Oh Dan! No! Penni had been living with grief most of her adult life, but nothing prepared her for the blow her soul took when three of the women of Black Knights Inc. arrived at her door. It could mean only one thing…
Her legs stopped supporting her and she crumpled to the floor, sitting cross-legged and bawling as her already-broken heart shattered into a million sharp pieces.
“Oh no!” Becky said as the three women raced to her, kneeling beside her where she’d ended up half in and half out of her doorway.
“Dan?” Penni croaked, her throat full of tears, her vocal cords raw from where the shards of her heart had slashed them bloody.
“God, no!” Michelle said. “He’s fine.” She socked Becky on the arm. “I told you we should have called before coming. Look what we’ve done to the poor woman.”
Penni gaped around at them through her blurry tears. “H-he’s f-fine?” She sniffed, blinking in confusion, in hope.
“Perfectly,” Becky assured her. “He just can’t make it this weekend. He’s stuck on an assignment that—”
Penni didn’t hear the rest because she really started wailing. Only this time it was in relief. In gratitude. When she’d seen all of them, she’d thought for sure Dan was dead. Why else would they be here? And even though she knew now that he wasn’t, she couldn’t stop the waterworks. They kept coming, drenching her face, shaking her chest, making her hiccup on huge, wrenching sobs.
“I told you,” Michelle said again.
“Okay,” Becky harrumphed. “You’re my sister-in-law and I love you. But you can stop drilling. You struck oil the first time.”
“Come on.” Vanessa hooked a hand under Penni’s arm. Michelle followed suit on her opposite side. “Up you go. No need to give the neighbors gossip fodder.”
Old Mrs. Perkins across the way did fancy herself the building’s resident reporter, gathering stories about the other tenants and relaying them to anyone who would listen.
Penni pushed herself up, tipping forward slightly because she was unused to her new girth. And, you know, because she was still sobbing. Why can’t I stop crying? But she knew. Hormones. Hers had been running amok for months. Being pregnant was the emotional equivalent of thirty-seven weeks of PMS.
As if Michelle was reading her mind, she tsked and said, “I know. I know. The hormones are killer. Let’s just get you a nice comfy seat, a tissue, and something cool to drink.”
Penni realized she was being managed when Vanessa and Michelle turned her into her condo and marched her toward her sofa. Becky followed them inside, quietly closing the door. As Michelle and Vanessa gently pressed her down into her couch, Becky crossed the room and made herself at home in Penni’s kitchen. She rooted around in the cupboards until she found a drinking glass.
Penni had just about managed to stop her tears when Becky shoved a glass of water under her nose and Michelle and Vanessa plopped down on either side of her. Like magic, a box of tissues appeared in her lap.
“We’re so sorry we scared you,” Vanessa said, her dark eyes sympathetic. “We didn’t come here for that.”
Penni took a sip of water, allowing it to cool the hot tears gathered in her throat. Then she noisily blew her nose. “Wh-why did you come here?” she asked, blinking at the two women on the sofa with her and then over at Becky who’d grabbed a place on the love seat.
“To make you an offer,” Becky said.
The determined look on the blond’s face had Penni’s inner radar beeping. Becky Knight looked like the kind of woman who didn’t take no for an answer. Penni darted a glance at Vanessa. No help there. The black-haired beauty wore a look very similar to Becky’s. Michelle. She’s always the sympathetic one. Penni looked over only to discover…nope.
She couldn’t begin to imagine what the BKI women were here to offer. Did they want her to leave Dan alone? Did they think she was trying to trap him? Did they come here to make sure she didn’t try to wriggle into their tight-knit group?
“Wh-what offer is that?” she ventured hesitantly, pulling a fresh Kleenex from the box and dabbing her eyes. The tears had finally stopped. But Christ knew they’d start again at the drop of the hat. Yesterday, she’d broken down for ten minutes after watching a commercial for Android phones. The son and father scene had just been so touching. And she’d imagined that someday Dan and their child would—
“The offer of a home in Chicago,” Vanessa said.
“I’m sorry?” Penni felt her brow furrow. She tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear.
The move drew Michelle’s eyes. She smiled and sighed. “Man, your hair looks great. All shiny and thick. These middle months are a dream, aren’t they? When you no longer have morning sickness? When you’re feeling all vibrant and healthy and I am woman, hear me roar?”