The Christmas Bouquet (11 page)

“I wish I did,” she told him. “But you don’t understand how I felt when Carrie made her big announcement. It knocked the wind right out of me. It seems so unfair. She’s not committed to this cause the way I am. She’s just going so she can get Grandpa Mick off her case for not finding another job.”

“Maybe so, but isn’t the important thing that there will be help for the people who need it?” he asked reasonably, understanding even as he spoke that it wasn’t about being reasonable. It was about how she felt deep inside despite everything rational she might tell herself. That sometimes-destructive trait of envy had reared its ugly head, and she wasn’t used to feeling that way, so she was condemning herself for it.

She gave him a rueful look. “I’m not quite ready to be that calm and understanding.”

Noah smiled at that. “Okay, let’s get back to Dr. Harris. If I make an appointment for the two of us for tomorrow, will you promise to show up?”

She gave him a long look. “If you make the appointment, is there any chance at all you won’t drag me there yourself?”

Noah laughed, finally releasing the last of his anger now that he had a better grasp of what had been going through her mind lately. “Not really.”

“Then make the appointment,” she said, sounding resigned.

He tucked a finger under her chin. “Don’t look so miserable. We’re going to see our baby for the first time!”

And if she wasn’t quite as excited about that as he was, that was okay. He believed with everything in him that once she heard the heartbeat and saw the sonogram there was no way she wouldn’t be every bit as emotional as he was. All of these other issues would fall by the wayside.

* * *

The steady
thump-thump-thump
of the baby’s heartbeat seemed to fill the examination room. Tears sprang to Cait’s eyes at the sound and she reached for Noah’s hand. She’d heard that sound before, of course, but this was
her
baby, hers and Noah’s.

She’d anticipated this reaction, known that it would change everything for her, but she hadn’t fully expected the level of joy coursing through her, not under these circumstances. She found herself grinning at Noah.

“We’re having a baby,” she whispered as if it were breaking news.

He laughed. “So I’ve heard.”

Noah leaned down and kissed her, lingering a little longer than was appropriate with the obstetrician sitting right there. Caitlyn allowed herself the luxury of savoring the kiss in a way that had been all too absent recently.

“Pretty amazing, isn’t it?” Noah asked eventually.

“Amazing? Listen to that heartbeat,” she said proudly. “It’s beyond incredible.”

“It’s strong and healthy,” Dr. Harris confirmed. He gave her a hard look. “And we’re going to keep it that way. No more cancellations, understood?”

Caitlyn nodded. “Absolutely.”

“I’ll see to it,” Noah chimed in.

For once she didn’t object to his take-charge attitude. She certainly hadn’t done anything to reassure him that she was taking good care of herself. Well, no more. It was time to grow up, accept where they were and move forward. She had a brand-new life depending on her. It might not be what she’d envisioned for the immediate future, but it was the reality.

Dr. Harris handed her a printout of the sonogram. “I’ll see you in a month. Call me anytime, day or night, if anything comes up before that.”

Cait nodded.

Beside her, Noah was studying her intently. “Are you okay?”

“A little shell-shocked,” she confessed. She patted her belly. “There really is a little person growing in there.” She regarded him with amazement. “I’ve read the textbooks. I’ve been around a lot of expectant moms, but until right this second I don’t think I ever understood what it would feel like to know that I’m going to be a mom.”

“If it’s anything like how I feel knowing that I’m going to be a dad, it’s pretty mind-blowing,” Noah said. “Why don’t we go celebrate? Are you ready to do that yet?”

She smiled at him. “I think I am. I think I’d even like a glass of champagne, the nonalcoholic kind, anyway.”

Noah looked relieved. “Done,” he said readily. “Pick the place and we’ll toast our baby.”

“It’s about time, isn’t it?” she said, regretting all the weeks she’d thought only of how this was going to disrupt her life, rather than thinking about the miracle they’d been given.

Eager now to embrace the excitement, she dressed quickly and met Noah in the reception area.

“I want to go to Brady’s,” she announced.

“You want to celebrate in Chesapeake Shores?” he said, clearly surprised by the choice.

“It’s where my family always goes for special occasions, at least the ones we don’t spend at Grandpa Mick’s. Do you mind making the drive?”

“Of course not, if it’s what you want.”

“If it gets late, we can spend the night with Mom and Trace and drive back in the morning.”

“Do you want anyone in the family to join us for this celebration dinner?” Noah asked.

Caitlyn shook her head. “No, this needs to be just the two of us. We have a lot to talk about.”

“Wedding plans, perhaps?” he asked.

She winced at the hopefulness in his expression. “Sorry. Not yet. I was thinking more along the lines of baby names. I understand that the process of elimination can take a very long time.”

Noah looked surprised. “You want to choose a name for the baby? That’s quite a leap from barely wanting to acknowledge that he or she is on the way.”

“I don’t want our child to arrive in the world and have to wait around for us to come up with a name,” she said simply. “It needs to know we gave the matter some thought. If we hit on the right choices, I’m expecting a couple of good solid kicks in my womb.”

Noah laughed. “I think we might be more at the flutter stage right now.”

She gave him a defiant look. “The point is that our baby is going to be brilliant and will react when we get it right.”

“Okay, then,” Noah said, clearly fighting a smile. “Do we need to buy a book of baby names on the way down there? Your aunt Shanna probably has one at her store.”

She shook her head at once. “We’ll look up popular baby names on our phones,” she said. “If we set foot in her bookstore, the whole family will find out we’re in town. If we’re careful, we might actually have an entire evening to ourselves with no one in the family the wiser unless we decide to stay over.”

“Sounds like a plan,” he said readily. He started to the door, then paused and put his hands on her shoulders and gazed into her eyes, his expression softening. “I love seeing you like this, Cait. I’ve been waiting and waiting for you to be as happy about the baby as I am.” He searched her face with a long look. “You really are happy, aren’t you?”

“I’m really happy,” she assured him, winding her arms around his neck for another of those slow, sensual kisses that reminded her of how good they were together.

Right this second, with her blood humming and her heart full of joy, she could almost believe that the future would sort itself out in a way that was best for all of them.

* * *

Brady’s really was the perfect spot for a quiet celebration, Noah concluded after they’d been seated at a table with a view of the bay. The attentive staff brought a bottle of chilled, nonalcoholic bubbly to the table at once, then discreetly left them to look over the menu.

“Nice place,” he said.

“Wait till you try the food,” Cait told him, her expression eager. “Nobody makes better crab cakes or any other crab dish, for that matter. And the rockfish is excellent, too. The desserts here can’t compare to those at Aunt Jess’s Inn at Eagle Point, but everything else is first-rate.”

“I heard that,” a man said, feigning a scowl as he looked down at Cait.

“Brady!” she said, jumping up to embrace him.

He wrapped her in a warm embrace, then held her away. “Look at you. I hear you’re about to be a doctor and a mother.”

Cait flushed. “Word does get around in this town, doesn’t it?”

“Especially if it involves an O’Brien,” he confirmed.

“This is Noah,” Cait told him.

“Ah, the new doc coming to town,” Brady said, reaching out to shake his hand. “Welcome to Chesapeake Shores.” He glanced toward the open bottle chilling in a bucket of ice. “You two celebrating?”

Cait nodded. “Please, please don’t spread the word about that. Noah and I were hoping for a quiet evening to ourselves.”

“Take back what you said about my desserts and I’ll keep my mouth shut,” he countered.

“Your desserts are sublime,” she said at once.

“Then my lips are sealed,” he promised. “Why don’t you let me put something special together for you?” He glanced at Noah. “Any seafood you hate or are allergic to?”

“Not a thing,” Noah said. “Surprise us. Is that okay with you, Cait?”

“Perfect,” she said at once.

Brady took another long look at her and shook his head. “I remember you in pigtails. How’d you get to be all grown-up when I haven’t aged a bit?”

“Chesapeake Shores magic,” she told him.

Brady left them to themselves. Within minutes, small appetizer-size plates started arriving with a half-dozen different seafood delicacies from little crab tarts to scallops wrapped in bacon. Each bite was more delicious than the one before.

“He knows what he’s doing in the kitchen, doesn’t he?” Noah said approvingly. “I don’t think I’ve ever had anything better in Baltimore.”

“Brady’s is a hidden treasure,” Cait confirmed. “He and Aunt Jess have done a great job of keeping their menus unique so that people will always have a reason to go to both places. That doesn’t mean they’re not competitive. Aunt Jess is an O’Brien, after all, and Brady was here first. The locals benefit from that rivalry.”

“How does Jess feel about the family celebrating special events here?”

Cait laughed. “Oh, she gets her share of things. Between weddings, receptions and baby showers, we keep her in business, too.”

“Interesting you should mention weddings,” Noah said.

She gave him a warning look. “You promised.”

He grinned at her. “It just seemed like a natural opening. What sort of wedding would you like, Cait? Big and fancy? Small and intimate?”

“There’s no such thing as small in my family,” she said. “There are a lot of us. But family only would work for me.”

He nodded. “Good to know.”

“When the time comes,” she added pointedly.

“You said
when,
not
if.
I’ll take that as a good sign.”

“And drop the subject?”

“Dropped,” he said at once. Victories might come in small increments, but they were coming. “How about baby names? You ready to talk about those?”

Her eyes lit with surprising eagerness and she took her phone from her purse. “Here we go,” she said eventually. “The most recent list of common baby names.”

She began to read them off, wrinkling her nose from time to time. Noah saw the precise instant when something appealed to her.

“What?” he asked.

“Megan,” she said softly. “After my grandmother. We have a Little Mick, but none of the girls have been named for her. I like Megan McIlroy. How about you?”

He nodded. “Put it at the top of the list for girls,” he agreed. “How about a boy’s name?”

“Noah’s a great name,” she said.

“I don’t think so. We’d only end up calling him Junior.”

“But it needs to capture your Scottish heritage,” she said. “Rory?”

“And throw my Scottish roots into the faces of your Irish family? Maybe we’d better avoid that.”

She grinned then. “How about Scott? That could be fun.”

“Do you really want to taunt them that way? Or make life miserable for our child?”

“Oh, come on. Scott is a great name for a boy. Kids won’t notice that we’re making a little joke between us.”

“Trust me, someone will figure it out and torment him,” Noah said. “Let’s just find something nice and traditional.”

“Robert’s a good solid name,” she suggested. “We could call him Robby or Bobby. We don’t have any of those in the family.”

“And it wouldn’t have anything to do with him being named for a famous Scottish poet,” Noah said wryly.

“Not every Robert in the world was named for Robert Burns,” she argued.

“But ours would be,” he taunted. “Admit it.”

“Okay, yes, it did cross my mind.”

Noah gestured toward her phone. “What else is on that list?”

She read off a few more names until Noah stopped her. “That’s it,” he said. “Jackson.”

He wasn’t surprised when her eyes lit up.

“From
Grey’s
Anatomy,
” she said with a grin. “You know he’s my favorite. Those eyes of his...” She practically swooned as she said it.

“There are worse reasons to choose a name for a baby. We could call him Jack. That’s a good old-fashioned nickname.”

“I love it,” she said at once. She touched a hand to her stomach. “What about it, kiddo? Are you a Megan or a Jackson?”

Noah laughed at the suddenly startled expression on her face.

“The baby kicked,” she told him, eyes wide. “I swear it did. We have ourselves a Megan or a Jackson.”

“Well, I for one can’t wait to find out which it is. What about you?”

She looked hesitant. “I’d kind of like to be surprised.”

“You don’t have some compulsive need to decorate in either pink or blue?” he asked.

“No,” she said. “This baby has been a surprise from the get-go. I say we run with that all the way.”

Delighted with her suddenly light mood, Noah nodded. “Okay, then. We’ll be surprised.”

Thank goodness he’d let Connor and Mick talk him into that pale green nursery with its decor of bunnies and ducks. It seemed the safe choice was going to work out just fine.

11

O
ver the next couple of weeks as the end of Noah’s residency approached and he was more and more absorbed with making plans to open his practice in Chesapeake Shores, Caitlyn looked back on their celebration at Brady’s as a turning point. She’d slept better and felt more at ease with him from that moment on. Their easygoing rapport was what she’d missed during those first tense weeks after discovering she was pregnant. They might not have set a wedding date, but she felt as if their relationship was back on solid ground. She’d remembered all the reasons she’d fallen in love with him—his compassion, his strength, his generosity of spirit.

Whatever resentment she’d felt over the pregnancy had faded, too. She’d begun to embrace the blessing that had been given to them.

Oh, she still had her share of moments when she was angry about the choices she was faced with making, but in general she was too busy to spend much time dwelling on that. And, though she’d sworn to Noah that she’d never blamed him for any of this, she recognized that on some level she had. She’d let go of that anger, too, and accepted her own share of responsibility. She’d said that before, but it had been no more than giving lip service to it. Now the knowledge that she and Noah shared responsibility for this child had settled into her heart.

“What happened when you and Noah went to Chesapeake Shores?” Carrie asked over popcorn as they settled in on a Saturday night to watch an old movie musical marathon with Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers.

“What makes you think anything happened?”

“You seem different. Happier and more at peace.” Carrie grinned. “And you’ve stopped looking at me as if I’ve stolen your favorite toy.”

Caitlyn frowned. “I never looked at you like that,” she protested.

“Oh, yes, you did. And I know the look, because I was always stealing your favorite toys when we were kids.”

Caitlyn thought back to what seemed like a million years ago when rivalries had sprung up over the most inconsequential things. “Come to think of it, you did, you little brat.”

Carrie laughed. “Now there’s the twin I know and love. Seriously, though, what happened with you and Noah that night at Brady’s?”

“We celebrated the baby. I told you that.”

“And I think that’s fantastic, but you didn’t set a wedding date. Why not? Why are you holding out?” She gave Caitlyn a questioning look. “I have to assume you’re the one who’s not ready. After all, Noah’s moving to Chesapeake Shores to be surrounded by O’Briens. That tells me he’s more than ready for marriage and a lifetime of meddling relatives.” She gave an exaggerated shudder. “Brave man!”

“I know,” Caitlyn agreed, acknowledging her own sense of shock at his willingness to do that. “At first I thought he was nuts for even considering a move to the middle of the enemy camp, but then I realized that from his perspective all those people are allies. I’m the one they’re not so happy with at the moment.”

“You could change that with two words,” Carrie suggested. “Or even one.”

“Oh?”

“
I do
or even a simple
yes
would satisfy them. So, why aren’t you saying either one?”

Caitlyn had wondered about that herself. Why was she still holding out against what increasingly seemed to be her inevitable fate? “I don’t know,” she confessed softly. “I love Noah. And we’re having this baby. Getting married shouldn’t be this huge obstacle for me. It would solve so much, not the least of which would be getting Grandpa Mick off my case.”

Carrie gave her a thoughtful look. “I do have one thought, if you’re ready for one more person to butt in.”

“Why not?” Caitlyn responded. She certainly wasn’t reaching any conclusions on her own. Pretty soon, she was going to have no choice but to accept her family’s opinion that she was just being stubborn because none of this had happened on her timetable.

“I think if you say yes, it will mean accepting that your goal is no longer an option, at least for now,” Carrie suggested. “I imagine that’s why you were so mad at me, too. I’m getting to do what you’d envisioned for yourself.”

“I’m definitely still in mourning for that dream,” Caitlyn agreed. “And yes, I envy you, no question about it. This is much bigger than stealing a toy, Carrie. Going to Africa will be some sort of lark for you. I was
meant
to help those villages. My whole identity, at least in my mind, was based on that. I made a commitment to those people to come back.”

“And we all admire you for that, me most of all,” Carrie told her. “But your dream doesn’t have to be dead. You need to stop looking at it that way.”

“How can I look at it any other way? Once I’m married and there’s a baby to consider, I’ll be trapped forever in Chesapeake Shores. It’s not what I bargained for.”

“Oh, stop whining,” Carrie said impatiently, shocking her. “You’re every bit the O’Brien that I am. We know we can make things turn out the way we want them to, even if it takes a little longer than we planned. If Noah truly loves you—and even I, after a few weeks, can see that he does—he’s going to do everything in his power to find a way for you to get whatever you need to be completely and totally fulfilled.”

“How? It’s not as if Africa is right around the corner. I can’t go off and leave my husband and a baby behind.”

“Are you still stuck on that?” Carrie asked even more impatiently. “Marriage and five kids didn’t stop Grandpa Mick from following his destiny.”

“And look how that turned out,” Caitlyn argued. “He and Grandma Megan were divorced for years. Nell raised Mom and her siblings. I don’t want to marry Noah and then wind up divorced because I was constantly running off to pursue this other passion of mine. Maybe I should just accept that the two things can’t be reconciled. That would save us all a lot of misery.”

“When did you, the very spirit of optimism, become such a pessimist? Sure, it was hard on all of them back then,” Carrie said. “But it’s turned out okay in the end. Focus on that.”

“Happiness might reign now, but they all paid a terrible price,” Caitlyn contradicted. “Even Grandpa Mick.”

“It’s different,” Carrie insisted. “We’re talking about one child, not five. Don’t you think Noah—a family-practice doctor, for heaven’s sake—is more than capable of child care? Or how about the million and one O’Briens who are always happy to pitch in? Hey, for that matter, what’s wrong with spinster aunt Carrie looking out for the little one while you save the world?”

Caitlyn rolled her eyes. “You’re hardly a spinster aunt. In fact, if you weren’t hiding out here with me, you’d have a new man in your life by now,” she said, seizing on the change of topic like a lifeline. “We both know you’re over the breakup with Marc. He simply isn’t worth any more grieving.”

“I can certainly agree with that,” Carrie said, then breathed a sigh. “Finally. Better late than never to figure that out, huh?”

“Then get back out there. Start dating again.”

“I need a breather,” Carrie said. “Ever since my first day in college I’ve been ridiculously single-minded about finding the right man and getting married. How many times did you get on my case about that and, much as it pains me to admit it, you were right. Look where it’s gotten me. I’ve let myself be defined by the men I’ve been seeing. I don’t even know who I really am or what I want aside from marriage and a family.”

“There’s nothing wrong with that goal,” Caitlyn told her. “You just got a little obsessed with it to the exclusion of everything else. And who’s to say there’s not the perfect guy who’ll be totally in favor of your being a stay-at-home mom if that’s what you want?”

She took the time to truly study her sister. Carrie, who’d never lacked for self-confidence, looked surprisingly lost. “Is a family still what you really want, Carrie?”

“I honestly don’t know anymore.” She sighed deeply. “Do you have any idea how much I envy you? You’ve always known exactly what you wanted. You set your goals that first summer after you volunteered in Appalachia. You made me feel like such a slacker because not only weren’t my goals as noble, I didn’t have a single one that I felt passionate about, at least in terms of a career.”

“I’ve been obsessed with my career the same way you were driven to get married,” Caitlyn told her. “Maybe we’re both finally realizing that life isn’t about either/or. Nell would tell us it’s about making compromises and choices and maybe taking a completely unexpected path. She’d be reminding us we have to keep our hearts and our minds open if we’re going to get the most out of life.”

Carrie’s expression suddenly brightened. “You know what I need? I need a dose of our great-grandmother’s wisdom. I think I’ll go to Chesapeake Shores tomorrow.”

“You do realize that Nell’s wisdom will also come with Grandpa Mick’s meddling,” Caitlyn warned.

“He has my cell phone number, so I’m getting that here,” Carrie said with a shrug. “If our grandfather starts getting on my nerves, I’ll tell Trace or Mom to call him off.”

“You’re delusional if you think either of them have any influence over Grandpa Mick. If you want him to butt out, go to Grandma Megan or Nell,” Caitlyn advised. “He occasionally listens to them, and I stress the word
occasionally
.”

Carrie regarded her worriedly. “Will you be okay if I go? With Noah leaving, maybe you shouldn’t be here alone.”

Caitlyn frowned. “Of course. Why would you think otherwise?” A terrible thought occurred to her. “Have you been here all this time because Mom and the others were worried about me?”

“Mom might have mentioned that my sticking around could help,” Carrie said. “She thought you might need a sounding board. Even though we’re as different as night and day, nobody knows us as well as we know each other.”

Caitlyn laughed. “And Noah thought I’d planted you here as a buffer. To be honest, I wasn’t so sure I hadn’t.”

“Well, if you need me to stick around in any capacity, I will.”

“Not necessary. Noah will be on his way to Chesapeake Shores any day now himself. Maybe with both of you gone, I’ll be able to hear myself think. I need to figure out why I can’t take that final leap of faith into marriage.”

Carrie frowned at that. “It’s when you overthink things that you get into trouble. If you want my final piece of advice, which I know you don’t, just take the plunge and marry the man. You can figure out all the rest later.”

Caitlyn shook her head. “You’re the impulsive one, not me.”

“And right now that’s not much of a recommendation,” Carrie concluded with a sigh. “Okay, then, think away. I’m going to make more popcorn.”

“Double the butter,” Caitlyn called after her.

Right this second, buttery popcorn, Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers were all she wanted to think about. Everything else seemed way too complicated.

* * *

Noah had his car loaded up with the last of his belongings. He’d said his farewells to everyone at the hospital. Jill was the last one on his list.

“Don’t you bother saying goodbye to me,” she said, even as she gave him a fierce hug. “Thanks to Caitlyn’s presence, I imagine I’ll be seeing you around here for a good long while. If I don’t, I know how to find Chesapeake Shores.”

“You get lost coming to work,” Noah teased.

“Which is why I have an excellent GPS in my car,” she retorted.

“Are you absolutely sure you don’t want to come down there and whip my office into shape?” he asked. Though he was only half-serious, he knew he’d never find a nurse who’d be even half as dedicated.

“As much as I’d love to move to a small town and boss you around, I’m needed right here,” she told him. “The residents and interns need me to keep them in line and the hospital needs me to keep this floor running smoothly. To say nothing of the fact that my husband would probably object to me running away with a younger man. Come to think of it, Caitlyn might have a few reservations of her own if she knew I’d always harbored a secret yearning to run off with you.”

“No way,” Noah said. “She knows exactly how invaluable you’ve been to me around here. I doubt she’d begrudge you any fantasies you claim to have envisioned.”

Jill actually blushed at the compliment.

Noah held her gaze. “Will you do something for me?”

“Anything,” she said at once.

“Keep an eye on Cait for me,” he requested. “She’s going to push herself to do everything that’s asked of her.”

“And you’re worried that she won’t cut herself any slack because of her pregnancy,” Jill concluded.

Noah wasn’t surprised that she knew. He assumed she’d been among the first to figure it out, long before that telling baby bump had appeared. What was surprising was that she hadn’t mentioned it before now. It was yet more proof that she was capable of discretion when it was called for.

“She won’t want any special favors,” he confirmed.

“And I admire her for that,” Jill said. “But I will watch out for her. That baby she’s carrying is going to be pretty amazing with your genes and hers.” She studied him. “I know I’m heading onto dangerous turf, but why aren’t the two of you already married?”

“It’s complicated. She’ll be here. I’ll be in Chesapeake Shores.”

She gave him a disbelieving look. “It’s about distance? I don’t believe that for a second.”

Noah bent down and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “I appreciate your protective instincts, but we’re going to work this out, Jill. You can stop fretting.”

“What would I do with myself if I didn’t fret over my residents and interns? You’re all like family to me. And moms never stop worrying about their kids. I just want you to be happy, Noah. You’re meant to have a family.”

“And one of these days I’ll have that,” he assured her. “With Cait.”

She sighed. “I surely hope so, if that’s what you want. Now, go find your girl before I get all misty-eyed and dream up some excuse to keep you right here where I can watch over you.”

“There’s nobody I’d rather have watching my back,” he told her. “You really are the best friend any doctor around here could have.”

He walked away then, not looking back till he came to the end of the hall. When he cast one last glance over his shoulder, he saw her wiping her eyes. Even so, when she caught him looking at her, she managed a bright smile and a wave.