Cranberry Point (Cedar Cove #4)(83)

"Ian?" Cecilia held out her arm to her husband. His grip was tight as he linked their hands. "Everything's okay."

He nodded. "Of course it is."

The technician, a woman who wore a name tag that identified her as Jody, directed their attention to the monitor. "We should be able to see the baby in just a moment."

As the tiny fetus came into view, Ian rose to his feet to get a better look. "That's our baby?" His voice was filled with surprise and awe.

"That's your baby," Jody said softly, moving the paddle over Cecilia's stomach.

"Is everything all right?" Ian asked. "I mean the baby seems awfully small."

"She'll grow."

"She?" Cecilia repeated.

"I always refer to a fetus as female. Were you hoping for a son?" The question was directed at Ian.

"Either," he answered, staring at the monitor.

"Is this your first child?"

Ian pulled his gaze away from the screen long enough to look at Cecilia. His eyes darkened with pain.

"Our first baby died shortly after she was born," Cecilia explained. "That's the reason Dr. Chalmers ordered the ultra-sound. He wants to be sure there aren't any problems with this pregnancy."

Jody patted Cecilia's hand. "So far everything looks perfectly normal."

It had with Allison too, Cecilia recalled, but she'd only had the one ultrasound in the early stages of her pregnancy and there hadn't seemed to be any need for another. Who could have known? Who could have guessed that her baby would be born with a defective heart?

"I'm so sorry about your first baby." Jody's voice was sympathetic.

Cecilia glanced at Ian and saw that just talking about Allison had stirred painful memories. "We're both a little nervous this time around."

"All we want is a healthy baby," Ian added.

"Of course you do." Jody manipulated the paddle a bit more. "Would you like to know the sex of your child?"

"You can tell this soon?" Ian squinted at the screen, as if that would help him decipher what she saw that he didn't.

"A trained eye can."

Ian squeezed Cecilia's hand. "Should we?" he asked.

"You don't want to be surprised?" If it was solely up to her, she'd prefer to wait, but there were definitely advantages to learning the baby's sex in advance.

"I've decided I do want to know," Ian said eagerly.

"All right, all right, tell us," Cecilia said, laughing.

Jody grinned. "It looks to me like you're having another little girl."

Ian let out a deep, heartfelt sigh. "A girl," he repeated. His hand tightened around Cecilia's to the point that it was painful.

"Ian!"

"Sorry," he said when he realized what he'd done. "A girl. We're having a girl."

Cecilia nodded. She was so excited that she could hardly hold back her emotions. After Allison's death, Cecilia had given away all her daughter's clothes, with two exceptions. She'd saved the outfit she'd planned to bring Allison home in, and a favorite baby blanket she'd purchased shortly before the birth. That was it. The two things she'd saved because it was too emotionally difficult to give everything away.

Following the ultrasound, they went to a movie. Ian held her hand all through the show, as if he needed a constant connection with her. They went out to eat afterward, but because they were saving to buy a house, all their budget would allow was a meal at the PancakePalace.

This was a rare night out and Cecilia chatted lightheart-edly during dinner. Only when Ian reached for the bill did she realize how quiet and somber he'd grown over the course of the evening.

"Ian, you're not worried about the baby, are you?"

His denial came far too quickly. "No, the technician said everything was fine. Why should I be worried?"

"I don't know. Why should you?" she pressed, unwilling to drop the subject.

Her husband looked away and when he returned his gaze to her, his eyes were brimming with pain. "It's just like before."

"What is?"

"First, the pregnancy's a surprise, just the way Allison was a surprise."

"But this is a happy surprise."

Ian agreed willingly enough. "I was ecstatic when you told me you were pregnant with Allison."

"You're happy now, too, aren't you?"

He brought her hand to his lips and kissed her knuckles. "It took some adjusting, but I'm pleased about the baby."

"It is different this time," Cecilia insisted.

"Is it? Has the morning sickness been different?"

He had a point. "No, that was the same."

"With Allison, the ultrasound didn't show anything abnormal, either."

Again all she could do was agree. "We're married now," she said.

"I married you in my heart the first night we made love. Even before that, I knew I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you."

"Oh, Ian." At times he could be the most romantic man in the world. At others...well, he was a man.

He sighed. "I'm trying not to worry."

"I know, but it really is different with this baby. For one thing, you're home now and you're not scheduled to go back to sea until after my due date."