Page 46 of Can We Try?

“Thank you so much for having us,” Maggie tells my parents an hour later.

“You’re both always welcome here,” Mom tells her. She gives Doris a hug, then Maggie, and finally me. Dad does the same and they walk us to the door, waving us off.

“I could use a nap,” Doris says from her spot in the passenger seat. “That’s more action than I’ve seen in a long time.”

“Grandma!” Maggie hisses out a surprised laugh from the back seat.

“What? I don’t get out that often. This was a nice treat. Get your mind out of the gutter. You’re about to be a mother,” Doris says, barely keeping a straight face. “Lachlan, keep her in line, will you?” Doris asks me.

I glance at Maggie in the rearview mirror and wink. “Sorry, Doris, I can’t say no to her. I’m pretty sure I’ll never be able to,” I admit.

“My goodness, you sure are something.” She smiles and hums the rest of the short drive back to her place.

We get Doris settled back into her recliner and she’s almost asleep before we’re even out the door.

“Thank you for that. She’s right; she doesn’t get around as well as she used to. This was a treat for her.”

“It was for me and my parents too. We got to know her better.”

“I don’t know how much time I’ll have with her, and today meant everything, Lachlan. Thank you for including her.”

“She’s our family, Maggie.” I wait for some type of reminder or comment about how we’re not technically related, but it never comes. “So, what do you have planned the rest of the day?” I ask her.

“Nothing. I need to go to the grocery store for lunch stuff this week, but other than that, nothing. Why?”

“Well, I was hoping we could go furniture shopping. All of mine is secondhand, and I think with the new house, it’s time to upgrade.”

“Really? All new furniture?” she asks.

“Yeah, I mean, I’ve pretty much saved everything I’ve ever earned and I’ve made a few investments. My house is paid for, so when I sell that after moving into the new place, that will be a big chunk I get back. So, what do you say? Feel like furniture shopping? We can hit the grocery store on the way home for you to get everything you need for the week.”

“On one condition.”

“Name it.” Nothing she could ask me to do for her would have me saying no, especially if it means I get to spend the day with her.

“Mexican for lunch.” She rubs her belly, and something moves inside my chest, almost as if a fist is squeezing my heart.

“Mexican it is.” I turn the truck toward Nashville. Glancing in the rearview mirror, I see the smile spread across my face. It seems to be permanent when the mother of my unborn child is around.

Chapter

Eleven

Maggie

* * *

“Thank you for today, Amanda. I’ve had the best time,” I tell Lachlan’s mom. We just finished a late lunch after shopping all day.

“Me too,” she says, the excitement clear in her tone. “We needed another woman in the family. Just think, if this little one is a girl, we’ll have them outnumbered.” She cackles with laughter.

“We find out next week. I’m so excited. I’m glad Lachlan didn’t want to wait. I mean, I would have waited, but it would have been torture.”

Amanda laughs. “You have nothing to worry about. Even if he wanted to wait, I can’t see him telling you no. He’s a lot like his dad in that regard.”

“What do you mean?”

“My husband is one of the rare gems of a man in this world. He was relentless in asking me out, and I was on the fence. At first, I was against it. I was a single mom, and my son’s father abandoned us as soon as I told him I was pregnant. He told me to deal with it, and I never saw or heard from him again. I was a waitress at the time, living in a tiny one-bedroom apartment, barely making ends meet. I didn’t have time for a man in my life. Then along comes Rodney. He sat in my section and flirted all night. Then the next night, and the next. Each night that he left, he would ask me for my number, and I turned him down.”

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