Page 42 of Shine On Oklahoma

“Okay.” She ran off to fill her bag withballoons.

“She’s cute, isn’t she?” Kiley asked.

“If she was any cuter, I’d need insulin.”Kendra softened the words with a smile. “Watching her made me thinkabout Diana. And how big a deal this is.” Her eyes were on hersister’s bump again. And something pressed outward from one side,then receded, then gave three quick little jabs.”

“Ow!” Kiley said.

“That’s…that’s unreal.” Kendra put her handon there to feel it. “It’s likeAlien.”

“It isnotlikeAlien!”Something poked outward slowly, making an odd and impossible lump.Kendra met Kiley’s eyes, lifted her brows. “Okay, it’s alittlelikeAlien.” She smiled. They both did. “Ireally want you to stay, Kendra.” Kiley put her hand over the oneon her belly.

Kendra lowered her head. “You want me tochange, so I can stay.” She already had changed. Sort of. But therewas some stubborn streak preventing her from telling Kiley that.She wanted unconditional acceptance, she guessed.

“It’s not so hard. And it feels wonderful notto have to deceive people all the time. You wouldn’t believethe…the lightness of it. Never watching over your shoulder, worriedabout getting caught in a lie, never worried about getting caught,period.”

She didn’t doubt a word of it. Itdidfeel good not having a cover to maintain. She hadn’t realized howgood until she’d had to maintain one again. And lie to Dax. And tryto get him to do something he didn’t want to do. And now she wasracking her brain to figure a way to help him deal with VesterCaine once Jack was safe. There had to be a way to get Dax andCaroline out of this mess without one or both of them doingtime.

She was also worried about Dax finding outthe truth, Dax not finding out the truth, Dax going along with theplan, Dax refusing to go along with the plan, her father gettingkilled, her sister and niece getting in the way of this, and whatthe hell to do with Miss Dolly for the rest of the week.

Give me a minute, she thought, and I can makethat list longer.

“Hey.”

Kiley was searching her face when Kendrapulled her focus out of her own head. “Whatever it is,” her sisterasked, “can you do anything about it tonight?”

She thought and thought and thought. “I don’tthink so.”

Matilda ran past them, her trash bag bulgingwith balloons and bouncing along behind her. She raced through thebatwing doors and outside into the parking lot.

“If there’s nothing you can do about it rightnow, why waste your time on it?” Kiley went on. “Let it go andrelax.”

“Where’d you get that crap? Oprah?”

“Allie. She reads a lot of self-help books.”Kiley sighed and went on. “If you want to talk about anything, I’mhere. Okay?”

Kendra’s eyes were all hot and wet again.“God, you’re so sappy now, you know that? What is that, a sideeffect of pregnancy?”

“Yes. Yes, it is.”

Matilda came racing back through, trash bagempty now, and flying behind her like a banner.

Kiley laughed. “Thank you for the party,sis.”

“Thank you for the niece.”

Kiley hugged her and kissed her face. Thenshe joined her husband and headed out to their waiting truck.

Kendra walked outside behind them, Daxfalling into step beside her, little Matilda racing behind them,her trash bag once again bulging.

They stepped aside to let Matilda and her bagof balloons pass, then followed her outside. She carried the bagright over to a pickup truck that had a mountain of balloons in itsbed, climbed up onto the rear bumper and emptied her bag.

“Matilda what are you doing?” Emily, asked,trying to sound like a stern mommy, except for the laughterbubbling underneath her words.

“Daddy said I should make due with one bag,so…” She held up her hands, palms-up, on either side of her prettyface. Then she added, “I asked the other kids, Daddy. Nobody elsewanted any.”

Emily looked at Joey. Joey said, “She has notdisobeyed me in any way. Followed my words to the letter. I saidshe could make due with one bag, and that’s exactly what shedid.”

Jason came up, slapped Joe on the shoulderand said, “I’ve got a tarp and some bungies. Let’s secure yourdaughter’s cargo, little brother.

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