Nora's Guy Next Door. Jo McNally

which somehow made Nora feel better. At least her cousin didn’t know everything. Nora knew Becky had made friends here, of course. She visited often, and they all went snowboarding and rock climbing together. Even when she was home in Atlanta, Becky was always texting or video chatting with someone in Gallant Lake. It just hadn’t occurred to Nora that there was a boyfriend in the picture. She was such an idiot.

      Two years. Becky would have been sixteen. Nora settled down into her seat like a balloon slowly losing air. Sixteen. Someone had taken advantage of her innocent child and now she was pregnant. Okay. They could fix this. First, Nora would make sure this monster was prosecuted for...something. Anything. A stranger had come into her happy family and tried to destroy it, but Nora wouldn’t allow that to happen.

      “How old was this...this man?”

      “When we met? Eighteen.”

      There was an odd bit of relief in that. At least it wasn’t some forty-year-old cyber-stalker who’d victimized her daughter. It was a horny teenage boy. Who, at eighteen, had still been old enough to know better and could still be held responsible.

      “So this young man pressured you into having unprotected s...”

      “Blake is right,” Amanda interrupted, standing quickly and reminding Nora once again there were children present at this train wreck of a holiday meal. “He and Zach can clear the table and go for a walk with Maddie. The three of us can take a minute to collect our thoughts, then we’ll sit in the solarium and figure this out over tea.”

      Everyone stood, and Nora stared at her daughter, trying to understand how this had happened. Becky was an intelligent young woman with big plans. She was going to work to protect the environment and make a difference in the world. Was that a baby bump? How far along was she? Was it too late for options? Would Nora support that choice if Becky made it? Her pulse amped up another notch.

      “There’s nothing to figure out, Amanda.” Becky looked at Nora for a long moment, then her hand moved across her belly. “I know you’re disappointed, Mom. This wasn’t part of your precious plans. Michael and I didn’t plan it, either, but we’re happy to be having a baby together. We love each other, and Michael asked me to marry him. I said yes.”

      As that bombshell sent shock waves through the room so forceful that Nora physically felt their impact, her daughter walked away from the table.

      * * *

      NORA GLARED SO hard at the back of the bearded man holding her daughter’s hand that she was surprised she didn’t bore a hole right between his shoulders. His sweater sleeves were pushed up to expose a small tattoo of a key on his right forearm. It now rested right next to the padlock on Becky’s arm as they walked down the sidewalk in Gallant Lake.

      Well. That explained that.

      She wanted to hate this horrible young man who’d gotten her daughter pregnant and ruined all the plans Nora had for Becky’s future. This...this...Michael person had made a mess of everything. She narrowed her eyes on the back of his head.

      He nudged against her daughter’s shoulder in what appeared to be some affectionate ritual between them, and Becky nudged back without looking at him. Nora wanted to hate him. But she couldn’t.

      Michael Peyton had been mature and charming over brunch. He clearly worshipped the ground Becky walked on and was constantly attentive to her every need. They seemed to be truly in love with each other. Of course, it was young love, and who knew if it would last, but still, it seemed real for the moment. It was honestly the kind of love she’d dreamed Becky would find, but she’d wanted her to find it ten years from now. Without being pregnant. Her eyes narrowed again.

      While Nora had been making plans to take a tour of England with her daughter, Becky had been making plans of her own. She was at the end of her first trimester, and she’d already made arrangements to leave Vassar. Michael was transferring to the law program at Albany, which was closer to Gallant Lake than Columbia was. Becky said she was looking at “other options” for school, but she vowed the baby wouldn’t stop her from getting her political science degree. Michael was already renting a two-bedroom bungalow in Gallant Lake, and they wanted to stay in this town, where they’d met and where they had friends.

      There were some major gaps in their plan, such as the loss of scholarships and a source of steady income, but Nora had to admit they were approaching this in a fairly mature manner, so far. Nora had told Becky yesterday she could move north to help, but her daughter was adamant about not needing Nora there. She was just like her father that way—always so sure everything would turn out rosy. So quick to dismiss Nora’s concerns. When she tried to point out that having a baby was hard work and they would need help, Becky just laughed.

      “It’s time to start living your own life, Mom, and stop running mine.”

      Her daughter didn’t want her here. And that hurt.

      Michael glanced over his shoulder at Nora, his blue eyes clouded with worry.

      “Mrs. B., are you sure you want to do this?” It took her a moment to realize what he was referring to. “I have no idea how Dad will react to us just showing up...”

      Nora smiled before she could catch herself. Darn it all, she kept forgetting she wanted to hate this kid! His mom lived in LA, but his father lived right here in town. The man hadn’t bothered showing up for brunch, leaving Michael so embarrassed she couldn’t help but feel sorry for him.

      “Of course I’m sure, Michael. In the South, there isn’t a problem in the world that can’t be fixed over blueberry cobbler and strong coffee.”

      Becky turned with a laugh. “Don’t you mean a smile and a plan, Mom? Isn’t that how you solve everything?”

      Nora nodded. “The plan is to make him smile over cobbler, then we’ll get him talking and win him over.”

      Becky pulled up short, forcing Michael to stop with her. Nora bobbled the white box of cobbler in her arms to keep it upright. “Mom, what exactly are you winning him over to? Are you saying you’re on our side now?”

      The smell of freshly ground coffee was a welcome distraction from answering that heavily loaded question. They were standing in front of Caffeine Cathy’s Coffee Café. The place didn’t exactly hold happy memories for her—she still hadn’t managed to get the coffee stain out of her jacket. But maybe they should pick up coffee here instead of expecting Michael’s father to provide it unannounced.

      “Mom?”

      Nora looked back to her daughter—her pregnant daughter with a plan—and the tall man at her side, arm now draped affectionately over her shoulders. The young man who loved her daughter. The father of her daughter’s child. There was a tightness in her chest that was something other than pain. It was a flood of emotion so strong she almost couldn’t breathe.

      “Rebecca,” she said, ignoring the wince on her daughter’s face at the use of her full name, “there are no sides here. There’s just a baby. And two very young people who are obviously going to love that baby. I’m not a fan of you getting married...” She shook her head when Becky started to protest. “I really want you to wait before having a wedding. Your plans sound very nice and tidy, but life isn’t tidy. And you’re going to need family. For you, that’s me. For Michael, that’s his mom and dad. So let’s bring his dad some cobbler and coffee—” she tipped her head toward the coffee shop with a smile “—and see if we can help him accept his impending grandfatherhood.”

      Michael placed a soft kiss on the top of Becky’s head, and Nora blinked, then stared out at the blue lake across the road, surrounded by russet-colored mountains. She took a deep breath, closing her eyes, and felt her daughter’s arms surround her.

      “Thanks, Mom. I didn’t expect you to be so...cool about this.”

      Nora laughed. “I wouldn’t go so far as saying I’m cool with it, but you’re my baby and I love you.” Michael headed into the coffee shop. Nora looked at the For Sale sign in the window and winked at Becky