Page 61 of Where the Wattles Bloom

‘And if something should …’

He drifted off, his gaze dropping to the table, his expression troubled, as if he was grappling for the right words. ‘If you … if the baby …’ He cleared his throat as he looked at her again. ‘If you do lose the baby, I would hate for it to happen here. I know it’s not far away, but that’s not something you should have to go through alone.’

A lump lodged in Rowena’s throat. She hadn’t thought about how the end would come, only that it would. There’d always been someone with her the other times—even that very first time. Whether it had been her husbands or a medical professional. And she’d not thought about how much that had meant until now.

Her grief had always felt so intensely singular, but knowing someone was there beside her had definitely helped.

Slowly, Rowena nodded. She didn’t want to go through what she was certain would be another miscarriage alone.

‘Thank you,’ she murmured. ‘I’d like that. I have a late tomorrow so I’ll move my stuff up in the morning.’

Fifteen

Lachlan entered the kitchen after leaving Rowena an hour later. He hadn’t wanted to leave her alone. Not when she was processing so much and looking so pale and tired—both physically and emotionally—but she’d sent him on his way.

She’d assured him she was fine, that she was going to bed because she was exhausted and she just wanted to sleep. So he’d left. Reluctantly. After making her some vegemite toast, which she’d eaten and said had helped settle her stomach. It had certainly improved her colour.

Also, he’d given strict instructions to Red to look out for her, and Lachlan knew that should Rowena be in any distress during the night, Red would bark up a storm until he came running.

He must have looked absolutely poleaxed, though, because Reggie stopped what she was doing and exchanged a glance with Albert. Something unspoken passed between them.

‘She’s pregnant, isn’t she?’

He didn’t stop to ask how in the hell his grandmother knew that, he simply said, ‘Yes.’

‘Yours?’ she asked, wiping her hands on her apron.

‘Yes.’

Lachlan still couldn’t get his head around it. He was going to be a father. He sure as hell hadn’t had that on his bingo card for this year.

‘Well.’ Reggie smiled. ‘How about that.’

He smiled back, letting it really sink in for a beat. ‘Yeah.’ He was going to be a dad.

Albert got to his feet then, extending his hand as he neared. ‘Congratulations, Lachlan.’

Lachlan grinned as he slid his hand into Albert’s. ‘You’re the first person to congratulate me.’

‘Was there when you caught your first crawchie, and when you took your first ride. Seems only right to be first with this too.’

Whether it was the import of the occasion or a measure of his jumbled emotions, the quiet truth and the aching nostalgia in Albert’s statement hit deeply. Albert was as close to a grandfather as was possible, and Lachlan held the older man’s hand a little longer than a handshake generally required.

Reggie having one of her coughing fits drew their attention. She’d been unimpressed over her slow recovery from her cold but didn’t bellyache about it this time. She just nailed him with one of those looks.

‘So … what happens now?’

Lachlan sat in the nearest chair, grateful for Reggie’s renowned pragmatism to focus him on the practicalities. But, the truth was, they hadn’t talked about long-term logistics or what would happen past tomorrow. Rowena was clearly determined not to contemplate any kind of favourable outcome and, given that, he was trying to temper his expectations.

‘I don’t know right now. She’s convinced she’s going to lose it. She doesn’t want to get her hopes up. Or for me to get my hopes up. She has a long history with this sort of thing.’

‘I gathered.’

‘I’m not really sure what to do next, to be honest. I told her we’d take it one day at a time.’

‘That’s very sensible,’ Reggie said with a nod, which was high praise indeed from his grandmother, who favoured common sense over just about everything else.

‘I did suggest she come and live in the house, though. She’s dealing with a lot of morning sickness and if something should happen to the …’ A sudden thickening in Lachlan’s throat made it hard to speak for a beat or two, and he had to swallow hard against it to continue. ‘She needs a lot of TLC right now and we’ll be nearer if she needs us.’