False Pretenses - Kathy Herman [122]
“The new roof looks great.” Ethan slipped his arm around Vanessa. “My dad and uncles were pretty fired up over the pictures I emailed. None of them wanted to move here and tackle this, but they were very willing to help fund it. They spent a lot of time here when they were kids. They want to see it come back to life.”
“The place is going to be fantastic.” Pierce popped a chicken nugget. “And now that everybody in town knows that Josiah Langley wasn’t a British elitist who snubbed the Cajuns, but a selfless man who gave himself to the task of freeing the slaves, the attitude has changed.”
“It’s obvious in the way people have opened up to us.” Vanessa looked at Ethan and smiled. “At first I thought we were always going to be outsiders. But now I almost feel Cajun, cher.” She laughed. “It’s probably all that Cajun food we’re feasting on at Zoe B’s.”
A big red plastic ball bounced on the blanket and into Zoe’s lap. A few seconds later Carter dropped down on the blanket between Zoe and Pierce, sounding out of breath.
“I like this big, big, big yard!” Carter said. “I can kick the ball weally far.”
“That’s because you are the soccer star.” Pierce tickled Carter’s ribs, evoking boyish shrieks and husky giggles. “The champion kicker of all four-year-olds in the whole world.”
Pierce tickled Carter mercilessly until they were both belly laughing so hard they ran out of wind.
“Will you boys settle down?” Vanessa’s playful tone betrayed her. “Or I’ll have to give you a time out.”
“Well, someone’s a party pooper.” Pierce put his index finger to his lips, the corners of his mouth twitching with restraint.
Carter pressed his lips tightly together, his eyes animated, his arms folded across his chest.
No one said anything for a minute, the sound of the buzz saws in the house filling the quiet.
Zoe ran her fingers through Carter’s mound of strawberry-blond hair. “I think you’re going to like living here when it’s all finished. I have a feeling you’ll be entertaining the guests. You’re such a little character.”
Carter cocked his head and flashed a wry smile. “What’s that?”
“Character is a grown-up word that can mean a lot of things. But in your case, it’s an adorable little boy who makes people smile.”
“Oh.”
“Pierce and I will miss having you living next door. What will I do when I need a little-boy hug?”
Carter shrugged. “Maybe you hafta get a little boy of your own.”
Zoe glanced over at Pierce and smiled, and then smiled broader.
“Why are you laughing?” Vanessa said. “That’s a great idea. We won’t be moving out for a while. You should plan ahead.”
“Gee, I wish we had thought of that,” Pierce said.
Ethan looked over at them, his eyebrow arched. “What’s going on with you two? You’ve been sending nonverbal messages all day.”
“Spoken like a true shrink,” Pierce said. “What do you think, babe? Shall we tell them? It’s your call.”
Zoe felt radiant and wondered if she looked that way. “I think we should.” She moved her gaze from Carter to Ethan to Vanessa. “Pierce and I are going to have a baby.”
Vanessa sucked in a breath, both hands over her mouth.
“That’s terrific!” Ethan said.
Carter leaned his head back and looked up at Zoe. “A boy baby?”
“We don’t know yet, sweetie. It might be a girl baby.”
“When’s your due date?” Vanessa said.
“May twenty-first.” Zoe reached over and took Pierce’s hand. “We’re ecstatic—and surprised. We’re still trying to catch our breath from the summer. We had postponed this idea for another year.”
“But I love being surprised,” Pierce said.
Vanessa picked up the red ball. “When did you find out you were expecting?”
“Friday.” Zoe glanced over at Pierce. “We snuck off to Houma to tell his parents. That’s where we were over the weekend. Needless to say, there was a lot of hooting and hollering going on at the Broussards’.”
“Do you think you’ll stay in the apartment?” Vanessa said. “It may seem smaller to you after the baby starts walking.”
“We’ve already talked about