Maggie tugged at her hand. “Let’s go. Sounds like it’s starting to rain. Maybe if we hurry we can get inside again before the worst of it hits.”
Knowing she would see Andrew later, Hannah turned to follow her sister out into the starting drizzle.
They dashed to the nearest cart parked in the reserved space beside the building and Maggie hopped behind the wheel. Th
e rain started in earnest as she guided the cart onto the road, but the cart kept them mostly dry except for the occasional damp wind gust. Hannah didn’t worry about it. She wouldn’t melt if she got soaked.
“Thanks for the lift,” she said when Maggie stopped the cart right at the foot of Hannah’s steps.
“Oh, no, I’m coming in,” Maggie insisted.
Hannah sighed. “Of course you are.”
Chapter Five
The sisters dashed together through the now-pouring rain, crowding beneath the door’s tiny overhang as Hannah shoved the key in her lock. Normally Maggie would have stood back to give her more room, maybe leaning against the railing of the redwood porch, but they were laughing and sticking close together to get what little protection they could from the downpour. They tumbled into the dry living room almost simultaneously. Hannah shook her head, sending raindrops flying. “Do you need a towel?”
“I didn’t get that wet.” Maggie pushed her hair out of her face and added, “I wouldn’t turn down a cup of tea.”
“Okay, put the kettle on. I’m going to change into dry clothes. The rain was blowing in my side of the cart.”
She might have put on comfy pajamas had she not known Andrew would be coming by later. She settled for navy maternity yoga pants and a loose, pale blue cotton T-shirt with soft pink slippers. The tea was ready by the time she rejoined her sister. She accepted her mug with a murmured thank-you, letting the soothing scent of chamomile wash over her as she sank to the couch, feeling the stress of the day catching up to her. Knowing it wasn’t over yet.
“So, did Andrew go in with you for the ultrasound?” Maggie asked from her chair, her mug cupped between her hands.
Hannah gazed into her tea to avoid meeting her sister’s eyes. “Yes.”
“How does he feel about having a daughter?”
Thinking of the expression in Andrew’s eyes when he’d looked at the ultrasound monitor and then at her, Hannah looked up then. “He’s thrilled.”
“Wow.” Hannah wasn’t sure if Maggie was responding to the reply or to the implicit confirmation of her suspicion that Andrew really was the father.
Drawing a deep breath, Hannah nodded. “Yeah.”
“Oh, my gosh.” Maggie set down the cup, then pressed both hands to her cheeks. “Andrew?”
“Just as you suspected, I ran into him in Dallas last December. It— Well, things happened.”
“So I see. And?”
“And what?”
Maggie gestured avidly with one hand, encouraging more detail. “Have you stayed in contact with him? How long has he known? When are you going to tell the family?”
“I haven’t stayed in contact with him, he’s known since he figured it out when Aaron mentioned in a phone call that I’m pregnant and we’re telling the family this weekend. Probably.”
Maggie hesitated a moment, then asked, “Does Mom know?”
“No.” Hannah sighed. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you, Maggie. I wanted to. I just...didn’t know who to tell first. It took me a while to wrap my head around what I’d done, and figure out what I was going to do about it.”
Maggie nodded, apparently unsurprised by any of the decisions her sister had made. “I wish you’d felt comfortable talking with me, though. You had to feel very alone.”
“I never felt alone,” Hannah corrected her. “I knew the family was always here for me.”
“Always will be.”
“Yes, no matter how many bad decisions I make.”