seventeenth,” Dana replied. “I’m just about nine weeks along.” She sighed dreamily and turned to smile at R.J., her eyes alight with love and excitement. “I can’t believe we’re sitting here, talking about our son—or daughter.”
“Can’t they tell you what it is?” Will asked.
R.J. shook his head. “We want it to be a surprise.”
“But what if you get a lot of pink stuff, and it’s a boy?”
Dana laughed. “People usually give you yellow or green when you’re not sure.”
“Or we’ll just save it for the second baby,” R.J. said, wrapping his arm around Dana and pulling her toward him to kiss her temple. “God, I’m happy.”
“Me, too, darling,” Dana mumbled brokenly against his throat. “Me, too.”
Will, sitting on the other side of his aunt and uncle, rolled his eyes at their prolonged hug and smiled happily.
Anna nodded, jealousy at work deep down where she hid all private thoughts. But she smiled brightly, forgetting everything else and telling herself she was fortunate to have her son.
When she’d learned she was pregnant with Will, her husband, John, had been unenthused, and for the first month or so her happiness had felt hollow because he hadn’t shared it.
Then her family’s excitement and her reading and research began to thrill her despite John’s lack of interest. The first time she felt the baby move, she realized she already had a relationship with him, and nothing would ever diminish the miracle of that for her.
And nothing ever had. Even when she’d been about to deliver and John had chosen to support a client through a tricky deposition rather than his wife at the birth of their son, she’d approached labor gleefully, eager to see this child she’d come to love so much.
From the moment she first rested her eyes on Will, he’d been everything she’d ever prayed for.
She was delighted that her brother would support his wife throughout her pregnancy. Anna had never regretted a moment of hers, but she imagined it would be wonderful to have a husband’s hand to hold through it all. She had never and would never experience that.
“I know it’s early,” she said as R.J. and Dana drew apart. “But have you thought about names yet?”
“We bought a book that’s in the car,” Dana said, “But you’re commissioned to watch for great names as new clients come through your office.”
“How about Austin for a boy?” Will asked eagerly. “Mom’s going to do Austin Cahill’s wedding to… Mom?”
“Caroline Lamont,” she provided.
“I know Cahill.” R.J. nodded, as though expressing approval. “Nice guy. Smart. But a cool customer. I met him when I was on the board of Texas Charities, and then I saw him at the gala last month. Nothing gets by him.”
“He’s buying RoyceCo,” Will informed him. “I’d buy some shares, Unc. It’s about to go up.”
R.J. smiled at his nephew, his expression half affection, half attention. “No kidding. I’ll have to look into that. Did you tell Drake?”
Drake Logan was Maitland Maternity’s vice president in charge of finance, and he and Will met regularly to talk stocks.
Will shook his head. “I’ll tell him when I see him.”
“I imagine that’ll be quite a wedding,” Dana speculated. “I had to call Caroline Lamont when I was soliciting donations for a silent auction your mother was chairing for the Lone Star Ladies, and she sent a litter of wolfhound puppies. They made a bundle on those pups! They’d all had their shots, too, as I recall.”
Anna remembered that. “She thinks big. We’re doing a medieval English theme complete with armor and horses.”
R.J. laughed. “Don’t forget to hire someone to follow with a shovel. We’d better move, sis, if we’re going to see Mom before she goes to bed.”
He stood and pulled Dana to her feet. “Thanks for the coffee, but please don’t plan a party. You’ve got enough to do already.”
She hugged him tightly. “It’s what I do best, brother mine. And I’d love to throw a shower for you two. I’m sure I’ll have more than enough help from the family. We’ve all waited a long time to see you married and walking the floors with a teething baby.”
He held her away from him and frowned teasingly at her. “That’s sadistic.”
She smiled shamelessly. “I know. Let us have our little fun.”
“So, don’t you think Austin’s a cool name?” Will asked as R.J. wrapped an arm around him and headed for the door. Anna and Dana followed.
“It is,” R.J. agreed. “I like it. We’ll put it on the list we’re collecting. Of course, Will’s a pretty good name, too.”
Will grimaced. “It’s too ordinary.”
“But you, and the grandfather you were named for, have made it special.”
They stopped at the door, and Dana patted Will’s shoulder. “Names mean different things to different people,” she said. “Sometimes you dislike an otherwise beautiful name because you associate it with someone you can’t stand. Personally, I think Robert William would be a perfect name for a boy.”
“Not Robert,” R.J. said.
“But it’s your name,” Dana insisted.
“You just explained why we hate some names. And I have reason to hate that one.”
She sighed wearily. “It’s time to put that away.”
He opened the door. Though he didn’t dispute her statement, something in his stance, in his manner, said he would never forgive his long-missing father. His love for Dana had resolved many things in his life, but not that. Never that.
Anna hugged her sister-in-law. “Congratulations, Dana. I’m so happy for both of you. Start thinking about a list of invitees for the shower because I’m going to begin planning it right away.”
Dana kissed her cheek. “Thanks, Anna. I’d love that. We’d love that.”
As she headed for the car, R.J. lingered an extra moment and asked Anna quietly, “You’re okay?”
“Of course,” she replied, pretending she had no idea why he asked the question. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
“I’m sure it’s…hard for you to be happy for us.”
She punched his shoulder playfully. “A lot you know. I’m thrilled that the two of you have it all. Go! Dana’s waiting for you.”
R.J. honked the horn as they backed out of the driveway, and Anna closed the door and looked into her son’s concerned expression.
“I
