The Rancher's Second Chance (Martin's Crossing Book 3) by Brenda Minton

fearlessness. And then he’d just plain loved her.
    He still loved her, but he was determined not to let it show.
    * * *
    Grace piled everything on the counter at the register. Socks, T-shirts and a tiny sleeper in pale green. It was soft and made her think she could do this. She could hold a little baby in that sleeper and be a mom.
    The cashier smiled at her as she lifted the sleeper. “This is sweet. When are you due?”
    Grace blinked back tears. “February.”
    In a matter of months everything would change. Again. She would be someone’s mother. She managed a smile for the cashier, who continued a steady stream of conversation about babies, clothes and the weather. Grace tried to keep up but her thoughts were trailing far behind, still caught up in the thought of being a mom.
    The cashier looked up, her eyes locking on someone just beyond Grace’s left shoulder. Grace knew from the appreciative look on the other woman’s face that it was Brody. She glanced over her shoulder and saw that she’d been right. She also saw the slightest grimace on his face just before he winked, pretending everything was fine.
    She wasn’t fooled. Not by a long shot.
    “Ready to go?” he asked.
    “Yes. I just have to pay.”
    The cashier watched them, and Grace knew the other woman thought they were a couple, parents-to-be. At any moment she would say something, maybe congratulate them.
    Brody picked up her bags as she paid. Just when Grace thought they would escape, the cashier called out, “Best wishes to you both with that new little one.”
    Grinning, Brody turned back to the lady, a big grin on his face. “Thank you, ma’am. We’re both real excited.”
    As they headed toward the exit Grace glared at him.
    “What?” His eyes widened and he stopped walking. “Did I do something?”
    “You’re terrible.” But she didn’t feel even the slightest bit of irritation.
    Instead, she laughed.
    Brody chuckled, the sound rumbling over her.
    “Were you going to break her heart?” he asked. “She was all excited for us.”
    “I know. It’s just I’m not sure what to say to people.”
    “Thank them and move on. You’re having a baby. People are going to comment.”
    “Yes, I guess they will. The hardest thing is...” She shrugged and couldn’t admit it to him.
    He opened the truck door for her to get in, and as she got settled, he opened the back door of the extended cab Ford. As she buckled up, he leaned in the open door. His hands were now free of her purchases. He must have put them in the backseat.
    “The hardest part is what?” he pushed.
    She avoided looking at him.
    “Grace?”
    “I’d like to go to church. But...”
    “But you’re afraid of what people will say?”
    “Yes, and how they’ll look at me.”
    He stood there for a minute looking at her, and her heart stumbled over his nearness. His spicy scent wrapped her up, and slowly her hand stole to his face. His eyes closed, then opened. He shook her hand off his cheek and backed away.
    “Probably best not to do that,” he said as he put a few feet between them. “You were telling me about church?”
    “I want to go to church. I
need
to go to church.”
    He sighed. “I’ll take you Sunday. It’ll be easier to walk in with someone.”
    The offer unsettled her, but she knew it would be easier to walk in with him. The next time she could do it on her own.
    “Thank you.”
    The door closed softly. For a moment she was alone in the quiet of the truck.
    “It’s all about you now, sweet girl,” she told the baby bump beneath her hand.
    Brody got in and started the truck. His quick glance landed on her belly. “You okay?”
    “I’m good. She’s starting to move. It’s only a flutter, like butterfly wings brushing my abdomen, but it makes it all very real.”
    He reached into the backseat and tossed her the bag he’d carried out of the store. “I bought these for him.”
    Him
. She shook her head and laughed a little. When she opened the bag