Chapter Seventeen
W ren walked through the door of her father’s cabin on Sunday at twenty-one minutes to noon with Duke on her heels and her nephew thrown over her shoulder. She dropped a squirming Lukas on the floor, but instead of staying on his feet, he flopped on the rug.
“Again!” he begged, reaching for her.
“Not until I’ve eaten something. I’m starving.”
Lukas pouted by accepting her reasoning, running off to jump on his uncle Pete. Her dad gave her a nod, while her brothers barely glanced up from their plates of food. The TV blared with the voices of two sports announcers arguing over the projected outcome of the day’s game.
It was like every Sunday was Groundhog Day , and she repeated the same experience, no matter what she did differently.
“I’m early this time, and you still couldn’t wait,” she called out.
Her father waved at her. “Help yourself to some food, Wren, and stop yammering. We’re listening to this.”
Wren rolled her eyes but grabbed a plate, filling it with food. Although it would have been nice to sit around a table like a family, that would also mean talking to everyone, which would lead to her brothers opening their big mouths about who she’d been seeing, if they hadn’t already. Not that her dad would care at this point. She was grown and had no plans to settle down, least of all with Sam Griffin.
When Wren noticed her sister-in-law hovering next to her, she looked up at Elizabeth and asked, “Did you get to eat?”
“Oh yeah, the guys let me go first, but I haven’t been very hungry lately.” Elizabeth rubbed her swollen belly, appearing tired and elated at the same time. “Once you get into that final trimester, your uterus kind of smashes your stomach and curbs your appetite.”
“Something to look forward to.” Wren laughed.
“Oh,” Elizabeth said, leaning against the counter and lowering her voice to a whisper. “Are you thinking about having kids?”
Wren wasn’t offended by how surprised Elizabeth sounded. She knew that most of her family probably didn’t think she’d ever get married and have kids, especially because she’d never talked about anyone special.
They’d be right about the first part.
“I have been thinking about it a lot recently,” Wren said.
“Really?” Elizabeth’s face lit up. “That would be great! Lukas and this little one would love some cousins to play with!” Elizabeth grabbed a chip from the bag, popping it into her mouth. When she finished chewing, she asked, “Are you seeing anyone?”
“I don’t know if ‘seeing’ is the right term, but I have a few ideas in mind.”
Elizabeth nodded. “It’s good to keep your options open and everything. You want to settle down with someone who is going to be a good husband and father.”
“I understand what you’re saying, but I think I’m going the untraditional route.”
Elizabeth’s brow furrowed. “What do you mean by that?”
Wren shrugged. “I honestly am thinking it would be better if it was just me, nobody else in the picture.”
“Then how would you...” Elizabeth’s eyes widened. “You’re talking about insemination?”
Wren wasn’t sure if that was horror mixed into her sister-in-law’s surprised tone, but there was nothing she could do if people didn’t understand. Or worse, judged her for it.
“Yes,” Wren said, glancing briefly at the men in the living room to see if they were listening, but their attention was still glued to the TV. “I just think it would be what’s right for me. I never really saw myself getting married, but I always saw myself as a mom.”
“What are you talking about in there?” Luke asked, drawing both women’s attention. Wren almost said, Nothing , but Elizabeth beat her to it.
“Your sister is just telling me that she’s thinking about having a baby.”
Four male heads whipped around and stared at both women as if they’d grown horns.
“Have a baby?” Luke asked.
Pete scratched his head. “Like you wanna be pregnant?”
Wren scowled at them. “Why is this such a crazy concept to all of you?”
“Because you’re not married,” her father said gruffly, his bushy brows drawn low over his eyes.
“It is the new world, Dad,” Wren said flippantly. “Women do not have to be married in order to have children.”
“This conversation does not concern me. I’m gonna keep watching football before it gets ugly,” Garrett said, giving a little salute.
Wren’s temper flared at their dismissal of her. How could they be so ignorant? Wren put her plate down before slamming her hands on her hips. “There are plenty of women raising not just one child, but multiple children, on their own, and they do amazing.”
“Who are these women and children?” her dad asked.
“Lots of actresses are raising their children alone—”
“Let me stop you right there,” Luke said, his face scrunched in disgust.
“Luke,” Elizabeth said warningly. Out of the corner of her eye, Wren saw her sister-in-law shake her head and mouth, No .
“Actresses have money,” her dad said, getting up from the couch. “Which they use to pay nannies, and their children do not always turn out as normal as you may think. Things can be faked. Most children turn out best with a mother and a father in the picture.”
Pete chose that moment to pipe in. “Are you saying that we didn’t turn out alright?”
“Hey,” Robert barked, “was I talking to you?”
“Sorry, carry on.”
Luke shook his head. “I’m gonna piggyback on what Pete said and tell you that we’re all doing alright.”
Robert scoffed. “You guys are doing alright, huh?”
“Yeah, what’s wrong with my life?” Luke asked.
“You’re thinking about going back to school for finance, for one thing,” Robert said, surprising Wren. No one, least of all Luke, had mentioned him wanting to get out of law enforcement.
“I want to make more money for my family,” Luke growled.
“Accumulating thousands in student loan debt just to change your career path in your forties is going to get you more money?” Robert shot back, and Luke stepped forward, his fists clenched at his side.
“Financial people make mucho dinero,” Pete mumbled, but when their father glared at him, he pretended like he hadn’t said anything.
“You’re going to quit a job with a pension and retirement, all while you have a wife and kids to support?” Robert said, his voice growing louder with each word.
“I’m not going to quit until I’ve finished school and found a new job, but I’m trying to do better for my family. I’ll make twice as much and be home more.” Luke glared at his dad. “Why did Wren’s announcement suddenly become all of our issues?”
“Since Pete’s living with a bunch of roommates and crashing on his sister’s couch like a fucking freeloader,” Robert snapped.
“I pay my rent,” Pete said, heading over to the food. “It’s just expensive, and I don’t wanna buy a house until I’ve got somebody to share it with.”
“Apparently, you do have somebody to share it with,” Robert said disdainfully. “Frick and Frack. Then there’s Garrett, who seems to be doing alright for himself, except he looks like he should be driving a tractor on a farm.
Garrett looked down at his T-shirt tucked into his Carhartt pants. “What’s wrong with that?”
Their father didn’t answer, but his attention swung to Wren, who laughed bitterly.
“Oh, you’re coming for me next? Where is my criticism?” she asked.
Her father was on a tear now, and Wren had a feeling he was ready to steamroll over all of them.
“For one thing, you took off, bounced all around the country, and didn’t come back until you got shot. You’re not married. You’ve barely been in your job for six weeks, and now you’re talking about getting pregnant?” Robert shook his head. “If I didn’t know better, I’d think that bullet hit your brain instead of your ass!”
His barrel chest heaved as he ranted, but Wren was about done listening to his macho, chauvinistic bullshit.
Before she could blow her top, Pete got up and danced over to Wren, slipping his arm around her shoulder.
“We were going to have it be a surprise, but Dad’s offered to buy everyone a Christmas tree out at the Winters’ farm. After lunch, we’re going to cut down trees as a family like we used to.”
“Surprise!” Luke grumbled.
“Sounds like a blast,” Wren said.