“Sounds great.” Mitzi was amazed at his offer, not only to do the job but also to let her help. Granny had always told her that the best way to get to really know someone was to work alongside them for a few hours. She visualized Graham all hot and sweaty, and got so engrossed in the pictures flashing through her mind that she forgot all about the reason they were having the party that evening.

“Paula, are you going to cut this cake or not?” Harry asked.

Mitzi loved cake, but she would have gladly given it up to keep the pictures in her head from disappearing.

Paula picked up a knife and held it above the cake for a minute. “I have something to say. First of all, thank you all for being here this evening and thank you for helping us move earlier in the week. Good friends are priceless, and I’m glad for the privilege of calling y’all my friends. This is a gender-reveal party, so let’s see if we’re having a baby girl or boy.”

Fanny Lou rubbed her hands together. “We can’t wait to see if you cut into the pink or blue side of the cake.”

Tabby crossed her fingers. “We’ll take either one—”

Dixie butted in before her sister could finish the sentence. “But we want a girl real bad.”

“This is so exciting, but what I really want is a chunk of that cake to go with this ice cream,” Harry chuckled.

Paula cut a piece of the pink cake.

“A girl!” Dixie high-fived with her sister. “Can we babysit when she’s born?”

“What’s her name going to be?” Tabby slapped Dixie’s hand. “Our first project on our new sewing machines needs to be a pretty quilt for her.”

“Congratulations, Paula,” Graham said.

Alice held up her bowl of ice cream. “A toast with ice cream, since we don’t have any Irish whiskey. ‘Wee little baby, fresh from God’s arms. You light up the world with your sweet baby charms.’ Congratulations, Paula. I can think of nothing more exciting than being a mother.”

“Amen!” Fanny Lou said.

Pure happiness shone in Paula’s face as she cut portions of cake and put them on paper plates. “Y’all are the best. Thank you so much. Just so you know, I’m not marrying the father. I found out about the baby after we’d been broken up for a while and he’s no longer in the picture.”

“Good Lord!” Fanny Lou scolded. “If you were the first woman who got pregnant and didn’t marry the father of the baby, we could drown you in the river. But you’re not the first and you damn sure won’t be the last. We haven’t had a baby in the family since Mitzi was born. This is a blessing, and I, for one, am calling dibs on rocking her to sleep the first time you need a few minutes.”

Harry raised a hand. “Couldn’t have said it better myself.”

Everyone got a piece of cake and went to sit around the table, leaving Mitzi and Graham by themselves.

A dark shadow passed over Graham’s face, prompting Mitzi to ask, “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine, but . . .” He paused. “I don’t want to be a naysayer, but it’s a tough row, raising a child on your own. It’s even harder when they get old enough to realize that they only have one parent and think it’s their fault that the other one isn’t there. Paula’s going to need lots of support.”

“Did you have support?” she asked.

“Yes, I did. Alice was and is amazing. My folks were wonderful, always ready to help out with whatever we needed. Dad adored the girls and they did him, but no matter how much I reassure them, they have the feeling that Rita left because they were big girls. They think she was ashamed of them,” he said. “I don’t know what to do. Got any ideas?”

“Can I think about it until Sunday?” she asked.

“Of course.” He crossed the room to sit with his girls.

She watched him out of the corner of her eye, and went to sit down at the other end of the table.

Jody nudged her with an elbow. “So what were y’all talkin’ about over there? It looked pretty serious.”

“He’s going to help me build an archway for the bridal fair on Sunday,” Mitzi answered.

“That doesn’t sound much like flirting,” Jody said as she headed over to the table for a second piece of cake.

Depends, Mitzi thought. I felt more talking about hammers and nails with him than I have in the past when guys tried to sweet-talk me into bed with them.

Chapter Thirteen

Saturday morning was for catching up on paperwork, but Graham couldn’t keep his mind on work. He finally leaned back in his chair, propped his feet on his desk, and laced his hands behind his head. Closing his eyes, he watched everything that had happened the night before play through his head like a movie, repeating the scenes involving Mitzi. He was already looking forward to the next day, when they could have more time together—when no one would drag one or both of them off.

He picked up his phone and sent a text to Mitzi saying that he was looking forward to the next day and got one back saying that she was, too, and then his cell phone rang. Hoping that it was her, he answered it on the first ring.

“Daddy, guess what.” Dixie’s voice always shot up a few notches when she was excited. “Mitzi and Paula and Jody are coming down to Greenville to buy stuff for the bridal fair next week. Mitzi asked if we wanted to go with them. Is that okay? We really, really want to go. We’re going to have lunch with them, too. Please say yes. And some of the stuff might be heavy, so could you meet us somewhere and help? And could you bring a truck in case it all won’t fit in the van?”