That was Brandon’s cue, and adrenaline spiked through Caroline, sending her heartbeat into a frenzy. “He’s here,” shesaid loudly. Not that it mattered. There was no way to hide thirty people, not in her and Dawson’s small farmhouse.
“He’s here. Everyone come say happy birthday!”
Somehow the word got passed, and Brandon’s loud voice from the front porch said, “Look at that, Daws. What’s goin’ on with your vines?”
“There’s nothin’ wrong with the vines, Brandon,” Dawson growled. “Go inside the house.”
Brandon did not come inside the house, and Caroline giggled to herself as the house flooded with people from the backyard. Panic hit her hard, because she might not have enough food.
It’s fine, she told herself. No one would go hungry, she knew that.
“I think it might have a disease,” Brandon yelled, still steadfastly blocking the entrance.
“I’m gonna give you a disease if you don’t go inside,” Dawson said.
Shushing started going around the room, and Caroline moved to the wall that led down the hall to the bedrooms, effectively concealing herself out of the way. Dawson would walk right past her and into the kitchen, and she’d be able to see everyone as they wished him happy birthday.
Finally, she heard footsteps, and Brandon moved past her first, Dawson hot on his heels and still grumbling under his breath. He lifted his head and said, “Something smells good in?—”
“Surprise!” The word bounced around the room as people said it at all different times. Caroline laughed, because nothing had ever been so perfect.
“Happy birthday!” she called, and that set off a round of voices crying out that greeting too.
Dawson took an actual step back, his hands hanging limply at his sides. Colt bounced on the couch—something Caroline wouldnormally never let him do—and called, “Happy birthday, Daddy! We bringed your friends for a party!”
Joy shrieked, and somehow, by some miracle, Edith lifted her hand and everyone started singing. Tears filled Caroline’s eyes, and she couldn’t get her voice to singHappy Birthdayto her husband.
She stepped away from the wall and to his side, and he looked at her with wonder and awe in his expression. “I didn’t forget.”
He took her hand in his, squeezed it, and then lifted it to his lips. Then he grinned and grinned as the song finished. “Wow,” he said. “Thank you.”
“There’s so much food,” Caroline called. “You can eat anywhere there’s a seat, and most of them are outside.”
She stepped back, pulling her husband with her so others could get to the island and the food. He didn’t go so far that he couldn’t talk to people and accept their congratulations. She simply stood at his side, taking in the lights, the food, the kids, and the friends who had gathered just to celebrate him.
He looked at her, and his face softened. “You’re incredible,” he said. “This is incredible.”
“There are gifts outside.”
He chuckled. “Oh, boy. Can’t wait for that.”
The house got quieter as people got their food and went outside, and finally Dawson and Caroline joined the line to get something to eat. Caroline’s eyes were always bigger than her stomach at this point in her pregnancy, so she only took salads to start—green, potato, and macaroni.
She followed Dawson outside to the deck, hoping for a seat at the picnic table, when a shout filled the air. She couldn’t find the source of it, and then a couple of people swarmed around someone else.
They sent kids away, and Caroline finally realized—“It’s Misty.”
Then Henry whistled and shouted, “All right, everyone! Back up and clear a path for Misty. She and Link have to get to the hospital!”
Everyone sprang into motion, moving their children and holding them out of the way, then grabbing a chair and repositioning it.
Link already had his arm around Misty, and she moved with all the speed of a sloth, each step seeming to cause pain. Mitch went in front of them, waving his arms, and once they cleared the corner of the house, the whole world seemed to release its breath.
“I’ll go make sure they get off okay,” Dawson said, setting his plate down at an empty spot on the picnic table. “Sit, my love. You’ve been working too hard today.”
She did what he said, and she managed to eat a few chunks of potato before he returned. “They’re good.” Dawson looped his arm around her shoulders, and gazed out at everyone on the deck and around the fire pit. “You throw an amazing party, sweetheart.”
Caroline laughed, even as her heart raced. “Yeah, and now you’ll share a birthday with Link’s precious baby.”
