dress hid her tiny waist—a pity because he remembered exactly how narrow it was. But the top of the sundress was cut low enough to reveal lush curves that seemed even fuller than he remembered.
He inhaled and took a long drink of his cold beer, wishing he could just pour it over his head to cool down.
Monday, Lila walked into the rambling clubhouse made of stone and dark wood. Sunshine splashed over the tall slate roof. The smell of bacon cooking wafted from the building, giving her a queasy feeling. Morning sickness had come early and had been mild. To her relief, it was beginning to disappear, and so far, today was one of the good days.
Shannon was waiting in the wide hallway. Dressed in a sleeveless navy cotton dress and heels, she didn’t look as if she had spent the morning doing ranch chores with the men who worked for her, but Lila knew Shannon and what her life had been like until recently, single-handedly managing a big cattle ranch.
Shannon’s smile sparkled. “Hi! I’ve looked forward to this since the night of the barbecue. I’m so excited over this child center.” She leaned closer to Lila. “I’ll warn you now—you’re going to get some nasty glares from the members who do not welcome what we’re doing.”
“I’m getting looks at home from Dad. He grumbles and stomps off without really saying anything.”
Shannon laughed as they headed toward the dining room for lunch.
Over crisp green salads, she enjoyed talking to Shannon, listening to plans about the center. “Remember they built onto the club and we have more meeting rooms now, so they moved the billiard tables to one of the meeting rooms. They’ll renovate the room later, but for now they just moved out the other furniture,” Shannon said.
“It wouldn’t do for all those men to be without their billiard tables,” Lila said with a smile.
“Right. Meanwhile, they’ve started on the billiard room and the room built adjoining it. They’re taking out the walls that separated the rooms. We’ll divide off areas for play, for eating, that sort of thing, and a special area for the babies.”
“I know some great California stores for furniture, pictures, little dividers that still keep an open look and can be easily moved.”
“Great. Give us a list. The women members are responsible for this. As soon as we eat, we’ll go look at the rooms. I told you that we’ve agreed on the basic structure, which includes built-in shelves, drawers and cabinets. I’ll show you all of our plans and notes.”
“I’m sorry the other women couldn’t join us for lunch. I would really be in good company with you, Missy Reynolds, Vanessa Woodrow and Abigail Price.”
“You should join, too.”
Lila shook her head. “I’m going back to California. You need members who will be active.”
“Abigail’s little girl, Julia, will attend the center as soon as it opens.”
“It’s exciting to be part of this,” Lila said, enjoying seeing her friend and having something else to think about in place of the constant concerns about her pregnancy.
When they finished lunch, they went first to the door of the old billiard room. Men were sawing and hammering, and the noise made talking difficult.
Shannon just motioned for Lila to follow her and they went down the hall.
“We can go to the billiard room.”
They entered the darkened room with four billiard tables, heavy brown leather furniture and coffee-colored walls. There were two small stained-glass windows. Shannon switched on an overhead light fixture made of deer antlers.
“Looks dark and sort of like pictures I’ve seen of hotel lobbies in the early 1900s,” Lila said.
“They’ll redo it, although I think there will still be dark leather furniture and I’m guessing the stained-glass windows will remain. That’s not our deal and frankly, I don’t care what they do with this room.” They sat at a game table in the corner of the room and Shannon spread the papers in front of Lila.
“Here’s a list of some child centers that have been recommended to us as the best examples. You can study them and see what ideas you come up with. We want a state-of-the-art child-care center.”
“Will the center open onto a play area outside? I don’t see a door anywhere.”
“Great grief. No one has said a word about a playground,” Shannon said, her eyes opening wide. “We may have been so busy campaigning to get a child-care center that we didn’t stop to think about outside, but we definitely should have a playground. I’ll send Missy a text about this. That’s a necessity.” She pulled out her phone, speaking into it, dictating her text.
“I don’t know why we didn’t think of that. We have plenty of space outside and we can have a fenced area with alarms, making it secure for the kids. We’ll always have attendants to watch and cameras. We’ve ordered a state-of-the-art alarm system for an enormous price, but it’ll be worth it and give families peace of mind.”
“This center is going to be wonderful, Shannon.”
“It is, but there’s a faction who really opposed it and they still don’t like it. Sometimes that makes me uneasy.”
“These are honorable men. For all my dad’s bluster, he does have a good heart. He’s just old-fashioned but, in his own way, courteous to women and good to Mom.”
“I’m sure you’re right. I guess this thing with Alex disappearing is disconcerting. Something isn’t right and you can’t keep from wondering if anyone is in danger.”
“Hopefully, they’ll learn the truth soon or he’ll return. As far as I know, there’s been no demand for a ransom.”
Shannon shivered. “One of Royal’s citizens kidnapped—that’s ghastly.” She glanced at her watch. “How about meeting here again at twelve-thirty or one on Wednesday? If you can have lunch, great. If not, that’s fine, too.”
“Actually, one will be better.”
“Good deal.” Shannon’s gaze ran over Lila. “Are you feeling all right?”
“Yes. Mornings are rocky, but then I’m okay the rest of the day. This center is exciting, Shannon. Maybe I’m interested because I’m thinking about children now.”
“I’m excited and there’s no little one on my horizon. I think it’s great. It’s almost time for my meeting. Wednesday, it is. Lunch again.”
“Fine. I’m going to stay a few minutes here to think about this. You go ahead to your meeting.”
“I’m going to see Abigail Price there. She’s so excited about this center.”
“Very good. Abigail was brave—the first woman to join the club. She’ll be in their history whether this bunch of members likes it or not.”
“Enough liked it to get her voted in,” Shannon said, laughing. “See you Wednesday.”
She disappeared out the door. Lila looked at the
