Maya Banks - Softly at Sunrise

The doctor leaned against the exam table as he studied her chart.

“You’ve had one previous miscarriage, is that correct?”

Rachel nodded, refusing to allow anything to dampen her euphoria.

“Miscarriages are a lot more common than most people realize,” the doctor continued. “There’s no obvious reason why you won’t be able to have a perfectly normal pregnancy and deliver two healthy, squalling babies.”

She grinned at the image, and Ethan reached over to squeeze her hand.

“You automatically go into the high-risk category, as anyone pregnant with multiples does,” he said matter-of-factly. “That doesn’t mean anything more than you’ll need to take extra care to rest. Take it easy. Don’t try to lift anything heavy. Don’t overdo it. Moderate exercise is fine. Nothing too strenuous. Make sure you’re eating enough. If the old adage eating for two is correct, then realize you’re eating for three.”

He chuckled as he said the last.

“For now I’ll see you once a month, and later I’ll want to see you every two weeks. We’ll watch you a lot more closely, and we’ll monitor the babies as it gets closer to your due date. In some cases, it becomes necessary to take the babies before the normal gestational period is up, but there are more full-term sets of twins being born all the time. It really depends on mother and babies. But we’ll cross that bridge when we get there. For now go home, celebrate, take it easy, and I’ll see you back here in four weeks. If you have any problems or questions, don’t hesitate to call me.”

“Thank you,” Ethan said, extending his hand.

The doctor smiled and shook Ethan’s hand and then took Rachel’s. “Congratulations to the both of you.”

“Thank you,” Rachel murmured, echoing Ethan’s words.

The doctor disappeared, leaving the two alone in the exam room. As Rachel rose from the chair, the nurse bustled in with an appointment card and a prescription for prenatal vitamins.

“We’ll want to redo labs when you come in next month just to make sure your HCG levels are where they should be. Nothing to worry about. Just routine stuff.”

“Thank you,” Rachel said.

The nurse smiled and backed from the room then gestured for Ethan and Rachel to go ahead of her.

Rachel walked through the waiting room, numb, somewhere between shock and utter elation. She still couldn’t take it all in.

“Are you going to be okay to drive?” Ethan asked, a frown covering his face.

She blinked, remembering that they’d taken separate vehicles to the clinic. She shook off some of the fog surrounding her and then nodded.

“I’ll be fine. I’ll follow you. No sense leaving my car here.”

He pulled her into his arms and gave her a long, sweet kiss.

“Twins. I still can’t believe it.”

She shook her head ruefully. “Neither can I. Oh my God. You realize I’ll start showing soon. Like any time. I can’t believe I’m already twelve weeks. With two in there, I’ll pop out like a beach ball.”

“You’ll be the most adorable, gorgeous pregnant woman ever,” Ethan said, a warm glint to his eyes.

“Oh, Ethan. I can’t even take it all in. I feel like someone’s going to pinch me any minute and I’ll wake up and this will all have been a dream. This has been the most wonderful week. We moved into our new home. I started back teaching. And now we’re having two babies instead of one.”

His expression became totally serious. He reached up to touch her face, stroking down the curve of her cheekbone with a whisper-soft caress.

“Every single day with you is a dream I always fear I’ll awaken from. You’re a gift, Rachel. You and the babies are the most treasured gift I’ve ever been given. I don’t deserve it, but by God I’m going to cherish it for the rest of my life.”

Rachel stood outside her old house, keys in hand, staring at the place she’d called home for her entire married life to Ethan.

The realtor had just left, and a brand new “for sale” sign was now mounted in her front yard.

She examined her feelings for some sign of regret. Sadness. Nostalgia even. But the only thing she could put her finger on was…relief.

Now that she was pregnant, her relief was compounded by the fact that she wouldn’t bring her babies home to a place that still held so much darkness for Rachel.

She took a deep breath and made the effort to let go. Of the past. The memories. The hurt. And the sadness. There was so much joy to replace the sorrows of yesterday. A new house. Precious babies nestled in her womb. A husband and a family who loved her dearly.

She closed her eyes and let the crispness of the fall winds blow over her face. The scratch of leaves on the concrete walkway and the faint smell of smoke in the distance brought home the changing season.

Change was in the air.

Changing seasons. Changing lives. All for the better.

The sound of a car crunching over the gravel drive diverted her from her reverie and turned her around, her brows drawn together as she looked to see who was approaching.

It was her sister-in-law Sophie’s SUV, but when it stopped, Sarah and Shea hopped out as Sophie got from behind the wheel.

“What are you guys doing here?” Rachel asked in bewilderment.

“We’re kidnapping you for dinner,” Shea said smugly.

Sarah smiled and nodded. “Yep. That’s exactly what we’re doing. Thought we’d go over to Big Sandy and eat at the Feed and Grain Mill.”

“Oh yum. You guys totally know my weakness.”

“Thought you could use some girl time about now,” Sophie said in a gentle voice. “A lot has been going on with you lately.”

“That sounds absolutely perfect,” Rachel said, warmed by the friendship in each of their eyes.

She turned one last time and stared at the empty shell of a house. It had no power over her any longer. She was free of it and the memories it housed. She could let go now and focus on the future.

“Why don’t we follow you to the new house so you can drop off your car, and then we’ll all ride together in my SUV,” Sophie suggested.

“Sounds like a plan,” Rachel said.

“I’ll ride over with Rachel,” Shea volunteered. “We’ll see you guys in a minute.”

Shea climbed into the passenger seat of Rachel’s Honda Accord while Rachel slid behind the wheel.

“Is Sam keeping Charlotte tonight?” Rachel asked as they pulled away.

Shea chuckled. “He and Nathan are both on babysitting duty. It’ll be interesting to see if Sophie’s phone starts blowing up in an hour.”

“Speaking of, can you grab my cell and send Ethan a text telling him what we’re doing? It’ll save time if I don’t go in and explain.”

“Sure.”

Shea picked up Rachel’s phone and brought up Ethan in the text messages and promptly froze.

“Uh, Rachel?”

“Hmm?” Rachel made a questioning sound, not looking away from the road as she turned out of the neighborhood and onto the highway.

“Look, I wasn’t prying or anything. It’s kind of right here and impossible to miss.”

Rachel went still. “Oh crap. I completely forgot. I wasn’t even thinking.”

“Does that mean you are pregnant?” Shea asked hesitantly.

Rachel sighed. “Yeah, I am.”

Shea sent her a dubious look. “You don’t sound happy about it.”

Rachel lit up with a smile. Not happy? Never in a million years.

“I’m over the moon,” she said softly. “We both are. I just hadn’t planned to tell you or anyone else this way. We only just found out. It was quite a shock. When I first suspected, I wanted to wait until after the first trimester in case…”

“I understand,” Shea said.

“But then we went to the doctor and I’m further along than I thought. And…” She glanced over at Shea and bit her lip to keep from shouting it out. “We’re having twins.”

“Oh my God, Rachel!” Shea screeched. “Holy shit. Twins? Are you serious?”

Rachel nodded, beaming the entire time. “But you can’t tell anyone yet. We want to wait for just the right time. And honestly I need a few days to adjust to it myself before I hit the family with something like this.”

“Oh Rachel, I’m so happy for you and Ethan,” Shea said with a dreamy sigh. “I know how much this has to mean to you. Oh my God, I’m so excited! I’m going to be an aunt!”

“You’re already an aunt, dork,” Rachel said, laughing.

“Yes, but Charlotte was already here by the time I came along. This will be the first time I was here from the very beginning.”

Rachel reached over to squeeze her hand. “I’m glad you’re here with us, Shea. I wish Grace could be here more often.”

Shea’s expression didn’t fade a bit at the mention of her sister. Grace was married to Rio, one of the team leaders of KGI, and they lived in Belize when Rio wasn’t off on a mission.

What made the sisters so unique is that they both had telepathic abilities and could communicate from great distances.

“I talk to her daily,” Shea said cheerfully. “It’s almost like having her here. And Rio brings her when he goes out on a mission. He hates the idea of Grace and Elizabeth being alone.”

Elizabeth was the pre-teen girl that Rio and Grace had adopted after her father had been killed in the mission that brought Rio and Grace together. Rio was insanely protective of them both. But then all the men of KGI had protective streaks a mile wide.

As they began the drive over the bridge where Rachel had once nearly plummeted over, her palms grew sweaty on the steering wheel, and it was instinctive to accelerate while staying to the far inside lane.

By the time they got across, the steering wheel was damp under her palms.

It was her hope that one day she could conquer her fear of that bridge, but the mere sight of it still sent a wave of panic down her spine.

When they pulled up to the gates of the compound, for a moment Rachel went blank on the security code. She sat there staring at the keypad, feeling like the biggest moron.

“39561*425,” Shea supplied.

“Thank you,” Rachel said as she punched it in. “I’m still not used to having to access my house through a security net.”

“It makes the guys feel better,” Shea said with a shrug. “I guess by the time the children come along, we’ll feel the same.”

“You’re right there,” Rachel acknowledged.

And it was true. She wanted her children safe above all else. With the things that had already happened to the family over the past years, it wasn’t a stretch to believe that their children would be at risk.

It was a sobering reality of the profession the Kellys had taken on and the missions they were involved with.

She drove toward her house in the distance. The idea of living on a compound with other members of the family sounded a bit hokey and even a little creepy on the surface. But each house was set up so that it maintained its privacy from the other houses. They could see as little or as much of the rest of the family as they wanted. It was no different than living in any other planned subdivision. At least this way they got to choose their neighbors.

The houses were spread out and backed up to the lake so that each one had a magnificent view of the water. The training facilities and the war room where most of the planning and staging went on were well away from the houses so that there was at least a semblance of normalcy to the residences.

So far the only holdouts were Donovan and Joe and then, of course, Frank and Marlene. Sam was working steadily on his parents, but they’d refused to consider moving from the house they’d live in for forty-some odd years.

Rachel couldn’t really blame them, but she, like Sam, worried for their safety. Marlene had already been kidnapped once. It had been a sharp reminder to them all how close danger lurked at all times.

Ethan was waiting for them, leaning against his truck, as Rachel pulled up. He offered Shea a smile and called out a hello just as Sophie pulled in behind Rachel in her SUV.

“Girls night out, huh,” he said as he dropped a kiss on Rachel’s lips.

“Yep. Sam and Nathan are holding down the fort over at Sam and Sophie’s. You should go offer them moral support.”

Ethan laughed. “More likely I’ll watch while Charlotte paints their fingernails, and then I’ll get to call them pussies.”

Sophie glared at Ethan. “Just wait, Ethan. Your day is coming. Miss Charlotte will corner you, and I guarantee that you won’t tell that child no, and you’ll be sporting pink, glittery fingernails and toenails.”