She placed her palms against the countertop’s cool surface. Locking her elbows, she let her head fall between her tense shoulders, giving herself a moment to simply breathe.
That was it. That’s all she did. She didn’t think about babies or marriage. She just let herself…breathe. In and out, her lungs pushed and pulled the air inside the room as she worked to collect her spiraling thoughts.
A few minutes later, Scottie was still standing there, still focusing on little more than breathing, when a gentle knock sounded from the other side of the door.
“Hey, Scottie?” Natalie’s soft, almost hushed voice came through. “You okay in there?”
Crap.Had she been hiding out longer than she’d realized? It hadn’t seemed as if she’d been in the bathroom all that long, but the other woman’s concern said otherwise.
Either way, Scottie knew she needed to respond quickly. Otherwise, Natalie wouldreallystart to worry and most likely bring Chase in to help figure out what was wrong.
“I’m good!” She hollered back quickly, turning on the water for good measure. After washing her hands needlessly, she dried them off and forced herself to open the door.
“Sorry.” She flashed the other woman a smile. “I didn’t mean to hog the bathroom for so long.”
“Oh, I don’t need to pee.” Natalie shook her head with a grin. “Of course, give it five minutes, and that will probably change.”
Scottie chuckled nervously, knowing her new friend was attempting to joke around. “Right.” Another trembling laugh. “Because of the baby.”
The baby.
“I just wanted to make sure you were okay. You seemed a little worried or…something during the shower.”
Or something.
“I’m fine,” Scottie rushed the lie. “Really. Everything’s fine.”
A knowing look fell over the other woman’s pretty face. In an awkward move, she squeezed her swollen belly past Scottie, entering the bathroom and shutting the door behind her.
“See? Now Iknowsomething’s up.” Natalie turned back around and faced her. “One ‘fine’ in a response is acceptable. Two or more is overkill, so come on. Spill it.”
Scottie’s heart gave a hard kick, and her already fired-up nerves getting a healthy new dose of adrenaline.
“I don’t…” She shook her head with a stutter. “I-I don’t know what you’re?—”
“Oh, that’s right.” The other woman said this as if it explained everything. “You fit in with us so well, I sometimes forget you’re still new to the group. Okay, so here’s how this works. You’re with Chase, and that makes you one of us.”
“One of you?”
“Yep.”
That was it. Nothing more.
“I don’t understand.”
“Then I’ll make it simple. You and Chase are getting married—which, by the way, we are allsofreaking excited about—so that makes you an official member of the Eagle’s Nest family. Since family sticks together, your problems become our problems. And that’s not us being nosey or butting in. We’re here to help.I’mhere to help. So…” When Scottie remained silent, Natalie went with a prodding, “Okay, so this is the part where you tell me what’s wrong, and then I do what I can to help.”
Tears rushed to the surface before Scottie could stop them, and though she did her damnedest to keep them from falling, one fell from the corner of her eye. “Today’s supposed to be about you, Natalie.” She swiped the tear away. “Not me and my…issues.”
“Nonsense.” The other woman waddled over to the toilet, unceremoniously putting down the lid and taking a seat. “Listen, Scottie.” A sweet expression fell over Natalie’s pretty face. “I know we don’t know each other all that well, yet. But one thing you should know about me is I value the friends in my life. And with that comes trust.”
Scottie stared back at the other woman, confused. “You can trust me, Natalie.”
The mom-to-be simply chuckled and shook her head. “No, I know I can trust you. Both Chase and Sloane do, which is all the proof I need.”
“Then what are you?—”
“I’m trying to get you to see thatyoucan trustme.I’m saying if you have something you want to get off of your chest but you aren’t ready to discuss it with Chase, you can tell me. And just so you know, I’m not the type of woman who’d run straight to Cass or Ellie to spill all the juicy tea. Nor will I say anything to Logan. Not unless I have your permission.” She rested a hand over her expanded midsection and sat back against the toilet’s porcelain tank. “I guess what I’m trying to say is, life or death situation aside, whatever you tell me will stay between us. You have my word on that.”