Page 49 of Rebuilding Friendship Inn

“What about it?” The electric kettle boiled quickly, and he lifted the already-bubbling water in the teapot from the element.

“I won’t be able to do my yoga classes as I get bigger.”

“Then you’ll develop a yoga class for expecting moms,” he said. “It’ll be a hit.” He smiled at her after he poured the water over the teabags. He put down the kettle and came toward her. “Don’t worry, hon. We have lots of time to work it all out.”

He put both hands on her shoulders. “Okay? I can see you disappearing again.”

“I’m trying not to.”

“Stay here with me,” he whispered. “You’re tired. Let’s go lie down. I’ll lay by you until you fall asleep.”

She nodded, and they left the tea behind in favor of climbing the steps to the master bedroom. Kelli let him take off her shoes, and she stepped out of her yoga clothes while he turned down the bed.

They did lay down together, and Kelli sighed as her eyes drifted closed. Shad kept her close to his heartbeat, and Kelli couldn’t believe everything she’d been told that day.

It hit her all at once, and she pushed herself up onto her elbows, pure adrenaline coursing through her veins. “Am I really pregnant?”

Shad laughed and nodded. “Yes, Kel. You really are.”

She leaned down and kissed him then, the urgency in the action more than she’d anticipated. “Make love to me,” she whispered against his lips, and Shad had never denied her when she’d wanted him to be intimate with her.

He didn’t this time either.

ChapterSeventeen

Clara emerged from the bedroom and went down the hall to the kitchen. Lena sat on the couch, one of her favorite television shows playing at a low volume. She didn’t look over to Clara, who went over to her husband.

Scott sat at the bar, the way he usually did in the morning. He’d brewed coffee and scrambled eggs while Clara had been in the shower and getting ready. “Morning, hon.” Scott barely glanced at her, then did a double-take. “Whoa. What are you all dressed up for?”

His eyes slid down to her shiny black pumps and back to her eyes. Clara wore a deep, dark pencil skirt with a black and white checkered blouse tucked into it. She wasn’t exactly thin, but she’d accepted her body a long time ago, and she had lost some weight in recent months.

“I have a meeting today,” she said. She swallowed and licked her lips. She currently wore far too much makeup, and a measure of ridiculousness moved through her. She’d met Jennifer before, probably looking nearly homeless—because at the time, she had been. “With Jennifer Golden.”

“Our landlord?”

Clara twisted her hands together, then realized she was doing it and pulled them apart. She wiped her palms down the front of her skirt. “She called a month or so ago. She said she wanted to meet with me about possibly coming on as an investor.”

Scott’s wide eyes got wider, though he frowned. “When?”

“I don’t know,” she said. “End of June. I’ve been putting her off, because there’s something…strange about it.” She went into the kitchen and got down a coffee mug. “She said I couldn’t tell anyone. Like, not even you.” She poured herself a cup of coffee and faced him again.

“I finally got her to let me bring Tessa, because I need someone else there.”

“I’d have gone,” Scott said. “I thought your mother was funding a lot of the renovation.”

“No,” Clara said. They’d talked about this so many times, and a sense of exhaustion pressed behind her perfectly lined eyes. “She helped us buy the inn in the first place. The renovation funds have been coming from the grants I’ve been getting. And the construction loan.” She reached for the sugar spoon with a shaking hand. “And it’s not enough, Scott,” she added quietly.

He stood, his barstool scraping along the linoleum flooring. “I know the demolition has been taking forever. That’s a lot of labor.”

Clara nodded, but it was more than that. “And the commercial appliances. And the new staircase—thank goodness that’s finally done, though.” She’d paid the bill, seen the dangerously low amount in the loan, and called Jennifer to set up the meeting for today. “We need more money to keep things going. A lot more. She said she’d like to meet with me, see the business plans, and she’d see if she’d like to invest.”

Scott joined her in the kitchen. “You’re telling me.” He lifted his eyebrows in a silent question mark.

“I figured she can’t tell me to keep a secret from my husband.” Clara scooped sugar into her coffee and looked up to her husband. “I figured it would be okay if Tessa came.”

“I want to come,” Scott said. A hint of impatience and frustration entered his eyes. “I’ll go get changed. Looks like we’re dressing for a fancy party.” Without waiting for her to respond, he turned and walked out of the kitchen.

Clara looked over to Lena, a buzzing firestorm in her chest. She should’ve told Scott sooner; Clara knew that. Sometimes doing things with him was harder than doing them alone, as they’d never worked together before. She felt like she had to explain things over and over to him, because she handled the finances and made most of the decisions, and not just surrounding Friendship Inn. But in all aspects of their lives.

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