She caught Lainey’s gaze again, thinking of how much of a statement that would make. Arriving together in the town square and walking into the doctor’s office together. Even if people didn’t figure it out right away, it wouldn’t take long for them to put two and two together. Before the week was out, everybody would know Courtney Roberts was pregnant and Logan Hartson was the father.
Was she ready for that?
She took a deep breath, and nodded her head at her own question. She needed to be ready, because this baby wasn’t going to stop growing. “A ride would be great,” she told him softly. “The appointment is at two.”
“Then I’ll see you fifteen minutes before that.”
Chapter Thirteen
If the tiredness didn’t kill her, the nausea probably would. Courtney stared at herself in the bathroom mirror, scowling at the dark shadows under her eyes. Her skin was dry and her cheeks looked sunken. Whoever talked about the pregnancy bloom was either a liar or had a completely different experience with pregnancy than she was having.
The Monday after she’d told them about her pregnancy, Ellis had treated her completely normally, as if nothing had changed. And Mary had called her into the cottage at lunchtime, serving her sandwiches and soup while telling her she needed to rest before going back out to the fields.
There had been no sign of Carl though. He hadn’t called or popped around either. She wasn’t sure whether to be sad or glad about that.
And now it was Thursday, the day of her first prenatal appointment. Logan was due here any minute, and the anxiety of not only seeing him again, but having to go through an exam with the midwife was sending her heart rate sky high.
She heard the low rumble of his car as it came up the long driveway, followed by a crunch as the tires met the gravel in front of the cottage. She looked at herself again, letting out a sigh, then twisted her hair into a bun and fastened it with a tie.
It was time to face the music.
She walked down the stairs, grabbing her purse before she headed for the front door, opening it to see Logan standing there, his hand raised mid-knock.
“Hey.” His smile was soft. She swallowed hard, trying not to notice how he smelled like fresh rain on a hot day. “I brought you these,” he said, holding up a brown paper bag.
She took it, her smile bemused. “What’s inside?”
“Brownies. You said you were craving them.”
She didn’t have the heart to tell him she’d not managed to keep anything down all week. “Thank you.” Damn, he was sweet. She wasn’t sure she could handle that. “I’m kind of impressed you remembered.”
“I was serious when I said I want to take care of you.” He glanced at the bag. “And I figure the baby will be eating most of them.”
“That’s a really good excuse to pig out.”
He shrugged. “If you can’t do it now, when can you? Anyway, they’re calorie free.” He winked. “I made them myself so I can guarantee it.”
Her fingers tightened around the rolled up rim of the bag. “You made these?” She wasn’t sure why that made her throat feel tight.
“Yeah. Is that okay?” He frowned. “It’s not weird, is it?”
She shook her head quickly. “No. Not weird at all. It’s lovely.” Her voice was thick. “Thank you.”
He was overwhelming. Not just physically – though that was bad enough. It was as though he hit every sense she had without even thinking about it. He smelled good, dammit, and that wasn’t something she was used to on a farm. As for him baking for her, she wasn’t sure what to do with that thought.
“We should go,” he said, inclining his head at the car. “Make sure we’re there on time.”
She nodded rapidly. “Sure. Let me put these in the kitchen and I’ll be ready.” Flashing him a smile, she turned and walked back through the living area, glad he couldn’t see her expression.
She blew out a mouthful of air. She needed to pull herself together. By the time she turned back to where he was standing in the doorway, she had a bright smile on her face.
The appointment would take an hour at the most. Then he’d be back on a plane to Boston, and she’d be here on the farm.
“Okay,” she said, the smile unwavering. “Let’s go do this thing.”
He stepped aside as she pulled the front door closed, then walked her to the car, opening up the passenger door and helping her inside.
“I’m ready if you are,” he told her.
“Well, you’re definitely pregnant,” Alice Dean, the midwife said, holding the test results up, as she sat down at the desk in front of Courtney and Logan. “And your last period was some time in mid September, right?”
Logan glanced at Courtney from the corner of his eye. Her cheeks were flushed as she nodded.
“I think so,” she said. “Though I had some light bleeding in October. I didn’t think anything of it until I missed the next one. But now I remember it only lasting a day. I was too busy with everything to notice something was wrong.”
“A lot of women get spotting at first. It’s perfectly normal. And your HCG levels are good, so there aren’t any concerns there.” The midwife made a note in Courtney’s file. “Now, we’re a little different to some other maternity units. You’ll see Dr. Matthews regularly, but you’ll also see me. And I’ll be there at the birth, too. We like to make it as homely as possible. It makes everything easier.”
Courtney nodded. “I’ve played midwife to a lot of sheep and pigs.”
Alice grinned. “Then you know what’s ahead of you. That’s good.”
“As long as I don’t have a litter of ten, I’ll be happy.”
Logan swallowed
