Chapter 5
“Nothing says Thanksgiving like a surprise baby.”
Zane
I exit the car – a car I had to borrow from a friend since I refuse to buy one – and stare up at Eli’s house. It’s Thanksgiving and the entire Raider clan is gathered at my big brother’s house to celebrate the occasion.
I wasn’t supposed to be here. I was supposed to be exploring South America on a motorcycle for a few weeks. Instead, here I am trying to figure out how to remove a baby seat from a car.
How the hell is this my life? I admit I’m a player. But I’m always careful. Always.
The door flies open and Mom rushes out. Ready or not – here we go.
“Zane, my boy.” She hurries to me. “We didn’t expect you today.”
“Mom.” I kiss her cheek.
“Why are you standing outside?”
Has she not heard about the baby yet? My brothers didn’t tell her?
I glance toward the house and notice all five of my brothers are standing on the porch. Which can only mean one thing. They’ve started some kind of bet about how Mom will react to me having an unexpected child.
My brothers will use any excuse to start betting. When they aren’t pranking each other. I’m usually part of the fun. Hell, I start the fun most days. But fun died the second Daisy dropped Adele at my doorstep.
“I’m… ah…” How do you explain you have a child you didn’t know about to your mom? I motion to the interior of the car.
“Zane Raider! Why is there a baby in this car?”
She doesn’t wait for an answer before reaching inside to nab the baby. “Hello, little one,” she coos. “Get the car seat. We’ll discuss this inside.”
She hustles inside without waiting for a response. Meanwhile, I still don’t know how to remove the stupid car seat.
I guess I’ll figure this out on my own since YouTube wasn’t any help. Eli nudges me out of the way. “I’ve got this. You better get inside and deal with Mom before her head explodes.”
My oldest brother unclicks the baby seat as if it’s nothing. “How do you know how to do that?”
He slaps my shoulder. “You’ll learn.”
I frown. I don’t want to learn. I don’t want to be a father. Moreover – I can’t be a father.
“Did you find out where Daisy is?”
He sighs. “Sorry. Not yet.”
Damn. I can hardly return Adele to her mom if I don’t know where she lives. Something inside me rebels at the idea of giving Adele back. I ignore it. I can’t be a dad.
We arrive at the porch where the rest of my brothers are exchanging money.
“Seriously?” I ask. “My life is falling apart, and you’re making bets?”
Rhett growls. “Your life is not falling apart because you have a child.”
“I’m not you. I don’t want the fairy tale happy ending with a wife and two children.”
“Then, you’re a fool,” he says before entering the house.
Miles chuckles. “This is not news.”
“Whatever,” I mutter before following Rhett inside the house with the rest of my brothers on my heels.
Paisley hurries toward me with baby Stephanie in her arms. “I’m beyond excited. Our children are the same age. They’ll grow up together.”
Our children? Adele isn’t here to stay. My stomach sours at the thought, but I ignore it. I’ve been ignoring it a lot lately.
“Son,” Stuart greets. “You better explain to your mother what’s happening.”
I bristle. I’m not his son. Stuart isn’t my dad. He’s my step-dad. And he didn’t come onto the scene until I was an adult.
“My goodness,” Mom exclaims. “Who put this diaper on this baby?”
I cringe. “I did.”
“Didn’t anyone ever teach you how to put a diaper on a baby?”
Miles barks out a laugh. “Remember when we had to ‘care’ for a baby for a week, our junior year of high school? Zane refused and ended up getting detention for a month.”
“I remember. He had to sort buckets of clam shells. He came home smelling of clam for a week.” Kai holds his nose.
Harper sighs. “I’m glad I wasn’t in school at the same time as the Raider brothers.”
Kai throws an arm around her shoulders. “You missed out but I have the rest of our lives to make it up to you.”
Harper practically melts into him and I roll my eyes. Don’t get me wrong – I’m happy for them – but did all of my brothers have to fall in love?
First, Eli and Paisley fell in love. Technically, they’ve been in love since high school, but whatever. Then, Rhett fell head over heels for Dakota. She gave him the runaround. It was fun to watch.
Next came Jaxon and Blossom. Jaxon ‘fake’ married her to help her out, and before I knew what was happening, they were in love and the marriage was real.
And, most recently, Kai and Harper got together. Kai took one look at Harper and was smitten.
At least Miles and I are still single. Although, Miles has been yearning for Hazel, the woman he abandoned years ago, and I fear he’s about done waiting for her to stop hating him.
Dakota snatches Adele from Mom’s arms. “I’ll change her while Zane explains why he suddenly has a baby.”
“I used to like you!” I shout after her retreating figure.
“You love me and you know it!” she shouts back.
Mom grasps my hand and drags me into the living room. “Now,” she says once we’re seated next to each other, “tell me why you suddenly have a baby.”
“Is anyone surprised Zane has a baby?” Miles asks.
I glare at him. “You’re no saint either.”
He scowls. “But I’m not a player.”
“Beg to disagree,” Harper mutters under her breath.
“Can’t an old man have a nap without being bothered?” her father, Henry, asks from the armchair where he was sleeping. Since Kai fell in love with Harper, her dad has joined our growing family.
“I warned you to go to bed early last night.” Harper wags her finger at him. “But, no, you had to stay up late and binge watch the new detective series.”
“I have to watch those series when you aren’t around. Otherwise, you spoil the ending.”
Harper shrugs. “I can’t help it if I figure out who did it within five minutes.”
“Who did it?” I ask even though I have no clue what show they’re referring to.
Mom tuts. “You can’t avoid my questions all day.”
I can try. Except I can’t use the exploding diarrhea excuse and hide in the bathroom when I have a little baby to care for.
“Nope.” Mom grasps my hand and squeezes. “You aren’t escaping with your motorcycle now.”
Kai snorts. “He doesn’t have a motorcycle today.”
“Because he has a baby,” Mom adds. “Where did the baby come from?”
I smirk. “Do I need to explain to you? You have six boys. I thought you figured it out already.”
Stuart growls. “Do not tease your mother when she’s concerned about you.”
I open my mouth to remind him he isn’t part of the family but snap it shut before I can speak. Stuart is Mom’s husband. Whether I like it or not, he’s part of the family. Mostly, I like it. But I’m having a hard time liking anything at the moment.
“A woman showed up on my doorstep the other day with a baby. She said I’m Adele’s father and then announced she’s done being a single mom and left.”
Mom gasps. “She abandoned her baby?”
“She’s young. I think she’s a college student.”
“College student?” Eli pulls out his phone. “I’ll let the PI know.”
“The PI?” Mom’s brow wrinkles. “Why did you hire a PI?”
“To figure out where Daisy is.”
“Daisy?”
“Adele’s mom.”
Mom growls. “You’re not giving Adele back to a mother who abandoned her, are you?”
That was my plan. Give the baby back, pay monthly child support – assuming Adele is my baby – and move on with my life.
“Hold on. We don’t know the baby is Zane’s yet.”
I nod to Rhett to thank him.
“He has the Raider blue eyes,” Miles reminds everyone.
“We’ll make sure anyway,” Eli says. “We can do a home test, but we should do a lab test in case we need proof for litigation.”
I swallow. “Litigation?”
“In case Daisy fights your claim for custody.”
“Hot damn,” Henry says. “I had my money on Miles being the first Raider brother to have a child out of wedlock.”
“Hey!” Miles glares at him. “I always use protection.”
So do I. Fat lot of good it did me.
Eli stands. “Okay, we have a plan. We’ll do a paternity test and I’ll make an appointment with a lawyer to discuss custody.”
I don’t know if I want custody of Adele. But I can’t admit to it when my mom and brothers are ready to fight my battles for me.
“Does this mean we can eat? I can smell those pies from Pirate’s Pastries from here.” Henry pushes up from his chair and Kai rushes to help him.
Why couldn’t Kai be the one to have a baby dropped at his doorstep? He already has a built-in family with Harper and her dad.
I’m checking the expiry date on all the condoms in my house when I get home.