Page 32 of Secret Shifters Next Door

He looked pleased. “Fellow New Yorkers? For you? Free cannoli after lunch. Welcome. Let me get started for you.”

We sat at a booth, surprised to have run into an Italian New Yorker who owned a pizza place in Lilly Valley, Colorado. It seemed like a sign. Like the universe was telling me:You’re in a comfortable place that reminds you of home. Time to spill the beans.

I put my hands on the table, twisting my fingers together. My nerves had to be obvious on my face and in my body language. I took a breath and steadied myself. Jordyn and Mariah were looking at me with puzzled expressions.

“I have something really important I need to tell you about.”

Mariah raised an eyebrow. “Okay?”

Taking a deep breath, I said, “I’m pregnant.”

Jordyn and Mariah looked at me, their faces blank. They stared at me for several seconds before glancing at each other and smiling. The little buttheads thought I was lying? Surely not. Why would I lie about something like that?

“I really am.”

Mariah grinned and shook her head. “Mom, we don’t think you’re lying, we just… kind of already suspected.”

I jerked back. “What? How?”

Again, they exchanged a look before Mariah said, “You’ve been pretty sick. You’ve also been napping, like, a lot.”

“Yeah, and you’ve had mood swings and stuff. Grumpier than usual. Crying more often. Like that commercial last night on T.V. had you sobbing,” Jordyn said.

I crossed my arms over my chest. “Well, it was sad.”

“Mom,” Jordyn said. “It was a commercial for dog food.”

I pressed my lips together, not wanting to respond.

“Plus, you’ve been eating crazy stuff,” Jordyn went on. “You were dipping corn chips into grape jelly the other day. Then you put hot sauce on that bowl of vanilla ice cream last night.” She wrinkled her nose.

My cheeks flushed. I’d had the same weird cravings when I’d been pregnant with both of them. It was a little disconcerting that the girls had been so aware of my actions.

Mariah nodded toward my midsection. “The kicker was that we both could tell your belly was getting bigger. It all sort of fit together.”

My embarrassment irritated me. So much for thinking I’d done a good job of hiding it. I was surprised that the girls didn’t seem overly concerned. In my mind, it had been a foregone conclusion that they would have thought it was the end of the world. Now I realized I could breathe easier.

Mariah’s smile faded away. “So, does this mean Luis will be coming around? Is he going to move out here?”

My heart lurched. This was why the girls hadn’t brought up their fears. Not because they were worried about having a new sibling but because they were afraid of Luis. They assumed Luis was the father. Why wouldn’t they? Jordyn also looked concerned. I needed to ease their fears.

“Luis is not part of this. You shouldn’t be concerned about him. He doesn’t know where we are, and he won’t be part of this family. Ever.”

They looked relieved at that. Just then, the little man running the restaurant brought out our sodas and our pizza, and we dug in, devouring the entire thing. It was indeed as good as New York pizza. Another delightful surprise to the day.

“Mom, I’ll help. When I’m not in school, I’ll do whatever you need to help with the baby,” Mariah said.

“Me, too. I’d love to babysit,” Jordyn said.

I smiled around a bite of pizza. “Thank you. I’m sure I’ll need help, but I don’t want you to let this rule your lives. It’s my responsibility, but I do appreciate the offer, and I’m sure I’ll take you both up on it at some point.”

We walked out of the restaurant a while later, full and happy. The day seemed glorious now that my heavy secret was out in the open. It felt like a whole new day. My chest and shoulders felt much lighter now that the heavy weight had been removed. Things were looking up.

Lilly Valley was a small town, and usually quiet. Through my reverie, I heard murmurs of conversation ahead of us. I glancedpast the girls who were walking ahead of me. A group of people were huddled around the side of the road near where our car was parked. Frowning, I pushed past the girls.

There were around twenty people standing around my car. They were blocking my view, so I couldn’t see what was wrong. Panic flooded me. People wouldn’t be huddled around a car if it only had a flat tire. Something else had to be wrong. Then the group parted, and I saw what they were gawking at.

I stopped dead, nearly stumbling as I looked at what had happened to my car. The windshield was smashed. All four side windows were gone, just chips of glass remained. All four tires had been slashed, and the car sat on its rims. Across the hood and side of the car, there were words spraypainted in red. WHORE. BITCH.

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