Cricket Cove (31 page)

Logan looked at him askance. “I guess you did.” He couldn’t argue with the statement, as he knew it was the truth. “Let’s go have a birthday dinner. Everything else will sort itself out.”

“I’ll put this little sweetheart down in her playpen and be right there.”

Logan got to the dining room just as Owen was bringing in a platter of fried chicken. His place setting was decked out with a special plate and a glass that was shaped like a goblet. When Logan pulled a small velvet box from his pocket and placed it on the center of the plate where Amelia would sit, Owen sucked in a breath.

“Is that what I think it is?”

Logan swallowed. “It is.” He put the napkin back over top of the box, hiding it.

To his surprise, Owen’s eyes grew a bit misty. “Good.” He clapped Logan on the shoulder as he went past on his way back to the kitchen, and Logan gave a sigh of relief.

When Archer came in a moment later, he didn’t see the ring box. Logan wasn’t about to point it out to him. The rest of the family came in, save Amelia, and took their seats.

“Close your eyes,” she called from behind him.

“They’re closed.”

“Rachel? Are they?” she teased.

“Yes, ma’am.”

He heard her come up behind him, and then she lowered something in front of him, her arms coming around him as she set it on his plate. “You can open them now,” she told him, kissing his cheek. When she kept her arms around him, only pulling back far enough that he could see what she’d done, Logan reached up to touch her hand.

The sight that met his eyes when he raised his lids made him give a snorting laugh. “Oh, my God. What in the heck?” On his plate sat a camo boonie hat, decorated with Amelia’s special touch. There was a small ruler and a drafting compass, a mechanical pencil, a tiny computer complete with mouse and keyboard, a rolled-up newspaper, and an itty-bitty stack of books. The hatband was a red ribbon with white hearts.

Keeping one of his hands on Amelia’s, he examined the hat, tremendously amused and touched. “Most of this is self-explanatory, but what’s the ribbon supposed to represent?”

“You, silly. You were born on Valentine’s Day, after all. Love you,” she whispered in his ear.

Logan shook his head. “I don’t even know what to say. Thank you.” He turned his head and gave her a quick kiss. “Love you.” He donned the hat to much applause and a few catcalls.

Despite his jocularity, his heart was hammering so hard he thought he was going to be sick as he waited for Amelia to sit down.

“What’s this?” she asked as she moved to put her napkin in her lap. He saw the moment when it clicked for her, and her hand jerked to her chest as she dropped the napkin.

Silence spread around the table as everyone realized what was going on. Logan felt his breathing stop as he watched to see how she would react. He put his arm across the back of her chair and waited.

For long seconds she stared at the box, and then she reached down as carefully as though it were a snake that would bite if she moved too fast. He saw her swallow as her hand closed around the velvet. A tear tracked down her cheek as she opened the box.

“Oh, Logan.”

It was his turn to swallow when she turned glistening blue eyes to him. “Do you like it?”

“Is this… Does this mean… What does this mean?” she whispered.

“It means what you think it does.” He took the ring from its velvet nest and held it out. “I’d like very much to marry you.” She sniffed wetly, and Logan wiped her tears away with his thumb.

“You want to marry me?” she asked, her voice rising to end in a squeak on “me.”

He nodded. “I do. I love you. And I want more than what we have. I want everything.”

“With me?”

“Yes, silly. With you.” He smiled at her stunned expression. “I love you. So what do you think? Will you marry me, save me from a life of scowling and being ornery?”

She laughed, and her hand came up to touch his cheek. “I don’t think anything can save you from being ornery. I can’t believe you want to marry me.”

He gave her a smacking kiss and grinned down at her. “You couldn’t believe I loved you a few weeks ago. Why not say ‘yes’ and give it a chance to sink in?”

“I could end up going to trial for murder.”

“You could.”

“Gee, Logan, way to get romantic there,” Archer muttered.

He didn’t take his eyes from Amelia. “It’s true. I’m not going to pretend life is going to be roses and puppies and rainbows. But I still want to be with you more than I’ve ever wanted anything in my life,” he told her. “So how about it?”

She nodded. “Okay.”

It took a minute to process her response. “Okay?”

“Yes.”

He stared down at her, not realizing he’d shed a tear until she wiped his cheek. “You’ll marry me?”

“If you want me to, yes.”

This time the kiss they shared was deeper. “Guess,” he whispered.

The smile that crossed her face was soft and radiant. “Then may I please have my ring?”

He slipped it onto her finger and kissed her again. “Absolutely.”

Chapter Forty-Nine

A
melia had often heard the expression “floating on cloud nine,” but she’d never thought it was a real thing. As she sat beside Logan, too giddy to eat as she stared down at the diamond solitaire he’d placed on her finger, she couldn’t believe she wasn’t dreaming.

“Earth to Pip,” her father called. “Are you going to eat, or are you going to sit there all day staring at your hand?”

“It won’t go away if you look up,” Emma teased.

“Fine, I’ll try to eat something. But I can’t promise I won’t miss my mouth with the fork.” She laughed along with her family and smiled at Logan. “I love it. Thank you.”

“It isn’t the biggest ring in the world.”

She shook her head. “Doesn’t have to be. It’s perfect. Though it isn’t the smallest ring you could have picked out, either, not by far.”

They were almost ready for the birthday cake when there was a knock on the door.

“Wonder who that is?” Sarah asked. She looked to Owen, who shrugged.

“No idea. Let’s find out.” He went to the front door and greeted the visitor. When Amelia heard Sawyer Evans’s voice, she tensed and reached for Logan’s hand, gripping it tightly.

“Mr. Campbell, I’m sorry to disturb you, but I just got out of a meeting with the prosecutor and I thought Miss Campbell would want to know what he’s decided. Is she here?”

“She is. We’re in the dining room. Come on in.”

Owen’s face was inscrutable as he led the younger man into the room.

“Sawyer.” Rick greeted him from up the table. Burke also nodded, and Sawyer nodded back. The fact that he was out of uniform gave her hope.

“I apologize for disturbing you folks.” He blinked when he saw Logan’s hat, and Amelia thought she saw his lips twitch, but he conquered his amusement quickly.

Sarah waved the words away. “Don’t apologize. Please tell us you have good news.”

“I do. He won’t be pressing any charges, and there won’t be a grand jury. You are free and clear,” he told Amelia. “He’s considering it justified self-defense and closing the case.”

The wave of relief that swept through her made her weak, and she leaned against Logan. “Oh, thank God.”

Similar expressions were being made all around the table, and the mood in the room went from tense to exuberant. Even Sawyer relented enough to smile a little.

“I’ll head out. I won’t intrude any further. I just know you’ve been worried, and I wanted to tell you as soon as I could.”

Owen shook his hand. “You should stay, have some food.”

Sawyer hesitated. “No, this is a family gathering. I appreciate the offer, though.”

“Oh, for crying out loud. You’re going to pass up a home-cooked meal and go home and nuke a TV dinner, if I know you,” Rick said.

“Then you definitely need to stay, young man,” Sarah said as she stood. “I’ll get a plate and some silverware. Rachel, scoot down and make room.”

Everyone along the opposite side of the table scooted, and even Rachel didn’t look too unhappy about having him join them. Amelia was too overwhelmed to say much, but she smiled at him across the table.

Sarah made sure he had a full plate, and from the way she was mothering him, Amelia wondered if Sarah was thinking about what Rick had told them about the young trooper. His story reminded her of Archer’s—bad divorce, no close family, relocation to a strange town where he didn’t know many people. Though he’d been in Perry County for a couple of years now, Rick said he didn’t seem to socialize much.

Now that the possibility of charges had been done away with, she’d have to see about adding him to the family at least for significant events. Especially if she was right about his chemistry with Rachel.

“I have to say this is the best birthday I believe I’ve ever had,” Logan said a little while later. He sent Amelia a private look, and she felt her cheeks heat. It was so far beyond her expectations, being loved. And she knew the look didn’t necessarily mean he wanted to get his hands on her, but that he was looking forward to being alone with her. It was an intimacy she’d only ever dreamed about having, and something she’d never expected to find.

Dusk had fallen when they walked back down the mountain to her trailer. Logan stopped her in the tree line, wrapping his arms around her waist and putting his back against a wide poplar tree.

“I’m relieved that we won’t have to worry about conjugal visits,” he confessed. “Though I would have done it if that’s what it took.”

Amelia ran her hands up under his shirt, letting her palms rest against the skin of his abdomen. “I’m also relieved. I’m still afraid I’m going to wake up and all this will have been a dream.”

“No. It isn’t a dream. It’s better than a dream.” He touched her cheek. “I can’t promise you things will always be smooth. I’ve got some rough spots I need to work on.”

She traced the rim of his belly button, making his stomach jump. “So do I, but there’s no one else I’d like to go through the rough spots with.” She laughed. “How romantic is that?”

“Honestly? It’s reassuring. And as wonderful as flowers and chocolates are, it’s nice to know we’re going into this with our eyes as wide open as possible. I watched my parents struggle with the illusion they both seemed to have about marriage, and I don’t want that. I’d rather go in practical and sprinkle it with romance, if that makes any sense. Not that I have anything against romance.”

Amelia shook her head. “I know exactly what you mean. And I’ve not spent the last few weeks in your presence because you’re practical all the time. There’s plenty romance in your soul, Logan Gibson. I think I bring it out in you.”

He smiled. “Your mom said something a few weeks ago about how we balance each other out.”

“She’s right. We do.” Amelia stepped closer, letting him tuck her into his arms more securely. She let out a long sigh. “I love you.”

“I know. And I love you. Do you know, it doesn’t scare me in the least to say that anymore?” he whispered.

She accepted his passionate kiss. “Do you know, it doesn’t scare me, either?”

As they went inside, she felt a weight lift off her shoulders. The path to the present hadn’t been an easy one, but it most certainly had been worth it.

Chapter Fifty

A
s she sat across from her doctor, Amelia knew her mouth was hanging open. But she couldn’t get her head around what he’d just told her.

“What did you say?” she asked in a whisper, her heart sinking.

“I said you’re pregnant. About six weeks, according to the blood work. Amelia, I’m so sorry.”

She sank back into her chair, needing its support. This couldn’t be happening. At one o’clock tomorrow afternoon, she was slated to say her vows to Logan, to promise to spend the rest of her life loving him and being loved by him. But this changed everything, she was afraid.

“How?”

Her doctor’s mouth grew pinched. “One of our former nurses… Several months back, she ‘got religion,’ and unfortunately, she took it upon herself to decide which of our patients were entitled to birth control and which were not. She saw by your chart that you were unmarried, and so when you came in for your shot in December, instead of administering your birth control, she gave you a placebo. We just learned about this and we’ve put new rules in place to ensure this doesn’t happen in the future. And the practice will be making reparation to any affected patient.”

“That doesn’t help me now, does it?” Amelia was struggling to hold on to her anger, her fear, but both were quickly rising and she knew they’d erupt if she wasn’t very, very careful.

“You do have some options. There’s adoption, termination—”

She shot up from her chair. “No. No, that’s not an option. Don’t even suggest it. I have to go.” She grabbed her coat and purse from the adjacent chair and hurried from his office, ignoring his pleas for her to return. She’d heard enough.

In the parking lot, she sat in her car for several minutes. She gripped the steering wheel so tightly her hands hurt. All she could think about was how upset Logan would be. He wasn’t ready for fatherhood. Even though they had discussed the subject at length, she knew he needed some time to get his head around the idea. Time that had just been ripped away from them by a self-righteous nurse with a God complex.

A sob made its way out of her throat, and Amelia started her car. She had to get somewhere safe where she could fall apart. She had to get to Emma. Emma would know what to do.

As it turned out, Emma wasn’t available.

“She’s out on a shoot, honey. Come in here and tell me what’s wrong,” Zanny urged.

Amelia had gotten there just as her sister-in-law was turning the sign to Closed.

“I don’t want to bother you. Were you getting ready to have lunch?” Amelia hedged.

Zanny just looked at her. “Sweetie, get in here. I have a sandwich upstairs.” Molly cooed, her voice sounding over the baby monitor on Zanny’s desk.

When she heard the baby, Amelia broke down, sobbing into her hands. Somehow Zanny managed to get her upstairs and seated on the couch in the small nursery Emma had set up years earlier when Sydney had been a baby. After checking on Molly, Zanny took a seat beside her, handing her a box of tissues. She didn’t speak, just waited for Amelia to calm down.

“I’m pregnant,” she confessed, her voice husky from the tears. “What in the world am I going to do, Zanny?”

From the sympathetic look on her face, Amelia knew Zanny had immediately understood her concern. She pushed Amelia’s hair back off her face and hugged her. “Well, this does present a hurdle, doesn’t it? What do you want to do?”

“Y…yes. And I d…don’t know.”

“Did you just find out?”

Amelia nodded. “The doctor’s office called me this morning. I had an appointment to go in next week to get my next s…shot. They said they needed to get me in sooner, so I went. I didn’t think much of it when they did the blood test. He always does, just to be safe. But th…then he told me that th…they’d had problems with a nurse.” She told Zanny what he’d said. “How could she do that?” she whispered.

Zanny was horrified. “Oh, my God. I don’t know. Oh, Amelia. So you aren’t the only one?”

“I don’t think so, not if what he said is any indication.” Her breath shuddered out of her chest. “How in the world am I going to tell Logan? I can’t expect him to marry me now. He isn’t ready for kids. This is so unfair.”

Zanny sighed. “Pip, I could say that life isn’t fair, but I think you already know that. I’m so sorry, sweetie.”

Amelia looked at her, seeing a sadness in Zanny’s eyes that reminded her of just how Zanny had come to marry John. She’d gotten pregnant with Noah, and they’d had to move their schedule up several months. John hadn’t even proposed at the time. That had led to some rough times, even though they’d loved each other deeply.

“Don’t take this the wrong way, but I don’t want to go through what you and Johnny went through. I need to know he’s choosing to marry me because of
me
, not because I’m pregnant. And I can’t not tell him. I have to let him know before the wedding. It wouldn’t be fair to go in without disclosing this…” Her voice trailed off as she rested her hands on her belly. “Oh, God.”

“Your situation is a bit different. You’re getting married
tomorrow
. That decision has already been made. He wants to marry you because of
you
. And I’m not offended,” Zanny reassured her. “I understand completely. I just wish I could tell you Logan will be okay with this. He might need some time to adjust, but the man does love you. That is something I have no doubts about whatsoever.”

Amelia smiled sadly. “I know he does, too. But does he love me enough to become a father before he’s ready?” She let her head fall back to the couch with a sigh as Zanny stood and went to get Molly, who was starting to fuss. “And God help me, I don’t know how I’m going to tell Mom and Daddy. You know Daddy’s sworn since Emma came home that if another of his daughters got pregnant before she was married, he’d escort the father to the church at the end of a barrel and with two black eyes.”

Zanny changed the baby’s diaper, then handed her to Amelia to hold while she washed her hands and got a bottle ready. “At least your dad won’t need to get the shotgun out,” she teased gently, “what with the preacher already on standby.”

“Won’t he? Logan could turn tail and run when I tell him. Which I guess I’ll have to do this evening.” Amelia’s bridal shower was scheduled for that evening at the farmhouse, and Logan’s bachelor party was to take place that evening, as well. She didn’t know what Archer and her brothers had planned, but he’d been grinning and rubbing his hands together every time she’d seen him for the past week and a half.

Molly was almost able to push herself up now, and Amelia touched her curls as she babbled happily. Before long, she would have a child of her own to care for, to love, to protect. The thought was daunting. The realization hit her then, that she was pregnant with Logan’s child. Not that she was pregnant and unmarried, not that the father wasn’t ready, but that she was pregnant with the child of the man she loved.

When Zanny came back in the small room, bottle in hand, Amelia was crying. This time, her tears were slow, and they were mostly happy. She looked up at Zanny, who was a bit blurry, and grinned. “I’m pregnant. Oh, my.”

“Oh my, indeed. It will work out, Pip. You just have to believe that.”

She nodded. “I know. But I’m scared. After everything we’ve been through, I just wanted to have one thing happen that wasn’t complicated, wasn’t stressful.” She held her niece as Molly took the bottle, pressing kisses to her soft curls from time to time. “I guess you get what you get, though.”

“To some degree, yes. And it will all work out however it’s meant to work out. Hopefully, that’s with you and Logan and a beautiful, healthy baby in a few months. Whatever you need, Pip, you just let me know. I’ll be there, and I know the rest of the family will, too.”

They would. They’d proven that time and again.

“I guess we’ll find out soon. Zanny, if you don’t mind, don’t mention this to Emma?”

“Sure.”

“I just want to tell everyone after I tell Logan. He needs to hear this first.”

Zanny smiled. “He does. And I think he’ll surprise you. He might not immediately be excited, but I think he’ll come around.”

“I sure hope you’re right.”