Page 98 of Love and Memories

If he had more to say, she didn’t wait for him to finish. Wrapping her hands behind his neck, she pulled him to her and pressed her lips to his. Travis not only promised to stand beside her, but he showed his love with actions every day. Her heart swelled with love for him so intensely that she worried it would burst in her chest.

Travis returned her kiss with the same affection and intensity. He held her tightly but gently, firmly but softly. Wrapped in the safety of his arms, every pain of the past melted away until they didn’t exist anymore.

A bright light shone onto the cab of the truck, and Bella broke the kiss. Hadley stood in the open doorway of the dining hall, shrouded in shadow.

“Stop making out in the parking lot and get in here!”

Bella covered her face and fell into a fit of giggles. The embarrassment she should feel was mysteriously absent. Hadley could always be counted on to say exactly what was on her mind, and it was one of the traits that Bella appreciated about her friend.

“I guess that’s our cue,” Travis said with a huff.

Bella continued to giggle until they met Hadley on the porch. She could be intimidating for a woman who wasn’t over five and a half feet tall.

“I can’t wait another minute,” Hadley said, shoving a cake knife into Bella’s hand. “Come on. Let’s cut the cake and figure out what kind of baby y’all are having.”

Bella turned to glance up at Travis, who was doing a poor job of hiding his grin.

“What kind of baby are we having?” Bella asked jokingly.

“I think we decided on a puppy. Maybe a duckling.”

Bella made a show of looking sad. “I thought you said we could have a salamander. I’ve always wanted one.”

Hadley ignored their laughter as she led them to a round, two-tier cake. White icing covered it with pink and blue alternating swirls around the rim and base of each tier.

“Here they are, folks! The guests of honor have arrived,” Hadley announced.

The entire crowd gathered around them, reaching for hugs, handshakes, or slaps on the back. Bella was pulled from one embrace to another until her cheeks tingled from smiling. Was that even a thing? It had never happened to her before now–before this town filled with wonderful people wrapped their love around her.

Nothing in the past mattered if this was her present and future. If the rest of her life was filled with the love of a good man and the friendship of an entire town, she could let go of the hurt and praise God for lifting her out of the darkness.

Hadley appeared at Bella’s side and crowded her toward the cake table. “Now, we’re all here to learn the good news. Let’s cut that cake!”

A round of cheers echoed through the large room as Hadley rounded on Bella and Travis. “You did call the bakery and tell them which color to make it, didn’t you?”

Travis made an unsure humming noise, but Bella swatted his chest.

“Yes, we called,” he said, rubbing the spot where she’d playfully hit him.

Hadley smiled and wrapped Bella in a tight hug. “I’m so excited!”

Bella’s breath hitched. These people were celebrating her and her baby. They’d all come here to share in the good news.

Travis was even standing by her as her boyfriend. One day, he would take on the role of the father of her baby. There wasn’t any doubt in her mind that Travis would love her no matter what, and the confidence stole the breath right out of her lungs.

Bella stepped up behind the cake, and Travis took his place at her side. She gripped the handle of the knife and poised it above the top tier.

She tilted her head to look up at Travis behind her. With a handsome grin, he wrapped his hand around hers and they pushed the knife into the cake together. Careful to pull it out straight so no one would see the inside too soon, they slid it back into the top of the cake and positioned the serving knife below the piece.

“You ready?” he whispered against the shell of her ear.

“So ready.” They lifted the slice of cake together, and the entire room roared in cheers and applause as they held up the pale pink dessert.

“It’s a girl!” Tammy Benson shouted the moment before a tear slid down her cheek.

The sight of her friend’s happiness was like a hot rope around Bella’s chest. Her own mother wouldn’t have been as excited as Tammy, and she suddenly saw their relationship in a whole new light.

God had brought them together so they could experience the full joy of moments like these. Tammy never got to be a mother, and Bella needed one. It was silly to think she craved the nearness of a mom in her twenties, but the void in her life was suddenly filled.

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