Mistletoe and Memories (Evergreen Hollow Christmas #4)

Chapter 12

CHAPTER TWELVE

Even though she knew she needed to get it together and tell Rhett about the baby, Caroline still hadn’t convinced herself to do it by the end of the week.

She couldn’t believe how completely in her own head she was about this. She’d always been a practical person, one who looked at a situation and handled it, who didn’t let her emotions get in the way of things. Maybe it was the hormones, she thought, but she was a mess about this. Every time she tried to think of what she was going to say to Rhett, she panicked. She felt like she was in way over her head, and the possibility of him being unhappy or upset about it, made her feel like she couldn’t get a single word out.

But her sisters had been right about one thing, she was going to have to tell him eventually. If she didn’t, he’d start noticing that she was behaving oddly, and worry about her. That made her feel guilty, because if he was going to worry about her, she wanted him to at least be worrying about what there was to really worry about, not some mysterious illness she might have picked up that had suddenly put her off all of her usual holiday treats and made her more tired than she’d ever previously been.

His long shifts at the fire station wouldn’t last forever, and business at the inn would slow down as the holidays wound down, and they’d be back to their normal routine of spending a lot more time together. He’d definitely notice that something was up then.

She just needed to get over her nerves and do it.

She kept turning that entire conversation over in her head, all the way to Spencer’s office. She’d opted to walk from the inn to the clinic that afternoon, wanting the fresh air and the exercise to clear her head, and hoping that maybe getting herself moving might help the nausea that was still plaguing her. She was more than ready for that part to be over. And Donovan had a prescription that needed to be picked up, so since it was a nice afternoon, the snowstorm not due to come in for a couple more days, she figured she would go get it and get a walk in at the same time.

The receptionist wasn’t at the front desk when she walked in. The clinic was empty, except for Spencer, who was standing behind the wooden-topped half-moon front desk as she stepped inside, looking at something that he instantly hid, shoving his hand in his coat pocket.

Caroline narrowed her eyes as she walked up. “What’s going on there?” she asked curiously, peering over the top of the desk. She wasn’t the type to be nosy, but if Spencer had something going on, she was curious as to what it was. Especially since Margo had seemed off lately. Nora had mentioned the conversation that the two of them had had in Margo’s office at The Gazette , and that it had worried her that Margo might be getting restless. She couldn’t deny that she’d thought about that possibility too. Out of all of them, Margo was always going to be the one who had the hardest time settling down.

Spencer hesitated, but then he sheepishly slid his hand out of his pocket. Caroline’s heart thumped as she saw that he had a ring box in his hand, which he flipped open to show a dazzling, pear-cut stone that shifted from purple to green-blue tones and then back again, set in platinum.

“It’s Tanzanite,” he explained. “Genuine, the kind that can only be gotten in Tanzania. Margo told me once that it was her favorite place she ever went. And she’s been so many different places, that one must have really stood out to her. I thought she’d like that I remembered that.”

“Oh my gosh.” Caroline stared at the ring. “She will—she’ll absolutely love that you remembered that.” She felt a flood of excitement for Margo, looking at the ring, which was perfect. The stone wasn’t too big, and was set low to the ring with six prongs, which was good because Margo was never the type to like dainty things. She used her hands a lot and could be clumsy, and she usually wore simple jewelry. A solitaire set in platinum was perfect for her. It was exactly what Caroline could envision Margo picking for herself if she had looked at rings.

“When are you going to ask her?” Caroline said excitedly, as Spencer closed the ring box and tucked it away in his pocket. “Seriously, this is so exciting. She’s going to love all of this.”

“I’m not sure.” Spencer pressed his lips together, looking hesitant. “I thought I’d plan something around the holidays, but now I’m starting to feel worried about all of this. She’s been off, lately. I know she’s thinking about how she got laid off this time last year, and how this all started. And how this last year has been the quietest time of her life since college, and that she hasn’t been anywhere else in a year, and that normally at Christmas she’d be jet-setting somewhere interesting instead of being in sleepy Evergreen Hollow.” He shoved his hands into his coat pockets, letting out a breath. “I’m worried that she won’t want to stay here long-term. That the shine is starting to wear off, and by this time next year, she will have already left or want to leave. That she’s not going to be able to be permanently happy here.” He shrugged, a sad expression on his face. “I couldn’t really blame her if that were the case. It’s not for everyone. And I knew that about her when we first started dating.”

“Well…”

Caroline thought about what to say for a moment. She didn’t want to lie and say everything was just fine, because she wasn’t entirely sure that was the truth. Margo definitely had seemed to be having a hard time lately. And she knew her sister, Margo was fidgety and adventurous, and Evergreen Hollow absolutely could stifle that.

“The only way you’re going to find out,” she said finally, “is to talk to her straight-up. Guessing about how she feels is just going to drive you crazy. And maybe make things more difficult between the two of you, before they get better. It’s probably better just to know, and talk it out.” She laughed at that, then, hearing what had just come out of her mouth.

“Not that I have any room to talk,” she added wryly. “I’m handing that advice out a lot lately for someone who should be doing exactly that, and isn’t.”

Spencer looked at her quizzically. “What do you mean?”

Caroline sighed. She was going to tell yet another person before Rhett, she supposed. Maybe Nora had been right, and the more times she did it, the easier it would get to reveal the news when she finally did get up the nerve to tell Rhett. “Remember that appointment I tried to make with you? And then you heard my symptoms and told me to go to the OB/GYN in Burlington?”

“Uh-huh,” Spencer said slowly, his eyebrows raising. As a doctor, Caroline figured, he was going to catch on pretty quickly to what she was about to say.

“Well, turns out you were right to send me there. I’m pregnant.” She let out a sharp breath. “Completely unplanned. We definitely weren’t thinking about having a baby.”

She bit her lip, feeling all the old anxiety rising up. She didn’t know Spencer all that well, not compared to other people in her life, but somehow that seemed to make it easier for everything to start spilling out.

“I don’t know how to tell Rhett,” she said, the words bursting out on an exhale of breath. “This wasn’t on our radar at all. And Jay is going through all kinds of changes, and we should be focusing on him, and what he needs right now. I don’t want him to feel left behind. He’s doing well in school, and getting his first crush on a girl, and in that sort of transitory time of being a pre-teen, and I don’t want him to feel less loved or like we’re paying less attention to him. It’s already a lot, juggling work and family and marriage, and adding a baby on top of all of it…”

She sucked in a breath, frowning as she looked at Spencer.

“I’m sorry. That was a lot to dump on you all at once. And not at all your problems to worry about. You have a lot on your plate yourself.” She gestured toward the ring.

Spencer chuckled. “No, I’m glad you told me. And congratulations. That’s great news—a baby is always wonderful news, in my professional opinion.” He smiled at her, and Caroline could feel herself relax just a little. It was part of what made him such a good doctor, she thought. He knew how to disarm a patient, how to make anyone feel comfortable and at ease, and she could tell he was doing it now, with her. But she appreciated it.

She thought that she wouldn’t mind having him as a brother-in-law.

“We should both take your advice,” Spencer continued. “It’s good advice, Caroline. We could both benefit from being straightforward about our feelings. Nothing good will come from continuing to stew over it ourselves, you’re right about that. And we can only know how Rhett and Margo feel about all of this if we talk to them.” He offered another smile. “Now, I’ll go grab that prescription for you.”

Caroline let out a sigh as she watched Spencer disappear into his office. It was all well and good to talk about taking her own advice, she thought. But she was going to need to muster the courage to talk to Rhett soon.

Otherwise, everyone in town was going to know that she was having a baby before her husband.