A Recipe for Thanksgiving Read online

  “I don’t know if I can do that without worrying.”

  “I would start right now. This coming weekend is Thanksgiving. Seems like a good opportunity to practice believing good things can happen and being happy about them.”

  Chapter Seven

  Jared wasn’t one to buy flowers. Maybe because there’d been so many flowers when his first wife was dying, when people wanted to reach out and help, but there was nothing they could do. No one could save her or fix what was wrong. But flowers brought color into the hospital room and sent the message that so-and-so was thinking of her.

  And he understood their helplessness even as he understood his own.

  Now Erin was sick. He refused to believe she was very ill. He suspected she was rundown and had caught a bug. But the unspoken fear between them was like an enemy in the room.

  When he caught sight of a bunch of sunflowers in a big bucket outside the grocer’s he pulled over on impulse and bought a large bundle of grinning blooms.

  This was a new marriage. Erin deserved flowers, damn it, and he deserved to be able to separate his memories of the past from his happiness in the present.

  Whatever was ahead for them, good or bad, he knew they’d deal with it. But one thing he wasn’t willing to do was stop talking because of fear. He was going to talk to her tonight, he decided. Let her know that whatever was going on, he was all in.

  History didn’t have to repeat itself.

  When he got home, he heard the television playing in the den. Normally, Erin didn’t allow TV before dinner. He had no idea what this meant, whether it was good or bad, so he put down his briefcase and carried the bouquet into the kitchen.

  Erin looked red-eyed as though she’d been crying and he felt his heart begin to pound with dread.

  But when she smiled at him, his world righted itself.

  “Oh, how beautiful. Flowers.” She took them from him and placed the cellophane bouquet on the counter, then she walked right up to him and kissed him on the mouth, something she hadn’t done for a few days. He guessed whatever she had wasn’t infectious and, not much caring if it was, pulled her in tight and kissed her, feeling himself open up, share everything he was feeling.

  The TV mumbled in the den. Even the dog hadn’t greeted him at the door so he had to assume Cupid was also curled up in front of the TV. “How are you feeling?” he asked.

  “I have the most incredible news,” she said to him. And then she burst into tears.

  He felt his own eyes sting. “Oh, no. Erin, don’t cry. Whatever it is, we’re in this together.” He felt her slim body shaking against his, her hair tickling his chin.

  “No,” she sobbed. “It’s good news.”

  “Okay.” He had no idea what was going on but he held her until her tears subsided.

  She pulled back, laughing and crying at the same time. “I’m so sorry,” she said, wiping her eyes with her hands. “I wanted to tell you in a really cool way, with a celebration, but I’m so stunned I – Jared, I’m pregnant.”

  He blinked, so broadsided by the news he wasn’t capable of anything more. “Pregnant?” He needed to be absolutely certain he’d heard her correctly.

  “Yes. It’s like a miracle.”

  “When? How?”

  She giggled and he realized what he’d just said, “Okay, I think I understand the how, but well, maybe I don’t.” Obviously, they hadn’t been using birth control because she’d been so heartbreakingly certain she couldn’t bear a child. Now hope and disbelief warred within him. He felt the same emotions coming from her as she dug out a vase and busied herself filling it with water and arranging the big, happy flowers. “The doctor said my body healed. My first doctor gave me a probable outcome, not a certain one.”

  “Do you think you should get a second opinion?”

  She turned to him, laughing, and he’d forgotten how much he loved watching her laugh. “That’s exactly what I said to the doctor. She said, sure, but the test results don’t lie.”

  “Pregnant. Not sick.”

  She shook her head. “Maybe we’ve both had enough tragedy that we’re having trouble accepting that good things can hit you out of the blue just like bad things.”

  He nodded slowly. “You’re right.” Then he felt his chest expand with love and relief. She was fine. She wasn’t sick. And they were going to have another child.

  “Sadie will be thrilled.”

  “I know. She’ll have a little sister or a little brother.” Her hand fluttered to rest on her still flat belly. “I still can’t believe it.”

  But he was beginning to believe in a future that was even sweeter than the one he’d grown used to.

  She shot him a mischievous look. “I’ve got something else you’re going to be thankful for.”

  “Yeah? What?”

  “I tossed out all those crazy turkey recipes. I asked Trish to teach me how to cook a traditional bird, the way she’s always cooked it.”

  “Oh, be still my heart,” he said, pulling her against him.

  “And there will be boring mashed potatoes and boring yams and boring Brussels sprouts.”

  “You didn’t mention anything about dessert,” he said, ever hopeful.

  She sighed, as though giving in to the inevitable. “And boring pumpkin pie.”

  “That’s a lot to be thankful for,” he said, gazing into her eyes. As he stared into her lovely face her eyes misted.

  She raised her hand to his cheek. “It is,” she whispered. “It’s a lot to be thankful for.”

  And then he kissed her.

  Check out these other great titles from Nancy Warren

  Other Titles you may enjoy:

  A Romance in Four Seasons:

  Border Collie Christmas, part 1

  A Dog Named Cupid, part 2

  A Midsummer Night’s Wedding, part 3

  A Recipe for Thanksgiving, part 4

  The Take a Chance Romance Series

  Kiss a Girl in the Rain, Take a Chance Book 1

  Iris in Bloom, Take a Chance, Book 2

  Blueprint for a Kiss, Take a Chance, Book 3

  Chance Encounter, Take a Chance, Prequel

  Toni Diamond Mysteries

  Frosted Shadow, A Toni Diamond Mystery

  Ultimate Concealer, A Toni Diamond Mystery

  A Complete list of Nancy’s Books is available on her website at nancywarren.net

  About the Author

  Nancy Warren is the USA Today bestselling author of more than sixty novels. She’s known for writing funny, sexy and suspenseful tales. She calls Vancouver, Canada home though she tends to wander. She’s an avid hiker, animal lover, wine drinker and chocolate fiend. Favorite moments in her career include being featured on the front page of the New York Times when she launched Harlequin’s NASCAR series with Speed Dating. She was also the answer to a crossword puzzle clue in Canada’s National Post newspaper. She’s been a double finalist in the Rita awards and has won the Reviewer’s Choice Award from Romantic Times magazine. She spills secrets in her newsletter and you can sign up at http://www.nancywarren.net or come visit her on Twitter @NancyWarren1 or Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/nancy.warren.9655

  Copyright Nancy Weatherley Warren 2014

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  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.
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