His heart wasn’t just fluttering, it was racing.
“Is that our baby?” he asked, his voice full of wonder.
“It is,” Dr. Weber said. “You’re a little over seven weeks, so the due date will stand.” She turned a dial. “Let’s see if we can hear the heartbeat.”
It took five seconds to find. Five seconds of hell as he’d held his breath.
But it was there. Faint but strong.
The doctor removed the wand from Natalie and pushed back.
“Everything looks good. Why don’t you get changed and we’ll talk some more.”
Natalie stood up and pulled the gown closer, her eyes landing on his. They were dewy like his. The smile the same too.
Twenty minutes later they were in his SUV and heading for the docks. They had almost an hour before the next ferry, giving them time to sit and talk.
“Do you want to get something to eat?” he asked.
“I could use something. I’m glad the ferry is running more frequently now or we might wait two hours.”
“It’d be horrible to be pregnant if there wasn’t an office or hospital on the island,” he said.
“Tell me about it. Things have gotten better over the years making it easier to live there. More job opportunities, things to do, better education. Even having a vet on the island.”
“You don’t have to sell me on anything,” he said. “I love it.”
“Do you?” she asked. Her voice was full of doubt. He wouldn’t let her carry that weight any longer.
“I do. Not as much as I love you, but it’s catching up.”
Her eyes filled with enough water that he worried he shouldn’t have said it yet. Or said it that way.
She wasn’t repeating it either, just staring at him as if he’d lost his mind.
“You’re not just saying that because I’m pregnant?”
“No,” he said. He hadn’t started the vehicle yet and he was glad. He reached for her arm and pulled her as close to his seat as he could. “I felt like this about you weeks before you said you were pregnant. I’d like to think you felt the same, but maybe you don’t. I guess time will tell. I can be pretty irresistible.”
She ran her fingers down the side of his face. “I feel the same. And I have. I told myself it was too fast, too soon. That I wasn’t sure I could trust you’d stay even though you’re doing all the right things to prove otherwise.”
“I’m not going anywhere. I told you that.”
“I believe it now because I love you too.”
He went in for a kiss with his heart happy. His life content.
Until he had to break the news to his family.
They wouldn’t be happy and he didn’t care, but he’d have to prepare her for the drama that would ensue.
39
LISTEN TO YOUR HEART
“Natalie, this is a pleasant surprise,” her mother said the next day.
After her appointment, she threw herself into work desperate to shove thoughts of the future to the back of her mind. There was too much to worry about, too much to face, and too many fears. Pushing it all aside was the only way to survive the day.
