She felt better already, and her mother hadn’t even fainted when she’d told her the truth. 
    “Next I want you to promise me that you’re going to start taking better care of yourself.”  Bailey stared at her mother, not quite sure what she’d meant by that.  “Pregnancy is a very serious thing.  You need to eat right.  And drink plenty of milk.  Have you seen a doctor yet?”
    Bailey’s mouth dropped open.  “But, Mom, I already told you.  I’m not pregnant.”
    Mimi looked at her for a long time without speaking.  There was a pensive shimmer in the shadow of her green eyes.  Finally, she reached out and took Bailey’s hand.  “You’re in denial.  Maybe you should talk to a psychiatrist.”
    A psychiatrist?   Maybe I should , Bailey thought, feeling desperate.  She had no idea which she needed more at the moment; a psychiatrist, or a cup of coffee. 
    “It’s nothing to be ashamed of.  I’ve been seeing one myself.”
    Bailey and Kaitlyn exchanged a look.  Kaitlyn mouthed, “A shrink?”

CHAPTER SIX
     
    “You want a refill?” Quinn asked Pete, knowing it was a stupid question.  Of course Pete would want a refill.  He grabbed the empty beer mug from the bar. 
    “Do bears shit in the woods?” Pete asked, laughing at his own words. 
    Quinn filled Pete’s mug and set it in front of him.  “You ready to order?”
    “Yeah, I’m ready.  I want