“So, how are you feeling?” Maggie asked. “You looked pretty shaky when you arrived this morning.”
“That was probably too long a drive to make without more breaks,” Hannah admitted. “I thought leaving Grammy’s house at dawn to avoid the heat of the day was a good idea, but maybe I should have slept in a little longer.”
“You’re going to have to take better care of yourself,” Maggie fussed. “Eat better, get more rest. You can’t just—” She stopped with a laugh. “Oh, gosh, I sound like Mom, don’t I?”
Hannah smiled. “You do, but thanks for the concern anyway. I’ll be more careful.”
“You have a doctor’s appointment this week?”
“Yes, Friday. I’m having an ultrasound, so maybe this time I’ll finally see if it’s a boy or a girl.” She was eager to know the sex, but the little peanut hadn’t cooperated by getting into the right position during her earlier scan. Her ob-gyn had assured her they would probably know by the end of the upcoming visit.
Maggie grinned. “I can’t wait to find out if I’m having a niece or a nephew. I’m going to be the coolest aunt ever.”
Hannah laughed. “I have no doubt.”
Sobering, Maggie set her water bottle aside. “You should probably tell your doctor you almost fainted this morning. Your face went so white it scared me.”
Hannah concentrated on stirring her smoothie with the plastic straw. “Like I said, I was just tired.”
She had no intention of admitting that the unexpected sight of Aaron Walker standing with the rest of her family in the resort diner had drained all the blood from her head. For a heart-stopping moment, she’d mistaken him for his identical twin. She’d thought Andrew was there to see her, and a dozen panicked questions had flashed through her mind—most notably, had he somehow found out about the pregnancy?
Aaron had reached out to steady her when she’d swayed, and she’d realized almost instantly that he wasn’t Andrew. Even had he not worn his dark coffee-colored hair longer than his brother, she’d have known the truth with one look at his face. There was something in his eyes that was fundamentally different from Andrew’s, something she couldn’t quite define but recognized nonetheless. She couldn’t say she remembered much more about that meeting with Aaron, other than to make note that Aaron and Shelby had just announced they were a couple and that Aaron would be staying to work in the resort. Which meant it was inevitable that Andrew would eventually visit again to see his brother.
She rested a hand on her stomach, feeling the baby do a lazy turn inside.
“Have you decided on names yet?” Maggie asked.
“Not yet. I’ll wait until I know the sex.”
Maggie slipped in one more question in the same chatty tone. “Told the dad yet?”
Hannah gave her a look. While the rest of the family had accepted her refusal to discuss the matter, her younger sister didn’t give up so easily. “No.”
“Going to?”
“Yes.” She had always planned to do so eventually, though she’d yet to decide how or when. She’d thought she had two or three more months to figure it out. Now it seemed her time was up.
As if in confirmation of that acknowledgment, her cell phone chirped to announce a text message. She checked it warily, and was not as surprised as she probably should have been to see the sender’s name.
“I have to run to town for a little while,” she said, setting her half-empty smoothie cup aside.
Maggie blinked in surprise. “I thought you were going to rest this afternoon.”
“I’ve rested all day. There are some things I need to do now because I plan to be back at my desk first thing in the morning.”
Looking concerned, Maggie rose as Hannah did. “Do you want me to come with you?”
“No, thanks. I won’t be long.” At least she hoped not.
“Hannah—”
She rested a hand on Maggie’s arm. “I’m okay,” she said, trying to sound reassuring. “There’s just something I need to see to, okay?”
“You’ll let me know if you need me?”
“You know I will.”
Even though Maggie didn’t look happy about it, she let her go. Hannah drew a deep breath for courage as she headed for the door.