Mom wrapped her tiny arms around my waist as we took in the sight of all of our handy work together. “It looks great, honey. Lanie is going to love this.”

I gazed down at her and pulled her in for a tight hug. “Thanks, Mom, for everything.”

“You’re welcome, sweetheart.” She pulled my head down and kissed my cheek. “I’m so proud of you.”

Dad cleared his throat behind us. “Irene, we’d better go.”

Mom nodded and gave me one last squeeze before letting go. “Will you come by tomorrow? I’d like for all of us to have a family dinner together. Bring Lanie, won’t you? She’s part of this family now, too.”

I laughed. “She hasn’t said yes, yet, Ma.”

Mom waved her hands dismissively at me. “A technicality.”

“We’ll be there.”

“Good.” She smiled, clearly pleased with my answer.

Dad stepped forward and held out his hand. “Good luck, son. I’ll see you tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow,” I agreed.

With that, they both made their way up the path and back toward their house. The relationship with Dad wouldn’t happen overnight. We’d have to work on it together. Everything in my life was suddenly starting to feel perfect. I had the woman of my dreams back in my life, a relationship that was finally on the mend with my parents, and a baby on the way.

The last thought would’ve scared a normal twenty-two year old guy, but not me. It almost made me giddy. Sure, we weren’t exactly ready for a kid and the timing wasn’t the greatest, but it was the perfect situation. I loved Lane with every inch of my being, and parenthood was something I couldn’t imagine wanting to share with anyone but her.

A car door slammed shut, and I jerked my head towards the house. Lane and her mom must be back from town. My heart squeezed. On one hand I was so excited I felt as though I would burst, but on the other, fear caused my stomach to clench. What if she said no? Could I survive that?

I raked my fingers through my hair and made my way up the dock.

At the top of the hill, I noticed Lane helping her mother out of the car, and I felt a wave of panic like I’d never felt before. I ran over to the car.

Lane’s eyes widened as I took over the brunt of Kathy’s weight. “Noel! I’ve got this.”

I shook my head vigorously. “Not today you don’t. No lifting. I know that much.”

A scowl filled her beautiful face. I knew she was pissed I was talking like this in front of her mother. She’d have questions. Lane said she wanted to wait to tell her Mom about being pregnant after she had an appointment with a physician, but I wasn’t going to let her put herself at risk until she was brave enough to spill the beans. Maybe she was totally fine to help her mom out of the car, but dammit, that was my baby inside the love of my life. Neither of them were getting hurt on my watch.

I grabbed Kathy’s arms and pulled her up to a semi standing position. “Scoot the wheelchair a little closer.” My eyes snapped to Lane as a thought crossed my mind. “You didn’t do this own your own at the hospital, did you?”

Lane shook her head. “No, I pulled up to the emergency room door and asked for someone to bring a wheelchair to help, like you said.”

“Good.” I turned my attention back to her mom. “Okay Kathy, on my count of three, I’m lowering you into the chair. One. Two. Three.”

Once safely in the chair and with her casted leg positioned, I wheeled her up the ramp and into the house. Lane followed us inside, shutting the door behind her. The sun was just starting to set, leaving the room a little dark. I flipped on the light and then situated the wheelchair between the sofa and chair, directly in front of the television.

“Honey, do you mind getting me a glass of water and handing me the remote?” Kathy asked Lane.

Lane smiled and darted into the kitchen. Kathy cleared her throat the minute she left the room. “Are either of you going to tell me what’s going on?”

I raised my eyebrows and sat down on the floral patterned sofa so I could look her in the eye. “What do you mean?”

She shook her head. “Don’t play dumb with me. I’ve known you far too long for you to try to pull the wool over my eyes—either of you. When were you planning on telling me Lane’s pregnant?”

I swallowed hard. Panic flooded me. I wasn’t ashamed Lane was carrying my child. Hell, I was ready to tell the world, but if I let this secret slip before Lane was ready to tell her, I would never hear the end of it. The best plan I could come up with in those few seconds was to act dumb and clueless. “What?”

Kathy let out a sarcastic laugh just as Lane emerged from the kitchen, glass in hand. “What’s so funny?”

“Nothing,” I answered quickly.

Lane raised an eyebrow at me and twisted her lips. “Nothing, huh? Didn’t sound like nothing to me.”

Desperate to get away from the situation, I stood and took her hand. “Let’s take a walk.”

Lane’s gaze darted between me and her mother. “Oooookay?”

She knew something was up. I had to get her out of this room so I could tell her that Kathy was on to us. I tugged her towards the front door, but as soon as my hand reached the knob I heard her mom say, “Noel, we’ll talk again later.”

My shoulders tensed. Lane was just like her mom sometimes, relentless, so I knew we’d have to come clean to her tonight. She wouldn’t let it go until we did. But I couldn’t worry about that right now. Right now, I had bigger things on my mind—like what this beautiful creature was about to say when I asked her a very important question a few heartbeats from now.