Never underestimate the sleuthing power of a librarian network.
Chloe wasn’t sure who on the CC list was responsible for leaking the emails back and forth, but by the end of the next week, a dam broke and suddenly a deluge of messages from other branches landed in her inbox.
Everyone else on the chopping block was eager to network and discuss options. Librarians from bigger branches offered support and raised new questions. Others had been pushing back as well, it seemed, at the same time Chloe had, and now they all knew about each other. By the end of the day, there was a consensus. It was time to go public.
Oops.
She couldn’t say she regretted it, even when an Urgent: Confidential email landed in everyone’s inbox from the head office, chastising the loop for running away with rumours.
Rumours.
Uh huh.
They were smarter than that. And now Chloe didn’t feel quite so alone—or so small against the invisible dragon.
Five minutes before closing, the door swung open, bringing in a gust of wintery air—and a tall, handsome park ranger.
Like going to the diner for breakfast, having Tom appear in her workplace for the first time since they took their relationship public was an interesting exercise in getting past the surreal thing and re-aligning her comfort levels.
She was the only person in the library, though, so when he stopped in front of where she was sitting at the circulation desk, she stood up and gave him a quick, soft kiss. “Hey.”
“You aren’t answering text messages,” he said with a smile. “So I thought I’d stop in.”
She squeaked and reached for her phone. Her lips twitched as she read his three messages, all sent in the last hour.
Tom: What do you want for dinner? I’ll hit the store on my way home.
Tom: Busy day?
Tom: I’m going to swing by and kiss you in public.
“You kissed me first, before I had a chance,” he said, his eyes dancing.
“I did. Sorry, yes, it was a busy day. So much to tell you about.”
“I can’t wait to hear all about it.”
“Do you want to go out for dinner? We could go to Mac’s, or drive over to Lion’s Head to the pub.” Another place where she’d pretended not to want him, pretended he was simply an acquaintance and not the man who made her pulse race when he pulled her into bed and kissed her senseless.
“Yeah?” He genuinely looked surprised. That might be because she’d been miserably under the weather with nausea for a solid three weeks. But it was probably because she’d spent the last year only having a slice of a relationship with him, in secret, and it was long past time for that to change.
“It’s been quite the day.” She filled him in. “And since I’m taking Monday off for our next midwife’s appointment, I’ll probably come back to quite the shit storm on Tuesday. C’est la vie, but still…yikes.”
“This is good, though, right? Olivia can take this and run with it. There will be petitions and public pressure now.”
Normally Chloe would be all for that. Take on the world, speak truth to power…but right now, she was tired. And hungry. And sometimes, when she was too tired and too hungry, she threw up. Because she was growing a baby, and frankly, the thought of orchestrating a county-wide protest made her feel green around the gills.
“I’m glad others are involved, that’s for sure.” The clock on the wall ticked to the top of the hour. “And now it’s closing time. Can I take you on a date?”
It was wing night at the pub. Tom got a double order of medium BBQ, extra sauce. Chloe ordered hers dry rubbed with lemon pepper, extra veggies and dip on the side.
“And to drink?” the bartender asked.
“Sparkling water for me,” Chloe said.
Tom asked for the same.
“You could have a beer if you want,” she offered.
“I could. I’m good, though.” He leaned in and brushed his lips against her cheek, just in front of her ear, so he could murmur the next bit just for her. “I’m just happy to be here with you.”
“We missed out on this,” she said softly. “Flirting over wings. You getting your ass kicked at pool.”
“I got to watch you play across the room,” he countered. “That was fun in its own way.”
“I’m trying to say that I…” She trailed off and flicked her gaze up to look at him. Her eyes were big and bright, and a little unsure. “I’m sorry we didn’t date?”
He shook his head carefully. “I’m not. We’re going to have the rest of our lives to catch up on dates we’ve missed. This is one. We’ll go on others. Maybe I can kick your ass at bowling.”
She giggled. “I think I’d topple sideways right now if I tried it.”
“We can wait until the baby arrives. I bet bowling alleys are super conducive to quiet naps, right?”
She was shaking with laughter. Good. That was the goal. He slid his arm around her shoulders and let his fingers dance against the bare skin at the back of her neck as they waited for their drinks.
“Maybe we did things a bit backwards,” he said later, after their wings were devoured and she did in fact kick his ass at the first game of pool. “But we’re not done doing them, you know? So rack ‘em up, Dawson. Because this game is going to be mine, and then I’m going to take you home and show you just how much I like the taste of victory.”
“The taste of my victory, you mean,” she said, giving him a fierce and adoring look.
He circled around the pool table. “Oh yes,” he growled. “I want to show you exactly how much I like the taste of your victory.”
Her laugh this time was low, sexy, and bordering on indecent.
She won the second game in three turns, and when they got back to his cabin in the woods, they took turns tasting everything.
By the time they drove south to Walkerton for her next midwife appointment, Chloe was no longer in denial about the little belly Tom had first spotted. Olivia’s maternity pants made the roundness even more pronounced, and she thought it was quite the miracle nobody had asked her if she was expecting yet.
“I think we should tell people after today’s appointment,” she said to Tom.
He glanced across the truck cab at her, grinning. “I can’t wait.”
She believed him, too. He’d been holding her belly as they slept each night and he was reading three different pregnancy books at once. If ever there was a man excited for a baby’s arrival, it was Tom.
Kerry was ready for them when they arrived, so she ushered them right into the exam room. “Good news. Our next appointment should be in Pine Harbour. No more driving back and forth for you, except if we want you to have an ultrasound at the hospital.”
“That’s exciting!”
“Do you know Jake Foster?”
Tom laughed. “Yeah. He’s married to my sister.”
And they were in the army together, had been in Afghanistan on the same tour. The Fosters and the Minellis had been blood brothers long before Dani and Jake got married.
Kerry blushed. “Right. Small town. Well, he’s doing the renovations on the new clinic space, and making amazing progress. Apparently some of his crew have extra time right now.”
“The winter’s slow.” Tom grinned. “And in the summer, when it’s mayhem, sometimes I’m called on to help out.”
“Small town,” the three of them all said together.
Then Kerry got down to business. “How has the last month gone? How’s the nausea?”
“Still there. I’m throwing up every morning, but the rest of the day is…okay. Honestly, I thought by now it might be improving.”
“That’s always the hope. But you’re keeping food down, right?”
“Yeah. And I gained three pounds, although I don’t know how.”
Kerry grinned. “That’s a good thing.”
“It’s not too much?”
“We’re not going to worry about that right now. Or ever, to be clear. We like to see steady growth, that’s all.”
“Tom bought some pregnancy books. I may have read ahead. And then I got scared.”
“Don’t read them if they don’t fill your well in a good way. We’ll cover everything you need to know at the pace you need to know it.”
“Okay.”
The midwife flashed Tom a knowing look. “So you’re an information junkie, eh?”
He cleared his throat. “Maybe.”
“I think he’s blushing,” Kerry said.
Chloe laughed. “He’s definitely blushing.”
“He’s also sitting right here,” Tom groused good-naturedly.
“Nothing wrong with a supportive partner.” Kerry grinned. “Speaking of which, now comes the fun stuff. Ready to hear the heartbeat?”
“Oh yeah.”
“All right, hop on up here,” she patted the paper-covered exam table. “Can you fold your pants down?”
Chloe lifted her shirt and wiggled the stretchy waistband all the way down to her hips. “I’ve popped in the last week. Tom saw it first, and now…we’re going to have to tell everyone this week I think. It’s pretty obvious.”
“My fingers are a little cool, okay? Pardon my touch.” Kerry traced the firm roundness just above Chloe’s pelvic bone. “Yep, that’s your uterus all right. We should have no problem hearing the heartbeat. I’m going to use some gel—also cold, apologies for that, too.”
After smearing the gel all over her belly, Kerry took a small handheld doppler device and held the wand to Chloe’s skin.
At first, she wasn’t sure what she was hearing in the whoosh, whoosh noises coming from the machine. But then there was something faster. Whomp, whomp, whomp.
“That’s a heartbeat, right?”
The midwife nodded. “Yep. Let’s see if I can grab yours for comparison.” She moved the wand and the baby’s heartbeat was gone, replaced by other noise.
Then she found it again, and Tom reached out to rub Chloe’s arm. “This is fun.”
Kerry moved the wand to the other side of the belly and frowned.
Tom leaned in. “What is it?”
The midwife’s tongue poked in the side of her cheek. The baby’s heartbeat sounded good, Chloe thought. Fast, but Tom had read her a passage all about that just last night. Fast was good.
Wasn’t it good?
He squeezed her hand, and she wondered if he was remembering the same passage. The way her heart jumped into her throat, he must be feeling the same worry.
Kerry flashed them a quick smile, but the furrow between her eyes didn’t change. “This baby sounds like it has a good and healthy heartbeat, don’t worry,” she promised. She moved the wand lower, losing the heartbeat again. There was nothing for a moment, then she picked it up again. “And so does this one.”