The Pregnancy Plan

by Brenda Harlen

  She pushed back her chair, stood up. “Anyway, that’s what I wanted to tell you.”

  He stood up, too, and followed her down the hall. He didn’t want to let her go, not with so much still unresolved between them. But he sensed that they both needed some time to assimilate everything before they moved forward, and he was determined to do better than an impulsive angry proposal the next time he asked Ashley to be his wife.

  She paused at the door. “You once asked me if I believed in second chances.”

  He nodded. “I remember.”

  “Apparently I do believe in them after all.”

  “And third chances?” he prompted.

  She smiled. “Maybe it’s not the number of chances that matters as much as finally getting it right.”

  And as he watched her walk home, he was determined to ensure that this time they would get it right.

  On Saturday, Maddie called Ashley to invite her to come over to for a movie marathon of Shrek, Shrek Two and Shrek The Third—her all-time favorite movies. Ashley wasn’t sure what to make of the fact that the invitation had come from Cam’s daughter instead of Cam, but she’d missed them both so much that she didn’t hesitate.

  They snuggled on the couch—Maddie tucked between her dad and Ashley—and ate popcorn and drank fruit punch. By the time the credits were rolling at the end of the second movie, Maddie was struggling to keep her eyes open.

  “And now I think it’s time for someone to brush her teeth and go to bed,” Cam said, lifting his daughter up onto his shoulders and carting her toward the stairs.

  “What about the third movie?”

  “We can watch that one tomorrow,” he promised her.

  “And story time?” Maddie asked, not willing to relinquish that part of her bedtime routine despite her obvious fatigue.

  “A short story,” her dad agreed.

  “Can Ashley tell me a story tonight?” Maddie turned to look beseechingly in Ashley’s direction.

  “Actually,” Cam interrupted, “I had a story in mind for tonight.”

  Madeline frowned. “You only read stories from books.”

  “That’s usually true,” he admitted. “But I’ve been working on one that I thought you might like to hear.”

  “A made-up story? Is it any good?”

  Cam’s smile was wry. “I’ll let you and Ashley be the judges of that.”

  So Ashley lowered herself onto the floor beside Maddie’s bed while the little girl snuggled down under her covers.

  “Once upon a time, in a land far, far away…”

  Cam began his story in traditional fashion and proceeded to spin a fantastical tale about a beautiful princess who had fallen in love at a very young age with a handsome prince. And though the prince loved her, too, he had been given the gift of a magical sword and he wanted to travel the world and slay dragons, because he believed his desires and ambitions were far more important than a girl who had nothing to offer but all of the love in her heart.

  “So the prince said goodbye to the princess and set out with his magic sword. And over the next twelve years, he slew more dragons than he’d ever imagined one man could slay, and he met many people and made many friends, but still there was an empty place in his heart. One of his friends was a very wise old man named Linus.”

  “Linus?” Maddie wrinkled her nose.

  Cam scowled at the interruption. “What’s wrong with Linus?”

  “A fairy tale needs a fairy,” she told him. “Preferably one with sparkly wings.”

  “Who’s telling this story?”

  “You are, Daddy, but—”

  “One of those friends,” he said again, “was a fairy named Linus—”

  Maddie giggled.

  “—who said to the prince, ‘You have wealth and fame beyond your wildest dreams, but there is no love in your life.’”

  “‘That’s not true,’ the prince denied. ‘I love Oscar, my loyal pet monkey, and I love all of my friends, and I especially love strawberry sundaes.’

  “The sparkle-winged fairy shook his head. ‘There is a different kind of love—the kind that a man feels for the woman who is his soul mate, the one who will stand by him and grow old with him—as he will stand by and grow old with her—until the stars fall from the sky. Have you never experienced this kind of love?’

  “The prince was silent for a minute, remembering.

  “‘Once,’ he finally said. ‘A very long time ago.’

  “‘And did she love you?’ Linus asked.

  “‘She said she did,’ he recalled. ‘But I thought she was too young to know what was in her heart, and I was too young to trust in my own.’

  “‘You are older now,’ his friend pointed out.

  “And so the prince strapped on his sword, tucked his monkey under his arm, and turned toward home. When he finally arrived back in the village, he was amazed to find that his feelings for the princess were even stronger now than they’d been so many years before.

  “So the prince got down on one knee,” Cam continued the story, but he was looking at Ashley while he spoke, and the intensity of his gaze stole all of the breath from her lungs. “And he took the princess’s hand in his, vowed to love her forever and ever, and finally asked if she would do him the honor of becoming his bride.”

  “What did she say?” Madeline demanded when he fell silent again. “Did the princess agree to marry him?”

  “What do you think?” Cam asked Ashley. “Would she accept his proposal?”

  He wasn’t asking about the fictional story, he was asking about their future. He was laying it all on the line right here in front of his daughter, showing that Maddie was part of the package that included his heart, his family, their future.

  She had to swallow before she could speak, but then she assured him, “I think, if the prince really did love the princess enough to actually ask the question, she would most likely say yes.”

  “And then they would live happily-ever-after,” Madeline announced.

  “And then they would live happily-ever-after,” her father agreed.

  Maddie beamed. “That was a really good story.”

  “I’m glad you liked it,” Cam told her.

  “Will you tell me about Oscar tomorrow night?”

  “Oscar?” He looked at her blankly.

  “A pet monkey named Oscar should really have a story of his own.”

  “I’ll have to think on that,” Cam said, and kissed his daughter—first one cheek, then the other, then the tip of her nose.

  Maddie giggled. “’Night, Daddy.”

  “Go straight to sleep now.”

  “Wait.”

  He paused.

  “Can I have a drink of water? Please?”

  “Didn’t you have a drink before you got into bed?”

  She nodded. “But I’m thirsty again.”

  “A quick drink,” he reluctantly agreed. “Then no more stalling.”

  While Cam went to get her drink, Ashley pulled the covers up under Maddie’s chin.

  “Are you going to say yes?” Maddie whispered the question.

  Ashley lowered herself onto the edge of the mattress. “Yes to what?” she asked cautiously.

  The little girl rolled her eyes. “Didn’t you pay any attention to his story?”

  She couldn’t help but smile at the indignant tone. “Yes, I paid attention to his story.”

  “Well, he’s the prince,” Maddie said, as if it was something Ashley should have figured out for herself. “And you’re the princess. And if he loves you and you love him, then you should get married.”

  If only life was as simple as a fairy tale and happy endings were guaranteed, Ashley thought. But she’d learned long ago that there were no guarantees in life, and only more recently acknowledged that she was responsible for her own happiness.

  And tonight she’d finally accepted that her greatest chance for happily-ever-after was with Cam, his little girl, their baby and the life they could build tog
ether.

  “Would it be okay with you if we got married?”

  Maddie’s head bobbed enthusiastically. “Then you could be my new mommy.”

  “You have a mommy,” Ashley felt compelled to remind her. Even if Danica had never been comfortable in that role, she was still the woman who had given birth to this amazing little girl and deserved to be acknowledged as her mother.

  Maddie nodded again, with less enthusiasm this time. “But she’s only a sometimes mommy, and I need an every day mommy like Victoria has.”

  “I kind of like the idea of being an every day mommy.” She hugged the little girl, and though she knew she would have a baby of her own to cuddle in a few months, there was no doubt that Cam’s firstborn would always hold a very special place in her heart.

  When Cam came back into the room with a cup of water, Maddie took two tiny sips, then handed it back again.

  “That’s all you wanted?” he asked suspiciously.

  She nodded.

  He shook his head as he set the cup on the dresser. “Straight to sleep now.”

  She nodded again.

  He turned out the light and led Ashley down the stairs and into the living room. Now that they were alone again, she worried that the awkwardness that had characterized their relationship of late might return, but then he took her in his arms, and she didn’t feel awkward at all. She felt as if she was finally where she belonged.

  “So,” he said, pulling her into his arms. “What did you think of story time?”

  She thought it was the most wonderful fairy tale she’d ever heard, but she wasn’t quite ready to admit as much.

  “Creative,” she said. “But the magic sword? Talk about obviously and pathetically phallic.”

  “A dragon slayer needs a sword,” he insisted, and tugged her down onto the couch beside him. “But if you think you could do better, you can help me with Oscar’s adventures.”

  She shook her head. “His story line is entirely yours.”

  He shifted so that he was facing her, and stroked a finger gently down her cheek. “Actually, I was hoping we could work on it together. Maybe collaborate, over the next fifty or sixty years or more.”

  Her heart started pounding faster again. “That’s a long-term collaboration,” she warned.

  “I figure it will take a while to get to the ever-after part.”

  “Is that your idea of a proposal?” she challenged.

  “What do you think?”

  As much as she wanted to throw her arms around him and say yes a thousand times, she worried that giving in too soon would set a dangerous precedent for the next fifty or sixty years. She might finally be ready to admit that she loved him, but she didn’t want to give him the impression that she was easy. Instead, she said, “I think you should stick to playing doctor.”

  He shifted closer, touched his lips lightly to hers. “Where did I screw up?”

  “You skipped over the most important stuff,” she told him.

  He smiled. “You mean the stuff where I tell you how much I love you, have always loved you, and will always love you?”

  “Yeah, that stuff.”

  “Okay,” he said solemnly. “I love you Ashley Roarke, have always loved you and will always love you—until the stars fall from the sky.”

  “Ooh, that part about the stars…nice touch.”

  “Thanks.” He took her hands, linked their fingers together. “Now would be a good time to tell me that you love me, too.”

  “I do love you,” she admitted. “I always have and always will—until the stars fall from the sky.”

  He smiled. “So what do you say—will you marry me?”

  “Will you slay dragons for me?” she asked him.

  “Absolutely.”

  “Do I get to see the magic sword?”

  “Honey, if you marry me, the magic sword is yours.”

  She leaned forward and touched her lips to his. “How could any girl refuse an offer like that?”

  Epilogue

  The night before Ashley and Cameron’s wedding, an unexpected snowstorm blew through Pinehurst.

  Being as it was the first Saturday in April, the bride had been prepared for rain—she hadn’t anticipated snow. But even when she awoke to find the entire town buried beneath almost eight inches of fluffy white stuff, she wasn’t concerned. She and Cameron had overcome much bigger obstacles to get to this point in their lives, and she knew that her husband-to-be wouldn’t let anything get in the way of the ceremony, which was scheduled to take place later that morning.

  Her mother wasn’t quite so unruffled.

  “It’s April,” Lillian Rolland fumed, stomping the snow off of her shoes inside the door. “There isn’t supposed to be snow in April, and especially not on your wedding day.”

  Megan, who had managed to arrive even before the snowplows had been down the street, rolled her eyes behind their mother’s back.

  “You can’t schedule the weather,” Paige, who had driven in from Syracuse the day before, said philosophically.

  “But I arranged for a horse-drawn carriage to take the bridal party to the church,” Lillian reminded them.

  She may have only had a few months to plan the wedding, but she hadn’t overlooked any details. Since Megan had tied the knot with little notice and even less preparation at City Hall, Lillian had been determined to ensure that at least one of her daughters had a proper wedding, and she’d dragged her new husband away from their home in Europe and thrown herself into the preparations.

  “If we can’t have four horses, at least we have four-wheel drive,” Ashley told her mother now.

  “But I wanted to ride with the horses,” Maddie chimed in.

  Lillian brushed a hand affectionately over the child’s hair. “At least someone here appreciates the details.”

  “Come on, Maddie,” Paige steered the little girl toward the stairs and away from the battle she sensed was brewing. “Let’s get you dressed.”

  “I appreciate everything you’ve done,” Ashley assured her mother. “And I know that, because of all your careful planning, my wedding day is going to be wonderful. I just don’t think anything—not my dress or flowers and especially not the weather—matters as much as finally marrying the man I love.”

  Her mother sighed. “You’re right. Of course, you’re right. I just wanted everything to be perfect for you.”

  “Everything will be,” Ashley said, because she knew that being with Cam would make it true.

  An hour and a half later, two horse-drawn sleighs glided to a halt in front of the Holy Trinity Church.

  “It was just like riding in a fairy tale!” Maddie exclaimed.

  “Personally, I would have much preferred a heated limo,” Paige confided to Megan, as they followed the skipping child up the wide stone steps—which had been carefully shoveled clean and salted—toward the front doors.

  Her cousin pulled her shawl more tightly around her shoulders. “Well, if we had to freeze our butts off, at least we did so in style.”

  As Ashley lifted her skirt to follow the others, she could barely feel her toes inside her satin pumps, but she didn’t complain. Not just because she didn’t want to offend her mother after she’d gone to such efforts to amend the transportation arrangements, but because she knew that Cam was waiting for her inside the church and that knowledge was enough to warm everything inside of her.

  When the music began, Paige gave Ashley a quick hug—careful not to crush her flowers—before she started up the aisle. Megan went next, whispering, “Be happy,” with a smile that assured her sister she knew she would be before she followed her cousin’s path. Then it was Maddie’s turn, and several guests would later remark that the little girl’s smile was almost as radiant as the bride’s.

  For Maddie, this was the happiest day of her life, though she couldn’t decide if it was because it was her daddy and Ashley’s wedding day, or because she was getting a baby sister (she refused to consider that the baby might
be a boy), or because she was going to Florida with Grandma and Grandpa for her spring break while the newlyweds went on their honeymoon.

  It was the happiest day of Ashley’s life, too, but she knew exactly why. Because she was finally married to the man she’d always loved. Because Cam and Maddie were now part of the family she’d always wanted.

  And because her happily-ever-after was just beginning.

  ISBN: 978-1-4268-5215-2

  THE PREGNANCY PLAN

  Copyright © 2010 by Brenda Harlen

  All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the editorial office, Silhouette Books, 233 Broadway, New York, NY 10279 U.S.A.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

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  *Family Business

  †Logan’s Legacy Revisited

  **Reigning Men

  **Reigning Men

  ††Back in Business

  **Reigning Men

  ‡The Foleys and the McCords

  ‡‡Brides & Babies