Debbie Macomber Navy Series Box Set: Navy Wife / Navy Blues / Navy Brat / Navy Woman / Navy Baby / Navy Husband

One thing that had always bothered Steve was the fact that Carol had never seemed to need him. His peers continually related stories about how things fell apart at home while they were deployed. Upon their return, after the usual hugs and kisses, their wives handed them long lists of repairs needed around the house or relayed tales of horror they’d been left to deal with in their husband’s absence.

Not Carol. She’d sent him off to sea, wearing a bright smile and greeted him with an identical one on his return. The impression she gave him was that it was great when he was home, but was equally pleasant if he wasn’t.

Her easy acceptance of his lifestyle both pleased and irritated Steve. He appreciated the strength of her personality, and yet a small part of him wished she weren’t quite so strong. He wasn’t looking for a wife who was a clinging vine, but occasionally he wished for something less than Carol’s sturdy oak-tree character. Just once he would have liked to hear her tell him how dreadful the weeks had been without him, or how she’d wished he’d been there to take care of the broken dryer or to change the oil in the car.

Instead she’d given him the impression that she’d been having a grand ol’ time while he was at sea. She chatted about the classes she took, or how her herb garden was coming along. If he quizzed her about any problems, she brushed off his concern and assured him she’d already dealt with whatever turned up.

Steve knew Carol wasn’t that involved in the Navy-wife activities. He figured it was up to her whether or not she joined. He hadn’t pressed her, but he had wished she would make the effort to form friendships with the wives of his close friends.

Carol’s apparent strength wasn’t the only thing that troubled Steve, but it was one thing he felt they needed to discuss. The idea of telling his ex-wife that the least she could do was shed a few tears when he sailed away from her made him feel ungrateful. But swallowing his pride would be a small price to pay to straighten matters between them.

What she’d said about wanting a baby right away made him feel soft inside every time he thought about it. He’d yearned for them to start a family long before now, but Carol had always wanted to wait. Now she appeared eager. He didn’t question her motivation. He was too damned grateful.

A knock on his door jerked his attention across the room. “Yes?”

Seaman Layle stepped forward. “The Captain would like to see you, sir.”

Steve nodded and said, “I’ll be right there.”

* * *

Carol sat at the end of the examination table, holding a thin piece of tissue over her lap. The doctor would be in any minute to give her the news she’d been waiting to hear for the past month. Okay, so her period was two weeks late. There could be any number of reasons. For one thing, she’d been under a good deal of stress lately. For another …

Her thoughts came to a grinding halt as Dr. Stewart stepped into the room. His glasses were perched on the end of his nose and his brow compressed as he read over her chart.

“Well?” she asked, unable to disguise the trembling eagerness in her voice.

“Congratulations, Carol,” he said, looking up with a grandfatherly smile. “You’re going to be a mother.”

Seven (#ulink_4cc4efde-6cc7-5847-93a4-c1d92342ac21)

Carol was almost afraid to believe what Dr. Stewart was telling her; her hand flew to her heart. “You mean, I’m pregnant?”

The doctor looked up at her over the edge of his bifocals. “This is a surprise?”

“Oh, no … I knew—or at least I thought I knew.” The joy that bubbled through her was unlike anything she had ever known. Ready tears blurred her vision and she bit her lower lip to hold back the tide that threatened to overwhelm her.

The doctor took her hand and gently patted it. “You’re not sure how you feel—is that it?”

“Of course I do,” she said, in a voice half an octave higher than usual. “I’m so happy I could just …”

“Cry?” he inserted.

“Dance,” she amended. “This is the most wonderful thing that’s ever happened to me since …”

“Your high-school prom?”

“Since I got married. I’m divorced now, but … Steve, he’s my ex-husband, will marry me again … at least, I think he will. I’m not going to tell him about this right away. I don’t want him to marry me again just because of the baby. I won’t say a word about this. Or maybe I should? I don’t know what to do, but thank you, Doctor, thank you so much.”

A fresh smile began to form at the edges of his mouth. “You do whatever you think is best. Now, before we discuss anything else I want to go over some key points with you.”

“Oh, of course, I’ll do anything you say. I’ll quit smoking and give up junk food, and take vitamins. If you really think it’s necessary, I’ll try to eat liver once a week.”

His gaze reviewed her chart. “It says here you don’t smoke.”

“No, I don’t, but I’d start just so I could quit if it would help the baby.”

He chuckled. “I don’t think that will be necessary, young lady.”

Carol reached for his hand and pumped it several times. “I can’t tell you how happy you’ve made me.”

Still chuckling, the white-haired doctor said, “Tell me the same thing when you’re in labor and I’ll believe you.”

* * *

Carol watched as Lindy entered the restaurant and paused to look around. Feeling a little self-conscious, she raised her hand. Lindy waved back and headed across the floor, weaving her way through the crowded tables.

“Hi. Sorry, I’m late.”

“No problem.” The extra time had given Carol a chance to study the menu. Her stomach had been so finicky lately that she had to be careful what she ate. This being pregnant was serious business and already the baby had made it clear “she” wasn’t keen on particular foods—especially anything with tomatoes.

“Everything has been so hectic lately,” Lindy said, picking up the menu, glancing at it and setting it aside almost immediately.

“That was quick,” Carol commented, nodding her head toward the menu.

“I’m a woman who knows my own mind.”

“Good for you,” Carol said, swallowing a laugh. “What are you having?”

“I don’t know. What are you ordering?”

“Soup and a sandwich,” Carol answered, not fooled. Lindy wasn’t interested in eating, she wanted answers. Steve’s sister had been bursting with questions from the moment they’d met in the Boeing parking lot.

“Soup and a sandwich sounds good to me,” Lindy said, obviously not wanting to waste time with idle chitchat.

Shaking her head, Carol studied Lindy. “Okay, go ahead and ask. I know you’re dying to fire away.”

Lindy unfolded the napkin and took pains spreading it over her lap. “Steve didn’t come home Christmas Eve…. Well, he did, but it was early in the morning, and ever since that night he’s been whistling ‘Dixie.’” She paused and grinned. “Yet every time I said your name, he barked at me to mind my own business.”

“We’ve seen each other since Christmas, too.”

“You have?” Lindy pinched her lips together and sadly shook her head. “That brother of mine is so tight-lipped, I can’t believe the two of us are related!”

Carol laughed. Unwittingly Lindy had pinpointed the crux of Carol and Steve’s marital problems. They were each private people who preferred to keep problems inside rather than talking things out the way they should.

“So you’ve seen Steve since Christmas,” Lindy prompted. “He must have contacted you after Rush and I moved.”

“Actually I was the one who went to him.”