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“You haven’t been anywhere in a long time,” Justin pointed out.

“Dana and I have been sticking pretty close to home,” his brother admitted. “But it sounded like there was something important you wanted to talk about.”

“There is.” He nodded his thanks for the two glasses of beer that Chelsea set on their table.

Braden waited until the bartender was out of earshot before he guessed, “Avery’s pregnant.”

Justin frowned. “Where did
that
come from? You don’t even know Avery.”

“True,” his brother admitted. “But I know that you took her home to meet Mom and Dad, and you haven’t taken a woman home to meet Mom and Dad since...Darcy?” He waited for Justin’s nod at the mention of his college girlfriend before continuing. “I figured you were either planning to marry her or she was pregnant.”

Justin sipped his beer. “Or maybe I just wanted her to meet my family.”

“So she’s not pregnant?”

He sighed. “No, she is pregnant. But I was hoping to ease into sharing that news with you.”

“No need,” Braden said, lifting his glass to his lips.

“And I do want to marry her,” Justin added.

“Wow. She must be something special.”

“She’s unlike any other woman I’ve ever known.”

“Considering how many women you’ve known, that says a lot.”

Justin growled his frustration. “I really haven’t been with as many women as everyone seems to believe.”

“No need to take offense. The rest of us mere mortals are simply awed and amazed by your legendary reputation.”

“Avery isn’t,” he said, picking up his glass again.

“And yet she slept with you, anyway,” Braden noted drily.

“It only took three years.”

His brother chuckled. “She’s really got you hooked, doesn’t she?”

The choice of words reminded Justin of the feeling he’d had when Avery first told him about her pregnancy—of a hook lodging painfully in his gut. Maybe the hook was still there, but his feelings about the baby and for Avery were different now.

“I haven’t thought of another woman—wanted another woman—since the first night we spent together,” he confessed.

“So when’s the wedding?”

“I’m still working on that.”

“You asked her to marry you and she turned you down?” Braden’s tone was incredulous.

He nodded.

His brother picked up his beer coaster, held it several inches above the table, then let it drop.

“What are you doing?” Justin asked him.

“Testing gravity, because apparently the laws of nature have been turned upside down.”

“Ha-ha,” he said. “And by the way, gravity isn’t a law of nature but a principle of physics.”

Braden waved a hand dismissively. “Whatever. I’m more interested in why she turned you down.”

“She thinks I’m only trying to do the right thing, and she keeps insisting that it isn’t necessary. She’s promised that we can work out the details of a coparenting arrangement, if that’s really what I want, but she has no desire for a legal union that’s doomed to fail.”

His brother winced. “She actually said that?”

He nodded.

“Ouch.”

Justin nodded again.

“She’ll come around,” Braden assured him.

“I know,” he said, attempting to project a confidence he didn’t actually feel. “I just hope it doesn’t take her another three years.”

“My money’s on you.”

“So what’s new in your life?” Justin asked.

“I’m trying to talk Dana into taking a vacation.”

“Anywhere in particular?”

His brother stared into the bottom of his glass. “Wherever she wants to go,” he said. “For the past few years, it seems that we haven’t had a conversation about anything but babies. I just want to get away somewhere so that we can focus on us. I want my wife back.”

“Have you told her that?”

Braden nodded. “She insists she hasn’t changed, and I can tell she really believes that, which makes me wonder if the woman I fell in love with even exists anymore.”

Justin found himself thinking about his conversation with his brother for a long time after Braden had gone. He knew marriage wasn’t easy, but being surrounded by so many happy newlyweds at family events had allowed him to temporarily lose sight of the difficult realities.

His parents were a case in point. He’d always believed their marriage was solid. He never would have suspected that his father had cheated on his mother, because his father wasn’t that kind of man. The ten-month affair he’d carried on with Fiona Reardon—regardless of the circumstances—wasn’t just a betrayal of the vows he’d exchanged with his wife but their whole family.

Justin had been angry with Nora when she’d shown up, unexpected and unannounced, at their traditional Father’s Day barbecue the previous year, demanding to see the father she’d never known. And then he’d been angry with his father for what he’d done to their family. But now he could also feel some regret and remorse for him.

John Garrett had missed out on the first twenty-four years of Nora’s life because Fiona had chosen not to tell him about their daughter. He and Avery had fought their share of battles—and would inevitably fight many more—but she hadn’t hidden her pregnancy from him and he was confident that she wouldn’t ever try to cut him out of their child’s life.

He was sincerely grateful for that, but it wasn’t enough. He wanted more. He wanted to share all of the joys and responsibilities of parenthood with the mother of his child—the woman he loved.

* * *

Just when Avery was starting to feel confident that she’d successfully made it through the first trimester of her pregnancy, she went to the bathroom and discovered that she was bleeding. When she saw the bright red blood, panic rose up inside and her heart dropped into the pit of her stomach. She immediately called her doctor’s office, only to learn that Richard Herschel was on holidays until the following week.

“If this is an emergency, please hang up and dial 9-1-1,” the recorded voice advised.

Avery hung up and drove herself to Wellbrook instead.

“You’re not on the schedule today,” Amy said, when she walked in through the staff entrance at the back of the building.

“I know.”

“So what are you doing here?”

“I’m—” She blinked back the tears that filled her eyes. “I’m afraid I might be having a miscarriage.”

Chapter Seventeen

A
my immediately hustled Avery into an exam room and helped her up onto the table. “Why didn’t you go to the hospital?”

“Because I haven’t told anyone there that I’m pregnant and I didn’t want them to find out this way.”

“Did you call Dr. Herschel?”

She nodded. “He’s on vacation until next week.”

“Then I guess we’re going to do an exam here,” Amy agreed. “Tell me what’s going on.”

“I’m...I was bleeding.”

“How much?”

“Not a lot,” she admitted. “But more than what I would consider light.”

“But it’s stopped?” Amy prompted, picking up on her use of the past tense.

Avery nodded.

“How far along are you now?”

“Almost fifteen weeks.”

“How do you feel?”

“Scared.”

“I know,” her friend said gently. “I meant physically. Any pain or cramping?”

“I don’t think so,” she admitted. “But maybe I’m blocking it out because I don’t want to admit what either of those symptoms could mean.”

“Okay. I’ll get Monica to bring in the sonogram machine.”

Avery nodded, because she wasn’t sure she could say anything else through the tightness in her throat. While she waited for the nurse to come, she checked her cell phone for messages, but there were none.

She’d tried to reach Justin before she went to the clinic, but her call had immediately gone to voice mail. So she’d left a message, trying to keep her voice steady and calm as she explained that she was going to the clinic, and asking him to get in touch when he got her message. Obviously he hadn’t received it yet.

After the ultrasound and a quick exam, Amy seemed much less concerned. “The bleeding has stopped and everything looks fine,” she said. “Your placenta is in good position and your cervix is closed. The baby’s heartbeat is strong and steady and he—or she—is very active, so there’s no immediate cause for concern.”

Avery exhaled a shaky sigh.

“But we don’t know what caused the bleeding,” Amy reminded her. “And although we have no reason to suspect it will happen again, if you want to do everything possible to ensure that it doesn’t, you’re going to have to focus on taking care of yourself for the next several days.”

She understood what her friend was saying. It was the same advice she would give to any of her own patients, but those patients were the reason she felt compelled to protest. “But I have responsibilities—”

“No,” Amy interjected firmly. “You’re a fabulous doctor, but you’re not indispensable. Your shifts at the hospital can be covered, your shifts here can be covered. But no one else can do what you need to do to take care of your baby.”

She nodded. “Okay.”

Amy’s gaze narrowed. “Really okay? You’re not just pretending to go along with what I’m saying?”

“I won’t do anything to jeopardize my pregnancy,” she assured her friend, laying a protective hand on the slight swell of her belly.

“Good. Then I only have one more thing to say.”

“What’s that?”

“You should call—”

Before she could finish, there was a brisk knock on the door. Frowning, Amy went to open it. Of course, Avery couldn’t see who was on the other side, but she immediately recognized Justin’s voice when he said, “The receptionist told me that Avery was in here.”

“She is,” Amy confirmed. “We just need another two minutes.”

“I want to see her—”

“Two minutes,” Amy said firmly again, closing the door with him on the other side.

Then she turned to face her friend, her expression contemplative. “I was going to suggest that you call Justin, but apparently you already did.”

“Of course, I did,” Avery said. “This is his baby, too.”

“I know that,” Amy acknowledged. “But you don’t ask for help from anyone. Ever. You don’t lean on anyone. Ever.”

“Why are you making such a big deal out of a phone call?”

“Because it
is
a big deal. Because it proves that you’re actually opening up to Justin, letting him into your life.”

“It’s not like he’s really given me much choice.”

Amy smiled at that. “Knowing Justin, I’m sure that’s true. And I’m proud of you, anyway.”

“It was just a phone call,” Avery said again.

“And he came over here as soon as he got your message,” Amy pointed out to her.

“So it would seem,” she agreed.

“Because he’s the type of person who will be there for you—whatever you need.”

Before Avery could respond to that, Amy opened the door and gestured for Justin to come in. He immediately crossed the room to her and took both of her hands in his. “Are you okay?”

“I’m okay, and the baby’s okay,” she told him.

He turned to look at Amy, as if for confirmation.

She nodded. “The bleeding’s stopped and the baby’s vital signs are all good. But I want Avery to stay off her feet for a few days and to follow up with Dr. Herschel early next week when he gets back into the office.”

“Has she agreed to stay off her feet?” he asked.

“She has, but I’d feel better if she had someone to stay with her and look after her.”

“She doesn’t appreciate being spoken about as if she’s not in the room,” Avery interjected. “And she’s perfectly capable of looking after herself.”

Justin shifted his attention back to her, and she could see the worry etched in his face. “I know you are,” he admitted. “But I’d feel a lot better if you let me take care of you.”

“Why?”

“Because it’s the only thing I can do while our baby is growing inside of you.”

“It’s not necessary,” Avery said again.

“Please.”

She sighed, because she couldn’t resist the plea that was in his eyes as much as the word. On the way to his condo, they made a brief stop at her apartment so that she could pack a few things in a bag.

“Are you hungry?” he asked, after settling her on his sofa.

“Starving,” she admitted.

“I could heat up a can of chicken soup.”

She made a face. “I’m not sick—I’m pregnant.”

“So tell me what you want.”

“A cheeseburger? From Eli’s?” she said hopefully.

“I can get you a cheeseburger,” he agreed. “Do you want fries, too?”

She shook her head. “Onion rings.”

“Anything else?”

“Extra pickles on the burger but no onions.”

He looked at her quizzically. “You want onion rings but no onions on the burger?”

“I don’t like raw onions.”

“Maybe I should write this down.” He found a notepad in the kitchen and wrote down her order. “Anything else?”

She shook her head.

“Are you comfy there?” he asked her.

“Why?”

“Because I don’t want you moving until I get back,” he told her. “If the phone rings, ignore it. If someone comes to the door, ignore that, too.”

She should have been annoyed by his bossiness but the truth was, she was touched that he was so determined to take care of her and their baby.

He was back within twenty minutes, with two cheeseburgers, two orders of onion rings and two chocolate shakes.

“This one meal probably contains more calories than I should be consuming in three days—especially since you won’t even let me walk across the room,” Avery said, unwrapping her burger.

“I’ll make a salad for you for supper,” he promised.

“The baby says thank-you, too,” she told him. “Especially for the shake—apparently she has quite the sweet tooth.”

“She?” he queried.

Avery shook her head as she chewed, then swallowed. “I don’t know. I just don’t want to refer to our baby as ‘it’ and most people automatically invoke the masculine pronoun, so I decided to go with ‘she.’”

He smiled. “Why doesn’t that surprise me?”

“Are you okay with ‘she’?”

“Sure,” he agreed, popping a crisp onion ring into his mouth. “The pronoun works just fine, and I think it would be fun to have a daughter.”