The Big Keep: A Lena Dane Mystery (Lena Dane Mysteries) Read Free Page A

second wooden stool by the cash register. “Where’s Dad?” Our father still lived in the cramped two-bedroom apartment upstairs where Rory and I grew up. He was almost always in the building somewhere.
    “He left early for a doctor’s appointment.” She twirled a pen absently in her long fingers, which are just like mine. Rory and I look a lot alike, with brown eyes, pointy chins, and long legs. But her long hair is chestnut instead of blonde, and she carries about twenty pounds that I don’t, a vestige of her two kids and her too-busy lifestyle. Today she was wearing her square-rimmed reading glasses and her usual mom clothes – a cream-colored turtleneck under a green cardigan, and prim ankle-length jeans. The whole thing was probably from Eddie Bauer. At 34, Rory is fully on board the Mommy bandwagon. Actually, I’m pretty sure she’s driving the Mommy bandwagon.
    “Was it just a checkup, or is something going on?” I asked.
    “Just a checkup on his heart and man-parts and stuff-”
    “Ew.”
    “But I think he was gonna run some errands after,” she continued, ignoring me. “We don’t have any shipments tonight. I sent Aaron home 45 minutes ago.”
    “Cool.” Aaron was one of the few teenagers who had successfully sweet-talked Rory into letting him work part-time at the store. “So, Ro,” I began, reaching over to tug lightly at a strand of her dark hair. Her eyes were still on her page. “I need to talk to you about something. Actually, I need to talk to someone about something, and you’re my second or third favorite person in the world, so I’ve chosen you.”
    She looked up for the first time since I’d walked in, her eyebrows rising quizzically. “Who’s first? Toby?”
    “Most of the time.”
    “Did I beat Dad?”  
    “It’s neck and neck, and it all rides on whether or not you have any pretzels under the counter right now.” Rory rolled her eyes, tugging her hair out of my hand, and reached into a cupboard under the cash register, tossing me a half-full bag of pretzels. I did a fist-pump and pulled out a handful. I was starving.
    “Okay,” I said around a mouthful of salty goodness. “You’re number two.”
    “Wow. Your affection comes at so cheap a price,” she said wryly. “What do you need to talk about?”
    “Well, please don’t freak out on me, okay, seriously. Really.” I hesitated for a second, but I knew I had to tell her. “But I’m sort of, a little bit...pregnant.”
    “ What ?” My reserved, serious sister, who had been giving me half her attention at best, jumped up and threw her arms around me, knocking the bag of pretzels to the floor and almost knocking me off the stool. Jeez. For Rory, that’s pretty much the equivalent of running down the street naked. “ Omigod congratulations! When did you find out?”
    “About an hour and a half ago.” I pried her arms off and said, “Dude. You’re going to squash the baby.”
    Ignoring this, Rory picked up the bag of pretzels, handed them to me, and settled back on her own stool. “Oh man, I have so much baby stuff I can give you. Were you guys trying to get pregnant?”
    I blanched. “Why is that everyone’s first question? Rude. But no, not really.”
    “Did you tell Toby yet?”
    “Not yet. Just Bryce, because he saw me with the test.”  
    Rory paused in her jubilation and eyed me suspiciously. “Okay. So why aren’t you rushing home right now to tell your husband?”
    “I...kind of don’t want him to know,” I confessed.
    Rory gasped, gaping at me. “You are planning on keeping it?”
    I rolled my eyes. Clutch the pearls, Rory. “Yes, yes. I know, I have to tell him eventually.”
    “So...?”
    I ate a few more pretzels and thought about the question for a moment. I didn’t quite know myself, honestly. Why was I so hesitant to tell my adoring husband, who desperately wanted kids, that we were going to have one?  
    “Uh...if I tell him, I’m afraid he’s going to want me to quit my job