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  “I am thinking,” Jeb shouted.

  “Who and what would I hesitate to talk to you about, then?”

  Jeb needed a minute or two to mull that over. As far as he could recall, there was only one person they hadn’t discussed in ten or so years. Sarah. His eyes widened.

  “Do you know who I mean now?” Dennis asked.

  “I think I do.” Everything was beginning to add up, and the conclusion he reached made him grit his teeth. If he understood correctly, Dennis was trying to tell him that through his carelessness, he’d gotten Sarah pregnant.

  Dennis continued to study him, as if he wanted Jeb to say something.

  “These things happen,” Jeb managed after a moment.

  Dennis nodded. “Through no one’s fault.”

  “Right,” Jeb agreed. He was starting to get used to the idea—and to see the positives. This pregnancy meant Sarah would be willing to marry Dennis, and then—

  Jeb’s mind came to a screeching halt. So that was it—the reason Dennis had broken it off and was dating Maddy. No, wait, that made no sense. Unless his sister had refused to marry him despite the pregnancy.

  Jeb rubbed a hand over his face. “That’s got to be it,” he muttered.

  Clearly relieved that he’d finally confessed, Dennis stood and put his mug in the sink. “I can’t tell you how much better I feel now that you know.”

  Jeb slapped his friend on the back. “Leave everything to me. I’ll take care of this.”

  “I knew you’d want to do the right thing.”

  Jeb frowned, then added, “I’ll phone Sarah now.”

  “Sarah?” Dennis cried.

  “Well, naturally, I’ll talk to Sarah…” He hesitated at the aghast expression on Dennis’s face.

  “You actually think I was talking about your sister?” He muttered incredulously. “You dumb-ass.”

  “Well…weren’t you?”

  Dennis slammed his hat back on his head. “I give up!” he roared, jerking on his coat. “I can’t do this.”

  “Do what?”

  “Never mind. I’ve already said more than I should. Leave me out of it, you understand?”

  “Out of what?”

  “This whole mess.”

  Jeb watched as Dennis stalked out of the house and stomped toward his truck. He didn’t wait until his friend was out of sight before he reached for the phone and dialed his father’s place.

  Calla answered after the first ring. “I’ll get her for you,” she said when Jeb asked to speak to his sister.

  “Hello, Jeb,” Sarah said. It was unusual enough for him to make a phone call, and the wariness in her voice told him she was worried.

  “Dennis was just here.”

  No response.

  “I need to ask you something important.”

  “All right,” she agreed, still wary.

  “Are you pregnant?”

  “Me?” she cried, as if the very word was enough to strike fear into her heart. “Are you crazy?”

  “Dennis seemed to imply that you were.”

  “Well, I most certainly am not!” Her anger vibrated through the line, followed by a short silence. “What exactly did he say?”

  “Hell if I know,” Jeb said, more perplexed now than ever. “He started talking about how he disagreed with keeping the secret and—”

  “Secret. What secret?”

  “If I knew that, do you think I’d be phoning you?”

  “No. Okay, tell me what else Dennis said.”

  It was the most illogical conversation Jeb had ever had. “He said something about unforeseen consequences that were no one’s fault. Consequences that involve a woman…” He stopped, his hand tightening on the receiver.

  Dennis had said it was a secret, and he was the one dating Maddy. Apparently she’d taken him into her confidence. Dear God in heaven, was it possible?

  “Jeb?” Sarah shouted, “talk to me!”

  “It’s Maddy,” he whispered, barely able to get the words out. “It has to be.”

  “Maddy?” Sarah repeated.

  “Yes.” With that, he replaced the receiver, reached for his coat and hat and grabbed the car keys.

  By God, if Maddy was pregnant, she could tell him herself.

  Thirteen

  Minutes of the January 23rd meeting of the Buffalo Valley Town Council

  As recorded by Hassie Knight, Secretary and Treasurer, duly elected.

  The meeting was opened by council president Joshua McKenna with the Pledge of Allegiance to the American flag. Council members in attendance included Joshua McKenna, Dennis Urlacher, Heath Quantrill, Robert Carr (also known as Buffalo Bob Carr) and Hassie Knight. Chuck Loomis sat in as observer. Carl and Jean Hooper were invited guests.

  Hassie Knight reported concession stand sales from the high-school Christmas program had netted the school $312.13. Buffalo Bob reported a thirty-five percent increase in business during the weekend of the play. Ten percent of his profit has been added to the school fund, for a total of 433.10. Again, Joshua McKenna commended the council for their combined efforts, which allowed the high-schoolers, under the direction of Lindsay Sinclair, to hold a successful play for the second year.

  In regard to new business, Joshua introduced Carl Hooper and welcomed him to Buffalo Valley. Carl is the manager of the JCPenney catalog outlet. He accepted the transfer from Grand Forks and has recently moved into the area. Carl introduced his wife, Jean. Jean asked to address the council and was granted permission. As a licensed beautician, Jean announced that she would be interested in opening a beauty shop, seeing that there is currently none available. The reaction of the council was unanimous approval. Joshua McKenna assured Jean that the council would do everything necessary to help make the beauty shop a reality.

  Joshua McKenna read a letter addressed to the town council by Father McGrath. Father wrote to inform the council that the Catholic church had been leased to the Methodists. Plans are being made to start up a Protestant church within the year. The council should expect to hear from the Methodist home office in six months. Father McGrath was sorry to inform the town that Mass would no longer be available, but that the Catholic church in Devils Lake will welcome all those who wish to attend.

  The meeting was briefly interrupted by a surprise visit from Rachel Fischer, who delivered pizza and sodas for a lunchtime celebration of the Hoopers’ arrival.

  The council adjourned at 12:30 for lunch.

  Respectfully submitted,

  Hassie Knight

  On the last Friday afternoon in January, Maddy was getting ready to close the store for the night. She was exhausted after a long week. Lately, it seemed that no matter how early she went to bed, she woke feeling as if she hadn’t slept at all. Her mother had been gone almost a month now, and Maddy still missed her. It’d been good to talk to her about the baby. After the initial shock, Cynthia had grown excited about the pregnancy, eager to be a grandmother, and she’d been full of reassurance and practical advice. Maddy herself was ecstatic, in spite of the circumstances.

  She checked her watch and saw that it was exactly six. Walking to the door, she flipped the OPEN sign to read CLOSED, and was about to turn away when she saw Jeb’s truck pull up in front of the store. Jeb had come for groceries? Thinking fast, she quickly flipped the sign over and hurried to stand by the register.

  Then she decided to turn the sign back. Her hours were nine to six, and if he arrived when Maddy’s Grocery was closed, that was too bad. She wouldn’t make any special concessions for him.

  Unfortunately he burst into the store before she managed to get out from behind the counter. His limp was more noticeable than ever, and he appeared to be agitated and in a rush.

  “Maddy!” he shouted, looking around.

  Apparently he hadn’t seen her. “I’m over here,” she said calmly despite the way her heart thundered.

  He whirled around.

  “Is everything all right?” she asked, concerned. She’d never seen Jeb
like this.

  “No,” he cried.

  He stared at her so intently, it flustered her. “The store’s only open a few more minutes—”

  “In other words, collect my purchases quickly? Is that what you’re saying?”

  She hesitated, then nodded. Seeing him was painful. She’d tried to put him out of her mind, tried not to love him. His child was growing in her womb, and while he might choose not to have her in his life, he would forever remain part of hers.

  “Would you close the store if Dennis was the one who stopped by at the last minute?” he demanded, his voice heavy with sarcasm.

  “What has Dennis got to do with anything?”

  “You’re dating him now. Or so I’ve heard.”

  “If you came here to discuss my social life, then—”

  “I didn’t,” he said, interrupting her. “I came to ask you…” He stopped and looked at her again with that same intense scrutiny.

  “What?” she demanded, folding her arms around her waist.

  “Maddy.” He whispered her name and took a couple of steps toward her. “Are you pregnant?”

  She couldn’t lie. Not about her baby. “Yes,” she said quietly. “Yes, I am.”

  For one frightening moment, he thought his good leg was about to buckle under him, and he placed his hand against the counter to gain his balance. He exhaled deeply, then said, “You could have told me.”

  “You’re right. I could have.”

  “Why didn’t you?” he asked, sounding genuinely perplexed.

  “Isn’t the answer obvious? You don’t want anything to do with me.”

  “I have a right to know.” His voice was angry again.

  “Yes,” she agreed, “you do, and I would have told you in my own way and my own time. Who did tell you—” Even before she finished saying the words, she knew. “Dennis,” she said with a groan. “He should have kept his mouth shut.”

  “He didn’t say a word,” Jeb muttered. “I guessed.”

  The door opened again, and Sarah Stern stormed into the grocery. She looked at her brother and then at Maddy.

  “You talked to Maddy?” Sarah asked her brother.

  Jeb nodded.

  She turned her attention to Maddy. “You’re pregnant?”

  So much for keeping the pregnancy quiet these first few months. In another week, the entire town would know. “Yes.”

  Her answer had a curious effect on Jeb’s sister. With her fists raised, she repeatedly hit Jeb on the chest and shoulders.

  “You idiot!” Sarah cried. “How could you? Didn’t you learn anything from me?”

  “Sarah, Sarah…” Maddy shouted, watching anxiously as Jeb deflected the blows. He wasn’t having much success, and then she realized he wasn’t trying too hard.

  Her energy spent, Sarah dropped her arms, covered her face with both hands and unceremoniously burst into tears.

  “Oh, Sarah,” Maddy told her friend. “It’s all right. I want this baby, you know.”

  Sarah bit her lower lip and brushed the hair from her face.

  “I wish the circumstances were different, but that can’t be helped. I’m excited about the pregnancy,” Maddy assured her and, she hoped, Jeb.

  “I was pregnant with Calla before—” Sarah whispered on a sob. “I should never have married Willie.”

  “I know,” Maddy said, “but this is different. I’m older than you were then.” She moved toward Sarah and hugged her, wanting to offer both gratitude and consolation.

  When they broke apart, Maddy noticed that Jeb stood watching them. His face revealed anxiety and another emotion she couldn’t read. The news had obviously unsettled him as much as it had his sister.

  “Okay,” Jeb finally said. “What do you expect from me?”

  The door slammed open a third time, and Joshua McKenna entered. Everyone turned to look at him. Apparently he, too, had learned of the pregnancy.

  “You’re gonna marry her,” Joshua McKenna stated in no uncertain terms. His face was red with anger, and he glared at his son as if he planned to haul him behind the woodshed and give him the beating of his life.

  Everyone started talking at once. Sarah with Jeb and Jeb with his father, while Joshua argued heatedly with all three of them.

  Maddy slammed her fist on the counter so loudly that everyone stopped and stared at her.

  “Listen, if you three want a family free-for-all, that’s fine with me, but not on my time. The store officially closed ten minutes ago.”

  “I’m not leaving until this is settled,” Jeb insisted.

  “There’s nothing to settle,” his father said with equal determination. “You get a woman pregnant? Then you do right by her and the child, and that’s all there is to it.”

  The door swung open and Hassie Knight walked into the grocery. “What’s going on in here?” she asked. “First Jeb arrives like he’s being chased by the FBI, then Sarah rushes over here, with Joshua following right behind her.”

  No one answered. Maddy figured it was up to her to explain, and seeing that Hassie was bound to discover the truth soon, anyway, she announced, “I’m pregnant.”

  Hassie released a long sigh. “The blizzard?”

  Maddy nodded.

  “That makes you what, two, two-and-a-half months along?”

  Again Maddy answered with a nod.

  “I think Jeb ought to marry her,” Joshua said, crossing his arms over his chest. “I raised my children to accept responsibility for their actions. He slept with her, he should suffer the consequences.”

  Suffer? Maddy shivered and froze up inside. Joshua made marriage to her sound like a prison sentence.

  “What does Maddy want?” Hassie asked quietly.

  Everyone looked at her; Maddy in turn looked at Jeb, who seemed keenly interested in her response.

  “Want?” she repeated after an uncomfortable silence. “Does it matter? Will it change anything? My feelings aren’t at issue here. My baby is. It happened—neither Jeb nor I can deny it. So…I’m pregnant.”

  “What about the baby?” Joshua asked.

  “In a little more than six months, he or she will be born,” she said matter-of-factly. “I plan on raising my child on my own, with or without financial assistance from Jeb.”

  “It’s not easy going it alone,” Sarah whispered, sounding close to tears once again.

  “I know it isn’t,” Maddy said quietly.

  “Is that your last word?” Jeb asked, frowning. “What about—”

  “Wait, Jeb,” Hassie broke in. “I think it’d be best if you and Maddy had a chance to talk by yourselves.”

  Sarah and Joshua reluctantly started to leave. “He should marry her,” Joshua muttered under his breath.

  “These days young people make up their own minds about such matters,” Hassie told him, steering Jeb’s father out of the store.

  “Just a minute,” Joshua argued with Hassie. “Seems to me you were working damn hard to hook Gage Sinclair up with Lindsay about this time last year.”

  “You’re right—and I should’ve kept out of it,” Hassie said. “Now, let these two settle this themselves.” Hassie glanced over her shoulder. “Come on, Sarah.”

  Clearly upset, Sarah went with her father and Hassie.

  Maddy followed them to the door, locked it and gave a shaky sigh. “Perhaps we should talk someplace else,” she suggested.

  “Buffalo Bob’s?”

  Maddy preferred not to discuss her personal business in such a public place. “I was thinking we could talk here—my apartment is attached to the store.”

  He looked unsure. “If that’s what you want.”

  Maddy led the way to the back of the store and unlocked the door that led to her home. The rooms were badly in need of renovation. The carpets were old and worn, the walls smudged. Maddy planned on redoing the interior, but like so much else, it would have to wait until she had the time and the cash. Now with the baby…

  “Would you like something to dri
nk?” she asked, hoping to make this conversation as amicable as possible.

  “How about a double Scotch?”

  She smiled, knowing her news had come as a shock. She could appreciate his need for a stiff drink. “I’d get you some if I had it,” she began, “but—”

  “Coffee will do,” he said.

  She made him a mug of instant and carried it to the table, along with a cup of herbal tea for herself. From the way he stared into the black liquid and avoided meeting her gaze, Maddy knew this wasn’t going to be an easy conversation.

  “I’m sorry, Maddy,” Jeb whispered.

  “Sorry? For the pregnancy? Or for the circus that just happened?”

  He glanced up. “For everything.”

  His apology infuriated her, although she wasn’t sure why. She hadn’t expected him to share her happy feelings about the baby, especially since she’d had time to adjust and he hadn’t. His anger she could have dealt with, but not his regret.

  “Fine, you’re sorry,” she snapped. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll have my baby by myself. Don’t be concerned—I won’t be asking anything of you.”

  “What do you mean by that?”

  “You’re worried I’ll want you to marry me. That’s your biggest concern, isn’t it?”

  “I don’t think marriage would be—”

  “You’re right, it wouldn’t be beneficial to either one of us, let alone our child, so that’s the end of that. Discussion closed.” She stood and carried her untouched tea to the sink, dumping it. “That was short and sweet, wasn’t it?”

  “But I—”

  “You’re absolved from any responsibility.” She waved her arms in a dramatic gesture. “Okay?”

  He stared at her, obviously at a loss for words.

  “I want you to go now,” she said abruptly.

  “Maddy…”

  “I’m tired, Jeb. This isn’t a good time. Please go.”

  He stood slowly and when he looked at her his eyes were sad. “I am sorry.”

  Maddy clenched her fists. “If you say that one more time, I swear I won’t be responsible for what I might do.”

  “But I—”

  “Just go!”

  Still he hesitated. “I’d like to talk about this some more.”