Total pages in book: 57
Estimated words: 55305 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 277(@200wpm)___ 221(@250wpm)___ 184(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 55305 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 277(@200wpm)___ 221(@250wpm)___ 184(@300wpm)
I look the same, but everything has changed.
And this time, there is no pretending it hasn’t.
Chapter 7
Brookes
Wade doesn’t waste time or gas unless there’s a good reason to justify both, so when his truck appears, I know he’s visiting with purpose. Dust rolls behind him in a long, pale cloud, and his tires spray gravel with urgency. Mason’s halfway across the porch with two mugs of coffee when he stops, his attention locking onto the truck before Wade shuts off the engine.
“What’s he doing here?”
I lean against the porch post, arms relaxed, watching Wade as he opens the truck door. “Whatever it is, he didn’t want to say it over the phone.”
Wade walks across the yard and comes up the steps without saying anything. His boots hit the wood, each step sharp and full of purpose.
“Mason. Brookes.”
Mason sets the mugs down on the rail. “What’s up?”
Wade doesn’t answer right away. He looks over the yard, the barn, and the pasture, like he’s weighing everything before he speaks. Our house sits low and wide on the land, worn but solid. It’s been built and rebuilt by people who cared more about keeping it standing than making it look nice. The porch is wide and cluttered with our things: boots, tools, a coil of rope Mason promised to put away yesterday. The remnants of our family linger inside even though the people have all left for one reason or another. The barn doors are open to the breeze, and horses graze beyond the fence, strong and beautiful. It isn’t as pretty as his house, but it’s home to us.
His hesitation tightens in my chest.
“Janey called Joelle last night,” he says at last.
Hearing her name takes me back two months. My focus sharpens as memories of our night together return, losing me for a moment in her smile, her voice, and the way she looked at me.
Mason straightens immediately. “Is she okay?”
“She’s fine.”
“Then what is it?”
Wade lets out a breath and rubs his jaw. “I overheard them talking.”
He puts his hands in his pockets and looks down, clearly wrestling with whatever truth he’s here to deliver. I’m immediately uneasy at his unusual behavior.
“I don’t like sharing other people’s business. It isn’t how I do things, but…”
“What did you hear?” I ask.
Wade looks at me, and whatever he finds in my face convinces him to come out with it.
“She’s pregnant.”
Pregnant.
The wind moves the chimes our mom left behind, the barn door creaks, and a horse whinnies. The world doesn’t pause at his statement, but I freeze at the word.
Mason turns away, one hand bracing at the back of his neck. “Jesus.”
He doesn’t say it out of anger or regret. I know my brother. It’s what a man says when he’s trying to steady himself after receiving big news. “Is it ours?”
“Of course it’s yours.” Wade shakes his head. “I wouldn’t have driven over here if it was someone else’s.”
“Is she alright?” I ask.
It’s the only question that matters right now.
“She’s scared.”
I picture her standing alone, shoulders back and chin up, hiding any fear. She’d keep it together, even when she shouldn’t have to.
My hands curl loosely at my sides. She shouldn’t be dealing with this alone.
“Does Joelle know you’re here?” Mason asks.
“No, and I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t think you’d know what to do,” Wade says, putting enough weight behind the words to communicate his expectation.
“Does she want to keep it?” I ask.
Wade shrugs. “I don’t think she’s gotten that far. And she doesn’t have all the information, does she?”
“What information?” Mason asks.
I nod, getting what Wade means. “She doesn’t know we’ll be there for her. She doesn’t know we’ll give her and the baby a home.”
I look out toward the pasture, letting my eyes settle on the horizon while my thoughts catch up.
A baby.
Maybe it’s mine.
Maybe it’s Mason’s.
Either way, it’s family.
My mind starts racing, making plans. There’s room in the house. What needs fixing? What’ll Janey need?
“Brookes.”
Wade’s voice cuts through the rollercoaster of planning I was suddenly on.
I look back.
“Don’t get ahead of her.”
Mason frowns. “He’s not—”
“I am.”
Wade nods once. “Then don’t. You can tell her you’ll stand by her, but you can’t put pressure on her. This pregnancy… It’s unplanned, and she has a life. She has a family with expectations. You have to understand that what she wants might not be the same choice you’d make.”
I let out a slow breath and try to let the thoughts of home and family go, because he’s right. There’s a difference between offering help and making plans before she’s even decided.
“What does Joelle say?” I ask.
“That Janey’s trying not to fall apart,” Wade replies. “And that she doesn’t know what she wants yet.”
Mason drags a hand down his face. “Of course she doesn’t.”
“She’s allowed not to,” Wade says. “When I think about everything Joelle went through alone with Little Caleb…” His brow furrows in thought.