She knew he wouldn’t want to talk about the details. Not at this time of the morning. He was all about getting out of the house. If she was around later when his work was done, they might sit on the porch and talk a little, but for now he would leave the details for Corinne to collect. “Nothing I can’t handle, Papa.”

Her mother put a bowl of oatmeal and a cup of strong coffee in front of her. Her father ate cereal, eggs, sausage. Around ten in the morning he would stop by the house to fill-up on toast and coffee, maybe some beans. And at one, lunch. At six, dinner. It took a lot of fuel to keep a farmer going.

Paco was done eating inside of ten minutes. He rose, rubbed his hands over his stomach and leaned down to give Peyton a kiss on the head. “You are the strong one,” he said. Peyton knew he said some variation on that to every one of his children.

Corrine rinsed the dishes and brought her coffee to the table, sitting across from Peyton, silent and waiting. Peyton told the story of Krissy, and when she was done, all Corrine said was, “Fifteen. Holy Mother.”

“Totally,” Peyton said. “If that was your daughter, what would you do?”

She gave a helpless shrug. “We’ve had a slip or two in our vast family, not at fifteen that I can think of. My mother used to say, ‘The first baby can come anytime, but after that they all take nine months.’ Peyton, I’m surprised you’ll go to help that fancy doctor. He hasn’t often appreciated you.”

“I’m not going for him. In fact, leaving it in his hands will be a challenge. He clearly expects me to handle it for him, no matter how long it takes or how much it costs me.”

“I hope you’ve made up your mind how much you can take.”

“I hope so, too.”

Of course, her mother wanted to know all about Adele and the baby, wanted to hear about all of Lucas’s family. They’d sent pictures almost daily to the entire Lacoumette family, but Corinne was hungry for gossip and details. They had a second cup of coffee.

“Mama, when did you know you loved Papa?”

“When my father told me I did,” she said with a smile.

“Really?”

“I loved him before I knew him, like most brides. Then the truth came out. I found out what he was really like.”

“Does he ever give you trouble?”

Corinne laughed. “Every day of my life. Peyton, please, tell me we’re not talking about Ted.”

She shook her head. “That was over a long time ago. Before I moved out. So sad. It makes me a little afraid that I’ll think I’m in love again, and then it will slip away from me. That I’ll see I was kidding myself. Again.”

Corinne shook her head. “Peyton, it’s not like you to play games with yourself. You, of all my children, have always known what you feel, what you want.”

“I didn’t with Ted,” she said.

Corinne sighed. “Anyone could see you stayed much longer than you wanted to. You stayed for those children. Not because you loved them but because you feared for them. And with good reason, it seems. The next time you find yourself willing to accept a lie, be prepared to be disappointed. Paco can drive me crazy, but underneath everything, he is good. When I’m angry, I break his yolks. When he’s angry, he grunts at his food and gives me his back in bed. When we fight, we keep score—he yields half the time and I yield almost half the time—it’s a proven system.”

“Mama.” She laughed.

“He’s stronger than I am. It’s fitting he should carry a little more of the burden.”

“Does he know this?”

“There is no question. Everything is going to be all right with your young doctor. He loves you. He looks at you in a way I haven’t see a man look at you before. And he has a gentle strength. He enjoys people in an honest way. He’s not afraid to give. He’s not Basque, but otherwise he’s acceptable.” And then she grinned.

“He’s been a little cranky lately,” Peyton said.

“Oh? Then perhaps he has a mighty big problem. And so do you— Now, get yourself ready and get to the fancy doctor’s house and get that behind you. I wish you good luck with that.” She shook her head and tsked. “Such a terrible ordeal for that child. For everyone.”

* * *

Peyton made it to Ted’s house by just after nine in the morning. She called Ted’s cell phone to announce her arrival, and the first thing he did was bitch about not being able to reach her because his number was blocked. She told him she was sorry, but she had no idea how to unblock it and told him he could call Krissy’s number and ask to speak to Peyton if he needed something.

The next order of business was talking to Krissy. She was up, still in her pajamas, but already crying. For a little while it was just Krissy and Peyton, going over all the details again. Krissy said she knew right away that she was pregnant and had been terrified to tell her parents, which any girl would be.

After an hour listening to Krissy, Peyton made an appointment with a crisis counselor, who had been recommended by her sister-in-law Lori. She told Krissy to get cleaned up for an appointment in a couple of hours. Then she called Ted.

“Krissy has an appointment with a counselor at noon, Ted. You should take her.”

“Listen, Peyton, I’m booked solid. Can you please take her?”

“It’s the lunch hour, Ted! Someone can cover you.”

“I can’t, Peyton. But I’ll come home early and get the details from you and Krissy then. Thanks for doing this.”

“I should walk right out of here and leave you with whatever mess there is to clean up!”

“Please, Peyton. I won’t ask anything more, I swear!”

“You’re damn right, you won’t!”

When she told Krissy, the girl just said, “I’d rather it be you, anyway.”

“You understand this is private between you and the counselor, right? You can tell her anything and everything, and it’s totally confidential.”

“I know,” she said.

“Have you been in counseling before?”

She shrugged. “Just at school. When I was younger. I don’t think it was the same kind. We were sent to the counselor’s office when we didn’t behave.”

“I bet that happened a lot,” Peyton said. “Well, this kind is perfect for now—you’re in a crisis. If you just open up a little, the counselor might have some ideas for you. She won’t tell you what you have to do, but she might be able to help you cope with a very difficult situation.”