Page 22 of Good Girls Don't Kiss and Tell (Rock Canyon, Idaho 7)

Gracie made a face. “Yeah, yeah, I know. I just get tired of being the last single girl.”

“What about Eric?” Gemma’s hazel-green eyes watched Gracie expectantly.

“You mean Eric Henderson, the dude who I cannot have a single civilized conversation with without yelling at him? That one?”

“That’s the one.”

“Like I said, even if I was interested in him, we’d have to make it through one day without wanting to kill each other.”

Gemma’s face grew animated as she said, “That reminds me of chapter seven in my last manuscript. My hero has finally ticked my heroine off enough that she’s pushed him into a pond.”

“We’d all like to do that to our men a time or two. Are you going to finish it?”

Gemma sighed. “Someday, I hope.”

Pip took that moment to crawl over onto Gracie’s lap. When she saw Gemma’s food, her whole face lit up.

Gemma held out a square of cheese. “Do you want one?”

Pip shyly took the cheese square and shoved it into her mouth.

Gracie kissed the top of her head, and Gemma’s expression turned sad. “I don’t want you to get hurt, Gracie.”

Gracie understood what Gemma was telling her. Don’t get attached. She might have a family out there.

“I’ll be all right. Don’t worry about me. I’ve got a heart made of steel.”

Gemma snorted. “More like gouda cheese.”

Chapter Eight

“Life in a small town has its highs and lows, but I tell you one thing, it is never boring.” - Miss Know-It-All’s Gossip Column.

Since Gemma was unable to run her bookstore while on bed rest, Gracie had offered to do it for her, and by Wednesday, she hated to admit how much she was enjoying the slower pace of Chloe’s Book Nook. Gemma had named the little book store after the calico cat she’d had for eighteen years and the décor was country cute with cat related signs on the wall.

The best part about the shop was even when it was busy, it wasn’t insane.

Tanya had needed the extra hours at The Local Bean Coffee Shop anyway and been happy to cover for her. Plus, the back room of the bookstore was the perfect place to lay Pip down for her naps, and Gracie had installed a baby cam she’d bought at Another Go Round, the children’s store down the street. And when she wasn’t playing with her toys, Pip liked having Gracie read kids’ books to her.

Gracie was hanging Christmas lights in the window when her cell phone rang.

She climbed down from the step stool and pressed the green phone icon.

“Hello?”

“Gracie, it’s Viola Merryweather.”

Gracie’s stomach plummeted. “Hey, Viola. What did you find out?”

“Well, I’ve got lots of bad news and some good news. I found out Pip’s name is Jocelyn Ryder, and she is just over two-years-old. She was born at St. Luke’s in Twin Falls, and her mom was Meghan Ryder of Buhl.”

“Was?” Gracie asked.

“Unfortunately, her mother died of a meth overdose three weeks ago. They did pick up Rita, the woman who Meghan supposedly gave Jocelyn to.”

Gracie gasped in disbelief. “She gave her kid away?”

Viola’s voice sounded completely disgusted. “In exchange for her next fix. Some good news is Rita is being booked on endangering the welfare of a child, child neglect, and several drug-related charges.”