Free Hotel Ladd by Dianne Venetta Page A

her
flat!”
    “ You think threatening will
help?” Malcolm asked.
    Lacy scowled. “It might.”
    Cal laughed and leaned forward on his
elbows. “Thanks for the suggestion, Lacy, but I think I’ll hang in
there a little while longer. Your sister has a lot on her mind
these days.” Grabbing her iced tea, Lacy sipped, eyes alert but
apparently content to have said her piece.
    Fran whisked out from the kitchen,
delivering a bowl of steaming peanuts. “A little something to start
you off with, Cal.”
    He breathed in the distinct scent of
warm, salt-boiled peanuts and drawled, “Well, thank you, Fran.
That’s mighty nice of you.”
    She winked. “You know I take special
care of my favorites.”
    Lacy scrunched her nose at the bowl.
“Why are you always eating those things?”
    “ Habit.” Ever since he quit
drinking, Cal found that tossing back a pile of boiled peanuts
replaced his urge to pick up a drink, especially when he was around
his brothers. The nuts were satisfying in their own right,
especially when boiled by a woman with experience. Placing his nose
over the bowl, he inhaled. And Fran was certainly a woman with
experience. It was her addition of ham hock that sealed it for him.
In Arizona no one knew what a boiled peanut was, let alone a ham
hock. Recalling the first time he’d asked after them, Cal
chuckled. Boiled what ? Why would anyone do that to a
peanut ? He split one open, heedless to the
hot juices dripping down his fingers and thought, because they’re
tasty. “You oughta try one, Lacy.”
    “ They’re too
mushy.”
    Fran planted a hand to her hip and
said, “Now don’t you go disparagin’ my cooking, young lady. To each
his own, you hear me?”
    Lacy flipped her face up to Fran and
frowned. “Sorry.”
    Fran took Cal’s order, departing as
quick as she’d come, promising him a cup of peanuts to go. It was a
gesture he appreciated. Living at home for the time being, his
momma wasn’t one for boiling peanuts. Didn’t like the stink in her
kitchen. As a boy, his daddy boiled peanuts out by the stables in a
huge steel pot, simmering them for hours and adding his secret
spices. When he was satisfied they were ready, he’d load the boys
up with cups full and send them on their way. Those were good
times, good memories. “So,” he turned to Malcolm, popping open a
second peanut, “you must be excited about the prospect of becoming
a new father.”
    He raised a brow. “Excited, nervous,
scared out of my mind—all of the above.”
    Cal chuckled and downed the warm, soft
nut. He remembered the swell of emotion well. The day he learned
Caroline was with child was the first day in his life where he
seriously took stock of his manhood. Was he ready? Prepared for the
change that would come with the new arrival? Could he take care of
an infant, a tiny person completely dependent upon him for his or
her every need?
    It was a tall order and one he had to
get used to, but he’d done it. When Emily was born, his heart burst
with feelings and sensations he’d never before experienced. She’d
been beautiful, the most beautiful baby on the maternity floor.
Regret drenched his memories. If only he could hit a reset button
and start over. He wouldn’t make a mess of things the second time
around.
    “ There’s nothing to be
afraid of,” Lacy said. “Women have been having babies since the
beginning of time.”
    “ Yes,” Malcolm agreed, a
glint of humor in his blue eyes, eyes a shade lighter than Lacy’s
but every bit as sharp.
    “ Have you decided on a
name?”
    Lacy beamed, her eyes deepened. “Emma
Jane.”
    “ Emma Jane is a beautiful
name,” Cal said wistfully, the similarities hitting home. Lacy was
happy as a woman in love should be and looking forward to the birth
of her child. It was the way life was supposed to work.
    “ Thank you,” she intoned, as
though he’d given his personal approval
    “ Are you sure it’s going to
be a girl, then?”
    “ Yes. A psychic