“That’s not the point. The point is that I was right and you were wrong.”

“Which is a good thing because if it ever turns out the other way around, I’ll probably have that heart attack you’re always warning me about.”

She gave his hand a fond pat, then turned to study Mat. “You and Nell sure have been busy these last few days.”

Mat smiled. “Things happen.”

Nealy couldn’t figure out why everybody was looking at her. “What?”

Mat regarded her with a combination of amusement and warning. “I think Bertis and Charlie have noticed your recent pregnancy.”

Nealy’s hand flew to her waist. She’d been so surprised by their appearance that she’d completely forgotten. Two days ago when they’d last seen the Waynes, her stomach had been flat. She regarded them with dismay. “Oh. I . . .”

“Why don’t you come inside?” Mat walked up the steps to the porch, not looking all that upset about having them around. “I’ll put on a fresh pot of coffee.”

“Good idea.” Bertis bustled after him. “Charlie, go get those Jiffy blueberry muffins I made this morning.” She regarded Nealy conspiratorially. “I fix them from scratch when I’m home, but there’s nothing like a Jiffy mix when you’re on the road. That’s one product they’ve been smart enough not to tinker with.”

Nealy had never heard of Jiffy mixes, and she tried to figure out how she was going to explain the pregnancy padding.

Mat’s hand settled warm and comforting against the small of her back. “Blueberry muffins sound great.”

As he fixed coffee, Bertis made no reference to Nealy’s phony pregnancy. Instead, she chatted about her own grandchildren, then put the muffins Charlie brought on a pottery plate Nell found in the cupboard. They carried everything out to the sunporch, then Bertis called out to Lucy, who was working around the rosebushes.

Her face lit up when she saw them, and she flew inside. “You came! Ohmygod, I can’t believe it!” She hugged them fiercely, then backed away and tried to act cool. “I mean, it would have been okay if you’d gone right to Yosemite. How long are you going to stay?” The shadow of anxiety appeared in her eyes. “You’re going to stay, aren’t you?”

“For a couple of days. There’s a real nice campground right outside town. As long as Nell and Mat don’t mind having us around, of course.”

Lucy turned to Mat, and all her cool faded as a pleading expression came over her. “They can stay, can’t they?”

Nealy hid her amusement as Mat struggled to sound enthusiastic. “Sure they can stay. It’ll be great having them around.”

Lucy’s smile spread. Then she reached for a muffin.

“Stop right there, young lady, and go wash those hands.”