Total pages in book: 59
Estimated words: 56213 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 281(@200wpm)___ 225(@250wpm)___ 187(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 56213 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 281(@200wpm)___ 225(@250wpm)___ 187(@300wpm)
Theo and Travis are in the living room, kneeling on the floor in front of the ninety-inch flat-screen television. They click buttons on the gaming remotes, yelling at each other about getting a wand to advance to the next level. How are they related to me? The twins are mentally about Max’s age. When I was their age, I was already in the NHL and had better things to do with my time.
Austin plops down on the couch next to me. He hands me a water bottle and then sips from the one in his other hand.
“I talked to Dean,” I say.
He nods in approval. “How did it go?”
I roll my shoulders. “Okay, I guess. He’s asking Dad to marry Kat,” I say in a hushed tone.
“I like Dean. He’s a good guy. Old school.”
“He got Kat pregnant, Aus. He’s not that great.”
“It was an accident, Duke. They didn’t plan it. Stop being a prick about it.”
I roll my eyes. “We both know you can’t accidentally get a girl pregnant. He knew what he was doing.”
Austin takes a long sip from his water bottle. “Let it go. Our nephew will be here in a few months.”
“Nephew? I thought it was too early to know the sex.”
He rolls his shoulders. “Kat swears it’s a boy because she’s craving salty foods instead of sweets. And because she’s carrying low.”
I raise my eyebrows. “Isn’t that kind of stuff based on folklore?”
“There’s no science to prove it.”
“I better be the godfather,” I say.
“No, way,” Austin challenges, “I’ve been driving between St. Louis and Chicago to take Kat to her appointments. It should be me.”
Austin sat in every waiting room with Kat and the twins, wiped every nose, and nursed every fever.
“I’m the oldest,” I shoot back. “So, I get dibs.”
“Don’t be a dick, Duke!”
Dad and Kat step into the living room, and he clears his throat to gain our attention.
Kat’s eyes find mine, and she shakes her head. “Are you guys fighting over who will be the baby’s godfather?”
“Yeah,” I say. “I think it should be me. I’m the oldest and—”
“Look, guys,” Kat says. “Can you not fight over this? I’m tired, I don’t feel good, and stress isn’t good for the baby.”
Austin lunges off the couch, rushing over to her side. He glances down at her stomach. Her belly has grown since the last time I saw her. The girl I raised is a woman now, though, some part of me will always think of Kat as a little girl.
“Are you okay?” Austin asks her. “Did something happen? You know, I’ve been reading a lot of books, so I can help you with the baby. So, I’ll know what to do.”
“Austin, you already know what to do.” Kat smiles. “You helped raise me.” She looks at Austin and me as she says, “All of you did a good job with me. This isn’t your fault. I did something without thinking, and now, I have to deal with the consequences. But I’m not upset about it, okay? I don’t look at this baby as a bad thing. If anything, it’s what I needed to force me to move back to Philly. I wanted to be with Dean anyway. We’re just starting sooner than either of us had expected.”
I lean against the edge of the couch, pinching the bridge of my nose between my fingers. Austin blows out a deep breath. My dad shoves his hands into his jeans pockets and forces a smile. The twins are oblivious to our conversation, too busy playing some stupid video game.
“I don’t want you to give up on your dreams to go running across the country to be with a man,” my dad says to Kat. “Your mother did it for me.” His eyes fall to the floor as he sighs. “She could have done so much more. She wanted to help people, and I took that away from her. I don’t want the same to happen to you.”
“Dad, c’mon,” Austin says. “Mom didn’t give anything up. She had us. Kat’s not doing the same thing. She’ll find a job in Philly after the baby is born.”
“Austin is right,” Kat says. “I’ll get another internship after the baby is born. The one I had sucked anyway. I was never allowed to do anything other than order lunches and make coffee. Mr. Hopper treated me like crap and made me cry all the time. It was awful.”
I stand up, balling my hands into fists at my sides. Austin’s mouth curls up into an angry snarl.
Dad’s nostrils flare. “He did what?”
Kat raises her hand to silence him. “Dad, chill. It’s okay. I don’t work there anymore.”
His eyes widen. “Hopper made you cry?”
“Guys, calm down, okay?” Kat is way too relaxed when I want to beat the piss out of her former boss. “He’s an asshole, and I don’t work for him anymore.”