Maya Banks - Softly at Sunrise

“That’s one way to put it,” Ethan murmured.

The doctor leaned against the exam table as he studied her chart.

“You’ve had one previous miscarriage, is that correct?”

Rachel nodded, refusing to allow anything to dampen her euphoria.

“Miscarriages are a lot more common than most people realize,” the doctor continued. “There’s no obvious reason why you won’t be able to have a perfectly normal pregnancy and deliver two healthy, squalling babies.”

She grinned at the image, and Ethan reached over to squeeze her hand.

“You automatically go into the high-risk category, as anyone pregnant with multiples does,” he said matter-of-factly. “That doesn’t mean anything more than you’ll need to take extra care to rest. Take it easy. Don’t try to lift anything heavy. Don’t overdo it. Moderate exercise is fine. Nothing too strenuous. Make sure you’re eating enough. If the old adage eating for two is correct, then realize you’re eating for three.”

He chuckled as he said the last.

“For now I’ll see you once a month, and later I’ll want to see you every two weeks. We’ll watch you a lot more closely, and we’ll monitor the babies as it gets closer to your due date. In some cases, it becomes necessary to take the babies before the normal gestational period is up, but there are more full-term sets of twins being born all the time. It really depends on mother and babies. But we’ll cross that bridge when we get there. For now go home, celebrate, take it easy, and I’ll see you back here in four weeks. If you have any problems or questions, don’t hesitate to call me.”

“Thank you,” Ethan said, extending his hand.

The doctor smiled and shook Ethan’s hand and then took Rachel’s. “Congratulations to the both of you.”

“Thank you,” Rachel murmured, echoing Ethan’s words.

The doctor disappeared, leaving the two alone in the exam room. As Rachel rose from the chair, the nurse bustled in with an appointment card and a prescription for prenatal vitamins.

“We’ll want to redo labs when you come in next month just to make sure your HCG levels are where they should be. Nothing to worry about. Just routine stuff.”

“Thank you,” Rachel said.

The nurse smiled and backed from the room then gestured for Ethan and Rachel to go ahead of her.

Rachel walked through the waiting room, numb, somewhere between shock and utter elation. She still couldn’t take it all in.

“Are you going to be okay to drive?” Ethan asked, a frown covering his face.

She blinked, remembering that they’d taken separate vehicles to the clinic. She shook off some of the fog surrounding her and then nodded.

“I’ll be fine. I’ll follow you. No sense leaving my car here.”

He pulled her into his arms and gave her a long, sweet kiss.

“Twins. I still can’t believe it.”

She shook her head ruefully. “Neither can I. Oh my God. You realize I’ll start showing soon. Like any time. I can’t believe I’m already twelve weeks. With two in there, I’ll pop out like a beach ball.”

“You’ll be the most adorable, gorgeous pregnant woman ever,” Ethan said, a warm glint to his eyes.

“Oh, Ethan. I can’t even take it all in. I feel like someone’s going to pinch me any minute and I’ll wake up and this will all have been a dream. This has been the most wonderful week. We moved into our new home. I started back teaching. And now we’re having two babies instead of one.”

His expression became totally serious. He reached up to touch her face, stroking down the curve of her cheekbone with a whisper-soft caress.

“Every single day with you is a dream I always fear I’ll awaken from. You’re a gift, Rachel. You and the babies are the most treasured gift I’ve ever been given. I don’t deserve it, but by God I’m going to cherish it for the rest of my life.”

Rachel stood outside her old house, keys in hand, staring at the place she’d called home for her entire married life to Ethan.

The realtor had just left, and a brand new “for sale” sign was now mounted in her front yard.

She examined her feelings for some sign of regret. Sadness. Nostalgia even. But the only thing she could put her finger on was…relief.

Now that she was pregnant, her relief was compounded by the fact that she wouldn’t bring her babies home to a place that still held so much darkness for Rachel.

She took a deep breath and made the effort to let go. Of the past. The memories. The hurt. And the sadness. There was so much joy to replace the sorrows of yesterday. A new house. Precious babies nestled in her womb. A husband and a family who loved her dearly.

She closed her eyes and let the crispness of the fall winds blow over her face. The scratch of leaves on the concrete walkway and the faint smell of smoke in the distance brought home the changing season.

Change was in the air.

Changing seasons. Changing lives. All for the better.

The sound of a car crunching over the gravel drive diverted her from her reverie and turned her around, her brows drawn together as she looked to see who was approaching.

It was her sister-in-law Sophie’s SUV, but when it stopped, Sarah and Shea hopped out as Sophie got from behind the wheel.

“What are you guys doing here?” Rachel asked in bewilderment.

“We’re kidnapping you for dinner,” Shea said smugly.

Sarah smiled and nodded. “Yep. That’s exactly what we’re doing. Thought we’d go over to Big Sandy and eat at the Feed and Grain Mill.”

“Oh yum. You guys totally know my weakness.”

“Thought you could use some girl time about now,” Sophie said in a gentle voice. “A lot has been going on with you lately.”

“That sounds absolutely perfect,” Rachel said, warmed by the friendship in each of their eyes.

She turned one last time and stared at the empty shell of a house. It had no power over her any longer. She was free of it and the memories it housed. She could let go now and focus on the future.

“Why don’t we follow you to the new house so you can drop off your car, and then we’ll all ride together in my SUV,” Sophie suggested.

“Sounds like a plan,” Rachel said.

“I’ll ride over with Rachel,” Shea volunteered. “We’ll see you guys in a minute.”

Shea climbed into the passenger seat of Rachel’s Honda Accord while Rachel slid behind the wheel.

“Is Sam keeping Charlotte tonight?” Rachel asked as they pulled away.

Shea chuckled. “He and Nathan are both on babysitting duty. It’ll be interesting to see if Sophie’s phone starts blowing up in an hour.”

“Speaking of, can you grab my cell and send Ethan a text telling him what we’re doing? It’ll save time if I don’t go in and explain.”

“Sure.”

Shea picked up Rachel’s phone and brought up Ethan in the text messages and promptly froze.

“Uh, Rachel?”

“Hmm?” Rachel made a questioning sound, not looking away from the road as she turned out of the neighborhood and onto the highway.

“Look, I wasn’t prying or anything. It’s kind of right here and impossible to miss.”

Rachel went still. “Oh crap. I completely forgot. I wasn’t even thinking.”

“Does that mean you are pregnant?” Shea asked hesitantly.

Rachel sighed. “Yeah, I am.”

Shea sent her a dubious look. “You don’t sound happy about it.”

Rachel lit up with a smile. Not happy? Never in a million years.

“I’m over the moon,” she said softly. “We both are. I just hadn’t planned to tell you or anyone else this way. We only just found out. It was quite a shock. When I first suspected, I wanted to wait until after the first trimester in case…”