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The last person to make me tea had been Gordon.

It had been a month ago, and I hadn’t been feeling great.

Again, I’d thought it was a bug, but it had been the kid all the time.

Gordon really would have been a great dad.

He loved kids, and he had a knack for taking care of people.

Thinking about the kid and how its life would have been so different if it had shared Gordon’s DNA triggered a pool of tears in my eyes.

“It’s a cup of tea, Daisy,” Margaret said. “It’s not like I gave you a kidney.”

I sipped the hot brew. Normally, I took my tea black, but since the baby, I gravitated toward the sweeter tastes. “I was thinking about Gordon.”

She raised a brow, clearly surprised by my honesty and lack of sarcasm. “He must be upset.”

“Think how’d you feel if your boyfriend found out an ex was having his kid.”

She arched a brow, cradling her cup in her hands. “That did happen. With Mark.”

I flipped through my memories of Margaret’s ex-boyfriends. “Mark?”

“I met him in grad school. He was working on his thesis in ancient societies, and I was still working on my master’s.

Majorly hot and heavy, and I thought we had a shot at marriage.

Then he gets a call from the ex. She’s pregnant.

At first, I was cool about it. It’s not like he cheated on me.

But then they spent more and more time together.

Doctor’s appointments, ultrasounds, baby furniture.

I felt left out and realized I wasn’t as cool as I thought. ”

Dropping my gaze to the cup, I thought about Gordon’s offer to make this work. “Gordon said we could make a go of it if I didn’t tell the baby’s father.”

“And?”

I glanced into the milky depths of the tea. “Can’t lie to the kid, Margaret. I’m so grateful Mom and Dad were always honest with me, but it still was an issue not knowing everything. Shit, I still don’t know who my birth father is.”

“And Terry?”

“Traveling and will get back to me.”

She sipped her tea. “I could offer my opinion, but I’d hate to scar the baby. I hear they absorb a lot. So, tell me about Jenna? Did Gigi send you the articles?”

“Yeah. It was helpful.” I relayed what I knew. “I’ve been thinking about her a lot the last couple of days. And I really want to find out what happened to the baby and his father.”

“Any clues on the dad?”

“The dog tags and the picture I found in the recipe box, but I don’t know if they belong to him.”

“They’re a good place to start.”

“You think you could find out more?”

She arched a brow, her gaze now amused. “Child’s play.”

“How?”

“There’s a dude in California I know. He’s retired army, and he’ll find service records for a low price.” She dug her phone out of her back pocket, typed quickly for a few seconds, and then set it on the bed beside her.

“He texts?”

“No, he thinks texting is pretty space age. I sent him an email.” She glanced at her watch. “It’s still early out west, so we might hear from him tonight at least to let us know he’s got the ball rolling.”

“Margaret, I’m humbled by your mastery of history.”

She took the compliment as a matter of course. “In some circles they call me the Seeker.”

That brought a smile. “Really?”

“Absolutely. I can find people. I mean dead people from the past. The living I’m not so good with, but I’m A1 with the dead.”

We chatted about her project, the cute dude who was working the dig, and the time frame of the project. They’d secured more funding, and it looked like the project would be extended another six months.

“Of course, I’ll bail at the end of the summer,” she said.

“Why?”

“The kid, of course.”

I sat up straight. “No. You’re not allowed to come back. I said in my text you are still fired.”

A smile quirked the edge of her lips. “Really? You’re still canning me?”

“Yep. No coming back.”

“In case you can’t add, Daisy Junior arrives at the holidays.”

“I know. We’ll be fine.”

“Really?”

Shoving aside a jolt of panic, I struggled to look relaxed. “I’ve a couple of teens. They seem sharp and should help fill in the afternoon gaps.”

Margaret studied me, searching. “My shoes are too big to fill.”

“Literally or figuratively?”

“Hilarious.” Her gaze narrowed. “You look dead on your feet.”

“I am.”

“Then get into bed. I’ll take the spare and make myself at home.” Too tired to argue, I set my tea carefully on the small end table and rose. Groaning, I pushed my hand into my lower back. “It’s like this kid came out of nowhere.”

She helped me to the bed. “Yeah, Daisy, I still can’t figure how you missed the pregnancy.”

“She’s a sneaky kid.”

She grinned. “She. So, it’s a girl?”

“Don’t know. Just a guess.”

Margaret nodded. “I like the idea of another girl toddling around the joint. The girls were a hoot when they were babies. If it’s a girl, you should name her Margaret.

Of course, we can’t call her Margaret. That would get confusing.

Big Margaret and Little Margaret is awkward. But we could call her Maggie.”

All the muscles in my back groaned as I lay back against the pillow.

Margaret covered me up with a blue-and-white quilt Mom had bought at a yard sale years ago. “I’ve always wanted to call you Big Margaret.”

“I’m not going to let you offend me. Baby Maggie needs her mom calm and cool.”

I laughed. “Baby Maggie. Does have a ring.”

“Of course it does. Now close your little eyes and go to sleep.”

“And dream weird dreams. Yeah.”

“Weird dreams?”

“About Jenna. Guess the old subconscious is working overtime.”

She sat on the edge of the bed. “I remember Rachel having weird dreams when she was pregnant.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. She could never pin ’em, but they bothered her. Drove Mike nuts.”

I rose on my elbows. “I never heard that.”

“Six years ago, you were living in DC. You’d started at that financial company and were busy.”

“Yeah.” That had been a hectic and exciting time.

I’d been dazzled by the offer to be a vice president and thrilled by the salary.

The work had been all consuming, but I’d been happy with full, hectic days.

However, as I looked back, I couldn’t figure why I worried and fussed over my new job so much.

Company deadlines and corporate meetings had seemed so important.

The times I’d seen Rachel pregnant she’d been radiant, but she’d also reminded me of Terry and what she’d looked like when she was pregnant with me. I didn’t picture Terry glowing. I imagined her afraid and angry. So I used deadlines and meetings to avoid Rachel’s rounding belly.

I was sorry now that I’d missed Rachel’s pregnancy. It would have been nice to rub her belly and buy her ice cream and pickles instead of ordering baby items online and having them shipped to her with a computer-generated card.

I was back in the thick of the family, and I was ... glad.

The kid needed to grow up around her cousins and her aunts and grandparents. I wanted her to live in this building and feel the sense of peace I could never manage. And maybe if I was lucky, she could show me how to live here without always feeling like I had baggage to lug around.

“I’m not making the same mistake you did,” Margaret said.

“What?”

Margaret rested her hand on my shoulder. “I’m going be here when you are pregnant.”

Warmth spread through me, and tears, which were appearing with an annoying frequency, formed. “Margaret, it would break my heart to see you give up the job. Really. Feel free to come home on the weekends, but I don’t want you to leave a job you love.”

She shook her head. “It’s going to be insane here this fall.”

“I hope we’re busy. We need to make money and grow, which I believe we will do. I’m good at growing business, Margaret. This is my wheelhouse. If I need more people, I’ll hire them. Dig up your bones and let me run with the bakery.”

Margaret shook her head. “When the archaeology site closes in December, I’ll be back to the bakery to get us through the holiday rush.”

Us. Sounded good. “Won’t you be cataloging artifacts during the winter?”

“My grant doesn’t pay me that far. And my sublease will be long finished by then.”

“I’ll accept you back on one condition.”

Margaret folded her arms. “What are your terms, boss?”

“That if they extend your contract, you go back. Don’t give up your dream.”

“Who says I am?”

“Please. I bet you’re at the job site an hour before everyone else each morning.”

“A half hour.”

“You love it.”

“I do.”

“Then promise me you’ll talk to me before you toss it away to sell cookies.”

She crossed her finger over her heart. “I promise.”

I lay back. “I’m going to hold you to that.”

“Go to sleep before you pass out.” She shut off the light.

“Where are you going?”

“To Rachel’s to see if I can score wine. I can’t be nice for long stretches unless I’m buzzed.”

I chuckled. “Right.”

The door closed behind her, and instantly, my eyes closed.

Seconds or maybe hours might have passed. I didn’t know, but the dream did come. Again, it was Jenna, and she was looking at me as if I’d disappointed her. She cradled her full belly with her hands and shook her head.

“ You need to find them. ”

“ Them? I thought it was him. ”

“ Find my son and his father. Time is running out, and they need each other. ”