Page 68 of Where the Wattles Bloom

Lachlan sat for a beat or two, swamped anew by the fact he was going to be a dad, until somebody beeped him from behind and he took his foot off the brake.

Sixteen

It was nigh on impossible to keep a pregnancy quiet as a nurse—which would have been Rowena’s preference. But between the rather inelegant dashes to the loo and needing to consistently avoid patients who might have diseases or infections or be on drugs like cytotoxics that could harm the pregnancy, it only took three shifts before her secret was out.

She fielded congratulations left, right and centre, which she smiled through until her teeth ached. People meant well, she knew that, but Rowena’s awkwardness grew the more her colleagues fussed over her, because she wasn’t feeling what they were feeling. The more people who knew, the more wellwishes that came her way, only added to the clash of emotions roiling around inside.

If only she could be that person who laughed and beamed and lapped up their attention, safe and secure in the knowledge that everything was going to be okay. But it felt like she was tempting fate if she even dared go there, dared think about a positive outcome.

And she also knew that these people would be the same ones patting her on the back and telling her they were sorry—or not looking at her at all—when the inevitable happened. Rowena had learned the hard way that people were much better at congratulations than they were at condolences.

‘Oh. Em. Gee!’ Brooke exclaimed. ‘Preggers?! That’s fantastic. I knew there was a thing going on between you and Lachy!’

What? Oh, dear god … ‘I never said who the father was.’

All she’d told Diana was that she was pregnant, that she hadn’t been feeling great but it shouldn’t affect her employment as she’d be out of Acacia Junction well and truly before the baby was due.

If Diana had wondered about who the baby daddy was, she didn’t voice it. Nobody asked about the father at all. Nobody but Brooke was indiscreet enough …

‘Oh, puh-lease,’ Brooke dismissed. ‘You two have been making goo-goo eyes at each other since you got here.’

‘We have not.’

Brooke made a rude, dismissive noise through pursed lips. ‘He couldn’t stop staring at you at that first trivia. And you blush every time his name is mentioned.’

‘I do not,’ Rowena denied, her traitorous cheeks heating.

‘So does this mean you’ll be staying on? In Acacia Junction?’

Rowena blinked. What? Absolutely not. Brooke more than anyone knew she was only here as a stopgap, as a job to ease her back into high-level nursing after her leave of absence. Brooke knew that Rowena had to get back to Sydney to redeem herself and her professional reputation.

She couldn’t stay.

For god’s sake. There would be no baby. This pregnancy would end soon—like all her others—so thinking that far ahead was futile.

And emotionally exhausting.

Aware that Brooke was waiting for her answer, Rowena hedged. ‘I … don’t know. It’s complicated and new and it’s … early days yet. We haven’t really talked long term. We’re just getting used to the news.’

‘Yeah, that must have been a bit of a whammy. Reggie must be over the moon.’

‘Uh huh.’ Rowena smiled noncommittally because she wasn’t privy to what Lachlan had told Reggie, but his grandmother had been very circumspect. She hadn’t even said, I told you so.

‘You should go see Shari about your dating scan. She’ll happily book it in for you.’

Another noncommittal nod from Rowena. ‘Thanks. I will.’

But she wouldn’t.

Rowena knew getting a scan was the responsible thing to do. And although Lachlan had shown admirable restraint, she knew he’d like her to get one too. Because, of course, he wanted to hear the whop, whop, whop of his baby’s heartbeat.

But she couldn’t. She just couldn’t look at a screen and see another tiny heartbeat with all its hope and promise.

Not if she was going to lose it.

*

The one good thing about her pregnancy being known at work was Diana delivering her salvation in the form of a roll of Life Savers.