Forever Santa by Leeanna Morgan Page A

with Doctor Who.”
    Gracie titled her head to the side and tried to see the elfin haircut any other way except what it looked like. “I’m not an expert on steam punk and I haven’t watched an episode of Doctor Who in years. But you look cute.”
    “I’ll take the compliment. So what have you been up to?”
    Gracie nearly choked on her hot chocolate. “Nothing much. I found some tree decorations when I was walking into the mall.” To hide the heat in her face she lifted a plastic shopping bag off the floor. “Do you like these?”
    She pulled four round balls from the bag. They were different shades of gold and sprinkled with glitter. “I wanted to keep the decorations simple, so I thought I’d stick with one color.”
    Emily nodded at the decorations. “Tone on tone. I like it.” She glanced at the bag and frowned. “How many did you buy?”
    “Forty. You don’t think that’s too many do you?”
    “Not with the tree you’ve got. It’s going to look beautiful.” Emily smiled at the waitress who brought her coffee across to their table.
    Gracie carefully wrapped the decorations in tissue paper and sat back in her seat. The smell of Emily’s coffee made her stomach churn.
    “What’s wrong?” Tess leaned forward and touched Gracie’s hand. “You’ve gone as white as a sheet.”
    Gracie tried to focus on something else. She held her hot chocolate close to her nose and breathed deeply. It didn’t work. She could still smell Emily’s coffee. “I need to move away.”
    “What do you mean?”
    Gracie pushed her chair back and moved to another table. “It’s coffee. It makes me feel sick.”
    Emily looked between her coffee and Gracie. “You’re pregnant?” Her mouth dropped open. “ You’re pregnant ,” she squealed.
    “Sshh,” Gracie looked around to make sure no one else had heard them.
    Emily left her coffee where it was and leaped around the table to hug Gracie. “That’s wonderful. I’m so happy for you. When did you find out?”
    “About an hour ago.” Gracie couldn’t help the grin that made its way onto her face. “No one else knows. I don’t even know how I feel about it.”
    “Are you excited?”
    “Not exactly. Try scared, worried, and confused.” And that was just for starters. “I’m going to have a baby. A real, live, baby.”
    Emily held her hands. “It’s going to be okay. You’ve got a wonderful family and lots of friends. We’ll help you. Does Trent know?”
    Gracie shook her head. “He doesn’t have a clue. I didn’t tell him about my doctor’s appointment. He thinks I came into Bozeman to go shopping with you.”
    “You did, but we need to do something so you don’t feel sick. Have you tried ginger tea?”
    Gracie shook her head, which wasn’t a great idea. Spots danced in front of her eyes and left her feeling even more dizzy.
    “Put your head between your knees. My sister had morning sickness for four months and nothing worked better than ginger tea. Wait here.”
    And before Gracie could blink, Emily had disappeared. She rested her head between her knees and tried not to panic. She didn’t know anything about babies. Diapers were about as foreign to her as chopsticks and the thought of cracked nipples, stretch marks, and diaper rash made her feel worse.
    It wasn’t as if they didn’t want a baby. They did. More than anything. But after eighteen months of marriage and lots of opportunities to get pregnant, Gracie had decided that maybe it wasn’t going to happen.
    Trent had talked about visiting a fertility clinic. Gracie thought it was a good idea, but they’d never gotten any further than talking about it. And now they didn’t need to worry. She was pregnant, they’d have a baby next summer. It would be fine. She knew it would.
    “Here. Drink this.”
    Emily pushed a cup of tea under Gracie’s nose. The smell was enough to make her feel sick all over again. “Is it really supposed to help?”
    “Worked for Nicky. Drink it