“Hi, Dr. Jennings,” she said, pushing a strand of hair behind her ears. She noticed a little girl standing behind Dr. Jennings’s legs and waved. “Hello. I’m Sadie.”

“This is my daughter, Ava.” She scooted the shy girl forward. “She’s waiting very impatiently for the Maypole dance.”

“I used to love that part of the day. What color ribbon are you hoping to get?” Sadie asked.

“Orange!” Ava beamed. “I want my mama to braid the ribbon into my hair!”

“Excellent choice. I always went for purple myself.” Sadie squeezed Ethan’s hand. Her handsome husband turned, Lincoln now hooked around his middle. “Honey? This is Dr. Jennings. She’s my OB while Dr. Monroe is on maternity leave.”

Ethan flashed her one of his charmer grins and shook her hand. “Great to meet you, Dr. Jennings. Thank you for taking care of my beautiful wife. We’re so excited to be parents again. Can’t wait for Lincoln to be a big brother.”

Sadie only had a moment to blanch before Lincoln began to shout, “Potty! Potty now! Now, now! Can’t hold it!”

“Why don’t you take him and I’ll grab our lunches. We’ll all meet up by the picnic tables,” Ethan suggested

“Right! On it,” she said, regretfully leaving Ethan in the company of her doctor.

“Hurry, Mommy,” Lincoln urged. Sadie knew he wasn’t kidding. Just a few weeks ago, they’d been at Shopper’s Corner when Lincoln suddenly proclaimed he had to pee. Unfortunately, another patron was occupying the grocery’s single restroom, and by the time Sadie got Lincoln next door to Castaway Yarns, he’d let loose…all over the front of her sweatshirt.

At this point, Sadie could write a book called The Poorly Timed and Horribly Misaimed Pee-Pee Chronicles.

“Yay! We did it!” Lincoln exclaimed the moment his mother sat his little butt on the toilet seat. “Yippee! M&M now?”

Wiping the sweat from her brow, she smiled weakly. “We did! Just in time. Great job, buddy. And how about a very special ice cream cone instead?” She held him over the porcelain sink afterward and washed their hands together beneath a stream of warm, soapy water.

They walked back toward the picnic table area slowly, Sadie feeling as though she could collapse beneath all the worry she was carrying.

As soon as she saw him at the picnic table, she knew he knew.

Lincoln scooted onto the bench and began to grab for the hot dog pieces Ethan had neatly cut up for him. “Slow down there, buddy,” Sadie warned. “Have some of your juice between bites.”

She sat down in front of her own lobster roll and La Croix.

“Thanks for grabbing our lunches, honey. Did you happen to talk to Dr. Jennings?”

Ethan nodded. “Sweetheart. The baby. Why didn’t you tell me?”

Her eyes immediately filling with tears. “I tried, this morning.”

“I know. I know you tried.”