Will they…?

Won’t they…?

Can they…?

The possibility of parenthood: for some couples it’s a seemingly impossible dream.

For others, it’s an unexpected surprise….

Or perhaps it’s a planned pregnancy that brings a husband and wife closer together…or turns their marriage upside down?

One thing is for sure, life will never be the same when they find themselves having a baby…maybe!

This emotionally compelling miniseries from Harlequin Romance® will warm your heart and bring a tear to your eye….

Their Doorstep Baby (#3718)

by Barbara Hannay

Grace Green grew up in Scotland but later emigrated to Canada with her husband and children. They settled in “Beautiful Super Natural B.C.” and Grace now lives in a house just minutes from ocean, beaches, mountains and rain forest. She makes no secret of her favorite occupation—her bumper sticker reads: I’d Rather Be Writing Romance! Grace also enjoys walking the seawall, gardening, getting together with other authors…and watching her characters come to life, because she knows that once they do, they will take over and write her stories for her.

Books by Grace Green

HARLEQUIN ROMANCE®

3622—THE BABY PROJECT

3658—TWINS INCLUDED!

3706—THE NANNY’S SECRET*

The Pregnancy Plan
Grace Green

www.millsandboon.co.uk

For John

CONTENTS

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

CHAPTER TWELVE

CHAPTER ONE

SHE came to him in the garden, on a morning gray with fog.

“The decision is yours, darling.” Tears shimmered in her eyes. “But you must make it soon.” Her voice caught. “This waiting…it’s breaking my heart…”

Dermid ached to hold her, to comfort her, but even as he reached for her, she began to slip away.

“Wait!” he called, panicking. “Alice, wait!”

But she was already disappearing into the mist, the loose sleeves of her cloud-white dress billowing out behind her like angel wings floating her heavenward.

“Alice!” he cried again and tried to follow her, but the mist snaked wet tendrils around him, binding him—

“Dad!” A shake on his arm, a child’s low urgent voice. “Dad!”

He groaned, and jerked from his nightmare, he came slowly, blearily…gratefully…awake.

Jack stood by the bed, in his unironed flannel pyjamas, his brown hair tufted, his hazel eyes anxious—far too anxious, Dermid thought with a pang of guilt—for a boy who had yet to celebrate his fifth birthday.

Leaning up on one elbow, clearing the rust of sleep from his throat, he said, “Sorry, son. Did I wake you?”

“You were shouting really loud. Was it bad?”

“It’s been worse.”

“But the same old nightmare?”

“Yup, same old one. And no, don’t ask, I’m not going to tell you what it’s about. Someday I will, when you’re old enough to handle it.” Dermid swung his long legs over the edge of the bed. “But right now—”

“But right now it would give me nightmares, too.”

“You got it.”

Dermid stood, and setting a firm hand on his son’s shoulders, walked him to the window. “Now enough about nightmares. Will you just look at that morning out there?” The sun, an explosion of fire atop Vancouver Island’s snowcapped Mountain Range, promised an unusually dazzling late-May day. “It’s going to be a scorcher.”

“Too bad we have to spend half of it on the ferry!”

“Don’t you want to go over to the Lower Mainland to see your new cousin being christened?”

“I’d rather stay here on the ranch and help Arthur look after the animals.”

“I’m not much of a party man myself, son, but we have to make the effort when it comes to family occasions.”

They weren’t really his family, only by marriage. They were Alice’s family. But he was fond of them all. Except for Lacey. Lacey left him cold…because Lacey, herself, was cold. Superficial. Useless. Oh, she was decorative, he wasn’t denying that, but useless. A pretty ornament. That was all. A bauble. She was Alice’s sister, but as unlike Alice as two women could have been.

Alice. He’d wanted to shut himself away from the outside world after she died, but for Jack’s sake he couldn’t. And for Jack’s sake, he’d remained in close contact with his in-laws these past three years, although being with them only refreshed his grief and made it more difficult to put the past behind him. Not that he had a hope in hell of putting the past behind him until he found the courage to end the situation that was bedeviling him—

“Dad, do we have to go?”

“Yeah.” Dermid stared out over the gardens below—Alice’s gardens, once lovingly cared for as he himself had been and now—like himself!—sadly abandoned. “I need to talk to your uncle Jordan about something.”

“Couldn’t you do that over the phone?”

Dermid lifted his gaze beyond the gardens, to the pastures beyond. Over seventy acres, home to his herd of alpacas and llamas. “No, this is something really important, something I have to discuss face-to-face.”

“You make it sound like a matter of life or death!”

But Jack had lost interest in the conversation as a lanky figure loped into view from the main barn.

“There’s Arthur, I’m gonna get dressed and go help him muck out the shelters.”

As Jack dashed away, his earlier comment echoed in Dermid’s head and he felt a wave of despair.

Little did his son know how accurately he had assessed the situation, for the dilemma facing him truly was a matter of life or death.

And the decision he had to make—the one that had been giving him nightmares now for so very many months—was surely the cruelest that any man could ever have to face.

“Lacey, thank goodness you’re here!”

Lacey Maxwell switched off the engine of her silver convertible. Taking the key from the ignition, she looked questioningly at her sister-in-law Felicity who had run down Deerhaven’s front steps and was hurrying to the car.

Felicity came to a breathless stop just as Lacey was about to drop her keys into her gray leather bag.

“Don’t put those away, Lace!”

“No?” Lacey paused, her slender crimson-tipped fingers splayed over the bag.

“I need to ask you a favor. Dermid called from the ferry a while ago to say there had been a long delay at Departure Bay so to save time he’d left the car at Nanaimo and he and Jack were on their way over as foot passengers. Jordan said he’d pick him up at Horseshoe Bay but he’s been detained at the office so—”

“So you want me to do the honors.”

“Would you, Lacey? I’d go myself, but it’s time for the baby’s feed and—”

“Say no more. It’ll be my pleasure.”

“You’re a godsend!” Flicking back her blond braid, Felicity glanced at her watch. “If you leave right now, you’ll be there just as the ferry docks.”

Lacey slipped her key into the ignition. “This is going to be fun. It’ll make the laird beholden to me and he won’t like that one little bit!”

“Lacey…”

“Mmm?” Lacey’s smile was mischievous.

“Don’t be too hard on him, will you?”

“I’ll try my best, but he really does bring out the worst in me! Male chauvinists always do, and he’s the most flagrant offender I’ve ever come across.”

Felicity chuckled, a melodious infectious sound that made Lacey chuckle, too.

And as she spun her convertible away down the driveway, she thought—as she so often did—how lucky her brother Jordan was to have found such a perfect mate.

His first marriage had been a disaster. His wife Marla had been a hard and selfish woman who had for many years been unfaithful to him. After her death, Jordan had met and fallen deeply in love with Felicity, who had not only been his daughter Mandy’s caregiver since infancy, she’d been more of a mother to Mandy than Marla had ever been. And after their marriage, Felicity had gone on to produce two darling boys, Todd and Andrew, and a baby girl, Verity, who was going to be the star of today’s christening party.

It was going to be a lovely family get-together, Lacey mused as she raced the car along the Sea to Sky Highway toward the ferry terminal at Horseshoe Bay; the only fly in the ointment being, of course, Dermid Andrew McTaggart.

And of course he wasn’t really family. Only by marriage. His family—his parents and two brothers and a slew of other relatives—lived in Scotland. And as far as Lacey was concerned, that was where he should have stayed, with the rest of his clan!

He had never liked her.

She had been prepared to like him, as she’d have been prepared to like any man her sister had loved because she herself had adored Alice. But the blinkered Scot hadn’t given her a chance. As far as he was concerned, models were vain empty creatures and he had no time for them.

And she certainly hadn’t been about to grovel for his approval. She was neither vain nor empty but she had more than her fair share of pride. And if there was ever to be an end to the cold war between her and Dermid McTaggart, he would have to make the first move.

And the earth, she thought with a dry smile, was more likely to move first!

“I thought Uncle Jordan was going to meet us.” Jack looked around anxiously. “Where is he?”

The village of Horseshoe Bay on this blistering hot day was jammed with tourists, buses, cabs, vehicles of all sorts. Holidaymakers thronged the sidewalks, window-shopping—looking at jade jewelry, carved totem poles, Vancouver sweatshirts. Others licked ice-cream cones and wandered aimlessly, enjoying the sea breeze and the spectacular view—the yachts bobbing in the marina; the vast white B.C. Ferry; the shimmering blue ocean.

“Your uncle’s probably driving around trying to find a parking spot. We’d best stand right here, and wait for him. He’ll—”

“Hello, Dermid.”

The voice came from behind him, but he’d have recognized it anywhere. Light, feminine, flippant. Challenging.

He turned, and there she was. His sparring partner. Stunning as ever, in a crisp white shirt and icy-blue linen slacks. And looking, amid the throng of perspiring sun-baked tourists, as cool as an iced drink in the desert.

“Lacey.” His tone was faintly mocking. “Are you our chauffeur?”

“Jordan sends his apologies, he couldn’t get away.” She shifted her attention to Jack, who was gazing up at her with the expression of a lovesick swain. “Jack, it’s great to see you.”

“You, too, Aunt Lacey!”

“I’ve got something for you, darling. A present. I got it in France when I was there last week…”

Dermid felt a sense of irritation as he watched them chat.

She had a way with men, no doubt about it. And with boys. She never talked down to Jack, never had; she always treated him like an adult. And he, poor sod, had been mad about her from the time his newborn eyes could focus, and he could see that sheet of ink-black hair, those green cat-eyes and that impossibly flawless creamy skin. Soon the poor kid would be old enough to notice the endless legs, the seductive walk, the sexy rear end, the—

“Well, Dermid, shall we go?” She swung away toward the street, the movement sending a drift of her perfume into his space. To follow her, he had to walk through the mingled scent of gardenia petals and enough musk to make a red-blooded male howl at the moon!

“I’m parked over here.” With self-assurance in every elegant step, she led the way into the parking lot. And stopped by her silver convertible, which had the top down.

“Your car is so cool, Aunt Lacey!” Jack’s eyes glowed with excitement. “Can I sit in front with you?”

“I don’t see why not,” she said gaily. “If your father doesn’t mind?”

“Do you, Dad?”

“No,” he growled.

And within seconds they were on their way out of the parking lot and on their way up to the high-way…the driver’s hair flying out behind her with a life of its own.

She and Jack talked to each other nonstop. Occasionally she’d call over her shoulder, “Are you okay back there?” and he’d answer with a curt “Yes!”

Once he caught a glimpse of her in the rearview mirror, looking at him. For just a second, their eyes locked, before she quickly fixed hers on the road again; but in that fleeting exchange he thought he detected not only vulnerability, but a look of wistful wisdom.

And he knew only too well that he must have been mistaken, for Lacey Maxwell was neither vulnerable nor wistful nor wise.

What she was, was a beautiful bore.

But she’d done him a favor by coming to pick him up…and although given a choice he’d rather have walked, he was now beholden to her.

And the sooner he paid that debt, the happier he’d be.

So when they approached the next exit, he leaned forward and yelled, into the streaming ribbons of her black hair, “Could you stop by at the Caulfeild mall?”

She nodded. And putting out her signal, drove onto the exit ramp.

The shopping center was just minutes from the highway, and as soon as she’d parked, he jumped out.

“I’ll be right back.”

He’d intended buying flowers, but at the last moment he changed his mind and bought a box of Belgian chocolates instead. The woman could do with a bit of beef on her!

When he walked back toward the car, he could see she and Jack were talking. They didn’t notice him approach, but he could hear Jack’s eager voice from twenty feet away.

“…and me and my dad aren’t big on family parties, and I told him I’d have rather stayed home and mucked about on the ranch than come over here and act gaga over some baby—”

He broke off as he noticed his father.

“Oh, hi, Dad. I was just telling Aunt Lacey that—”

“Yeah, I heard.”

Lacey looked up at him, her expression amused. “Your son and I are on the same wavelength when it comes to babies—we agree they’re no fun to be around till they’re toilet-trained and able to have a decent conversation.”

“Aunt Lacey thinks they’re messy and noisy and need attention 24-7…24-7, Dad. Aunt Lacey says that means twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.”

“In other words, a full-time job.” Dermid got into the back seat. And added, as Lacey turned around in her seat to look at him, “A bit more exhausting, I’d imagine, and certainly more fulfilling, than spending an hour or two, here or there, leaning against a coconut palm and getting your picture taken for some glossy magazine! How would you describe your job, Lacey? Maybe a 3-2?”

Her green eyes, which had been twinkling with laughter, now clouded over. And he got the sense that he’d doused whatever joy she’d been feeling in the day.

Lips compressed, she turned from him, flicked the key in the ignition, and set the car in motion.

Jack appeared to have noticed the clashing vibrations, for he sank, obviously subdued, back in his seat.

And neither he, nor his aunt, spoke one more word to him or to each other for the rest of the journey.

Deerhaven, the Maxwell’s five-bedroom home, stood high on the slopes of West Vancouver. With a panoramic view of the ocean, it sat in parklike grounds, with a swimming pool, a white-painted cabana, and a play area for the children.

Lacey had her own condo a few minutes away, but every chance she got, she visited Deerhaven. Over the years, Felicity had become her closest friend…but there was one secret Lacey kept from Felicity, and it concerned Dermid.

Felicity thought highly of her brother-in-law, and both she and Jordan considered the ongoing thrust-and-parry between him and Lacey to be harmless. What neither of them knew was that in recent months, Dermid’s put-downs had become more cutting.

And Lacey was afraid that if she wasn’t careful she’d let her guard down and he’d see that he was drawing blood.

Today’s snide comment had been particularly hurtful.

“How would you describe your job, Lacey? Maybe 3-2?”

At his sarcastic comment, all her joy in the day had faded. And she’d felt a surge of resentment. He considered a model’s life to be one of glamour and ease; little did he know that sometimes she was so exhausted she almost fell apart. Not only was she constantly traveling, the shoots themselves were extremely stressful, as were the fashion shows in Milan, Paris, London…

Stifling a sigh, she pushed all her negative thoughts aside as she drew her car to a halt in front of Deerhaven. She was not going to let Dermid’s unpleasant jabs dampen her mood; she had planned to have a good time at today’s party and that was exactly what she was going to do.

Jack opened his seat belt buckle. “Dad, can I go around the back and see if my cousins are out there?”

“Sure, go ahead.”

He and Lacey walked toward the front door together. When they reached the stoop, he turned and looked out over the ocean.

“Some view,” he murmured, almost to himself.

Lacey followed his gaze, and saw that seven freighters sat waiting to be loaded with grain, and dozens of yachts dotted the waters, while a few speedboats raced around.

“Yes, it’s fabulous.”

Lacey glanced up at him, and as she did, she could—as always—easily see why her sister had fallen in love with him. With his dark auburn hair, rugged features, and sexy mouth, Dermid McTaggart really was a very attractive man.

It was too bad he didn’t have a personality to match!

Lacey had her own key to Deerhaven, and taking it out, she unlocked the door. He followed her into the foyer.

From upstairs came the fretty cry of a baby.

Lacey moved over to the foot of the stairs. “Fliss, we’re here!”

A few seconds later, Felicity appeared on the landing. She beamed down at them.

“Hi, Dermid, delighted you could make it. Where’s Jack?”

“He went round the back to look for his cousins.”

“Good, they’re playing there with Shauna—my baby-sitter from next door. Jordan called, he’s on his way home. I’m just going to put Verity down for a nap and we’ll have a drink before lunch. We’ve loads of time, the christening’s not till two-thirty.”

“Anything I can do to help?” Lacey asked.

“You’re such a whizz at setting the table, would you mind…?”

“Not at all.”

“And Dermid, could you take Andrew’s high chair from the kitchen and set it up in the dining room?”

“Sure.”

As Felicity went back to the nursery, Dermid ambled off and Lacey went into the dining room.

She set the table, using Felicity’s best linen and silver and crystal, and then taking white linen napkins from the drawer, she fashioned them into intricate swans and set them in the glasses by each place mat, smiling to herself as she stood back to admire her handiwork.

She detested housecleaning and she couldn’t cook but there was no denying she could set a mean table.

Dermid, on the other hand, hadn’t even managed to bring through the high chair!

As she made her way to the kitchen to take him to task, she heard Jordan’s voice.

“…yes of course we can talk about it,” he was saying.

“Later,” Dermid said. “After the party’s over. It’s private, Jordan, and personal. A family matter.”

“But if it has to do with Alice, as you said, shouldn’t Lacey be involved, too?”

“No!” Dermid’s tone was sharp. “She’s the last person whose input I’d want on this. Jordan, I’ve struggled with this situation for far too long and I have to make a decision. At least, I’ve made my decision, and what I need from you is support—”

Lacey became aware of footsteps running down the stairs. And realizing, with dismay, that she’d been eavesdropping, she hurried back to the foyer and arrived there just as Felicity reached the foot of the stairs.

“You’ve set the table?” her sister-in-law asked.

“Mmm. Come along and see my swans!”

But though she managed to put on a cheerful face, Lacey felt edgy and upset.

What was going on in her brother-in-law’s life that required him to ask Jordan for support?

It was clear he didn’t want her to know anything about it. And that made her furious. She was a Maxwell, too, and if it was a family matter concerning Alice, then Dermid McTaggart had no business trying to shut her out!

One way or another, she promised herself, she would get to the bottom of it!

CHAPTER TWO

THE christening took place outdoors at Deerhaven, the sunken rose garden made a perfect setting and Jordan and Felicity looked blissfully happy.

“I think,” the minister said later in the afternoon, before he left, “that everything went off rather well.” His eyes twinkled. “Baby Verity is blessed with a remarkable pair of lungs.”

Jordan laughed, saying “She may well be a budding opera singer!” as he walked the minister into the house from the patio, where the adults had enjoyed champagne and tea and a slice of Felicity’s delicious homemade white-chocolate christening cake after the ceremony.

Felicity had gone upstairs to put the baby down for a nap and the other children were having a picnic in the play area…which left Dermid alone on the patio with Lacey.

He noticed that though she’d taken an active part in the conversation while the minister was present, now she lay back in her cushioned lounger and closed her eyes.

Shutting him out.

And he could hardly blame her. Ever since she’d picked him up at the ferry, some perverse impulse had driven him to snipe at her. That comment he’d made, about her job being a “3-2” had been totally uncalled for. So what if she lived an easy glamorous life, one that was shallow and useless? Just because he despised that kind of nonproductive existence was no excuse for taking potshots at her. But what had impelled him into goading her further today had been the fact that she hadn’t responded with her usual acerbity. And what satisfaction was there in needling someone who refused to be needled!

She looked, right now, totally oblivious to him. She also looked as if she were posing for some fashion spread. Elegance personified.

But her silk dress, which she’d changed into before the ceremony—black with a pattern of tiny white flowers—probably cost more than one of his prize alpacas!

“I can see,” she drawled, “by the derisive curl of your lip, that you’re thinking a nasty thought about me.”

She’d barely raised her eyelids but he could detect a challenging glitter from beneath the coal-dark lashes.

She tilted her head, provocatively. “Go ahead,” she said. “Spit it out. It can’t be good for you, to keep all that poison bubbling inside.”

He decided to accept the challenge. “I was just thinking,” he said lazily, “that your dress probably cost more than one of my prize alpacas.”

“Yes,” she said, “I shouldn’t be surprised if it did. And you were probably thinking, also, what a useless life I lead, compared with one of your beloved beasts.”

He glanced at the table. “It did occur to me,” he murmured, “that if Alice had still been here, she’d have whipped all these dishes and glasses inside and be cleaning up in the kitchen, to take some of the load off Felicity.”

Now he was being mean, and he didn’t like it—or himself—one bit. He saw her stiffen. But when she spoke, instead of an angry retort, he got a restrained reply.

“I know you miss Alice, but you won’t ever get to me by holding her up as an example—I’m in total agreement that she was one in a million. I know she meant the world to you, and I know how unhappy you’ve been since she died. And I’m guessing you’re stuck at the ‘anger’ stage of your grief. If it helps to use me as a whipping boy, feel free to continue.”

The patio doors behind her slid open and Felicity came out, with Jordan following.

As casually as if she and Dermid hadn’t been spatting, Lacey looked up at Felicity and said in a pleasant tone, “Did you get the baby settled?”

“Mmm, she’s out like a light. Wasn’t she sweet, in her christening gown?”

“She was adorable.” Lacey swung herself gracefully up from her chaise. “Now I’m going out to the car to fetch the presents I brought for the children. Will you come and give me a hand?”

“Of course. But you shouldn’t have—”

“I know, I spoil them…but since I have no children of my own, just indulge me!”

“By the way,” her brother said, “what happened with that English guy who chased you all over Europe? The one with the castle in Wiltshire.”

“Sir Harry? Oh, I ditched him when he told me he expected me to give up my career when we married, and start having babies—lots of ’em!—right away. Male chauvinism run riot! Besides, can you imagine yours truly coping with dirty diapers and bottles of formula and sleepless nights…not to mention having to lumber around like an elephant for the best part of nine months!” She gave an elegant shudder. “I think not!”

“Being pregnant is wonderful!” Felicity protested. “I adored it…and would have quite happily gone on and had another new baby every couple of years till I was too old to have anymore!”

“Which is why after Verity was born,” her husband reminded her with a warm chuckle, “we both agreed that four were enough!”

Dermid had remained quiet during the talk of babies, but after Lacey and Felicity left the patio, he said,

“Jordan, do you think we could discuss that matter now, the one I mentioned earlier?”

“Sure,” Jordan said. “Let’s go into my study, where we won’t be disturbed.”

Lacey had brought new swimsuits for the children, and a colorful beach ball for each of them.

“Can we go in the pool now, Mom?” Eight-year-old Mandy waved her new lemon-yellow bikini in the air.

“Can we, Mom?” echoed Todd, two, and Andrew, four, as they gleefully rolled their new blue-and-green striped balls across the carpet in the den, setting RJ, the cat, scurrying for cover.

“Please, Aunt Felicity?” Jack loved to swim with his Dad in the swimming hole on their property, but it was always a treat to swim in the blue-tiled pool at Deerhaven.

“Let’s all go for a swim!” Lacey said. “It’s so hot today, it’ll be fabulous to cool off. Do let’s,” she urged Felicity. “You can take the baby monitor with you.”

“I really should clean up first,” Felicity said.

“I’ll help,” Lacey offered, but Felicity shook her head.

“No you go ahead, I’ll come out when I’m finished.”

“My bikini’s still in the laundry room?”

“Mmm, where you left it last time. And could you bring up the beach towels?” Felicity turned to Mandy. “Honey, will you get the sunscreen and then all of you wait here till Aunt Lacey comes back, and she’ll take you outside to the cabana to get changed and put on the suntan lotion.”

Within minutes Lacey was herding them all outside. And soon they were all in the water.

Jack and Andrew, both strong swimmers, immediately struck out across the pool toward the deep end, punching their beach balls ahead of them, while Mandy and Lacey played in the shallow end with Todd.

Felicity turned up after about twenty minutes. She was carrying a tray, with a pitcher of lemonade, a stack of plastic glasses, and the baby monitor. Setting the tray and monitor on the picnic table by the pool, she stood for a moment, adjusting the straps of her amethyst one-piece swimsuit.

“You’re looking terrific,” Lacey called. “You’ve put on a few pounds with this last baby, but it suits you.”

“Thanks, Lacey! So…where did Jordan and Dermid disappear to?”

“I don’t know. I haven’t seen them since you and I went out to the car to get the presents.”

Just as Felicity made to jump into the water, Todd started to fuss.

“Want a drink! Want out!”

Mandy had been holding him; now she carried him to the steps and her mother reached down and hoisted him up.

“A woman’s work,” Felicity said with a laugh, “is never done!”

Mandy retrieved her beach ball which had drifted away, and shouted, “Catch, Aunt Lacey!”

For the next while, Lacey played with Mandy, until Felicity interrupted them.

“Lacey, can you come out? I need to talk to you.”

She sounded so serious, Lacey felt a jolt of surprise; surprise that changed to concern when she saw her sister-in-law’s unhappy expression.

“And Mandy—” Felicity took Todd’s empty glass from him “—will you come out, too, and take Todd over to the cabana and get him changed? I think he’s ready for a nap and I want to have a chat with Aunt Lacey.”

Lacey climbed up the steps, and wringing out her sodden hair, walked over to Felicity. She waited till Mandy had taken Todd to the cabana before saying anxiously,

“What’s wrong, Fliss?”

“Oh, Lacey, it’s so sad. When I tell you, I know you’ll be so upset—” She broke off as Jordan came out of the house. “Shh,” she whispered. “I can’t tell you just now, not till after Dermid’s gone. Please don’t say anything to Jordan. Not yet.”

The pool area was surrounded by chain link fencing, and as Jordan opened the gate, he called,

“Hey, Jack, come on out now. You and your dad have to leave in about ten minutes.”

“Are you going to drive him?” Felicity asked.

“No, I’m afraid I have to go back to the office…”

Jordan was manager of one of the North Shore’s top real estate firms, and Sunday, at this time of year, was always one of the agency’s busiest days.

“…but,” he added, “I said you’d drive him, Lace. Okay?”

Lacey bit her tongue. “Sure, no problem.”

Jordan turned toward the house. “Ah, here he is.”

Jack clambered out of the pool and ran to his father. “Do we have to go now?” he asked. “Can’t we stay for a while longer?”

“No,” Dermid said. “It’s time we were going.”

“Aw!” Jack pulled a long face. “I was having a good time…”

“Why don’t you let him stay for a few days?” Felicity suggested. “You could come back for him on the weekend.”

Dermid turned to Jack. “Do you want to stay on, on your own?” The child never had before.

“Sure! Thanks, Dad! Thanks, Aunt Felicity.” And without further ado, Jack tore off and yelling to his cousins, “I’m staying!” he plunged into the water again.

Smiling, Jordan turned to his brother-in-law. “So Lace will drive you to the ferry, whenever you’re ready.”

Dermid’s eyes met Lacey’s. His were cool. “Thanks,” he said, “but I’ve called a cab.”

Lacey lifted one shoulder in a careless shrug. “Fine.” What a boor the man was!

“Well, guys, I’ll have to go now,” Jordan said. “Thanks for coming over, Dermid. I know this isn’t your kind of ‘do,’ but Fliss and I have always appreciated the effort you’ve made to keep Jack in close touch with his cousins.”

“We know it must have been hard at first, coming here without Alice.” Felicity patted his arm. “But I hope it’s become easier, with time.”

Dermid said, “Alice would have wanted it this way.”

“You’re right, she would,” Jordan said, giving Felicity a warm kiss goodbye. “Okay, folks, I’m off. Bye, all!”

Once he’d gone, Dermid stood chatting with Felicity for a few minutes, until they heard the toot of a car horn.

“That’ll be your cab.” Felicity turned to Lacey. “Will you see Dermid out, Lace? I don’t want to leave the children alone in the pool.”

“Not necessary,” Dermid said quickly. “I can see myself out—”

“Oh, but I insist!” Lacey said, with exaggerated graciousness. “My list of faults is long enough without adding bad manners to it!”

And with her nose in the air, she led him into the house and out through the foyer.

As they passed the hallstand, she noticed, sitting on it, the bag containing whatever it was that Dermid had bought at the Caulfeild Mall. He’d set it there when he’d come in that morning.

She indicated it, and said, “Is that for Felicity? Did you forget to give it to her?”

He paused in the open doorway. “It’s for you.”

“For me?”

Frowning, she scooped up the bag and looked inside and saw a lovely box of very expensive Belgian chocolates.

Taken completely by surprise, she said, “Thank you, Dermid! I have such a weakness for chocolate and these are my favorites!” So, the man had a soft spot after all. Teasingly she said, “What is this? A peace offering?”

His eyes were beautiful and unique in color—the whisky brown of a Highland stream, Alice used to say. But those same eyes which had glowed with love when he looked at his wife, now flattened with denial when he looked at his sister-in-law.

“It’s a thank you,” he said curtly. “For picking me up at Horseshoe Bay.”

He could have slapped her and she wouldn’t have felt more wounded. Or humiliated. But gritting her teeth, she swiftly rebounded from his nastiness.

“Of course,” she said. “I should have known. I feel sorry for you, Dermid McTaggart. What a petty mind you do have! What I did was a favor. And a very small one at that. But could you accept it? Oh, no. No way. It would never do for the almighty McTaggart to be beholden to anyone, and certainly not to me. Well, I’d like to take your fancy Belgian chocolates and shove them…well, you can guess where. But I won’t. Unlike you, I do possess some of the social graces, and I do know how to accept a gift!”

Before he could stop her, she reached up on her tiptoes and kissed him on the cheek.

Then standing back, she said, “Maybe that’s not the way it’s done where you come from, McTaggart, but that’s the way it’s done here. A smile, a thank you, and a friendly kiss. You know the old saying: while in Rome, do as the Romans do. I hope you’ll remember it in future!”

With that, she whirled away, leaving him to see himself out…and good manners be damned!

Clouds had drifted in from the west and when Lacey returned to the garden, she felt a drop of rain on her arm.

Felicity said, “We’re going to have a shower! I’ll put Todd down for a nap and the other children can watch TV in the den while you and I have our talk.”

By the time she had settled the children, a cloud had crept over the sun and the rain was sprinkling down.

“Let’s sit on the patio,” she said. “I’ll roll down the awning.”

As she rolled it down, she said, “It was too bad Sarah and the others came down with ’flu this week. They were looking forward to coming over for the party today.”

“You’re so lucky to have Sarah. And Gigi,” she added, referring to Felicity’s other sister, both of whom lived on Vancouver Island. “I miss Alice terribly. She was more than a wonderful older sister, she was like a mother to me—brought me up, as you know, after Mom died. And she was also my best friend.”

“Dermid’s best friend, too—I don’t think I’ve ever seen two people so devoted to each other.” She sighed. “Which brings me to what I have to tell you.” She crossed the patio and sat down on one of the lawn chairs.

But when she gestured to Lacey to do the same, Lacey shook her head. She felt too restless to sit down. “Before you start, Fliss, I have to confess that I may not be totally in the dark about what you’re going to say. This morning, I accidentally eavesdropped while Dermid and Jordan were talking and I heard Dermid refer to a family matter and a decision Dermid had to make, and he asked Jordan for his support.”

“Poor Dermid. With his Scottish pride, and his fierce independence, it couldn’t have been easy for him to ask Jordan for anything! As for eavesdropping, I’m afraid I’ve been guilty of it, too. You see, after I set up the baby monitor at the pool, while I was giving Todd his lemonade I heard Jordan and Dermid talking. They were in the nursery, Jordan apparently checking on Verity—and he and Dermid were talking quietly…although it obviously didn’t occur to either of them that they could be overheard.”

“I should tell you, Fliss, Dermid made it clear to Jordan that he didn’t want me involved in the situation.”

“He may not want you involved, but I do think you ought to know. Alice would want you to know.”

“Fliss, if you don’t come to the point—”

“Sorry. Okay, here goes. You know that Dermid had a bout with cancer a long while ago, just after he and Alice were married, and that before he underwent radiation treatment, on the oncologist’s advice he had some of his sperm frozen because it was possible the treatment would render him infertile…which, unhappily, it did.”

“Yes, of course. And I know that later on, Jack was born from a frozen embryo.”

“Do you remember, Lacey, that Dermid and Alice had a second embryo, cryogenically frozen, and stored at that same clinic in Toronto—the embryo of a girl baby—and that Alice and Dermid looked forward to one day having that child—”

“But Alice died before they could.” Lacey’s throat felt suddenly tight. “I often think of that little baby who’ll never be born…I find it so sad, and it would have broken Alice’s heart…” Her voice trailed into silence.

All around, the rain was lashing down now. Lacey hadn’t even noticed it getting heavier, and the afternoon had become bleak and cool and very dark.

She blinked away threatening tears, and saw Felicity rise from her seat. Her sister-in-law crossed over to her, took her hands and held them tight.

“Lacey, Dermid’s been having nightmares. Alice has been coming to him, begging him to let her rest in peace. She wants closure. He wants closure, too. So…he’s finally going to do the thing he’s been putting off doing ever since Alice died. He’s going to contact the fertility clinic in Toronto this week, and tell them he no longer wants the remaining embryo preserved.”

CHAPTER THREE

“HE SHOULD have told me!” Lacey glared at her brother. “Alice was my sister, too, I had every right to know what he was planning to do. He had no right to shut me out!”

Jordan made a placating gesture. “Honey, this has been very difficult for Dermid—”

“Of course it has, I’m not denying that. It must be breaking his heart, knowing that Alice’s baby is there, just waiting for a chance to be born. But now she never will be!” Lacey felt her anger dissipating as sorrow took over. “Oh, Jordan, why does life have to be so cruel?”

He had nothing to say that would comfort her. He looked helplessly at Felicity, who looked back equally helplessly at him.

Lacey paced the sitting room. She crossed to the window, looked out in the pitch-dark night. Jordan had been very late getting home, but she couldn’t settle until she’d had it out with him, had vented all the resentment she felt toward Dermid McTaggart.

Impatient, she whirled around now. “I still can’t forgive him for not including me in his decision-making. I know he thinks I’m an airhead—”

“If he does,” Jordan said, “you have only yourself to blame. You’ve deliberately led him to believe you’re a bit spacey—”

“Only because from the moment we met, he made it clear that he thought anyone who made a living the way I did must have the IQ of a gnat!”

“Let’s not get sidetracked, Lace.” Her brother’s expression had become somber. “No matter how smart you are, what could you have contributed to our conversation? After all, the matter was simple. Dermid had already made his decision, and what he wanted from me, as Alice’s brother, was my support…and that was all there was to it.”

“No, I won’t accept that!” Lacey’s silver bracelets flashed in the light as she stuck her fists on her hips. “Three heads are better than two—and if you’d included me in your furtive little get-together, I might have come up with some other option.”

“It wasn’t furtive. It was private. Besides, what other option could you have come up with? All you could have suggested was that he delay the inevitable. The man’s been having nightmares, Lace, for months! Leaving the situation the way it is, is not an option.”

“So what’s his next step?” Felicity asked.

“He’s going to Toronto on Friday, to talk with the people at the clinic, tell them not to preserve the embryo any longer.”

Felicity tsked. “Won’t that be terribly hard on him—going back there, where he and Alice…?”

“Yeah, it’ll be hard. But Dermid feels it’s something he can’t do by phone. He wants to do it in person—”

“There is another option.” Lacey’s voice had been quiet, but it stopped Jordan in his tracks.

He looked warily at her. “There is?”

“Yes.” Excitement welled up inside her. “Dermid can hire a surrogate mother—she’d be a gestational carrier, actually, since she wouldn’t have any genetic link to the child—to bear the baby for him!”

“I already suggested that to Dermid,” Jordan said. “This morning.”

“And?” Lacey demanded. “What did he say?”

“Emphatically ‘No!’. He won’t even consider it.”

“Is it the money issue?” Felicity asked. “He wouldn’t feel comfortable paying someone to act as a host uterus?”

“It’s nothing to do with money. I don’t remember his exact words, but the gist of it was that making a baby was a family affair, and not something an outsider should ever be part of.” Jordan shrugged. “It is not an option.”

“He’s a stubborn man, is the McTaggart.” Lacey’s excitement died. ‘Well, that’s that, then.” She sat on the arm of her brother’s chair. “You were right, Jordan. I couldn’t have contributed anything useful to your conversation. And now that the decision is made, sad as it is, we’ll all just have to accept it.”

“It’s particularly sad for Dermid,” Felicity said. “He won’t ever be able to have another child, should he decide to remarry.”

There remained nothing more to say on the matter, and soon after, Lacey got up to leave.

“Are you going to be home for a while?” Jordan asked as he and Felicity walked her out to her car. “Or are you off on a shoot somewhere?”

“I’m going to be around for the next while, taking a bit of a break. But after that, I’m heavily committed for the next several months. And my agent’s been making overtures to GloryB. They’re going to be looking for a replacement for Kinga Koff—their GloryB girl—because she’s getting married in the Fall and she’s planning to retire.”

“For their cosmetic line, then,” Felicity said. “Oh, how thrilling!”

“Fingers crossed,” Lacey said. “It’s always been my dream, to be the face of GloryB!”

She smiled as she stood by her silver convertible and looked out over the dark waters of the inlet. “If it all works out, I may be asking you to find a house for me, Jordan. Something really deluxe, up here on the hill.”

But as she drove away a few moments later, her smile faded and she was left with her thoughts. Desolate thoughts about Alice, and the baby who would never be born.

Alice had done so much for her after their mother died, and had made many huge sacrifices. Lacey had thanked her many times, but mere thanks had never seemed adequate.

If only, she reflected, with a sense of grief and great loss, she had ever been able to do something to repay her beloved sister, but the occasion had never arisen.

“Aunt Lacey, this is Jack speaking…”

Lacey stood in her kitchen, making coffee as she listened to her nephew’s voice on her answering machine. She’d been in the shower and hadn’t heard the phone ring, but now, on this gray Thursday morning, with her wet hair wrapped in a towel, she gave his message her attention.

“Aunt Lacey, nobody knows I’m phoning—I’m in Uncle Jordan’s study, he’s at work and Aunt Felicity’s busy with the baby. Here’s why I’m calling. Can you come and drive me home? I’m just itchin’ to get back. So…will you call me if you can come? Please? Love, Jack.”

Lacey gave a wry smile. Who could have resisted that earnest “Love, Jack”?

She phoned Deerhaven and when Felicity answered, she asked to talk to Jack. When he came on the line, she said, “I got your message, and I’d be happy to take you home. Can you be ready to leave in about an hour?”

“Sure! And thanks, Aunt Lacey!”

“Now talk to your aunt. Come clean, tell her you’re homesick, she’ll understand. And I’ll pick you up at ten.”

Jack was ready when she arrived at Deerhaven, and they drove straight out to Horseshoe Bay. The morning was still overcast, and by the time they boarded the ferry, rain was drizzling down.

But it cleared up after a while, and by the time they reached Nanaimo, sunshine and blue skies greeted them.

Jack had chattered happily on the ferry trip, but on the drive to the ranch, he lapsed into silence. Slumping back in his seat, he stared glumly out of the window.

“Is something wrong?” Lacey asked as they turned off the highway and onto the side road leading to the ranch. “I thought you’d be so excited to be home, but—”

“I am.”

“You don’t sound very excited!” She glanced at him and saw his little face was drawn down in lugubrious lines. “I know you wanted to surprise your dad, but maybe we should have called and told him you were coming back early—are you afraid he’ll be away somewhere?”

Jack shook his head. “If he wasn’t here, Arthur would be around. It’s just…well, I’m glad to be back, but…”

“But what?”

“They’re lucky,” he muttered. “Mandy and Andrew and Todd and the baby. All these kids to play with, they’d never be lonely. I just wish I had a brother—or a sister—but I’m never going to have one. My dad was sick a long time ago and now he can’t have any more kids. It sucks.”

“I know,” she said gently, “that it must be hard, being an only child. But at least you have cousins, and you get to see them quite often.”

“Yeah,” he said. “I guess.”

But it was obvious he felt they were a poor second-best to actually having a brother or sister of his own.

By now they were approaching the house, and she saw Arthur emerge from the back door.

A confirmed bachelor and shy around women, the man had worked with Jordan for many years, and was now a permanent fixture at the ranch.

“Look,” Lacey said, hoping to divert Jack from his forlorn musings. “There’s Arthur!”

Jack bounced up in his seat, waving.

Arthur loped toward the car, and gave Lacey a respectful salute. “Hi, there, Ms. Maxwell.”

Jack snapped open his seat belt. “Where’s Dad?”

“Inside, throwin’ a few things in a bag. He’s going to Toronto, flyin’ out from Vancouver this evenin’.”

“I thought,” Lacey said, “he was going on Friday?”

“Too impatient, he was, too restless, to wait.”

“Arthur!” Jack opened his car door and hopped out. “Did Molly May have her cria yet?”

“Yup, yesterday, like clockwork. Cute as a button, too…your dad called her Molly Maybe.”

Jack said, “I can’t wait to see her—come on, Aunt Lacey. You gotta see this!”

Heavy rain must have fallen here earlier; the track was still muddy in places. But even if it had been dry, Lacey wouldn’t have jumped at the chance to traipse off looking at animals. That had been Alice’s life. It certainly wasn’t her idea of a good time.

“No, thanks,” she said. “I’ll pass.”

“Okay. But thanks for taking me over!” Jack ran around to her side of the car, and put up his arms for a hug.

She leaned over and gave him a warm one. “I enjoyed the trip,” she said. “It’s always fun to have an outing with such a cool young dude!”

Jack beamed with pleasure. Then turning to the ranch hand, he said, “Let’s go, Arthur!”

Arthur put a hand on the boy’s shoulder. “You’d better nip inside first and let your dad know you’re back.”

“Aunt Lacey will. Right, Aunt Lacey?”

She’d intended to leave without seeing Dermid. It still rankled that he hadn’t included her in the private talk he’d had with Jordan. But Jack was hopping around impatiently, eyes eager as he waited for her response.

How could she refuse? “Yes, I’ll tell him.”

“Just go in,” Arthur said. “The doorbell needs fixin’, and he’s upstairs, won’t hear you if you knock.”

While he and Jack headed off, she got out of the car and walked toward the house, stepping carefully so’s not to muddy her cream leather pumps.

To her right was the terraced bank that Alice had transformed into a picturesque garden. While she’d been alive, it had been a joy to behold at this time of year; now weeds flourished, crowding out the once-vibrant perennials that Alice had so lovingly planted and tended.

But it wasn’t only the garden that had a desolate air; the house itself looked sad. Paint was peeling off the green front door and the brass fittings cried out for a polish. Where once the windows would have been open to the fresh spring day, with crisply laundered curtains billowing in the breeze, now they were shut…closing out the world.

Lacey opened the door and walked into the entryway. Stepping over mud-caked boots, noting the grit on the formerly gleaming slate floor, she felt her spirits sink.

And they sank further as she looked around the front hall. This would break Alice’s heart, she thought with a spurt of anger, if she could see it. The hall table was thick with dust, as were the pictures on the walls, and the carpet leading up the stairs was fuzzed with lint.

Tears stung her eyes. How could he! How could Dermid McTaggart have let Alice’s cherished home fall into such a state of abandonment!

Dermid stepped out of the shower in his en suite bathroom, and whisking a towel from the floor, he ran it over his hair. Then tucking it around his waist, he swiped a hand over the steamed-up mirror, brushed his hair, and then threw the brush, along with his shaving gear, into the toilet bag he was going to take to Toronto with him.

Tomorrow, he was going to the clinic.

Tomorrow, he was going to do something that would make his heart ache for the rest of his life.

And after he’d signed the necessary papers, he reflected as he brushed his teeth, he’d no doubt feel like going to the nearest pub to drown his sorrows; but he wouldn’t, because of Jack—

Someone hammered on his bedroom door.

Arthur? What did he want? And when had he ever knocked!

He turned off the tap and heard the knocking again. This time, it was even more demanding. And it was followed immediately by the sound of a voice he recognized, one that had him almost choking…then spitting out his toothpaste as if he’d discovered it contained arsenic.

Lacey Maxwell.

What the devil was she doing here!

Dropping his toothbrush on the countertop, he strode to the bathroom door and came to an abrupt halt.

There she was, in his bedroom, dressed in an indigo shirt and a cream miniskirt and cream shoes, with her black hair falling like a sheet of jet to her breasts.

And she was spitting mad.

“Didn’t you hear me knock?” Her green eyes had a furious sparkle. “Are you deaf?”

He swallowed and the toothpaste made his throat feel raw. “What—” his tone was incredulous “—are you doing here?”

“How could you!” She glared at him. “How could you let this place go to rack and ruin. Alice would turn in her grave if—”

“I asked,” he said grimly, “what you are doing here.”

She sliced a hand through the air, the gesture angry and dismissive. “I brought Jack back. He was homesick. Though how he could be homesick for such a pigstye is utterly beyond me! How can you possibly justify what you’ve let happen here? It’s an absolute disgrace—”

“Now that you’ve brought Jack back,” he said coldly. “You’re free to leave.”

“Uh-uh! I still have some things I want to say to you.”

“I’m really not interested in what you have to say. And please don’t come in here, from your polished plastic world, and tell me how I should live. You’re not even on the same planet. Now why don’t you tell me what’s really bothering you, Ms. Maxwell. I think there’s a lot more to it than a dustball or two!”

“You’re right.” She set her hands on her hips, and gave him a look that would have annihilated a lesser man. “I want you to know that Felicity happened to overhear you and Jordan talking the other day, and she told me about your conversation because she felt that as Alice’s sister, I had the right to know what you were planning to do—”

“I’m sure Felicity acted with the best of intentions, but she was wrong. The decision was mine alone to make, and—”

“But you went to Jordan for advice,” Lacey snapped. “You left me out!”

“I went to Jordan because I needed to talk to someone about what I was going to do. I didn’t go to him for advice. I went to him for support. I knew what I had to do, it wasn’t as if I had any other option. I needed to hear him say it was okay.”

“But there could have been another option.” Her breasts rose and fell under her silk shirt, as she took in a deep breath, let it out again. “Surrogacy.”

“It’s out of the question.” The harshness in his tone surprised even himself. “I won’t consider it.”

“That’s what Jordan said.”

“Then Jordan got it right.”

Her eyes burned with challenge. “If you really wanted this baby to be born, you’d surely consider every possible avenue—”

“Not that one, because—”

“I know your reasons. Jordan told me. Having a baby is a family affair, and outsiders shouldn’t be involved.”

Silence shimmered between them, and he suddenly realized he was standing there in nothing but a towel—not that it seemed to faze her. Of course, she was probably used to seeing men half-naked. Or totally naked. In the world she inhabited nudity was probably run-of the-mill.

She walked away from him and crossed to the window.

The silence between them continued, but he sensed a buildup of tension in her that made him wary.

“What is it?” he asked. “What are you thinking?”

In a voice that was no longer challenging but quiet, she said, “I was just thinking how happy Alice was here. How happy she was, with you and with Jack. And…how very much she wanted this baby.”

What could he say to that? Nothing…even if his throat hadn’t tightened with emotion, because what she said was true.

Without turning, she went on, “After our mother died—and you probably know this—I was sent to live with an aunt—a rigid and unloving person—and I was miserable. But after a few weeks, Alice came for me. She’d dropped out of university in order to come back home and bring me up. I owe her, Dermid. And I was never able to repay her.”

Now she turned, and he saw that her face was very pale.

“You told Jordan,” she said, “that you could never consider surrogacy because having babies was a family matter. I’m family, Dermid.”

He looked at her blankly, and then his eyes narrowed. “What the devil are you trying to say?”

“This will be my last—my last and only chance, to do something to repay my sister for what she did for me. Let me be the gestational carrier for your baby, Dermid. For you…and for Alice.”

CHAPTER FOUR

“YOU’RE out of your mind!”

Was she? Parked in the ferry lineup half an hour later, Lacey could still hardly believe she’d made the offer. And recalling the incredulous expression on Dermid’s face, she knew he’d felt exactly the same. But then he’d started to laugh, harshly, and that had let her know, more than anything else could, just how unworthy he thought her to bear Alice’s baby.

Without another word, she’d spun on her heel and walked out. Back to her car. Back to the ferry terminal.

Now, as she waited for the next ferry, she gripped the steering wheel, stared blindly into space, and let her anger come to a full boil. So she wasn’t Alice, would never be as wonderful as Alice had been, but she wasn’t chopped liver either. Her brother-in-law’s response to her offer had been cruel. If he really had wanted this baby as much as he purported to, he’d have jumped at her offer. She was family. She was healthy. And most important of all, she was willing.

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