My father and Walker exchanged a look.
Frowning, my father said, “Honey, you don’t know that it’s Keith. I mean, he’s in Dallas,”
I shook my head, remembering the night at the Omni and our run-in with Keith.
“No,” I said. “That night we ran into him he said to call him when I finally woke up and realized who I belonged with.”
Walker frowned. He was surely thinking about to that night as well. He shook his head and ran his hand through his hair. “Liza, I just can’t see Keith driving down from Dallas to deliver notes and flowers. It doesn’t make any sense. He’s hours away, baby. Maybe these got delivered to the wrong house. I mean, your name isn’t even on the card.”
My father picked up the box and looked it over. “He’s right, Liza. They might have been delivered to the wrong person.”
I gnawed on my lower lip and I remembered our neighbor Christine talking about how she’d just broke up with her boyfriend of five years. “They…they could belong to Christine. She did mention a recent breakup.”
Walker and my father both smiled.
“See, that’s probably it, sweetheart. You can’t get yourself so worked up over things. Pregnancy hormones are a killer.”
I looked into Walker’s eyes. His smile wasn’t touching his eyes. He felt it, too. Something was off. My gut was telling me something wasn’t right.
“I’ll take these over to Christine right now. Visit with your dad for a bit, baby.”
I nodded and glanced over to my dad. He was looking around the kitchen with a smile on his face. I couldn’t help but smile. He was remembering something. Perhaps a stolen moment with mom?
Walker grabbed the roses and the card and headed next door. I looked back at my father. “Are you thinking of a moment with Mom in here, Dad?”
He gave me a funny look and laughed. “The first time I ever stayed in this house was with your mother. She was drunk out of her mind and I brought her home. I wanted to make sure she was okay, so I stayed with her. Before I knew it, morning came, and it hit me—I was falling for her.”
I smiled and wrapped my arms around myself. “So romantic,” I said.
My father laughed. “You’re going to make your own memories in this house, Liza. Please, baby, don’t read too much into all of this. It’s all just a coincidence.”
I nodded and whispered, “Yeah. Probably is.”
I PULLED UP outside of Rudy’s barbecue. I jumped out of the car and the smell hit immediately. The aroma of mesquite wood burning filled my nostrils and I softly moaned as my stomach growled. It had been two weeks since Thanksgiving. I was now fourteen weeks pregnant and craving Rudy’s brisket like all get-out.
I was meeting Walker in forty-five minutes to get our second ultrasound. We’d get to hear the heartbeat today, and I was giddy with excitement. Plus, the doctor would get an accurate measurement of the baby for age. Even though I knew without a doubt what day we’d conceived: Our first time together—the only time we’d forgotten to use a condom.
I smiled to myself as I placed my hand on my stomach and made my way up the steps to my heavenly barbeque. Rudy’s was one of my favorite places. You’d never know when you pulled into the gas station that behind its doors was some of the best barbecue in Texas. But then I ran smack into someone. I was about to apologize when my blood ran cold.
Keith.
I swallowed hard and took a step away from him, making him let go of my arms.
“Liza? How are you?”
My heart raced as I tried to avoid eye contact with Keith. Finally, I asked, “What are you doing in Austin? Why are you…why are you here?”
He gave me a funny look. “Um, I’m here with my father. We’re working on a project down here and staying for a couple weeks.”
Oh, God. I felt sick. Keith came closer. “Liza, honey, you don’t look so good.”
I held up my hands to stop him. “Don’t call me honey,” I said.
He made a face. “I’m sorry, it’s just an old habit. I didn’t mean anything by it.”
I swallowed hard and reached for my phone.
“Would you like to have lunch together?”