The Patterson Girls
Page 46
The tears Lucinda had been fighting broke free and she felt Joe’s arm close around her as he pulled her into his side.
‘Oh stop,’ Mags said, clearly loving the attention. When Charlie pulled back, she put her hand on Charlie’s bump. ‘Are you sure you’re not having twins?’
Lucinda laughed along with everyone else, her tears happy not sad.
‘Not that we know of.’ Mitch shrugged. ‘But Lord knows, where Charlie’s concerned there’s one surprise after another.’
‘Speaking of surprises.’ Madeleine, perched on a bar stool at the edge of the gathering, cleared her throat and took the hand of the tall, dark man beside her. Dylan was his name, although Lucinda thought he looked more like a Patrick, and apparently Madeleine had been dating him for almost six months. Where she’d found the time while working for an aid organisation that ran mobile antenatal clinics in remote areas, Lucinda had no clue. It would be easier to understand if she’d taken up with the pilot that flew her round the country.
Him walking in the door with Madeleine only a few hours ago had been the first time Lucinda had any inkling of his existence and her family had seemed equally surprised. She guessed after the debacle with Hugo, Madeleine wanted to be sure before she introduced him to the clan.
‘Dylan and I are …’ She glanced at him and her voice cracked. ‘We’re pregnant!’
Lucinda’s heart shot into her throat as happy gasps and utterings of joy and congratulations erupted around her. Charlie, Abigail and Dad rushed forward for hugs, but she seemed to be frozen to the spot.
Joe, still clutching her to his side, leaned in and kissed her cheek. ‘You okay, babe?’
The announcement had been a shock, but now that she’d had a few seconds to digest the information, she nodded. ‘Our time will be soon. I just know it.’
After months of marriage counselling, she and Joe were closer and more connected than ever. He’d quit working away and found a job that paid almost as much in the company’s Perth office. It didn’t involve blowing things up on a daily basis but he told her constantly that the improvement in their marriage was worth the sacrifice. Lucinda had been relief teaching the last six months, which she enjoyed because she still got to do what she loved, the pay was fabulous and yet she didn’t have so much stress.
And the best part? They’d finally decided they were strong enough as a couple to begin assisted insemination.
‘Geez,’ Abigail declared, glancing at Nigel as she moved away from Madeleine to give someone else a chance to congratulate them. ‘Maybe we should bring forward the wedding or our maid-of-honour won’t fit into her dress.’
He chuckled and Lucinda only just made out his whispered words, clearly meant only for Abigail. ‘I’ll marry you tonight if you want.’
Abigail pretended to pout. ‘Um, it’s Christmas? I think the church is booked.’
Lucinda grinned as she watched her youngest sister interact with her doting fiancé. The local gossips would be so busy drooling when she brought him to midnight mass that they wouldn’t be able to speak.
Abigail and Nigel were spending Christmas at the motel and then heading to Adelaide to celebrate New Year with his family, before finally flying back to London where Nigel had recently scored another promotion and the two of them had put down a deposit on their own apartment. The way Abigail told it, it was tiny and a long way from Nigel’s work and her music students, but it was theirs—and that made it perfect.
‘I guess we’d better break out the champagne,’ Dad announced. Tearing her gaze from Abigail and Nigel, Lucinda looked back to her father in time to see him wiping his eyes as he headed to the fridge.
‘Great minds think alike.’ Mrs Sampson, already there, grinned as she held up two bottles and gestured to the flutes she’d lined up along the bar.
‘And that’s why I love you,’ Dad proclaimed, a grin stretching from ear to ear. Lucinda blushed a little as he closed the distance between himself and the old housekeeper, pulled her towards him and pressed a big kiss against her lips.
‘Go Brian,’ Mitch yelled as Joe wolf-whistled. Lucinda dug him in the ribs, but was secretly ecstatic.
She and her sisters exchanged happy glances and then everyone started to clap.
‘About time you two came out of hiding,’ Madeleine said. ‘And I can’t even have a proper drink to celebrate.’
Lucinda grinned at her. ‘Don’t worry, sis. I’ll have your share.’
She stepped forward and plucked a crystal flute off the bar. Because although her life might not be unfolding exactly as she’d planned it, she felt blessed. She had Joe, she had her sisters, and soon there’d be a new generation of Pattersons.
If these weren’t reasons to celebrate, she didn’t know what was.
Acknowledgements
Thanks as usual to the wonderful crew at Harlequin Australia—Sue, Michelle, Cristina, Annabel, Adam, Lauren, Sam, Lilia, Adrian, Camille and Romina to name but a few. You people are awesome.
To my gifted editor, Lachlan Jobbins—thank you for all your hard work with this book. Your insight was spot-on and without you this wouldn’t have become half the book it is. Thanks also for listening to me and often understanding what I meant better than I did myself. And to my agent, Helen Breitwieser—thanks for all you do. I’m glad you’re in my corner.
Thank you to my writing friends—some of you have been with me on this journey from the start, others are more recent, but I wouldn’t be without any of you. Beck Nicholas, Cathryn Hein, Janette Radevski, Amanda Knight, Lisa Ireland, Alissa Callen, Scarlet Wilson, Fiona Palmer and Fiona Lowe—your support, early reading, brainstorming, counselling and friendship mean the world to me.
A special mention to my old friend Penny who planted the seed for this story when she said I should write a book called Paterson’s Curse. Feel free to give me title suggestions anytime.
In every book, there is research and I want to thank the people who shared their fertility stories with me for the Patterson sisters. Thanks to Shea, Amanda, Nardia, Joanne, Karen and Kaetrin for being so open.
And last but never least to my family—my husband Craig, my three heroes-in-training and my mum Barbara, who put up constantly with me drifting off into my own little world. I couldn’t do any of this without your love, support, cooking, cleaning and babysitting.
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ISBN: 9780857994332
Title: The Patterson Girls
First Australian Publication 2015
Copyright © 2015 by Rachael Johns
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