Page 55 of Best Laid Plans

‘Oh yes. Definitely. I’ve a carton of tests ready and waiting, but I’m holding off till Friday. If I try too soon, I might get a false reading and I don’t think I could bear the disappointment.’

‘Lucy, I want to be there.’

The sudden urgency in his voice made her heart jump.

‘You want to be here when I do the test?’

‘Yes. Is that okay?’

She pressed a hand against her thudding heart. She shouldn’t be surprised. The baby would be as much Will’s as it was hers, but somehow she hadn’t expected this level of interest from him.

‘It doesn’t seem right that you should be all alone when you find out,’ he said.

She couldn’t deny it would be wonderful to share her news with Will. If it was good news they could celebrate, and if she was disappointed again, he would be there to comfort her.

‘You’d better come over first thing on Friday morning,’ she said and her voice was decidedly shaky.

Friday morning produced an idyllic country dawn. As Will drove to Lucy’s place, the paddocks and the trees and the sky looked as if they’d been spring cleaned for a special occasion and the landscape had a gentle and dreamy quality like a scene viewed through a soft focus lens. The air was balmy and light.

A pretty white mist filled the bowl of Willow Creek and he watched it drift from the dark cluster of trees like magician’s smoke. He felt keyed up, excited, anxious, hopeful.

Torn.

He longed for good news, but in many ways he dreaded it. If Lucy was pregnant, he would have no choice but to take a back seat in her life, to drop his role as lover and resume their friendship.

`He found that possibility unexpectedly depressing, so he tried instead to enjoy the picture perfect scenery.

It shouldn’t have been difficult. The road from Tambaroora wound past a small forest of pines, then over a low hill before it dipped down to a rustic bridge where another arm of Willow Creek was bordered by yellow and purple wildflowers.

But he was still feeling edgy when he reached Lucy’s place, even though her dogs rushed to the front gate to greet him with excited barks and madly wagging tails.

Lucy was dressed for work in a khaki shirt and trousers, but despite the tomboyish clothes, but he could see the amethyst pendant sitting above the V of her open shirt collar.

Valiantly, he ignored the throb of desire that urged him to pull her in for a kiss.

‘How are you feeling?’ he asked her.

‘Totally nervous,’ she admitted. ‘I didn’t sleep very well.’

‘Neither did I.’

She looked surprised. ‘I – I’m assuming you’ll stay for breakfast? I’ve started sausages and tomatoes.’

‘Thanks. They smell great.’

‘And I’ve made a pot of tea. Why don’t you help yourself, while I – ah – get this done. I can’t stand the suspense.’

‘Off you go,’ he said, but as she turned to leave he snagged her hand. ‘Hey, Goose.’

Her blue eyes shimmered. ‘Yes?’

‘Good luck.’

To his surprise she stepped closer and gave him a swift, sweet kiss on the jaw. The room seemed intolerably empty when she left.

Will poured tea into a blue pottery mug and walked with it to the window, saw the stained glass feature, winking bright blue in the morning light and felt shocked by the tension that filled him.

For Lucy’s sake he really wanted this test to be positive.

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