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Aaron weighed his options against the inherent risks that went with any path forward. It was possible that if he left things alone and maintained the course, she’d come to him again.
He couldn’t risk being wrong, though. The stakes were too damn high.
So he did the slightly less risky option and called his baby sister. Aaron had always been closest to Trish, partly because she never allowed him to take himself too seriously and partly because their age difference meant they were never competing quite the same way he and Mary did through their younger years.
That mattered, of course, but the reason he called her now instead of Mary was because at twenty-four she was the closest in age to Becka—and the closest in personality. Though Becka was all thorns and prickly edges and Trish was both softer and sweeter, they both harbored free spirits and avoiding being tied down. It was comfortable to be the older brother to that kind of personality. It was significantly less so to be having a child with someone like that.
The line rang several times before it clicked over. “Hey, Aaron. Is everything okay?”
He glanced at the clock and cursed himself. It was almost midnight—way too late for this to be a casual call. “Yeah, everything is okay. I just need some advice and didn’t think to check if it was too late to call.”
“My big brother asking me for advice? You’re right, that’s not remotely serious at all.” She laughed softly. “I’m awake, and you have me on the phone, so stop thinking about how you’re going to make some excuse and call me tomorrow.”
Since he’d been about to do exactly that, he gave a rueful grin. “How are you?”
She sighed. “I’m fine. Just as fine as I was a couple weeks ago when we talked, though I’m about to start chewing through the wall if I don’t get out of this house soon. I love Mom and Dad, and they’re trying to be supportive and not push me, but it’s driving all of us crazy.”
Trish had moved back home after college until she could find a job and it...hadn’t gone particularly well. He made a sympathetic noise. “Well, I have some news that will get you out of the doghouse as least favorite child.”
“That sounds like trouble.” She lowered her voice. “Are you sure everything is okay?”
“Yeah. I mean, it’s not, but it will be.” He had to believe that. He couldn’t allow for any other outcome. Aaron had half a second to wonder if this call was a mistake, but he had gone too far to change his mind now. “I don’t know what I’m doing, Trish. There’s this woman, and we connected, but she won’t give me the time of day and...” She’s going to have my child.
She laughed. “Oh, Aaron. She’s got you twisted in knots, hasn’t she? You already tried to plan your way out of this and it blew up in your face.”
He narrowed his eyes. “How’d you know?”
“Because you’re our fearless leader. You attack every single problem the exact way—as if you’re going into battle. Which is great, and useful, and the reason that you’re as professionally successful as you are now.” Another laugh. “But you can’t date like that, Aaron. I mean, you can, but if you’re calling me, that means she’s independent and isn’t going to respond well to that sort of thing.”
Aaron started piling plates in the sink. “Everything I do pisses her off.”
“Hmm. Have you tried listening?”
“She doesn’t want to talk.”
“Because you make it into an interrogation when you aren’t paying attention. Figure out what she likes. Do that. See if you relaxing doesn’t relax her a little bit.” A hesitation. “Though if she’s fighting you this hard, maybe it’s time to write the whole thing off? Some walls aren’t worth beating your head against.”
“This one is.” He forced a smile into his voice. “Thanks, Trish. You should come down to the city to visit soon.”
“Sure thing. Just as soon as I figure out the rest of my life. Love you, big brother.”
“Love you, too.” He hung up the phone and went to work on the dishes. His sister’s advice wasn’t necessarily groundbreaking, but she had a good point. He’d approached this from the baby standpoint, because the baby was the only thing they appeared to have in common.
Well, the baby and the sex.
Aaron shook his head and scrubbed harder at the pan. If he wanted to pave the way to a future with Becka and the baby, he needed to know Becka.
He stopped.
Was that what he wanted? Both of them? Because that was a different scenario than simply being a father. He just had to be able to be cordial with Becka in order to do that, and they’d both go on with their separate lives. It was the simplest solution for a child born of a one-night stand.
And yet.
He thought about the vivid woman who’d caught his eye in the first place, the determined one who’d faced him down time and again over the future, and the bowed shoulders she’d worn tonight when she walked back to her room alone. Complicated did not begin to cover Becka Baudin.
There was nothing wrong with complicated, though.
Aaron finished the dishes and dried the pan, still thinking. He just needed to figure out what common ground they had and work from there. It was entirely possible that they had nothing in common and this was all a lost cause, but he wasn’t prepared to believe that. There was something there. Aaron just needed to figure out what it was.
