AllFreeNovel
Share Us
And she was too damn perky for him to be around too.
“Eh.”
“Eat.” Chloe stood, tucking into a pancake of her own. “Carbs and chocolate make everything better.”
He scarfed down his food in silence with the hope that the faster he ate, the sooner she’d go home. She had husbands and a nine-month-old waiting on her over there after all.
“Do you think you’ll be back in time for dinner?”
Huh?
“Back from where?”
“Getting Katie.” She swallowed another mouthful of pancake. “Because we can do stir-fry or something if you want to come over and…”
“Whoa, I don’t know that I’m going anywhere.”
That was the bulk of what he needed to think about. To work out in his head. Katelyn. The baby. Yesterday, it required no thought at all, but he wasn’t as sure today as he was then.
“What makes you think she wants to be gotten?”
“Stop it, Brendan. She loves you. You love her.”
“I hear she’s going to Boston.” He smirked.
Chloe shook her head with a giggle. “Shut up, Brendan.”
“You shut up, Chloe.”
It was almost too quiet after she’d gone, leaving him alone with only his thoughts for company. That’s what he wanted just an hour ago, though, wasn’t it? Why was his head such a fucked-up mess? He could blame the after-effects of the alcohol, he supposed. Stress. God knows, he’d had a lifetime’s worth this past month. Brendan had to admit it was none of those things. It was Katelyn. Everything was fucked up without her.
Go get her, idiot.
He opened the French door and stepped out onto the brick patio. Patches of snow interlaced with mucky puddles covered the backyard, as if nature itself was stuck somewhere between winter and spring. Death and rebirth. He took a deep breath of cold, clean air in through his nose. It smelled of wet earth, budding life, and the promise of things to come.
What the hell was he doing? Why did he hesitate? Brendan didn’t have a ready answer. He only knew if he went over there today, fueled by shit he hadn’t fully processed, things could go horribly wrong. He needed everything to be right. His future with Katelyn was too important to risk fucking it all up.
If he hadn’t fucked it up already, that is.
He couldn’t accept that.
He wouldn’t.
Their baby would grow up in this house, chase leaves in this backyard, learn to ride a bike without training wheels on Park Place. They’d spend weekends at the lake house watching all the kids play while they grilled burgers. Snow forts. Lightning bugs. Skinned knees. They’d build a tent in the living room every year and make love under twinkling white lights—perhaps make more babies too. They’d add another ornament to their tree.
Rubbing his arms, Brendan went back in the house. Dillon was sitting on his sofa. He really needed to remember to lock the damn door.
“Hey, cousin. I, um, just wanted to check on you before I took off to the club.” He threaded his fingers through the long blond hair on top of his head, pushing it out of his eyes.
“It’s that late already?” Brendan rubbed the beard on his chin. “Hadn’t noticed.”
“Yeah.” Dillon angled his head, studying him. “You good?”
“Yeah, man.”
“Good.” He blew out a breath and smiled. “I still say she’s much too pretty for an ugly beast like you. You’re lucky, bro.”
“I know. I don’t deserve her.”
