Page 58 of Embattled Ever After

The waiter interrupted them then to take their food orders. But as soon as he left Lora told her, “We have something for you.” She reached under the table for her purse. “We think this will help.”

She handed over a book-sized package, wrapped in blue paper. Shannon unwrapped it carefully, loving the little elephants on the wrapping paper. Inside was a book.

“I had something similar when I was going through my pregnancy,” Lora told her, “because I had no one to ask. This tells you exactly what is happening with your baby, week by week, and it gives you advice on literallyeverything. Clothes to decorating to what to do when your breasts start to leak.”

Horrified, Shannon stared at Lora in shock. “Your breastsleak?”

The women laughed and nodded. “Sometimes at very inopportune times,” Willow admitted.

Shannon paged through the book. There were diagrams and schedules, and lists of popular baby names. There was a huge amount of information here. “Thank you so much! I’m going to go home and read this tonight. And I know John will read it too.”

Giggling, they all exchanged skeptical looks.

The food was brought then and conversation faded away as they began to eat.

“How are you feeling, Willow?” Ember asked.

“Like I swallowed a baby elephant,” she said deadpan. “I don’t know how I’m going to get through the next two months.”

Shannon snorted and Willow gave her a look with a raised eyebrow. “Just you wait, little girl. You’re going to have two baby elephants dancing on your bladder soon.”

Shannon groaned. “You’re cursing me,” she moaned.

She’d never clicked with a group of women like she had with these ladies. Though they were all very different, they all meshed, much like the men themselves did. Although another doctor would have been nice to add to the group.

As if sensing her thoughts, Ember glanced at her. “Any word from Alex?”

She shook her head. “I haven’t talked to her for a couple of weeks, not since I told her about Duncan’s cake.”

“Duncan’s a bear these days,” Lora said.

“Yes, he is,” Willow said. “And have you noticed he’s been limping more? I brought Flynn lunch the other day and they were working out in the rec room. Duncan could barely get up from the weight bench without his cane.”

“John asked him about it the other day and Dunc about snapped his head off,” Shannon admitted.

They continued to eat, not knowing how to help their friend.

“Any chance we can call Alex back?”

Shannon frowned at Lora. “I don’t think so. That has to be something they figure out themselves.”

As they finished lunch and parted ways, Shannon continued to worry about Duncan. Even though he’d hurt her feelings before his birthday, she’d known he’d been speaking out of his own pain. The words had sliced through her heart like knives, though.

Whether he realized it or not, Alex was the perfect woman for him, no matter how much he argued to the contrary. Physically, they looked great together. They both had sharp, smart personalities and Duncan had been incredibly drawn to her. John had told her about the sex in the office incident, and she still couldn’t believe it. Not that it wasn’t good, quite the opposite actually. That was exactly the kind of undisciplined thing Duncan needed to spice up his life.

Shannon had taken a little longer than expected and needed to get back to work, but Duncan had been such a grouch recently he was making everybody foul.

As she turned to head down Quebec Street toward the office, she realized there was a car following her very closely. The road was busy—it was lunchtime, after all—but they should have been able to leave a little room. Turning her right blinker on she merged over into a turn lane. She could circle through a lot and just let him pass.

When she glanced up into the rearview mirror to watch him pass, she was startled to see the car directly in her rear window. What the hell?

For a moment, icy fear trickled down her spine, flashes of being kidnapped from her home ripping through her mind. No, she wouldn’t go there.

The dark car behind her suddenly accelerated forward and Shannon’s head snapped back as her car lurched. They were heading into a construction area, so there wasn’t as much traffic. She glanced at her center console, and her cell phone she had plugged in there. Should she try to call John?

The car smashed into her again and Shannon cried out, clutching the steering wheel in her hands. This time, the driver of the car behind her didn’t let up, and Shannon found herself being forced up over a curb and into a grassy area. The only advantage she apparently had was that her Explorer was bigger than the crossover vehicle bashing into her. Hitting her brakes, she guided her car into a loop and tried to see into the car behind her. There was a man behind the wheel with dark hair, but she couldn’t make out his features.

Heart pounding she scanned the area, looking for police or a security car or something, but as always they were never around when needed. Her car lurched as it was struck again, and this time she couldn’t keep the grip on the steering wheel. The front wheel of her truck bounced into a hole, then against something unmoving. Shannon’s head bounced against the steering wheel hard enough to knock her out.

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