Total pages in book: 95
Estimated words: 90951 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 455(@200wpm)___ 364(@250wpm)___ 303(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 90951 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 455(@200wpm)___ 364(@250wpm)___ 303(@300wpm)
Really choked up. So messed up by the beauty of everything she just said that Bea ends up unbuckling her seat belt, climbing up to sit on the console, and wrapping her arms around me while I cry. I cling to her waist like a kid, face pressed to the top of her belly, where Bean is shifting ever so slightly, also seeming to assure me that it’s okay.
It’s okay to drop my guard and trust.
We’re really going to do this. Be a family. For keeps.
A few minutes later, I reach the end of the rush of feeling and tell Beatrice, “I don’t care if we ever get married. As long as I get to spend the rest of my life being yours.”
She nods, happy tears on her cheeks. “And I’ll be yours. And we’ll be a team, and we’ll get through the hard times. No matter what.”
“Damned straight, we will.”
She sighs. Nods. Then sighs again as she slides back into the passenger’s seat. “Okay, let’s go see Baylor and get this sorted before you have to run into him at practice tomorrow.”
“I doubt he’ll cause a scene if you want to wait a day or two,” I say. “But I don’t think you do.”
“I don’t,” she assures me, buckling her belt. “Let’s do this. I’m ready.”
Turns out, Charlotte’s ready, too.
She opens the door before we reach the front porch steps, looking relieved. “I thought you might swing by,” she whispers, nodding over her shoulder. “Come on in. He’s in the kitchen.”
“I’m sorry,” Beatrice says as we step into the foyer. “Really, Charlotte. I’m so sorry.”
Charlotte waves a hand. “It’s fine, honey. You know I love you, but in the scheme of things, we’ve only been friends a very short time. You don’t owe me anything here, not even an explanation.” She shoots a pointed glance down the hall before adding, “It’s Baylor who needs more. He’s just…really hurt and confused.”
“Right.” Bea nods, pulling in a breath as she stands up straighter. “Right, then I’ll… I’ll do my best to fix that.”
Charlotte rests a hand on her shoulder. “That’s all you can do.”
As Beatrice starts into the kitchen, Char shifts her gaze my way with an empathetic wince.
“Thanks,” I tell her as we follow Bea at a distance.
“No need to thank me,” she whispers. “Don’t let it go to your head, but if I had to pick a baby daddy from all the men in New Orleans, you’d be it.”
I smile, so flattered I’m not sure how to respond.
Charlotte grins. “It went to your head, didn’t it?”
I nod. “A little.”
Before I can say more, we reach the edge of the kitchen, where Beatrice faces Nix across the island just a few feet away. He sits on the far side, a half-finished beer and an untouched sandwich in front of him, a man who came home and tried to get back to normal, but failed.
“I’m sorry I fucked this up, Bay,” Bea says, proving she knows her brother.
Nix would always rather cut through the bullshit and get real, especially when he’s hurting.
And he’s hurting now, it’s clear in every tense muscle in his jaw, in the skin around his eyes that draws tighter as he says, “I just want to know why you hide things from me, Bea. It drives me crazy. I mean, things like my best friend being the father of your baby… Yeah, that fucks with my head, and I don’t like it. Not even a little bit. But it’s not dangerous.” He doesn’t so much as glance my way, leaving little doubt that I’m on his shit list, too.
Which is fine. I should be.
But we’ll work through our drama later, after he and Beatrice get things right between them.
“But all the shit with Kai?” Nix continues. “That you kept quiet for years? Those were bad secrets, Bea. Secrets that could have gotten you hurt or even killed. And by the time I found out what was going on, the dark shit was so far along, and I felt so helpless and scared and—”
“I know,” Beatrice cuts in. “You’re right. And I’m sure that’s where I learned it was better to hide things I wasn’t one hundred percent ready to share. With Kai. I had to be armed and ready to micro-manage everything with him, and even then, he might explode. But this wasn’t like that, Baylor, I promise. It’s not that I didn’t trust you or Charlotte. Or Mom and Dad. I was just overwhelmed and stressed, and I fell back into bad habits without even thinking about it. But I’m committed to doing better in the future. I’m going to find a therapist and learn how to confront things in a healthy, grown-up way, and I… I just…” She lifts her hands at her sides, fingers spread wide. “I don’t know. I’m going to woman up and stop being an avoidant little shit-weasel, I guess.”