Page 71 of The Pilot

Harper knew the topic was going to come up at some point. But honestly, she’d expected it to come from Evelyn first. The woman was positively giddy that she was getting two grandbabies so close together. She couldn’t wait to spoil them rotten. And when she’d found out that Linc and Harper were officially dating, she’d been beside herself. Harper could practically see the baby question in her eyes every time she saw her and Linc together. She hated to disappoint anyone, but there would be no babies in her future.

“Uh . . . about that,” she hedged, not wanting to bring down the conversation.

“What? Did I say something wrong? Shoot, I’m so sorry.” Marit bit her lip in consternation.

“No. You didn’t say anything wrong at all. It’s just . . . Linc and I . . . we don’t want kids. Any more, that is. Kash wasn’t planned, and raising him was the hardest thing I’ve ever done. He’s finally at an age where I can breathe again. And being here in Maine has helped tremendously too. It’s not as dangerous as New York City was. We just . . . we don’t want kids,” Harper repeated lamely.

Britt leaned over and grabbed Harper’s hand. “I think that’s awesome.”

“You do?”

“Yes. That you and Linc know what you want and what you don’t. That you’ve been able to talk about things like children now, before things get too deep and you find out you’re on different pages.”

“I agree,” Marit said with a nod. “And I can see Linc not wanting kids. Not because he isn’t great with Kash, and he’d be an amazing dad to a baby. But he probably had to look after Zach a lot when he was young, because they’re ten years apart.”

“He’s okay with you having Kash though, right?” Britt asked with concern.

“Yes! Oh yes.” Harper was quick to defend Linc. “He’s amazing. He loves him so much, and he’s great with him.”

“Of course he is. He’s Linc,” Marit said simply.

“And you know what? It doesn’t matter if you want babies or not, because you’ve already given Evelyn her first grandchild. You and Linc being together means Kash is officially a Lobsterite! I know Chad already told him that he was, but now that you’re dating Linc, it’s official official,” Britt said.

Harper chuckled. “I know what you mean.”

“I think you need to make it clear to Evelyn that you and Linc love each other. That you’re together in a long-term kind of way. You are, aren’t you?” Britt asked.

“Yes,” Harper confirmed.

“Right. Then I think Linc should make sure his mom knows that Kash is now her grandson too. For real. I mean, I know she already sees him as part of the family, the whole handprint thing at Thanksgiving is proof of that. But I also think she’s so caught up in her baby frenzy, she’s missing the obvious fact that Kash is, in actuality, her first true grandchild. Not the baby I’m carrying,” Britt said.

“It’s not a big deal,” Harper said with a shrug.

“Are you kidding? Yes, it is!” Britt countered. “It’ll take some of the pressure off of me!”

They all laughed hard at that.

“Will she be disappointed, do you think?” Harper asked.

“No,” both Marit and Britt said at the same time.

“He has an appointment to get a vasectomy,” Harper blurted. She usually wasn’t one to talk about such personal things with others, but she’d been worrying about this ever since Linc told her it was a done deal. That the operation was planned for a few weeks from now.

“That’s probably smart if neither of you want kids,” Britt said.

“And you won’t have to take the pill or deal with messy condoms. Bonus!” Marit agreed.

“You don’t think it’s . . . extreme? What if he changes his mind? Or we break up?”

“First of all, this is Lincoln Young we’re talking about. He’s one of the most decisive men I’ve ever met,” Britt started. “If he says he doesn’t want children, he’s not going to change his mind.”

“And you aren’t breaking up,” Marit said.

Harper couldn’t help it, she chuckled. “You don’t know that.”

“Well, I’m married to his brother, and I know the way the Young men work. Like Britt said, once a Young makes up his mind, it’s seriously made up. And Linc has definitely decided you’re it for him. So I don’t think you have to worry about breaking up.”

Both their comments eased Harper’s worries a little more.