The Christmas Bouquet (3 page)

There wasn’t even an instant of shock or hesitation from her mom. “Oh, sweetheart,” she said, squeezing Caitlyn’s hand tightly. “That’s wonderful news!”

Caitlyn looked up and spotted the tears in her mother’s eyes and realized her words were totally sincere. Among the O’Briens, babies were a blessing, no matter what.

“Seriously? You’re not disappointed in me?”

“I could never be disappointed in you,” Abby replied fiercely. “You’re brilliant and loving and the best daughter imaginable.”

“But this is something Carrie would do, not me.”

Her mother actually chuckled at that. “It’s true that it might be less of a shock coming from your sister, but that doesn’t mean it’s not wonderful. Tell me about the father. Why haven’t you mentioned that you’re with someone special?”

“How do you know it’s someone special?” Caitlyn asked, amazed by her mother’s perceptiveness.

“Because you’re you,” Abby said, a smile on her lips. “If I know nothing else about you, I know you don’t have casual flings. Given how focused you’ve been about school and your career, I can’t imagine you’d get involved with anyone if he weren’t really important.”

“That’s true,” Caitlyn said, grateful for the vote of confidence.

“Any particular reason you haven’t mentioned him before?”

Caitlyn flushed. “You know how Grandpa Mick and Trace would get. The whole family, for that matter. Add in what happened at Jenny’s wedding and Grandpa Mick would never leave us in peace. Catching that bouquet all but signaled that there’d be a wedding in my future. If he knew about Noah, he’d have a date scheduled on the church calendar. I didn’t want to subject Noah or myself to the pressure.”

Her mother smiled. “No question Dad would pile on the pressure,” she agreed. “But you’ve always been able to handle that. Did you think your young man wouldn’t be able to?”

“Not at all. Noah is incredible,” Caitlyn confided to her. “He’s smart and funny and gorgeous. He’s finishing his residency in family medicine next month.”

“He sounds perfect for you.” She studied Caitlyn with a penetrating look. “Am I wrong about that?”

She shook her head. “No, he is perfect. It’s the timing of all this. He wants to get married.”

“Let me guess. You don’t.”

“Not because I don’t love Noah,” she said quickly. “I do. More than anything. And I want this baby.”

“But marriage and a baby weren’t part of the plan,” her mother said, holding her gaze. “The one you thought through so carefully and wrote down before you even finished high school.”

Caitlyn nodded. “That was the plan, all right. This was supposed to happen years from now.
After
I’d accomplished everything I wanted to accomplish,” she stressed.

Her mother regarded her with sympathy. “Oh, my poor girl, I can totally relate to how you’re feeling. I know all about plans and how disconcerting it is when they go awry. I was just getting started as a stockbroker in New York when I met your father. I had this fast-paced timetable for success, and believe me, there was no room in that for a man, much less marriage and a family.”

Caitlyn chuckled. It sounded so familiar and oddly reassuring. Her mother had figured out a solution. Perhaps she could, too.

“But bad timing or not, there was your father,” her mom continued. “He was very determined and persuasive. Eventually he overrode all of my objections and convinced me to get married. I figured I could juggle marriage and work okay, no problem. I am, after all, an incredible multitasker.”

Caitlyn laughed. “So you’ve always claimed.”

“I am,” her mother repeated with a hint of indignation. “My point is that I adjusted my plan and it was working very smoothly.” She sighed. “At least until I discovered I was pregnant with twins.”

After a moment, she continued. “You know the rest. Your father wanted me to quit work and be a full-time mother. When I refused, we fought. Endlessly, as a matter of fact, until there was no other choice but to get a divorce. Then I had two babies and a full-time career. I panicked, but I did it. You’ll be able to do it, too. You’ll make whatever adjustments are necessary. You have my genes, after all.”

“I’ve been to med school,” Caitlyn reminded her. “I know genetics will only get me so far.”

“Well, you have the O’Brien grit and determination going for you, too,” she added. “What does Noah have to say about all this? Beyond wanting to get married, that is.”

“He says we can figure the rest out, but I don’t see how. The only way I see it working is if I give up on my dream and settle for practicing medicine in some traditional way, rather than going overseas.”

“Did Noah insist you abandon everything you’ve worked for? If he did, perhaps he doesn’t know you as well as he should. The right man would be incredibly proud of your dedication.”

“Noah would never insist on something like that, even if it’s what he really wants. Sure, he’d be thrilled if I finished up in a few years and went into practice with him, but he does get where I’m coming from. He’s always been incredibly supportive. If there’s a way for me to do what I’ve always hoped to do, he’ll back me. I’m the one who’s not seeing any alternative but sacrificing the one thing that’s been driving me for years now. I feel as if I’m caught up in one of those either-or moments.”

“Maybe you just need to start thinking outside the box. You won’t know what’s possible until the two of you really sit down and talk about all your options. Have you done that yet?”

Caitlyn shook her head. “We just found out this week. He encouraged me to come home to talk to you and Nell.”

“He didn’t want to come along?”

“He practically insisted on it,” she admitted. “I talked him out of it. I told him I needed to think this through in peace and break the news myself.” She regarded her mother worriedly. “Do you think there’s any chance at all that Grandpa Mick and Trace will take this as well as you have?”

Her mother laughed. “Not a chance,” she said. “But we’ll deal with them. Given what a handful you and Carrie were as teenagers—well, Carrie, anyway—I’ve had a lot of experience at keeping them from freaking out.”

“I know that, but I’m not sure your skills have been put to a test like this before. Besides, I’m the one who needs to tell them.”

“How about we do it together?” her mother suggested.

Caitlyn wanted to seize the offer, but she shook her head. “Thanks for offering, but no. I’m an adult. It’s up to me.” She sighed, then added, “Noah really did want to be with me when I tell them, but I told him I wouldn’t risk his life like that.”

“Probably a wise decision,” her mother concurred. “But I suggest you get him down here very soon. Otherwise, I can’t promise they won’t go looking for him. The entire O’Brien posse is likely to take off for Baltimore before you can get all your words out.”

Unfortunately, Caitlyn knew her mother was absolutely right about that. “I’ll talk to Trace and Grandpa Mick in the morning. After I’m convinced they’ve recovered from the shock, I’ll see if Noah wants to drive down for Sunday dinner. At least if there’s a crowd, someone will pull Trace and Grandpa Mick away if they attack him.”

Her mom nodded. “Good plan.” She hesitated, then asked, “What about your father?”

Oddly enough, Caitlyn hadn’t even considered how her biological father might react. While Wes Winters had remained in their lives after the divorce, he’d married again, had two more children and taken less and less of an interest in what was going on with Caitlyn and Carrie.

“I’ll call him next week. It’s not as if he’ll accidentally find out in the meantime,” she said. “I doubt the news will be much more than a passing blip on his radar these days.”

Her mother gave her hand another reassuring squeeze. “It’s all going to work out,” she promised. “And I can’t wait to meet this young man of yours.”

“You’re going to love him,” Caitlyn predicted.

“What matters is that you love him,” her mother responded.

“I do,” she said, and for the first time since she’d seen that positive pregnancy test, she was able to focus on the fact that she loved Noah more than she’d ever imagined possible. She needed to concentrate on that. Maybe then everything else really would fall into place.

3

I
t was nearly midnight and Cait had rarely been far from Noah’s thoughts for more than a few minutes at a time all evening. He’d checked his cell phone a half-dozen times to see if she’d tried to reach him. When it finally vibrated and he saw her name on the caller ID, he breathed a sigh of relief as he answered.

“Hey, you,” he said, his voice low even though he was alone in the on-call room at the hospital. “I was hoping I’d hear from you tonight. Is everything going okay in Chesapeake Shores? Have you broken the news yet?”

“It’s actually going better than I expected, so far,” she told him. “I told my mom earlier.”

“And?”

“She can’t wait to meet you.”

The tension he’d been feeling all day eased. “That’s a good sign, isn’t it?” he said. If Cait’s mother could keep an open mind about him after learning about the pregnancy, perhaps she’d get through to others in the family.

“One down and a long list to go,” Cait warned him.

“But that one is crucial. I imagine you had to talk fast and create quite an impressive list of my sterling attributes to counteract the baby news.”

“To be honest, my mom’s pretty excited about the baby, too. She believes we can figure out a solution.”

“Word is that we’re both pretty smart,” Noah replied with a smile. “I think she’s right. What about the rest of the family? When will you tell them?”

“I’m going to talk to Trace and Grandpa Mick in the morning.” She sighed heavily. “I’m really not looking forward to that.”

“I’m still willing to hop in the car and drive down there to be with you when you tell them. I can take the heat.”

“And I appreciate that,” she said. “But I need to be the one to break the news. Once I see how that goes, I thought maybe you could come down on Sunday. We have this big family dinner at Grandpa Mick’s every week. Remember, I’ve told you about that.”

Noah, whose own family was small and apparently very sedate by comparison, had envied the chaotic meals she’d described. “I remember.”

“It’s a bit of a mob scene, but you know what they say about there being safety in numbers. I doubt even my grandfather would do anything crazy with that many witnesses.”

“Gee, you make it sound like a fun time,” he said. “But if you want me there, I’m game.” He was, in fact, surprisingly eager to take this next step. He sensed that despite Cait’s fears, he’d have allies there.

“I’ll call you once I’ve seen them tomorrow and we can decide what’s best,” she promised. “Now tell me about what’s going on at the hospital. Did you work tonight?”

“I did, though my mind kept wandering. Jill called me on it. I was abrupt with poor Mr. Simpson,” he confessed. “He was just looking for more reassurance that he’d be okay and able to go back to work once the worst of his injuries from the accident heal, but I snapped at him.”

“I can’t believe you were short with anyone,” Cait said, sounding shocked. “You never lose your temper with the patients, no matter how many times they ask the same questions.”

“I apologized.” He recalled that uncomfortable conversation. It was one he hoped never to have to repeat. “Do you know what he told me?”

“What?”

“That for the first time it made him realize I was only human, too.”

Cait laughed. “Could be a lesson in there for all of us,” she said. “Not that I recommend losing your cool on a regular basis, but we need to remember we’re not gods and the patients need to know that, too. Aren’t you the one who’s always preached that we need to connect with them as real people?”

“And I do believe that,” Noah confirmed. “Tell me about Chesapeake Shores. What’s it like this time of year?”

“I was pretty distracted as I drove into town, but the weather’s nice. Mom and I took a walk along the bay after dinner, then went for coffee. Decaf,” she added quickly.

“Good for you. I know how you love your caffeine.”

“Way too much,” she conceded. “Maybe this is one sacrifice that will stick with me and I’ll stop craving it to get through those long days at work.”

“Describe the town for me again,” he said. He’d never tired of hearing about it. He’d grown up in the middle of a blighted urban area that had made him long for a more peaceful and serene setting.

“The daffodils are fading on the town green,” she reported. “But the tulips will be in full bloom soon. And the little patch of lily of the valley at the house smells wonderful. That was Grandma Megan’s favorite flower, so Mom and all of her siblings have planted it by their front walks. They say back then it reminded them of her when she was away for so long and they never want to forget how much they missed her and how grateful they’ve come to be that she’s back in their lives.”

Noah was familiar with the story of how her grandmother had walked out on her workaholic grandfather, a famed architect and urban planner. She’d left behind five children, convinced by Mick O’Brien they’d be better off growing up right in Chesapeake Shores, a town he and his brothers had built along the shores of the Chesapeake Bay. While she’d left with the best of intentions for her family, it had caused a serious rift with her children that had only recently healed. Now Mick and Megan had patched up their differences, as well, and were far more happily remarried. It was proof, he thought, that with true love there was always reason to hope.

“I can’t wait to see this town that’s so special to you,” he told Cait. “And to meet your family.”

“You’re going to love it here,” she said. “It’s an idyllic setting and a great community.” She yawned sleepily. “I’m beat. You must be, too. I’ll give you a call tomorrow and we’ll decide on a plan for Sunday, okay?” She hesitated, then added, “Or I’ll warn you if it would be wise to leave the country.”

Noah laughed, though he could tell she wasn’t entirely kidding. “I’ll wait to hear from you,” he said. “I love you, Cait.”

“Love you, too. Good night, Noah.”

Even after she’d disconnected the call, he held tightly to the phone, reluctant to sever the connection himself. Cait had definitely sounded more upbeat than she had before heading home. He counted on that being a promising start for this new journey.

Maybe by Sunday they’d have a real strategy for the future that would work for both of them. He’d certainly been putting the pieces of his own plan together in his head ever since he’d discovered that Cait was pregnant. And once she’d calmed down, he knew she was more than likely to have her own very specific ideas. Somewhere in there, he hoped, was exactly the right compromise.

* * *

Caitlyn lingered at the kitchen table, pushing French toast around on her plate.

“You need to eat that,” her mother scolded.

“I know, but I can’t seem to swallow.” She met her mother’s worried gaze. “Thanks for making it, though.”

“Even I can dip bread into eggs and manage not to burn it,” Abby said. “Enough butter and maple syrup and nobody ever notices that’s all it is—bread, eggs and a little milk. Trace acts as if I’ve taken breakfast to a whole new level of culinary achievement.”

Caitlyn chuckled. “In his view, maybe you have. This is an improvement over cold cereal, frozen waffles or even scrambled eggs.”

“You and Carrie survived on that, didn’t you?” her mom retorted.

“Doesn’t mean I can’t appreciate the extra effort that went into this.”

“If you appreciate it so much, finish it,” Abby prodded.

Caitlyn shook her head and pushed away the plate.

“Okay, then, you might as well get your big announcement over with. Trace is already in his office working. I can call Dad and get him over here, so you can speak to both of them at the same time.”

“It would be easier to break the news just one time,” Caitlyn agreed. “Maybe they can prop each other up as the shock settles in.”

“Or I can stand just outside the door with smelling salts,” her mom suggested.

Caitlyn laughed despite herself. “Probably an even better idea, especially for Grandpa Mick. Maybe you should ask Grandma Megan to come over here, too. She can usually calm him down.”

Abby gave her a wry look. “But it’s Nell who’s able to peel him off the ceiling when he’s about to lose it.”

Caitlyn thought of Nell’s soothing influence on all of them and nodded. “Fine. Call her, too. Though I hate to imagine what they’re going to think when you summon them over here first thing on a Saturday morning and they see me.”

“They’re going to be delighted to get a glimpse of you,” Abby assured her.

“That won’t last,” Caitlyn predicted. “I’d better go and pull myself together. Let me know when the cast has been assembled for the big reveal.”

Her mom gave her an amused look. “Your aunt Bree, the playwright, will be thrilled you’ve inherited her sense of drama.”

“Don’t even mention her to me. It’s that bouquet she made for Jenny’s wedding that I blame for all of this,” she said as she left the kitchen and headed to her room.

Far too quickly she heard a tap on her door and her mother announced that her grandparents and Nell were in Trace’s office. Abby walked downstairs with Caitlyn.

“Are you sure you don’t want me with you for moral support?” she asked.

Caitlyn shook her head. “Too bad I can’t drink. I could use a stiff shot of something about now.”

“It’s going to be okay,” Abby reassured her. “Just remember that they all love you. And once they’re past the shock, they’ll agree with me that this is great news. I’m counting on them to help me convince you that it doesn’t have to derail your life.”

Caitlyn opened the door to Trace’s spacious home office with its tall windows letting in lots of morning sunshine. When they’d all moved in years ago, she and Carrie had spent hours in this room playing as Trace worked. Taking a huge breath, she stepped inside.

“Well, look who’s here,” her grandfather boomed, enveloping her in an exuberant hug. “My favorite granddaughter.” Mick leaned close to whisper, “Don’t tell the others.”

It was a familiar refrain, one repeated with every single grandchild at one point or another. They were all Mick’s favorites to hear him tell it, and they grew up believing it and counting on that exuberant and unconditional love, even as they chafed at his well-meant interference in their lives.

Caitlyn crossed the room to kiss her grandmother, then sat down next to Nell and reached for her hand. That garden-roughened hand had soothed away many hurts over the years. It was a shock to realize how frail it felt in Caitlyn’s grasp.

“You okay?” Nell asked, regarding her with worry. “I know perfectly well we’re not here just so you can say hello.”

“If only that were the reason,” Caitlyn told her with a heartfelt sigh. She looked across the room at her stepfather. Trace had been such a powerful force in her life. He’d been present in ways her biological father never had been, not just physically present, but emotionally supportive, too. She could recall the candy he’d brought to her and Carrie from Ethel’s Emporium, the trips into town for ice cream and pizza as he’d wooed them as determinedly as he’d tried to win back her mother’s affections. Theirs was just one more story that proved true love really could have a second chance.

“What’s up, kiddo?” Trace asked quietly, his gaze steady and expectant. It was evident he knew something was up.

Holding tight to Nell’s hand, she began, “I thought you all should know that I’ve been seeing someone.”

Her grandfather frowned. “You’ll need to define just what that means. I thought you didn’t have time for dating?”

Caitlyn smiled at the claim she’d made so many times over the years. “To be honest, it’s a little more than dating,” she confessed.

Now Trace’s shoulders visibly stiffened. “Meaning?”

“It’s serious,” she told him, looking directly into his eyes. She sucked in a deep breath, then blurted, “We’re going to have a baby.”

The commotion that ensued wasn’t entirely unexpected. Grandpa Mick immediately started blustering about going after the man responsible. Trace seconded him, even as Nell and Grandma Megan were circling the wagons around her, beaming. Her mom, who’d clearly been listening at the door, came into the room and poked Grandpa Mick in the chest.

“Sit down,” she commanded, then went to sit on the edge of Trace’s desk, her gaze all but daring him to make a fuss.

To Caitlyn’s shock, her grandfather fell silent and Trace sat back and closed his eyes, clearly gathering his composure. They looked shaken, but no more so than she’d expected.

“Tell them about Noah,” her mom suggested, then added meaningfully, “He sounds like a wonderful man to me.”

“You knew about this?” Trace asked, regarding her with a hint of hurt in his voice.

“Only since last night,” Abby told him. “I would have said something then, but Caitlyn wanted to tell you all herself. I had to respect her decision.”

“Well, personally, I couldn’t be happier to hear that we’ll have another baby to celebrate,” Nell said, giving her son and Trace a defiant look.

“Of course we’ll be celebrating this gift, Ma,” Mick responded impatiently. His scowl deepened. “But I want to know what this young man intends to do to make things right. Have you set a wedding date?”

Caitlyn shook her head. “We’ve barely had time to absorb the news. We haven’t made any plans yet. There’s a lot to consider.”

“There’s only one thing I can think of,” her grandfather contradicted. “Whether the church is available.”

“Mick, let the girl talk,” Grandma Megan said quietly, then faced Caitlyn. “Sweetheart, have you discussed marriage?”

“It’s on the table,” Caitlyn acknowledged, reluctant to make the admission because of the pressure that was bound to follow for her to say yes.

“Well, of course it is,” Trace said, proving her point. “It’s the right thing to do.”

Her mom frowned at him.

“I’m just saying,” he said defensively.

“Caitlyn’s decision,” Abby reminded him.

“And Noah’s,” Caitlyn added. “I’ve thought of inviting him to join us for dinner tomorrow, but I won’t do it unless you all promise to treat him decently.” She looked directly at her grandfather and then at Trace as she said it. “I want all of you to get to know him, but I don’t want any pressure about wedding dates.”