Free Home to Stay by Terri Osburn Page A

her purse on the back of the chair. “Last night I was dying for pickles. I had to slide out of bed without waking Joe, bribe Dozer with a hot dog to get him to stay quiet, then hold my nose as I ate the things because the smell was nauseating.”
    “You were craving something that you couldn’t even smell without getting sick?”
    “I know,” Beth said. “Of all the things I’ve heard about being pregnant, the fact that it would make me completely insane was not included.”
    “Really?” Will laughed. “Pretty sure that’s the first thing anyone told me.”
    Beth’s head jerked away from the wall and wide green eyes stared at Will. “You were pregnant?”
    She hadn’t meant to let that slip out. Will shrugged and stared at the silver label on her beer. “It was a few years ago. I lost it.”
    Though not without someone’s help.
    Beth laid a hand over Will’s. “Oh, honey. I’m so sorry. I had no idea.”
    “No need to apologize.” Will accepted the affection for a few seconds, then pulled her hand away.
    “And here I am complaining about it.” Beth set her forehead in her hand. “God, I’m such a jerk.”
    “None of that now.” Randy’s words came back to Will. No one knew her because she wouldn’t let them. But there was more to her life than one tragic episode three years ago. “I’m so happy for you and Joe, and I love hearing about the baby. Don’t ever think you can’t talk about it around me. In fact,” she said, “if you could talk about it as much as possible when Sid is around, as I’m sure it’ll freak her out, I’ll buy you a six-month supply of diapers.”
    They laughed together, the moment of tension sliding away.
    “Were you married?” Beth asked. “Wait. I’m sorry. That’s incredibly nosy.”
    Will shook her head. “No, it’s alright. I was engaged, actually.” Not that she’d accepted the proposal without hesitation. “So we have that in common.”
    “What happened to the guy?”
    A tougher question to answer. Will used all her energy to stay in the present. “Let’s say he turned out not to be the guy I thought he was.”
    “Oh,” was all Beth said.
    In that moment, Sid returned. “Order is in. Why do you two look like that?”
    “Like what?” Beth asked, a bit too chipper.
    “Like you’re hiding something.”
    Will wasn’t sure when Sid had gotten so astute, but she didn’t see any reason not to repeat the little bit she’d shared. These women had become like sisters to her. She owed them something of herself.
    “I was telling Beth that a few years ago, I was pregnant.”
    “No shit?”
    “No shit,” Will answered, the simple response lightening the mood. “I lost it, and things didn’t work out with the guy. Now how about those fittings tomorrow.”
    The other two women sat in dazed silence for several seconds. Beth recovered first. “Right. The fittings.” She shook her head as if to clear it. “You have my planner, but I think the appointment is for one-thirty.”
    “It is,” Will said. “I checked. And I called to make sure the dresses were in. They arrived today.”
    “Damn,” Sid said. “I’ll be out on the boat.”
    “Nice try,” Beth said. “I’ve already told Joe you need the afternoon off. He’s lined up someone else to cover for you.”
    The curse Sid said under her breath was a bit stronger than damn .
    “I’ve had several versions shipped in. Whatever ones you don’t like we can return,” Beth said. “And you two don’t have to match. So long as the dresses complement each other, I’m good with whatever you pick. Since the ones I’ve ordered all go nicely together, it should be fine.”
    Sid looked as if she’d been told a root canal was in her immediate future, but Will was kind of excited. She’d never been a bridesmaid. With the added bonus of watching Beth stick their friend into a fancy dress, this fitting might turn out to be the best day she’d had in a while.

    Bartender Willow Parsons was