“I knew it was a shot in the dark, but it was all I had. In any case, as soon as I got here, I started trying to make her jealous; in the hopes she would see what a catch Matthew was and take his proposal seriously.”
“And apparently it didn’t work, as the only thing you succeeded in was making Mrs. Dixon dislike you.”
“Precisely. I failed miserably, even though I fawned over Matthew every time we were around Laurie,” she sadly reported. “Honestly, I feel terrible about it and may have done more harm than good. I don’t know if they are even speaking, and if they are, it’s not exactly awe-inspiring.”
“So, nothing good has come out of your renegade mission,” he pointed out between bites. “I wasn’t going to spank you, but on second thought, perhaps I should. You’ve come between two people we’d like to see married as soon as possible.”
“Wait, something good came out of it, darling. Don’t count me out yet,” she quietly informed him. “I now know that Laurie Dixon is actually Lorraine Mahoney and her father was a miserable wretch, just like her dead husband. It’s no wonder she’s so fearful, although why she should be afraid of Matthew, I’ll never understand. He’s simply a darling man, much nicer than Morgan, or even Mead.”
“You know this to be fact? Just how much flirting did you do with Matthew Whittaker? How close have you two become?” he demanded.
Cara smiled.
“You’re jealous,” she insisted with a laugh.
“Not jealous exactly, but I’m not thrilled either.”
“Darling, don’t be ridiculous,” she scoffed. “I’ve come through two centuries to save us. Would I do that if I didn’t love you more than anything in the world? Hell, we might be stuck here!”
“Would that be so bad?” he asked, gently taking her hand.
“You can’t be serious! They don’t even have tampons, for God’s sakes, or birth control!”
“Cara, would having my child be so terrible?”
“I don’t know. They say Morgan’s wife, Callie Mae, might be pregnant and to tell you the truth, she frequently looks a little green around the gills, if you know what I mean. Besides, there are our careers to think of. If we disappear off the face of the earth, the program we’ve dedicated our lives to would likely be shelved for who knows how many years.
“Besides that, there are no hospitals, no medical care other than the town doctor. Anything could happen.”
“You’re right, of course. As far as male acquaintances go, I have plenty. Mead and Morgan are different. I guess I could get used to being part of a family,” he admitted quietly.
“Micah, you are my family. I’ve never given much thought to having a child.”
“Yet you missed your appointment with your gynecologist,” he stated factually, watching her closely.
“That’s different!” Avoiding his eyes, she looked at her plate.
“I’m not stupid, Cara. That appointment was for your Depo shot, and if you’ve experienced living without tampons, you’re getting your period. There’s only one reason you would do that.”
“It was a ‘just in case’ situation,” she explained weakly.
“Yes, just in case you lost me, you would have my child. Isn’t that right?”
“All right, Sherlock! You’ve uncovered my secret. Yes, if anything happened to you, I would find a small measure of comfort in having your child. So shoot me!”
“Don’t you think you should have discussed that decision with me?”
“Not particularly. It’s my body. Look, I didn’t think you wanted a baby any more than I did, but we can certainly discuss it when we return home. I never want you to be unhappy.”
“I’m not unhappy, maybe I’m feeling nostalgic,” he acknowledged. “We live such busy lives. They’re so very complicated and the responsibilities can be overwhelming. Life appears so much simpler here. I admit I probably wouldn’t be happy for long, and eventually bored out of my mind.”
“And it’s not as though either of us could use the skills and knowledge we have. That would really rock the future,” she warned.
“That’s absolutely true, my love. It would be incredibly selfish and egotistical, possibly destroying many lives yet to come.”
“Yes,” she softly replied.And it still could. Their celebratory mood had slipped away and Cara desperately wanted it back, if only for a while.
“I think we should have a slice of pie for dessert,” she stated, forcing a cheerful tone. “It’s incredibly delicious. She usually gives me the smallest slice in the tin and it’s fairly mutilated, but I don’t think that’s going to happen tonight,” she laughed as she wiped her mouth.
