“The date was lovely. The pizza was wonderful, the wine was delicious, and Adrian was amazing. We’re planning on seeing each other again during the week.”
“That’s wonderful. I’m so pleased for you.”
Rosie smiled and then frowned. “Are you sure you feel okay?”
“I feel fine. Stop worrying about me. I don’t want to be responsible for taking the shine off your lovely night out and your fantastic date. Stop thinking about me and start thinking about your wonderful Adrian.”
“I can do both. I’m fetching you a glass of water and a soft towel for your face.”
Before she could stop her, Rosie darted off to the kitchen and returned a minute later with the items. Courtney drank down the water gratefully, then used the hand towel to dab away the cooling sweat on her face.
“I think we ought to get you up to bed,” Rosie said.
“I’m starting to think I have some sort of sleep disorder,” Courtney laughed.
“You do. It’s called third trimester pregnancy.”
Laughing, Courtney climbed the stairs. After brushing her teeth, she found Rosie turning down the covers on the guest bed. A fresh glass of water sat on the bedside table and the lamplight cast a warm glow around the room.
She climbed into bed and gave her cousin a smile. “Thank you, Rosie. Thank you for being so sweet and looking after me like this.”
“Everyone needs some TLC from time to time. You need it right now, and I’m here to provide it.”
“I wish we’d known each other before this. I wish we’d always known we were family.”
“Me too. But we know each other now and what matters is the future, right?”
Courtney nodded, and Rosie turned for the door.
“Goodnight, Courtney. Sleep tight.”
“Goodnight, Rosie.”
With a smile and a kiss blown across the room, Rosie closed the door behind her. Courtney lay in bed, feeling her muscles relax into the mattress. Despite lazing around on the sofa all evening, it still felt good to stretch out again in the comfortable bed. The mattress she’d had to put up with at the awful bedsit was about as far from comfortable as it was possible to imagine and did nothing for her stretched and aching muscles.
Being so heavily pregnant wasn’t easy. With six weeks still to go, she could only wonder what state she’d be in by the time the baby arrived.
She’d meant what she’d said about wishing she’d known Rosie before now. They’d only met for the first time yesterday, but Courtney had quickly felt a connection with the cousin she never knew she had.
The same sort of connection she’d felt with Colin Austin, Rosie’s father, a man she’d known for only a few weeks but who already felt like a beloved uncle to her.
Courtney thought about the other members of the Austin family. Colin’s wife, Lorraine, was naturally guarded about the strange young female who’d suddenly appeared in her husband’s life, but was obviously a generous and loving woman andsomeone Courtney hoped would feel like a proper aunt soon. Rosie’s sister, Zara, was a successful doctor and a little more reserved than her heart-on-her-sleeve younger sister, but had shown Courtney nothing but kindness when they met yesterday. Courtney had even met Rosie’s maternal grandmother, Janet Barker, a whirling force of nature despite being in her eighties and who, just like her daughter and granddaughters, had welcomed Courtney and helped her feel at ease when she’d appeared on Foxglove Street out of the blue.
It hurt her to think that these members of her family had lived only a few dozen miles away for her entire life and yet she’d never known them until now. Her father, Steven, had died when Courtney was tiny and her mother had never known his family. The relationship between her parents had been short and ended unhappily. Steven never even knew he had a child.
There were times when Courtney struggled with that knowledge. What might her life have been like if her mother had told Steven about his daughter? What if they’d connected with Steven’s family before he died? Might they have felt embraced by the Austin family back then? Might she have felt less alone when disaster struck?
What if things had been different?
What if?
It was a pointless question. The past couldn’t be changed. Courtney remembered Rosie’s wise words before she’d left the room.
What matters is the future, right?
Courtney spread her hands across her stomach. Her future was her child, a child she already loved so much it hurt.
But the future filled her with terror, too. How could she care for a new baby when she could barely care for herself? Her life was a mess.
