10. Chapter 10
Chapter 10
Caroline
T he gentle jolt of my car coming to a stop wakes me.
I slowly open my eyes, trying to acclimate to the warm glow of the interior lights. I don’t know how long I was out, but it must have been a while because my mouth feels dry, and when I reach up to yawn, I notice a little bit of drool crusted on the corner of my lips.
Gross .
At this point, It has to be close to midnight since we stopped on the way up to eat and change the baby. While it was annoying that Wes conned me into letting him drive for the second half of the trip, he was right about one thing—I was exhausted. It would have been tough to make that drive by myself, and even though I had to spend it with an irritating manchild, it was worth it. He’s my brother’s problem now that we’re at the lake.
I shift in the back seat, stretching my cramped body as much as I possibly can and letting out a satisfied groan when my shoulders pop.
“Caroline,” Weston says, turning to face me as I’m reaching for the car door to head into the house.
His tone sounds off, but it’s probably just because his voice has a rasp to it when he whispers.
I pause with my fingers curled around the handle, matching his volume so that I don’t wake his son. “Weston.”
His eyes meet mine and for some reason he looks a lot older than he usually does, like he’s transformed into a serious adult rather than the playful dickhead I’ve come to expect at all times.
“Can you watch Carter while I run inside to check in? I don’t want to move him until I have to.”
I blink several times to clear my groggy head.
Did he just say check in?
My mind fumbles over the words, trying to make sense of them. Why the hell would we need to check in to a lake house that my family has owned for twenty years?
I glance at the time displayed in bright green on the car dashboard behind him—10:00 p.m. That doesn’t make sense—unless Weston moonlights as a NASCAR driver, there’s no way we already made it to the lake.
He repeats my name, this time with more urgency so that it snaps me out of my daze.
“Yeah,” I reply reflexively, trying to manifest a dollop of mental grease to add to the wheels of my brain so that I can start thinking clearly again.
“Can you stay with Carter? I’ll be right back.”
I look at his son, impressed by the way he’s still sound asleep beside me.
The first half of the trip was chaotic at best, but as soon as we started driving again after dinner, he settled down. I’d like to think that it was because of me, but I know that’s not remotely true—I’m completely out of my league when it comes to kids.
“Okay,” I answer, unable to argue because my exhaustion keeps dragging me down like quicksand.
Weston nods and closes the door quietly, walking toward a well-lit building fifty yards away.
I was so disoriented when we pulled in that I didn’t even notice that the floodlights in front of us aren’t right—they’re way more industrial than the ones at our lake house.
Where the hell are we?
I reach for my phone in the cup holder, pulling my knees up to my chest as I read my messages. There’s a paragraph from my brother, apologizing for his surprise guests and promising that he’ll make it up to me. I scoff and ignore it for now, scrolling through the rest of my texts which are all in the Team Daddies group chat.
Morgan
Everyone tell Cass that she can’t sleep in the same bed as Parker tonight. No boom-boom before she marries the groom-groom
Claire
That sound you just heard from downstairs was projectile vomit
Morgan
Good. Maybe you won’t be so hungover tomorrow, Bambi
Claire
Bambi was a baby deer, not a baby giraffe