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So why did she feel like she was about to jump out of her skin?

What if Katie felt like she was being replaced? The thought had been circling through Imogen’s mind for days now. Katie had been an only child for eleven years. She’d had Imogen’s undivided attention for all that time, just the two of them against the world. She’d wanted Imogen to find someone and to have a dad, so the addition of Lincoln had been easy. But Katie had never said anything about wanting a sibling.

What if Katie felt pushed aside? What if she thought this new baby meant Imogen would love her less? What if⁠—

“Imogen?”

She jumped, nearly knocking over the jar of mayonnaise. Lincoln was standing in the doorway, his dark hair slightly mussed, his flannel shirt rolled up at the sleeves. He was looking at the sandwich on the counter with an expression of barely suppressed amusement.

“Is that.. did you put mayo on both sides of the bread?”

Imogen flushed pink. “I fixed it.”

“Uh-huh.” Lincoln crossed the kitchen in a few long strides, coming to stand beside her. He picked up the discarded slice of bread, the one she’d scraped the mayo off of, and examined it with exaggerated seriousness. “You know, I’ve heard of people who like extra mayo, but this is taking it to a whole new level.”

“Lincoln.” She tried to sound stern, but it came out more like a plea.

His teasing expression softened immediately. He set down the bread and turned to face her, his hands coming to rest on her waist. “Hey. Talk to me. What’s going on?”

“I’m nervous,” Imogen admitted. “What if I don’t say it right? What if she—what if she doesn’t react the way we hope?”

“She’s going to be thrilled,” Lincoln said, with a certainty that Imogen wished she could feel.

“But what if she’s not? What if she feels like we’re replacing her, or like she won’t be special anymore, or⁠—”

“Imogen.” Lincoln’s hands dropped to take her hands in his. “She’s not going to feel replaced. She’s going to feel like what she is—a big sister. And she’s going to be excited for that.”

Imogen wanted to believe him. But the worry kept gnawing at her. “I just want to do this right. I want her to know that nothing changes how much I love her. How much we love her.”

“She knows that,” Lincoln said gently. “You’re an amazing mother. And you’re going to be an amazing mother to this baby too. Katie’s going to see that.”

Imogen felt tears prick at her eyes. She blinked them back, trying to hold herself together. “I just keep thinking about all the ways this could go wrong. All the ways I could mess this up.”

“You won’t.”

“You don’t know that.”

“I do, actually.” Lincoln squeezed her hands. “Because I know you. And I know Katie. And I know that we’re in this together.”

Together. The word settled over Imogen, comforting and solid. She looked up at Lincoln, at this man who had come back into her life and built a family with them.

“I called her in from sledding,” Lincoln said, his voice soft. “She should be here any minute. Are you ready?”

“No,” Imogen said honestly. Then, after a pause, “Yes. I don’t know. I’m scared.”

“I know you are.” He pulled her into his arms, and Imogen let herself lean into him. “But there’s no need to be scared. We’re doing this together, remember? You’re not alone in this.”

It was exactly what she needed to hear. She felt a wave of relief at hearing that, at being reminded that after years of handling everything on her own, she no longer had to. She’d had nine years of being a single mother, making every decision by herself, lying awake at night worrying about whether she was doing enough and giving Katie everything she needed. She’d muddled through all those years of carrying the weight of parenthood entirely on her own shoulders, with no one to share either the burden or the joy.

Katie’s father had left almost as soon as she was born, unprepared to face what Imogen had been managing all on her own for the better part of a decade. She’d been alone, terrified and overwhelmed and wondering how she was possibly going to do it. She’d had her friends in the town, of course, and people willing to lend a hand, but at the end of the day, it had been on her to make it work.

But she had done it. She’d built a life for herself and Katie, and given her daughter everything she could. And she’d been proud of that, but it had been hard, and lonely in ways she hadn’t even fully recognized until Lincoln had come back into her life and shown her what it was like to have a partner, someone to share the load with.

Now, standing in her kitchen with Lincoln’s arms around her, about to tell their daughter that they were having a baby, Imogen felt that she wasn’t alone anymore. She didn’t have to carry everything by herself. Lincoln was here, completely committed to their family.

The back door burst open with a gust of cold air and the sound of stomping boots. “Mom! Lincoln! I’m freezing!”

Imogen pulled back from Lincoln’s embrace, quickly wiping at her eyes. She turned to see Katie standing in the mudroom, her cheeks bright red from the cold, her chestnut curls escaping from beneath a purple knit hat. Snow clung to her coat and boots, and her nose was running slightly.