“Yes,” he whispered, twirling her around.
She didn’t have the heart to tell him that might not be a good idea with her stomach in the usual morning uproar.
“How do you feel, babe?”
“Conflicted, but mostly happy. And scared. And excited. And nauseated.”
“Anything else?”
“I think that’s about it.”
Oliver put her down, buried his face in her hair and held her tightly. “I’m so excited, Dar. I want you to be, too.”
“I am, even if part of me feels I have no right to this.”
“You have every right to this,” Oliver said fiercely. “What happened to Lewis was a freak accident. Neither of us did anything wrong.”
They’d been trying to convince themselves of that since the day their three-year-old son let himself out of their house and was hit by a car, while she was working and Oliver was napping.
“We were good parents, and we will be again,” Oliver said.
“I just worry that I’ll never be able to relax.”
“We’ll find a groove. I know we will.”
“What’s going on up there?” Monique called from downstairs.
“Let’s go share the happy news,” Oliver said.
Dara let him lead her to the spiral staircase that went down to the lighthouse’s living room and kitchen. Coming to Gansett Island to spend a year as the lighthouse keepers had been the best thing they’d done for themselves since they lost Lewis. Somehow, someway, they’d managed to heal there.
“Y’all are looking mysterious,” Monique said from her post on the sofa. “What’s up?”
“Well, it seems we’re pregnant,” Dara said.
Monique jumped up so fast, she nearly spilled the mug of coffee she’d been sipping from. She put down the mug and rushed over to hug them both. “That’s the best news I’ve ever heard.”
“You really think so?” Dara asked.
Her big sister pulled back to look at her. “Hell yes, I really think so. Why wouldn’t I?”
“I just wonder if people will question whether we should be trusted with another child.”
“What? No one will do that, Dar. Not one single person who knew you guys as parents has ever thought that. You were wonderful parents, and you will be again.”
Dara blinked back tears and hugged her sister as it all became real to her. They were going to have another baby and a second chance at parenthood. A year ago, that would’ve seemed preposterous to her. But now… She felt stronger than she had since that awful day, and against all odds, their marriage had also recovered from the terrible trauma.
They would never again be who they’d been before they lost Lewis, but she was incredibly thankful for the second chance they’d been given.