Always Dakota - Debbie Macomber [49]
“Bert?” One of the Loomis twins. That didn’t seem possible.
“They’re quite an item.”
Calla was astonished and tried to hide it.
“You’re coming to the Christmas Eve service, aren’t you?”
“I thought I would,” she murmured, still adjusting to the thought of her friend dating Bert Loomis. Funny Jessica hadn’t said anything herself.
“I’ll see you later, then, and if you want, we can talk some more about school right after the holidays.”
“Sure,” Calla returned eagerly. They exchanged Christmas greetings, and Calla hung up, feeling a great sense of relief. Her homecoming was going so well, she could see no reason to delay visiting her mother. She wouldn’t have admitted it to anyone, but she had missed her. A thousand times she’d wanted to call and beg to come home, but had resisted because of Dennis.
“You ready to head on over to visit your mother?” her grandfather asked when she came out of her bedroom.
“I guess.” She shrugged, as if to say she’d eventually need to confront her mother and might as well get it over with now.
Calla donned her coat and stuffed a hat over her hair, pulling it down past her ears. They walked the few blocks over to the old Habberstad house. The place had been vacant for a couple of years and was one of the nicest in town. Calla had always liked the two-story Victorian structure, especially the wide veranda. It was the kind of house she’d always thought about living in one day, perhaps when she was married.
Dennis opened the door and shared an enigmatic look with Joshua before greeting Calla. “Merry Christmas.”
“You, too,” she said, stepping past him. She wasn’t actually rude, but she was well aware that her behavior bordered on it.
“Calla!” Her mother was sitting up with her feet on the sofa, her legs covered with an afghan. She held her arms open for her daughter.
Frowning, Calla hugged her, and briefly closed her eyes, wrapped in the warm embrace. Sarah seemed so pale and thin. “What’s wrong?” she asked as she straightened. “Did you break your leg?” Surely that was something her grandfather should have mentioned.
“You’d better tell her,” Joshua said, nodding at Sarah and Dennis.
“Tell me what?” She stared at her mother, who looked like she wanted to weep. Dennis came to stand by her and, placing his hand on Sarah’s shoulder, he gazed directly at Calla. “Your mother’s pregnant. There’s been some trouble with the pregnancy and the doctor’s ordered bed rest.”
Her mother had lied.
“I know what you’re thinking,” Sarah said hastily, “but I didn’t know I was pregnant until the day before Thanksgiving—your father couldn’t have known. He lied to you.”
“Yeah, but you knew when I phoned,” she challenged.
“Yes, I did, but it didn’t seem the right time to tell you.”
Calla glared at her mother. She should have realized. Sarah wasn’t any better than Willie. “In other words, you both lied to me!”
“Do you have anything you want to say?” Gramps interrupted, coming to stand between Calla and her mother.
“Say?” Calla repeated with a short laugh.
“Like congratulations, I’m pleased for you,” Gramps suggested.
“You want me to be happy about this? In your dreams.” With that, she raced out of the house. Calla could hear her mother’s frantic shouts, begging her to come back, but she ignored her, desperate to get away.
Whatever hope there’d been of rebuilding their relationship was gone now. Completely destroyed. As soon as the new baby arrived, Calla would be old news. They wouldn’t want her around. She’d stay in Buffalo Valley, not because she wanted to but because she didn’t really have a choice anymore. Her grandfather had said she could live with him and she would until she graduated, but not a minute longer. Once she had enough money for a car and a life of her own, she was leaving Buffalo Valley.
Next time, she wouldn’t be back.
Margaret smiled to herself as she sat at her desk doing paperwork, thinking about her life since her marriage. It was the first full week of the new year. Matt was busy working on his truck engine. He enjoyed tinkering with cars.