by Annie Rains
Joey stepped out of his way. “Want me to drive you? My cab is fixed.”
Noah tossed a hurried glance over his shoulder. “No. I got this.” Then he hopped in his Jeep and drove to Krista’s with a hurricane of emotion tearing through him. Every emotion: love, joy, worry, fear. Not the kind of fear that made him want to bolt. This was the kind that made him want to be stronger, tougher. The kind that he wanted to stare straight in the face, like a challenge.
Was he going to be a father?
—
Today had been an awful, wonderful, confusing day.
Krista stared at the stick she’d peed on this afternoon. Abby had left and Krista had spent the next couple of hours crying. She wasn’t sure why she was crying. Bringing a child into the world as a single mom would be hard on her and the baby. A lot of women did it, but it wasn’t ideal for Krista’s life right now. It wasn’t good timing, so it was for the best that the stick had read negative. And to top the pregnancy test off, Krista had gotten a voicemail from Karen, telling her she’d recommended Krista for the head nurse promotion. And crap, Krista wasn’t sure she even wanted the job anymore. Working with patients was her passion, not putting out fires and doing even more paperwork.
Nothing in Krista’s life made sense anymore.
Her phone dinged on the counter. Krista blew into a Kleenex and reached for it. It showed an incoming text from Grace, who was still at the Sawyer cabin on her honeymoon.
Brief moment of reception at the cabin! Grace’s text read. How are you?
Krista sniffled. She didn’t want to concern Grace with her messy life while she was on her honeymoon. They could discuss all of Krista’s troubles over coffee and muffins at the café next week.
I’m fine. How are you? she texted back.
An emoji of a smiley face with huge heart-shaped eyes popped onscreen and Krista laughed out loud.
We love the toys you left us. We’ve been exploring new things in the bedroom.
Krista grinned even though her eyes were sore and swollen from crying. Jack probably doesn’t want you telling me this, she typed back.
LOL. Just don’t tell Noah, Grace texted. Grace still didn’t know that Krista and Noah had broken up. She could tell her that later.
I won’t. I promise.
They texted a little more and then Grace’s reception seemed to drop. Krista was just about to turn on the TV and look for a sappy Hallmark movie to lighten her mood when her doorbell rang. Joey wasn’t home so she had to get it. And, gah, she probably looked awful.
Dragging herself to the door, she sniffled and slid her hands over her hair to at least tame the pieces that were sticking up. She turned the doorknob and the first thing she saw when she opened the door was a huge arrangement of multicolored flowers. There must have been a hundred stuffed into a large, pale blue vase. Below the arrangement, she saw a man’s body. Tall and built. The jeans he wore hugged his waist so perfectly. She’d know that body anywhere. Her heart ballooned in her chest.
“Noah, what are you doing here?” she asked, her voice coming out tired. Mixed emotions warred inside her. She wanted to see him, but she needed distance. How was she ever going to move on with him standing in front of her with flowers?
“I came to see you.” He held the arrangement to the side so she could see his face. He was beaming. Smiling. “Can I come in?”
Against her better judgment, she stepped back and nodded. He walked inside and placed the flowers down on the coffee table. “Are those for me?”
Noah walked to her and cupped his hands on her elbows as she folded her arms under her chest, striking a defensive pose. She couldn’t do this anymore. She couldn’t see him and not want to be with him. If she wanted to move on, she’d have to actually move away from Blushing Bay. And maybe that was for the best. She could get a nursing job somewhere else.
“Krista, I came here to tell you something.” His speech was pressured and excited. “I have so, so many things to tell you.” He laughed out loud. “I caught Mitsy today!”
A fish? This is about a freaking fish? “Okay,” she said, pulling her arms tighter against her body and stepping back.
“I let her go.”
“What? Why would you do that? You’ve been trying to catch that tuna for years.”
“No. I’ve been trying to catch something that I thought would make me happy for years. But I already had that something. It was you. You make me happy. You make me want to be a better man. A good man. The kind of man that you aren’t afraid to love. The kind that is solid and stable, as unmoving as a mountain.” He was talking so fast, so excitedly. “I can be that man for you, Krista. No.” He shook his head. “I already am that. With you. With you, I don’t want to go anywhere else. I’m rooted with you.”
Krista’s brow furrowed. Those pesky tears that had been hounding all day returned behind her eyes. “What are you saying?”
“Krista, I bought a house.”
“What?”
“A real house with a yard and a little pier in the backyard. Any kid would love to play out there. I can teach them to fish off the pier the same way I taught Adam. And I can’t wait. I can’t wait to teach our kid to fish.”
“Our kid?” She was trembling now and definitely crying. Tears streamed down her cheeks, melting over her shaky lips. “Noah, what are you talking about?”
“I love you, Krista Nelson. I have always loved you and only you. The only thing that ever scared me was losing you. I want to marry you, Krista. I want to share that house with you. And I want to make a family with you, whether that starts today or tomorrow or a decade from now. It’s you. It’s always been you.”
“Noah.” She shook her head. She had no idea what to say.
“Joey told me about the test.”
Krista swallowed. She couldn’t speak for a long moment. “Oh. I see. Noah, you need to know that I’m not…we’re not pregnant.” Fresh pain radiated through her. The disappointment hit her like a crashing wave.
Noah looked regretful for a moment, but his smile was steadfast. “That just means more practice in baby-making for us.”
She sucked in a breath. “Are you crazy?”
“Crazy in love with you. Krista, you were right about me the other day. I was scared about the possibility of us being pregnant. Not because I don’t want to be. Being a father is a huge step, but I’m ready. I’m all-in if it’s with you.”
She swallowed thickly. “Really?”
“Really.” He reached inside his pocket and held up her golden fishhook charm, and her knees nearly buckled when she saw it.
“Oh, my God! You found it!”
He grinned back at her, his soft dimples denting his cheeks and reminding her of the boy he’d once been. The one who’d first given it to her. The one she’d fallen in love with so many years ago. There was no question that he’d grown into a man now. Her man.
“I don’t have a ring, Krista, not yet, so this will have to serve as my symbol of commitment and love to you right now.”
He dropped to his knees in front of her and Krista’s entire body started shaking so hard she could barely stand. Her hands flew to her mouth. This was the very last thing she’d expected.
“Krista Nelson, I love you more than fishing, more than sunny days on the water in Blushing Bay, more than life itself. I want you back as my best friend. I need you back. And I want you to be my wife more than anything else. Krista, will you wear this ugly, lucky fishhook around your neck and make me the luckiest man on earth?”
Krista laughed as tears wet her already tear-soaked cheeks. These were happy tears. “I love you, too, Noah. I always have and I’m pretty sure I always will.”
He lifted a brow. “So your answer is…?”
“Yes. Of course.”
He rose back to his feet and pulled her in, stealing a kiss that she offered freely, sealing their love and their promise of forever.
Epilogue
One year. In one year, life had completely turne
d one-hundred-and-eighty degrees. That’s how fast things could change.
Krista walked out to the front porch of her and Noah’s cabin-style ranch home in Blushing Bay and sat on the swing. A smile lifted her cheeks. She felt light, despite her swollen feet and stomach. So light that she thought she might ride the swing up and fly away into the clouds.
Last Thanksgiving, she and Noah had been falling in love. And then breaking up. And then promising each other forever. Her heart soared as she fanned her fingers and looked at the diamond Noah had given her last Christmas. Neither of them had been able to wait, so they’d gotten their marriage license the next day and gone to the justice of the peace with just a handful of friends and family. Grace had been her maid of honor, naturally. Jack had been Noah’s. They hadn’t needed anything huge and fancy. They already had what they needed: each other. Then they’d spent two weeks at the Sawyer cabin and come home here, to their home together. It was a good thing that Krista had turned down the head nurse position. Her life had gotten crazy in the best kind of way since she and Noah had moved from best friends to so much more. Being a doting nurse, new wife, expectant mother, and taking the lead on the caregiver support group at the hospital, Krista didn’t have time to be a supervisor. Nor did she want to, she’d realized.
The front door opened and Noah stepped out holding two mugs of hot tea. Hers was decaf. He sat down alongside her.
“Happy Thanksgiving,” he said, first to her and then he tipped his head and said it to her stomach. She placed a hand there to rub the swell of their child inside her. “I am so thankful for what we have.”
“Me, too.” She beamed at him.
“Do you think the baby will wait to make an appearance until after I fill my belly with all of your mom’s good cooking?” he asked.
Krista laughed. “I hope so. Although I’d trade turkey and stuffing to meet this little guy or girl today.”
Noah smiled, then dipped in to kiss her lips. “Me, too. He or she wins out over pecan pie.”
“And pumpkin pie.” Her mouth salivated. In response the baby kicked in her belly.
Keeping his hand there, Noah leaned in, kissed her mouth, slow and deep, making her crave something entirely different than the Thanksgiving feast they were heading to her parents’ house to have.
A warmness moved through her lower half. It took a moment to realize what it was. “I think…my water just broke.”
Noah pulled away and looked down. “Your water broke! Your water broke!” He jumped off the swing. “We’re going to have a Thanksgiving baby!”
Krista laughed, even though fear suddenly gripped her chest. Fear and excitement. Her cellphone rang and Grace’s name lit up the screen. She answered, “My water broke! Noah and I are heading to the hospital!”
Grace squealed on the other end of the line. “Jack and I are already here! My contractions are five minutes apart.” She groaned. “Sorry,” she said after a minute. “That was a big one. Come on! Let’s have our babies today!” They’d joked about the possibility of going into labor together, but since their due dates were two weeks apart, neither had thought it would really happen.
“On my way!” Krista ended her call and reached for Noah’s hand. She shifted uncomfortably as her feet found the ground. Noah wrapped an arm around her and helped her to the Jeep, then he ran back to get their overnight bags.
“What are you waiting for?” she asked when he was in the driver’s seat beside her.
He looked over. “Everything is about to change again.”
Krista swallowed. Was he having second thoughts? It was a little late now.
“Every time things change, it just keeps getting better and better.” His eyes glistened. “Life with you keeps getting better and better. I don’t know what I did to deserve this, but I’m happy. And thankful. I love you, Krista Nelson Sawyer,” he whispered.
“I love you, too,” she whispered back, then moaned as a contraction twisted her belly. “Now take me to the hospital or lose me forever,” she threatened.
“On my way. Because I never want to lose you again.”
For my lovely mother-in-law and friend, Annette. Thank you for everything, including my wonderful husband.
Acknowledgments
There are so many people to thank for helping me write this book. So many who have offered advice, given me inspiration, and helped me actually find the time to write.
Thank you, Sonny, for always being my sounding board when I’m stuck in a plot. And for being my bottomless well of inspiration when it comes to what a true hero looks like. Thank you to my kids for understanding and respecting my work time. I would also like to thank my lovely mother-in-law, Annette, for your support in this endeavor and for always reading my books. That means the world to me.
A HUGE thank you to my agent, Sarah Younger, for your guidance in all things writing.
Thank you to Junessa. Every time I send you a book, I worry that you’re going to finally realize that I have no idea what I’m doing in author-land. Instead, you always send the most positive, reassuring feedback. Thank you for loving my stories and making them a hundred times stronger. I would also like to thank the entire Loveswept/Random House team. I am so honored to work with such an amazing group of professionals.
To my GirlsNightWrite ladies: Sidney Halston, Rachel Lacey, Tif Marcelo, and April Hunt! I love you all! You guys amaze and inspire me always.
To my critique partner and lovely friend, Rachel Lacey. I couldn’t do this without you. Nor would I ever want to.
To April Hunt for offering up your nursing knowledge for this one. You’re the best!
As always, I would also like to thank my readers. I am so honored and humbled that anyone would spend their time reading what I’ve written and falling in love with my characters. Thank you so much for your support. I love reading all your responses on social media. Thank you for your reviews and your recommendations to other readers as well. I could never do this without you. From the bottom of my heart, thank you.
Lastly, but truly first on this list of acknowledgments, my thanks goes to the Lord.
BY ANNIE RAINS
A Hero’s Welcome
Welcome to Forever
Welcome Home, Cowboy
Welcoming the Bad Boy
Welcome Home for Christmas
Blushing Bay
Forbidden Kisses
Stolen Kisses
PHOTO: SARAH SAVAGE PHOTOGRAPHY
Annie Rains is a contemporary romance author who writes small-town love stories set in fictional towns on the coast of North Carolina. Raised in one of America’s largest military communities, Annie often features heroes who fight for their country, while also fighting for a place to call home and a good woman to love. When Annie isn’t writing, she’s spending time with her husband and three children, or reading a book by one of her favorite authors.
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