placed the tray next to the lamp. When she straightened, Mikayla was there to give her a brief hug.
“Thank you for coming,” she said, her voice cracking slightly. “I only got home from the hospital an hour ago and I’m already wishing I was back there. I need something to take my mind off Hazel.”
“Then we both needed company,” Josselyn said. “Which chair do you want?”
“I’ll take the armchair,” Mikayla told her. “Being in the rocker makes my arms ache to hold my baby. I’ve decided I’m not going to sit in it until she comes home from the hospital.”
Josselyn eased into the wooden rocking chair with a red cushion tied to the seat. “I understand why you want to stay at the hospital to be near your baby, but you do need to rest, Mikayla. You need to recuperate, too, so you’ll be feeling your best whenever Hazel does get to come home.”
“That’s what the nurses keep telling me. That I need to give my body a chance to bounce back from giving birth. But it’s very hard to leave my daughter. Even long enough to get a night’s sleep.”
Josselyn could hear the desperate longing in Mikayla’s voice, and though she didn’t yet know what it was like to have a child of her own, she could very well imagine how torn her friend was feeling.
“Do you have any idea when Hazel might be released from the hospital?” Josselyn asked.
Taking a seat in the armchair, Mikayla took one of the mugs and a cookie from the tray. “Thank God, she’s doing really well. Her doctor says she might get to come home at the beginning of next week. I’m afraid if I start counting the days I’ll jinx things. But I’m so excited.”
Mikayla had come to Sunshine Farm seven months pregnant and single, after she’d discovered the father of her child having sex with his paralegal right in his office. However, since then, Mikayla’s life had taken several drastic turns. Only last month, she’d met wealthy businessman Jensen Jones and the two had fallen in love. Then unexpectedly she’d gone into premature labor.
Josselyn picked up the remaining coffee mug and took a cautious sip. “That’s wonderful news, Mikayla. And it sounds like we’ll be hearing wedding bells pretty soon, too.”
Mikayla sighed. “As soon as we can have Hazel safely with us at the ceremony. Jensen and I are waiting to see how things go with the baby before we set a definite date for our wedding. But we’re hoping we don’t have to wait too long. For now, he’s searching high and low for the perfect house for the three of us to move into.” Her smile full of love, she added, “Jensen wants me and our baby to have the best.”
“Of course he does. And I’m so happy for you, Mikayla. You and Jensen and little Hazel are going to have a wonderful life together. And you certainly deserve it.”
“Well, things were going pretty awful there for a while,” she admitted, then, smiling wistfully, she glanced toward the lace-covered window. “But coming here to Sunshine Farm has changed all that. I’m beginning to see why folks are starting to call it the Lonelyhearts Ranch. Something about people finding love in Rust Creek Falls has spilled over onto this place.” She slanted Josselyn a sly glance. “So are you going to be next on the wedding planner’s list?”
Josselyn laughed. “Really, Mikayla. You know I haven’t even been on a date since I moved here. Well, maybe one if you count the lunch I had with the sixth-grade history teacher.”
“By the way, you never mentioned how things went that day.”
Josselyn shook her head. “I wish I could say the guy made my heart flutter. Instead, I struggled to keep from yawning. Raymond is nice enough, but he’s about as dull as the paint on my little car. And that’s pretty dull.”
Mikayla chuckled. “Never fear. You’re working in Rust Creek Falls now—where love is in the air, or the water, or something. I’m positive that you’re going to meet a handsome guy that will sweep you off your feet before you ever realize what’s happening.”
Josselyn sipped her coffee while the image of Drew Strickland paraded through her mind. “I’m not really hunting for a man to love, Mikayla. If it happens, that would be nice. But I’m not sitting around pining over the fact that I’m twenty-five and still single.” She looked thoughtfully over at her friend. “Actually, I did meet a really cute guy today. At the school picnic.”
Her interest piqued, Mikayla leaned forward in the chair. “Oh, now this is the kind of news I want to hear. Tell me. Is he someone new in town?”
“That’s the impression I got. He said he was here on a temporary basis. I haven’t seen him around Rust Creek Falls before today. And believe me, Mikayla, he’s the type that a woman doesn’t forget. But I was thinking you might know something about the man.”
Mikayla’s brown eyes widened. “Me? How would I know? I’ve not exactly been a social butterfly since I moved here.”
“He’s an obstetrician,” Josselyn explained. “Dr. Drew Strickland. I thought you might have seen him around the clinic.”
A clever smile suddenly spread across Mikayla’s face. “I’ve seen Dr. Strickland more than you can imagine. He was the doctor who attended me that night I went into premature labor.”
The information shouldn’t have surprised her. Rust Creek Falls was a small place. It wasn’t like there was an abundance of obstetricians around. “You mean he delivered baby Hazel?”
Mikayla nodded. “I have to admit he’s a terrific doctor. Very caring, serious and thorough. Although, his bedside manner could be a bit better.”
“Grumpy, huh?”
“No. Actually, he was very kind. It’s just that he keeps his conversations to the minimum and as best as I remember, he never cracked a smile. But to be fair, he wasn’t exactly dealing with an easy situation when he delivered Hazel.”
Somehow Mikayla’s observation about the man didn’t surprise Josselyn. Drew Strickland had seemed only too eager to let his son do all the talking. Until the boy had started chattering about finding his dad a wife. Then the man had seemed to be totally embarrassed and even a bit angry. Why he’d reacted in such a way Josselyn could only guess.
“No,” Josselyn agreed. “I don’t suppose either of you had reason to smile during that stressful situation.”
“So what was Dr. Strickland doing at the back-to-school picnic?” Mikayla asked. “Or did you actually talk to the man?”
“We talked. Briefly. After his son walked up and introduced himself and his father.”
It was Mikayla’s turn to look surprised. “The doctor has a son?”
Josselyn nodded. “He’s seven and in the second grade. And cute as a button, I might add.”
“Eva told me a little about his family,” Mikayla replied. “But she didn’t mention a son. And I haven’t heard anyone around the clinic mention Dr. Strickland having a child.”
“Hmm. That’s odd. You would think one of the nurses would have said something,” Josselyn mused aloud. “Do you know anything else about the man? I keep wondering about the boy’s mother. She wasn’t with
