She's Having a Baby by Marie Ferrarella Read Free Book Online

Itseemed to MacKenzie that the woman was stroking the dog she was holding a tad too hard. The dog, a Jack Russell terrier, softly growled his displeasure until she finally stopped petting him.
    Careful what you wish for, Dog, MacKenzie cautioned silently.
    â€œNew neighbor,” MacKenzie volunteered out loud, nodding toward Quade’s apartment.
    Finding herself no longer hungry for food and in no mood for the solitude she’d told herself she’d been craving all afternoon, MacKenzie crossed to the older woman. The woman didn’t look the slightest bit familiar. MacKenzie would have remembered someone who could have easily been cast in the role of Mrs. Claus.
    â€œI’m sorry, did you just move in, too?”
    â€œMe?” One hand went to her ample bosom as the woman laughed at the idea. The sound was rich, bawdy and not entirely in keeping with the angelic-looking rest of her. “No, Cyrus and I have been here for ages.”
    â€œCyrus?”
    â€œMy dog.”
    â€œOh.” MacKenzie looked at the woman more closely. Nope, not familiar at all. “I’m sorry, I’ve got a very hectic, erratic schedule. I guess I just never bumped into you.”
    The woman’s smile was almost cherubic. “No, you haven’t. Can’t say I wouldn’t mind ‘bumping’ into that young man, though.” The woman peered around MacKenzie, as if hoping to get another glimpse of Quade. But the door at his apartment remained closed. If he was going to be bringing up any more furniture or boxes, it wasn’t now. “He’s been moving in all day.”
    MacKenzie nodded. “Yes, I know.”
    Interest etched itself into the older woman’s soft features. “Do you also know his name?”
    â€œQuade Preston.” MacKenzie liked the way that sounded. Strong.
    The other woman seemed to be trying it out in her head, as well. She nodded at MacKenzie. “Very masculine sounding. Doesn’t look very friendly, but maybe that’s because he’s new,” she theorized. “Shy so often can come off as standoffish, don’t you think?”
    â€œYes, I suppose so.”
    MacKenzie considered herself shy, but she took just the opposite tack, trying to force herself to be as friendly as possible. Obviously it wasn’t working with her new neighbor.
    As if someone had just snapped their fingers, the other woman seemed to come out of a self-imposed trance. She stopped looking toward the other apartment with a bemused expression on her face and faced MacKenzie instead.
    â€œOh, where are my manners?” The woman shifted the dog she was still holding to her other arm, putting out her hand toward MacKenzie. A thin layer of downy dog fur clung to her sleeve. “I’m Agnes Bankhead. Aggie to my friends.” Her eyes brightened as MacKenzie took her hand. “And I think we’re going to be friends—as long as you tell me your name.”
    MacKenzie took an instant liking to the older woman. There was something about Aggie that reminded her of an aunt she’d had. Actually, Sara hadbeen her father’s aunt, but so young at heart, she’d seemed years younger than her dad.
    â€œMacKenzie.”
    Aggie cocked her head, the ends of her short silver-gray hair swinging about her face. “Is that first or last?”
    â€œMy mother’s last, my first.” She’d been named after her mother’s people. She was also supposed to have been a boy. The name would have fit better. But when she was born, her mother had been adamant that the name be used. She hadn’t intended on having any more children. Ethan, the brother who’d arrived eleven months after MacKenzie, had had other ideas. “It’s MacKenzie Ryan.”
    Aggie firmly shook her hand before releasing it. “Well, MacKenzie Ryan, it’s nice to finally meet you.”
    MacKenzie was still amazed that this was their first encounter. You