The Christmas Bouquet

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 (#ulink_a51c5cf8-664f-59f5-8948-0d44ea8a7734)

It 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.