Page 50 of Plunge

CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

Thistle

INDIGO INVITES ME to go for a hike with her and the girls on Saturday, and I’m delighted to realize there’s nothing I’d rather do. I even volunteer to wear Gavin in the baby backpack for a spell so Indigo and Opal can help Diana each time she has to vomit.

Apparently the morning sickness associated with early pregnancy is an all-day sickness for Diana. Abigail stands off to the side, bouncing Louie, while the other women help Diana get herself cleaned up.

“He seems so much calmer today,” I say to Abigail, who brightens.

“He’s been doing so great,” she says. “When did you hang out with Louie? I’ve been so out of it…I don’t remember.”

“Oh,” I say, wondering if Fletcher was supposed to bring his nephew around other people without permission. “I went with Fletcher for one of his evening walks with Louie last week. He said you were getting some sleep and he didn’t want to disturb you. I hope it wasn’t overstepping.”

Abigail waves her hand. “Whatever it was, if it meant me getting some sleep, it was the right idea,” she says. “God, Fletcher has been such a saint. I really don’t know where we’d be without him.”

Diana stomps back onto the trail, stuffing her water bottle into the clip on her cargo pants. “Yeah, Fletcher better rest up. In about eight months, I’m calling in my favors to him, too. Asa and I want the Uncle Fletcher package you guys got.”

Abigail laughs, but Opal presses her mouth into a thin line. “Well, of course we hope you don’t need that level of care, Diana,” she says. “We want you to have a beautiful birthing and for your baby to just sleep happily at your breast.”

Indigo starts passing out snacks and makes a snorting sound. “Listen,” she says. “I blasted this baby out with no issues, and he sleeps all the time at my breast, and I would give anything to have Fletcher Crawford on night patrol. Seriously, Diana, if you ask him nicely, maybe he’ll adjust his schedule so he can help you.”

They all look over to me and Diana asks if I know what his schedule will be in the late summer. I flush. “Oh,” I stutter, fishing a biscuit out of the tin Indigo hands me. “I really haven’t asked him about it. I know he’s going to Bahrain…soon?”

Diana brushes crumbs off her hands and starts walking again. “That reminds me,” she says. “My mother’s been hounding me. Says you’re supposed to come to family dinner tomorrow since you’ve been dodging her calls about work opportunities.”

I groan. “Oh man, do I have to do that? Family dinner sounds so—“

“Yes,” Abigail and Diana say at the same time as Opal laughs. She squeezes my arm. “It’ll be very intense. But you’d better do it or Rose will hound you mercilessly.”

When I get to the Crawford house the next afternoon, I can smell Daniel’s cooking from down the block. The rich aroma of garlic and sage wafts down the street and I feel my mouth watering. My mom has started cooking again in spits and spats, but she was never anything like Daniel Crawford.

I can just picture him sifting through the root cellar he dug for his garden harvest, selecting squash and onions to make for his family. I wonder if he still spends so much time telling all his children exactly where their food came from. When I raise my hand to knock, the door flies inward before I even rap on it.

Archer yanks me inside and pulls the wine bottle from my hand. “Can we break this open on the wall and just chug it right here?”

Perplexed, I look past him to see Rose deep in conversation with Opal, talking very pointedly about the importance of planning a wedding well in advance. “Oooh,” I say. “Are you and Opal next on the pressure train?”

Archer finishes screwing off the cap to the wine and actually does drink a big swig right from the bottle before he passes it to me. “Now that D is pregnant and Hunter’s all daddied up, yes. The heat is on me.”

“Well what are you waiting for, boss?” I tease him. He rolls his eyes. I know he and Opal have only been together a few months and even though they’re living together, it’s very important to her to take things slowly. Opal has some tough experiences in her past. “Where’s Fletcher,” I ask, trying to sound noncommittal about it and wondering if any of them can tell things have been complicated between us lately.

“He had to make some phone calls. Said he’ll be here in time for the soup course.”

As if on cue, Daniel Crawford spies me at the back door and drags me over to the stove, asking me to taste the butternut squash soup he’s pureeing. “I was thinking I would give some to Louie to taste, but Hunter reminded me that babies shouldn’t have solids this young.”

He offers me a spoonful and I taste. The flavor is magnificent. Hints of cinnamon and something spicy burst in my mouth. “This is wonderful,” I tell him, hoping we can change the subject away from babies.

“Ah, Thistle!” Rose pulls her attention from Opal to me, and Opal looks like she’s going to pass out until Archer hands her the bottle of wine I had brought. Rose pulls me down the hall to her home office, asking me what I want to do with my life now that the world is my oyster.

“Actually, I’ve had an opportunity,” I tell her, starting to explain that I’ve landed a part-time consulting job.

She taps her lip with her index finger. “Aha. Is that what Archer was moping about? He tells me he can’t live without your help at the office, Thistle.”

“That’s very kind of him to say,” I tell her. “He does very different type of work than I’m used to. I’m just trying to help out here and there.”

Rose waves a finger at me, scolding. “Never downplay your abilities, especially not to me,” she says. “You’re a damned genius when it comes to accounting and finance and I don’t want to hear anything less fall out of your mouth.”

I remember these pep talks she used to give me when I was dating Fletcher. So different from the atmosphere at my house, where we avoided conflict at all cost. Never argue about something we could stuff down and ignore seemed like our unofficial motto at the McMurray household.

---