Chapter 9
Karen
Ispread my arms out, pointing at the school of fish.
Beside me, Will shot me a thumbs up, his body stilling as we watched the beautiful sea life swim past us.
Above us, his youngest son, Sam, swam around with his brothers, their legs just visible in the sun-dappled water.
A turtle appeared from the seafloor, lazily gliding past us on her way to some important date. She glanced my way as she passed by, giving me one long, slow blink.
A perfect day.
Apart from the difficulties of finding a wet suit in my size and throwing myself backward over the side of a boat, scuba diving was quickly becoming a pastime I wouldn't mind taking up. Between the amazing sea life, the cool dive wrecks, and Will—it felt almost like a celebration.
The dive instructor swam my way, signalling it was time to begin our ascent. Over the next forty minutes, we swam slowly higher, circling, acclimatising ourselves to the changing pressure and oxygenation, and then continuing upward.
As we burst through the surface, the instructor gestured that we could take our breathing masks off.
"That was incredible! Can I come back next weekend?" I enthused, dipping the mask in the water to clean off my spit.
"I'm a fan," Will agreed. "Did you see that turtle? She was massive."
"He," the instructor, a woman named Ruth, corrected. "That was old Fred. He's a regular around here. Grandfathered most of the turtles along this side of the cove."
"You know, I'm not sure why I never tried this before today." I tread water, shaking my head. "I live by the ocean, and the most I normally do is go for a walk along the rock pools."
Ruth grinned. "Most people do that. It's why Drake and Dane started this. When the marina was finally complete, they saw it as a chance for people to experience marine life as it should be experienced."
"Wild, oxygenated, and stuffed into a wet suit?" I asked with a grin.
"Exactly!" Ruth laughed. "Come on, your boys are waiting. Let's get you home."
I scrambled onto the back of the yacht, grunting and groaning as I slipped and slid, heaving my body up and over.
"So graceful," I muttered, flopping onto my back. "Such poise."
"Karrie?"
I tilted my head back, grinning up at Sam.
Over the last few weeks, Will and I had become fixtures in each other's life. It was as if we were magnets—polar opposites yet when we were put together, nothing could separate us.
And, lucky for me, his family had embraced me with their whole hearts. Will had met my parents, and we’d had lunch with Hayden when he’d come into town to visit. I'd never felt more accepted.
"Yeah, kid?"
"Can I come next time?"
"When you're ten," I reminded him gently, gratefully accepting his offered hand. "But I promise, the moment you're ten, you and me, we're gonna go down and see the pirate ship."
"Swear?"
I nodded solemnly, crossing my heart and holding out my hand, my pinky cocked. "Pinky swear."
He linked his pinky with mine, giving it a shake. "Cool."
I hip-checked him. "Come on, let's eat."
Over lunch, Will and I regaled the boys with stories of what we'd seen while Ruth drove the boat, taking us back to the Capricorn Cove marina.
"You want the rest of my sandwich?" I asked Ryan, offering him the chicken club.
"You sure?" he asked, eyeing the delicious morsel.
"Yeah." I patted my stomach as we hit another small wave. "This rocking isn't sitting well with me."
"Thanks!" The teenager stuffed half of it in his mouth, chewing enthusiastically as we listened to Will describe the wreck for Sam.
Will's eyes met mine across the boat, his gaze warm and concerned. I waved him off, communicating without words that I was fine.
I twisted, tilting my head back, allowing the sea breeze to blow through my hair.
I'd never been in a relationship where I felt so at ease.
There wasn't anything hard about this. We just clicked.
Ever since the caves, Will had become my cheerleader and supporter.
We finished each other's sentences, we laughed without saying a word, I sometimes found myself handing him something before he'd even asked for it.
This kind of instant connection was the type of thing I read about in books, not something that I'd ever expected to experience.
And yet, here I was. Living it. Living an actual love story.
My stomach jumped, my mouth filling with saliva as I twisted, bending over to puke over the side of the boat.
Well damn.
Will was immediately there, brushing back my hair, holding me as I retched.
"I got you," he soothed. "Sam, can you get Karrie a bottle of water?"
"On it, Dad."
I closed my eyes, my cheeks flushing with embarrassment. "I have no idea what's gotten into me. I was fine on the way out, and it's way less choppy now."
Will shrugged, hands still soothing over my hair. "You're fine. Don't worry about it."
But back on land, the nausea didn't abate. A day passed, then two, with the nausea continuing.
"That's it, I'm taking you to the hospital," Will declared on Tuesday morning. He stood in my doorway, hands-on-hips as he stared down at me curled around the toilet bowl.
"It's just a gastro bug," I protested weakly. "I'll be fine."
"Hush. We'll let the doctors work it out."
With a resigned sigh, I allowed him to help me change, piling me into the car and driving me down to the local clinic for testing.
"Could be the bends," the doctor remarked when we finally got in to see him. "Not common, but if you've been scuba diving, then we need to rule it out. No chance of pregnancy?"
"No, I'm over forty."
The doctor grinned. "And sexually active, I assume?"
"I mean, sure.” I shrugged. “But we use protection."
"Mm, what type?"
I froze, my eyes widening as I rapidly began to count back.
"Oh. My. God. Will… the condoms."
Will's head twisted, his hands coming up to frame my face. "No, it can't be. We've been using them religiously."
I gulped then gulped again. "They were old. I didn't think they expired. But… my period… it's been over a month. I'm late. I'm never late. And I'm not on anything."
The doctor reached into a drawer, pulling out a test kit. "Here. Let's at least rule it out."
Fifteen minutes later, we stood over the pee stick, staring at the results window.
+ Positive
"But… how?" I whispered, shocked to my core.
The doctor chuckled.
"Sorry, I mean, I get how but not… how? I'm forty-two. I didn't think…." I placed a hand on my belly. "I never thought I'd have a chance. I'm old."
"It will be a geriatric pregnancy," the doctor agreed.
"As you get older, there are more risks.
But I'll write a referral for a wonderful obstetrician, and we'll make sure you're all set.
" He made a note on the chart. "We'll still do some tests to rule out anything else, but I'm gonna guess your nausea is morning sickness.
I'll prescribe some anti-nausea medication, but the best option is to rest, drink some ginger tea, and try to keep your fluids up. "
He left the room, leaving Will and me alone.
"Wow," I stared at him. "A baby. Our baby. I can't…. Thoughts? Facts? Opinions?"
He looked shell-shocked, his mouth opening and closing a few times before he cleared his throat. "I…."
I waited, expecting him to continue.
"It's just…."
I smiled encouragingly.
"I thought Sam would be my last."
I froze, feeling as if a bucket of cold water had been tipped over me.
"What does that mean, Will?"
"It's…nothing, it's just a shock. That's all."
I swallowed, nausea once again rising. "Are you saying you don't want this?"
"No, it's just—"
"Hello, mommy and daddy-to-be!” The nurse bustled in, interrupting our conversation. "I'm just here to take some blood. I won't be a moment."
Will stepped back. "I need to make a call. Are you cool by yourself for a minute?"
I nodded, feeling something within me break. "Sure."
He left, not offering even a backward glance.
I looked down at my stomach, tears stinging the backs of my eyes.
Don’t worry, baby. I want you.