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“Laura?” Mark knocked again. “You okay?”
She opened the bathroom. “Fine,” she said, brightly. “Just…leftover stomach bug, I think.”
“It’s gone on for too long, though,” Mark said, forehead wrinkled in concern.
Laura shrugged.
“You should go see a doctor.”
“No! No, I’ll be fine. Really. I’m feeling better already.” She wasn’t, but Mark didn’t need to know that. “Let me eat some crackers and see if that helps. Then, we can talk about strategy for the race.”
Laura knew talking about the race would refocus Mark’s attention for the next several hours. Then he wouldn’t be thinking about her upset stomach.
I should tell him. I should just admit that I’m pregnant, right here and tell him. Then what? He already said he didn’t want kids. Not after Timothy. He had no interest in starting another family. Laura couldn’t imagine seeing disappointment on his face. Not again. Not like Dean. If she saw that, it would break her heart, and she wasn’t ready for it. Might never be ready for it.
“Edward had a good idea, actually,” Mark began. The brothers had bonded over repairing the boat. They might not be best buddies exactly, but they did talk, and for that Laura was grateful. Laura listened to Mark talk about race strategies and thought of her own sister. She would reach out to her.
“Want a beer?” Mark asked suddenly and she started, realizing he’d long since finished his story about Edward and she hadn’t exactly been listening.
“Uh. Thanks but…no. Still not 100 percent.” She grinned sheepishly. How long would she be able to hide the morning sickness? He was already getting suspicious and now she was suddenly giving up alcohol? She needed advice. She needed…her sister. “I think I’m going to call Maddie.”
“Really? That’s great. You should.” Mark grinned. “It’s about time you guys make up.”
Only I’ll be the one to apologize—again.
“I’ve got to run out to get some resin for the boat, but I’ll be back,” Mark said. “Want me to get you something for your stomach?”
“Uh…no, I’ll be fine.” I hope.
“You sure?”
Laura nodded. Mark grabbed his keys and left, leaving her on the couch. She watched him go, admiring the broadness of his shoulders and his long, lean step. He made her heart beat a little bit faster. She wondered if she were going to have a boy and if he’d look as handsome as his father one day.
She stared at her phone. What were the chances Maddie would even pick up?
Laura dialed her number and her sister answered on the second ring.
“God, Laura. Are you okay? I only got the text from you since the hurricane and I’ve been worried sick.”
“You have?” Maddie’s text messages sure didn’t give the impression she was losing sleep over the bad weather on the island. They’d been terse and to the point.
“Absolutely! I was about to board a plane and come see you, but flights are outrageous and—”
“I’m fine, Maddie. The storm wasn’t that crazy, and I was here with Mark and—”
“Mark is the sailor?”
“Yes.”
Silence filled the line. Laura could tell there was still tension between them, about what had been said and not said the last time they talked. Laura had promised herself not to be the one to apologize this time, and yet, seeing Edward and Mark feud and then make up had left her feeling like maybe she ought to extend an olive branch.
“Maddie, I’m sorry I hurt your feelings.” There, that was true enough. She wasn’t sorry for what she’d said, exactly. All of it was absolutely true. But she was sorry if it made Maddie upset.
Maddie sighed. “I know. I’m sorry, too. It’s hard for me to say, but you’re an adult and you should make your own decisions. I know you hate it when I tell you what to do, but it’s only because I love you. I care about what happens to you, and I don’t want you to be hurt.” Maddie let out a deep breath. “After your miscarriage, I know you were so heartbroken. When I saw you in that hospital, I thought I might even lose you and…and I just couldn’t stand that thought. Not…after Mom.”
Tears welled up in Laura’s eyes as she clutched the phone harder. “I’m sorry, Maddie.”
“I’m sorry, too. I just want you to take care of yourself, okay? You’re not supposed to go first. I am. Why are we talking so much about death anyway?” Maddie complained. They laughed a little together, as they both choked back tears.
