“They took the ovary and tube, of course.”
He nodded. “No choice.”
“I know,” she said, feeling weepy. “I know we always say it shouldn’t impact fertility, but—”
“Not a problem.”
“I know that’s the party line, but—”
“Listen to me, Markowitz: not a problem.”
She looked at him, focused all of her concentration on his beautiful blue eyes, the look of joy radiating from them, and she knew.
“We’re pregnant?”
His smile could light up the entire state of Maine and have enough power left over for Vermont and New Hampshire. “How does late February sound to you?”
“But what about the surgery? Is the baby in any danger?”
“Arnstein is a hell of a surgeon. He wants to keep you on bed rest for four weeks and then we can rest easy.”
“Something’s wrong? Is that why?”
“Nothing’s wrong. It’s known as preventive medicine. You should know all about that, Markowitz.” He sat down gingerly on the edge of the bed. “You asked for me.”
She couldn’t wipe the silly smile off her face. “Did I?”
“They asked you for the name of a family member and you gave mine.”
“I was delirious.”
“You called out for me in the ambulance.”
“They had me on painkillers.”
If her smile grew any wider, she’d need an extra room for it.
“You told me you loved me.”
“No, I didn’t,” she said softly, “but I’m telling you now.”
He brushed a curl away from her cheek and drew in a deep breath. “I love you, Markowitz. I’ve spent my life looking for you. I wish you hadn’t taken so long to get here.” He reached deep into the pocket of his lab coat and pulled out a small box. “There’s probably a more romantic way to do this, but life is too short to wait another second.”
Her breath caught as he dropped to his knee next to the bed and removed the ring from the box.
“We have the house, the dog, and the baby on the way. All that’s left is to stand up in front of our friends and make it legal.”
“This time it’s going to be forever,” she warned him. “I love you too much for anything less.”
“Will you marry me, Ellen O’Brien Markowitz? Will you take a chance on forever with me?”
She placed his hand on her belly and met his eyes. “I already have,” she said.
Chapter Thirty-one
“Willa! Mariah!” Ellen leaned over the deck railing and motioned to the two little girls. “It’s time!”
“Five more minutes,” Mariah begged as she danced around Stanley, who was on his best behavior.
“Please!” Willa added. “Stanley’s doing his best tricks for us.”
“Everyone’s waiting for us,” Ellen called out. “The wedding’s about to start!”
Deirdre joined her on the deck. She looked lovely in a floaty dress the color of sea foam shot through with stars. “Having second thoughts?” she teased.
“Only that it took me so long to find him.”
Deirdre gave her a hug. “I’m so happy for you.”
“For all of us,” Ellen said. It had been touch-and-go for a while with her pregnancy, but she had passed the first trimester and all looked well for a healthy baby in late February. Those first months had been difficult, but she hadn’t faced them alone. Who would have guessed that family could manifest itself in so many different ways, each one of them as real and as important as the bonds forged in blood and bone?
Deirdre had canceled her job on the cruise ship and taken over caring for the house and Stanley while Ellen remained on total bed rest. Hall took over her half of the practice, working long days and nights, and spending every spare second of his time by her side. Mary Pat was a frequent visitor, with and without her husband and kids. Her solid, unruffled personality had been exactly what they needed to keep themselves grounded.
Cy and Nancy had stayed with her during her entire hospitalization. Cy was in his glory overseeing her care. Who would have guessed he would embrace impending grandfatherhood with such enthusiasm?
Since Billy’s death, she had learned so much about the forces that had shaped her life. Things she hadn’t understood before became clear. Sometimes the details were heartbreaking. The regrets would probably never leave her, but the bitterness had been replaced by love and understanding. Not a bad tradeoff at all.
Deirdre continued to struggle against the past. There had been no happy resolution for her, no letter from Billy or scrapbook of her accomplishments hidden away. Ellen would give anything to be able to ease her sister’s heartache, but only Billy could have done that. Now time would have to take care of the rest.
She and Scott the Mechanic were seeing each other. Deirdre said it was just a summer thing, but there was no denying the deep connection that seemed to exist between them. Once again, with Deirdre only time would tell.
“What on earth is taking you two so long? Maeve and Fiona are pushing ninety. Let’s get moving!” Mary Pat clattered across the deck in her brand-new Jimmy Choos. “So help me, if you don’t get out there right now, Ellen, I’ll marry him myself.”
“Not if I get there before you do,” Deirdre said.
Ellen looked down at her blossoming belly and laughed. “I think I have first claim on him.”
Mary Pat leaned over the railing. “Girls! Leave that dog alone and get in here NOW!”
Willa and Mariah kissed Stanley on the nose, then ran into the house.
“Wow,” said Ellen, shaking her head. “Looks like I have a lot to learn.”
“You will,” Mary Pat said. “You just need a little practice.”
“I’m feeling very left out,” Deirdre said. “I don’t even have Stanley anymore.”
Ellen draped an arm around her sister’s shoulders. Mary Pat took her hand.
“You did a great job,” Ellen said to her sisters. “The house looks wonderful.”
“A little paint, a few flowers.” Mary Pat grinned at Deirdre. “That’s all it takes.”
Their laughter rang out on the late summer air. The parlor had been transformed into a garden of flowers where Reverend Edwards and Rabbi Glassberg would perform the ceremony.
“Is everyone there?” Ellen asked.
“As far as I can see, the entire town showed up,” Mary Pat said. “I hope we have enough champagne and—”
“We’ll do fine,” Ellen said. “You’ve done a spectacular job on this wedding.”
“Did Susan show up?” Deirdre asked.
“The real estate agent?” Mary Pat asked. Deirdre nodded. “Yes. She brought her kids.”
“Jack came with Scott,” Deirdre said. “I guess they really did separate.”
Both Hall and Deirdre told her the story of Susan’s attempt at seduction, and it still made her terribly sad to think of Susan throwing away a twenty-year marriage while she went searching for the love she already had.
Mary Pat checked her watch. “Cy’s waiting upstairs to walk you down the aisle.” Or the front staircase, as it were. “He’s a good man. He loves you very much.”
She knew that now. All of the bits and pieces she had been too young to understand, too angry to hear, too lonely to pursue, finally made sense. Cy had thought he could bring enough love into his marriage for all of them, but life didn’t always work that way. Sharon had never been able to let Billy O’Brien’s memory go long enough to see the love that was waiting for her right in her own backyard. How difficult it must have been for him to be reminded of the man who owned his wife’s heart every time he looked into the eyes of Billy’s daughter.
“So here we are again,” Deirdre said as they linked arms to walk back to the house. “Who knew we’d have one more summer together?”
“I wouldn’t have missed it for anything,” Ellen said, her eyes misting over with tears.
“Don’t you dare cry,” Mary Pat war
ned her. “I’m not sure that mascara is waterproof. I told Shawna to—”
Deirdre groaned. “Mary Pat, so help me God, if you start bitching again I swear I’m going to...”
“—you’re supposed to play them in.... Shouldn’t you be at the harp—”
“... it isn’t like they can start without us, is it....”
The sound of her sisters bickering was better than Beethoven to Ellen, better than Mozart, better even than Deirdre’s glorious harp. It was the sound of family.
Good on you, Billy O’Brien, she thought as she hugged her sisters close. Those long ago summers had made this moment possible.
“Ellen!” Willa popped up at her side, a spun-sugar fairy in butter yellow. Mariah, Kate, and Lizzy weren’t far behind. “Grandpa Cy says if you don’t hurry up, you’ll have the baby on your honeymoon!”
“Daddy looks like he’s going to faint,” Lizzy said. “You’d better hurry.”
“Listen to your girls,” Mary Pat said with a wink for Deirdre. “They know what they’re talking about.”
And so did Ellen. They were talking about love. It was all that really mattered.
Hall and Ellen
announce with pride
the birth of their daughter
Emilie Sophia
on the twenty-fifth of February
six pounds four ounces
twenty-one inches long
and
absolutely perfect
More Titles by Barbara Bretton
The Crosse Island Harbor Time Travel Trilogy:
Somewhere in Time
Tomorrow & Always
Destiny's Child
The PAX Romantic Adventure Series
Playing for Time
Honeymoon Hotel
A Fine Madness
All We Know of Heaven - coming soon
The Sugar Maple Chronicles
Casting Spells
Laced with Magic
Spun by Sorcery
Charmed: A Sugar Maple Short Story
Spells & Stitches
Paradise Point New Jersey - women's fiction/romance
Shore Lights
Chances Are - coming soon
At Last
A Soft Place to Fall
Her Bad Boy Billionaire Lover
Bundle of Joy
The Edge of Forever
Second Harmony
I Do, I Do . . . Again
The Marrying Man
Mother Knows Best
Midnight Lover
Meet the A uthor
Barbara Bretton is the USA Today bestselling, award-winning author of more than 50 books. She currently has over ten million copies in print around the world. Her works have been translated into twelve languages in over twenty countries and she has received starred reviews from both Publishers Weekly and Booklist.
Barbara has been featured in articles in The New York Times, USA Today, Wall Street Journal, Romantic Times, Cleveland Plain Dealer, Herald News, Home News, Somerset Gazette, among others, and has been interviewed by the Independent Network News Television, appeared on the Susan Stamberg show on NPR, and been featured in an interview with Charles Osgood of WCBS, among others.
Her awards include both Reviewer's Choice and Career Achievement Awards from Romantic Times; a RITA nomination from RWA; Gold and Silver Certificates from Affaire de Coeur; the RWA Region 1 Golden Leaf; and several sales awards from Bookrak. Ms Bretton was included in a recent edition of Contemporary Authors.
Barbara cooks, knits, and writes in New Jersey with her husband.
How to contact Barbara:
Barbarabretton.com - website
Barbarabretton - Facebook, Twitter
Wickedsplitty - Ravelry
Barbarabretton AT gmail DOT com - email
Girls of Summer (Shelter Rock Cove - Book #2) Page 38