Page 6 of Under the Island Moon (Brookwell Island)

Two days later, Molly had to accept that she wouldn’t be able to hide her pregnancy from Miles for much longer.

She’d seen the worry in his eyes when he nudged her awake to get her from the couch to the bed last night.

And this morning she was pretty sure she had turned green when he’d offered to make breakfast.

She had no idea why she was so reluctant to tell him.

It couldn’t be a fear of rejection. He’d shown her time and again that he loved her and Bryce unconditionally.

Day by day, with the sweetest, smallest gestures, he showered them both with love.

And on the big days—good or bad—he was a force of nature.

Their first Christmas as a family had been ridiculously lavish with a mammoth artificial tree that they’d needed a ladder to decorate.

At Bryce’s request, Miles put up lights outside, white along the roofline and nets of colorful lights on the shrubs that framed the porch.

She’d frosted the front windows, and added candles that came on at twilight.

At Miles’s request, the three of them shopped for a Christmas village, starting with one building each, knowing they would add to it each season.

Her heart did a happy spin, thinking of how much faster that village would grow with another child factored in.

Morning sickness aside, she loved every minute of her marriage and adored her husband and their family life more day by day.

Aunt Sharon claimed that Molly and Miles embodied every sign of a strong, healthy marriage.

Molly sure hoped so, since neither of them had grown up with good examples to learn from.

Maybe she should just blurt it out. Hey honey, I’m pregnant! Or she could hand him one—or all—of the over-the-counter tests she’d taken. That felt too dismissive of what this would mean to him. But delaying much longer, making him worry for no reason, wasn’t fair either.

Naturally, some of the more elaborate announcement strategies were popping up when she scrolled social media. So far, none of those examples felt like the right fit for any of them.

She wanted this announcement to be special, something that would resonate with Miles.

And she really needed to tell him tonight.

The set up for the Haunted Tea was tomorrow and the event followed the next day.

Aunt Sharon was likely to recognize the pregnancy as soon as she laid eyes on Molly.

Aside from her excellent observation skills as an artist, she’d been with Molly throughout her first pregnancy. She knew the signs well.

After school today, Bryce would be helping Miles with the maze and then the three of them would be decorating the sailboat for the trick-or-treat stops at the marina. They’d been planning and gathering supplies for a few weeks and Bryce was so excited to see it come together.

All three of them were.

She pressed a hand to her tummy. Four . Having a new baby would be such a challenge and yet so much fun. She was already imagining what a great big brother Bryce would be.

Her big contribution to the sailboat decorating was to bring dinner. She’d already placed the order with Benny’s BBQ and was debating the best dessert options while she wired silk arrangements to the candelabras Trina had brought from the Inn.

When inspiration struck, she jumped up from the stool. “Nina, I’ll be right back,” she said. “I need to pop into the bakery for a second.”

“You finally figured out how to tell them.” Nina gave her a high five. “Tell me. Wait, don’t say a word. I want to hear all about it after the fact.” She shooed her out the door. “Go, go, go.”

Molly didn’t hesitate. The Bread Basket had a huge selection of decorated cookies for the season.

She planned to get a special cookie for each of them, and wrap them in a little gift box from the supplies left over from the haunted tea centerpieces.

Her guys would get such a kick out of their individual trick-or-treat boxes.

And as the announcement sank in, she could enjoy the biggest rush of happiness.

There were a few people in line ahead of her at the bakery, but when Lila, granddaughter of the original Bread Basket owners, spotted her, she waved Molly out of line and back to the kitchen.

“You are positively glowing,” Lila said. “What’s going on?”

Molly looked around, but they were alone. “We’re decorating the sailboat tonight and I wanted to do something special for the guys.”

Lila gave her a long look. “How special?”

“I’m pregnant,” she whispered. “My first appointment is coming up in about ten days and Miles will want to be there. It’s probably best if that isn’t the first time he hears the news.”

“He hasn’t figured it out?” Lila asked, her eyebrows flexing low in disapproval.

“I’ve been sneaky,” she admitted. “But I’m afraid delaying the news is just worrying him at this point.” She outlined her ideas for the cookie box and Lila bounced on her toes, eager to help.

“That’s going to be perfect.” Lila pulled her into a hug. “Congratulations. I’m so happy for all of you. Come on.”

Within ten minutes, Lila had the special cookies decorated and wrapped and Molly went out through the back door, returning to the flower shop next door.

At her workstation, she assembled the special treat boxes.

Gluing a layer of black lace around a white gift box, she added orange ribbon, and touches of green and gold leaves.

She added a monogram tag so she could tell the gift boxes apart and lined the inside with black tissue paper.

After a brief debate, she followed her intuition and added pink and blue tissue shreds to cushion the personalized pumpkin-shaped cookies.

On orange cardstock she wrote out “We are adding another pumpkin to our patch” for Miles and “You’ll be the best big brother” for Bryce.

She decorated each note with little baby toes and hearts and added a second layer of black tissue over the announcement.

Then she placed a Reese’s peanut butter cup pumpkin on top for each of them to enjoy right after dinner.

Finished, she carefully tucked the boxes into her tote bag where the guys wouldn’t see them until after dinner.

That evening they gave her a tour of the outside of the not-too-scary maze and Bryce proudly showed off all his hard work on the paths to and from the maze itself. “Dad has all the boat stuff down there already,” Bryce said, tugging on her hand. “Can we go?”

“You don’t want dinner first?” Molly showed him the takeout bags from Benny’s. “I guess that’s more for me while you guys do all the heavy lifting.”

“No! You have to feed me,” Bryce said, leaning deep into the drama. “Cuz you love me.”

She laughed. “That’s the truth. Should we have a boat picnic or stay here?”

“Boat picnic!” Bryce hollered, running for the dock.

Miles took advantage of his distraction and pulled her into his arms. “Are you feeling better? You look energized tonight.”

She was wired for excitement, for sure. “I’ve been feeling great, just a little tired, that’s all.”

“Hm. I guess I’ll believe you.”

“Gee, thanks.”

Bryce shouted from the dock, “Hurry up!”

“We’d better go,” Miles said with a grin. “He’s excited to get started and we’ve both worked up an appetite.”

Laughing, the two of them joined Bryce at the boat where she was surprised to find everything was already set up for a family picnic. Including a bouquet of sunflowers and a box of chocolates from her favorite shop in Charleston.

“What did you do?” She kissed him, snuggling close. “Thank you.”

“Figured we deserved a family fall festival just for us.”

“I couldn’t agree more.”

They feasted on barbecue and Molly was careful not to overdo it.

Being sick was not how she wanted to let them know their family was growing.

They laughed and joked and tried to scare each other as they decorated the boat with spooky colored lights and fabric that looked like torn sails.

They wound garlands of black roses up the mast and across the rails, adding oversized tentacles that disappeared into the water as if a great squid was about to drag the boat under.

Then they stood on the dock, admiring their work.

“This will be the best Halloween ever!” Bryce declared.

“I think so too.” Molly gave his shoulders a squeeze. “That reminds me, I made a special surprise for each of you. Back on the boat.”

Bryce scrambled on board in a hurry. “Tell me it’s dessert. Please let it be dessert!”

“You guessed it.” She handed each of them their box. Her heart pounded as she waited for the reactions.

Miles raised an eyebrow and then opened his gift. Bryce was already in his Reese’s peanut butter cup dance while he unwrapped the candy.

Miles was a little slower. More deliberate.

As if he sensed there was more to this than just a special themed dessert.

Of course, he was the first to realize there was something under the candy.

And when he peeled back that layer of tissue and read the card he froze.

For a moment she worried she’d done this all wrong.

“Molly,” he breathed her name like a prayer. “You mean it?” He held the card and looked at the cookie. “Oh my God. You mean it!”

He set the box aside and scooped her off her feet, swinging her in a big circle.

“I guess this means you’re excited?”

“Thrilled! Ecstatic!” He set her down again, gently. “You’re the best. Are you sure everything’s okay?”

She nodded, struggling for the right words. “The morning sickness is rough, but I’m fine. Our first appointment is next week.”

“I can be there?”

His question melted her heart. “Of course, as long as you want to be,” she amended. “I sure don’t want to go through any of this without you.”

“Through what?” Bryce asked, watching them closely, a smear of chocolate on his chin.

“Look in your box, dude.” Miles dropped to his knee and waited. Bryce could read the card, that wasn’t the issue. But much like his dad, he froze for a second. And when he stared up at Molly, his eyes were huge.

“A big brother? Really? We’re getting a baby?”

“Yes, we are.” The happy cheer that followed filled Molly’s heart to overflowing. “We’ve got a few months to go, but come next spring you’ll be a big brother.”

With a loud whoop, he grabbed both of them around the neck and held on tight. “Do I get to go to the doctor too?”

“Not this first time,” Molly said. “The first few appointments are too boring. But when we get to the exciting stuff you can be there.”

He did a fist bump and another happy dance that put his peanut butter cup dance to shame.

And with the full moon glowing in a sky full of stars, she cuddled between her husband and son, high on happiness. Their next chapter as a family would be nothing short of wonderful. Delighted beyond words, she was convinced she was the luckiest woman under that great big moon.