21. Katy
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
katy
BABY TBD
The first thing I notice when I go down the stairs is the blue. And the bears. Everywhere. A full-scale, Ella-level commitment to the decorations.
Blue balloons crowd the ceiling. Blue streamers frame every doorway. Blue napkins, blue plates, blue cupcakes topped with tiny sugar bears. And hanging proudly across the far wall, a blue banner that says WE CAN BEARLY WAIT TO MEET YOU BABY TBD.
Of course they couldn’t just do Baby. They just had to be clever like that.
“Thank you, Ella and Bex,” I murmur, already overwhelmed but weirdly touched.
The two idiots are beaming, looking pretty proud of themselves.
The front door opens again before I can fully process the full number of bears, and suddenly the room fills with… four giant Harbor Point U football players. They’re each clutching a pastel gift bag.
“We brought diapers,” Jason announces.
“And like… baby stuff,” Ethan adds unnecessarily.
I blink. “You didn’t…”
“Yes, yes, we know. But we wanted to,” Logan says as he walks in, a woman who is clearly his mom following behind him. “Katy, this is my mom, Christina.”
I’m a little taken aback that she’s actually here, but he did warn me she wanted to come. “Nice to meet you, Ms. Miller.”
She shakes my hand and pulls me in for a hug. “It’s nice to meet you too, sweetie. Call me Christina.”
Jason groans quietly. “Moms were invited?”
Ethan mutters, “My mom’s going to kill me.”
Then Mateo joins and greets Logan with that weird man hug they do. “Hey man, what are you doing here?”
Declan inspects the scene in front of him. His eye seems to twitch. “What,” he says slowly, eyes flicking between Logan, his mother, the other three guys, and the growing mountain of gifts, “in the hell is happening?”
Ella doesn’t even look up from straightening a centerpiece. “They’re here just in case.”
Declan freezes. “Just in case what?”
“They didn’t want to miss it,” she adds gently. “In case the baby is theirs.”
Declan stares at her like she’s just spoken a foreign language. “I don’t understand,” he says, running a hand through his hair. “What is happening?”
Ethan jumps in heroically. “Hey man, we’re just here to support Katy and our maybe kid. No drama.”
I watch realization hit Declan in stages, and each one somehow makes him paler. Ella is trying, unsuccessfully, to get him to relax.
“Katy?” He looks at me like he can’t believe it.
Honestly, same, Dec.
Thank God Ben arrives at my side at that exact moment. “Back off, Declan,” Ben says, kissing my forehead. “You need to get over this, fast.”
My brother seems anything but over it. Leo and Mateo, of course, are delighted and joking about karma. My face burns. The shame starts to creep in. But then Leo fist-bumps me and says, “Respect.”
Huh. So, this is what happens when you’re a man with questionable decision-making abilities. You get congratulated. Gotta love Leo’s feminism.
Grandma Patty laughs from the couch where she’s sitting next to Ali, Lily, and a grinning Jack. She raises her mimosa. “Oh, lighten up, Dec. The more men bringing diapers, the better.”
Declan pinches the bridge of his nose. “I hate everyone.”
I barely have time to enjoy that exchange before Caroline appears at my side, her hand slipping around my arm like she’s claiming territory.
Logan’s mom, Christina, steps closer too, her smile tight but sincere.
“Katy, I was thinking,” Christina says, “I could help babysit anytime you need…”
“Well,” Caroline cuts in smoothly, “Katy will obviously have our help, so no need for you to worry.”
Christina blinks. “Oh. My understanding was that you live in Boston.”
Caroline’s eye twitches slightly. “My husband and I are planning to relocate here soon.”
They’re not fighting exactly. They’re… circling.
The guys all look like they’re watching a tennis match. Someone whispers, “This is getting intense.”
And it would’ve been funny, except my chest suddenly gets tight. Because all these people care about me. About my baby. These women are even fighting over us.
Before I know it, I’m sobbing. Like, full, messy, hormonal sobbing.
Everyone freezes.
“I’m sorry,” I hiccup. “You’re all just… being so nice. And you don’t even have to be.”
Talking about the baby like he already belongs to them. Like love is already assumed. And my own mother couldn’t even be bothered to show up.
Something in me breaks before I can stop it. I choke, backing away. “I just…”
Caroline and Christina both reach for me at the same time.
“Oh honey,” Christina starts, “what’s wrong?”
Caroline rubs my arm. “We’re sorry, we didn’t mean to upset you. We’re just both very excited. Aren’t we, Christina?”
“Very,” she agrees.
“Why don’t you hate me?” I ask, voice small.
“Why on earth would we hate you?” Caroline asks, truly worried.
“Because you slept with more than one man?” Christina scoffs. “Please, I would have to hate myself too, then.”
I can’t help but laugh at that.
“I just… can’t believe you want us. You don’t even know if the baby is your grandkid. But you’re both here.”
“Katy, I love you and the baby no matter what. Biologically or otherwise.” Caroline squeezes my shoulder.
“Me too. Logan has always talked about what a great friend you’ve been to him, and as his mom, I’m grateful. So I promise to be there for you no matter what that test says. You know I raised him by myself, right?” Christina adds. “I’m not letting you go through that alone.”
I nod, but the tears don’t stop. I’m floored by the grace these women are showing me. I decide right in that moment that they’re exactly the kind of woman I want to be too.
I escape into the kitchen and shut the door behind me, pressing a paper towel to my face like it might keep everything from spilling out.
That’s where Rebecca finds me. She doesn’t say anything at first. Just hands me a clean tissue and leans against the counter beside me, shoulder to shoulder.
I sniff loudly. “I’m such a mess.”
“Nah, you’re just pregnant.”
“They both already love the baby. They don’t even know if it’s theirs,” I whisper. “And they’re not judging me at all.”
She turns to face me then, eyes soft but fierce. “You didn’t do anything wrong, Katy. You’re in a difficult situation, and you’re owning it. You’re handling it like a boss. That’s very different.”
I’m caught off guard by the warmth beneath her sass. “You’re such a girls’ girl.”
“Obviously,” she says. “I don’t support internalized shame.”
I laugh through the tears.
When we head back out, the party keeps going. It’s loud and messy and loving. I catch Ben watching the other guys, especially Logan. Something tight flickers across his face.
Declan is watching them too, but with a very different expression. It’s somewhere between “I need holy water” and “I’m adopting this baby myself.” He’s standing in a corner by himself, arms crossed, glaring at everyone.
Ella keeps trying to get him to have a cupcake. This is the first time I’ve ever seen him tell her no. It’s kind of weird.
Finally, Grandma Patty walks up to him and swats his arm. I overhear her say, “Relax before I dose your lemonade. Eat one of the cupcakes your girlfriend made for your sister and smile.”
I almost feel bad for him.
Almost.
Then again, watching him try to keep a straight face while Grandma Patty proceeds to tell the guys to “line up for diaper-changing drills” is honestly kind of the highlight of my week.
BEN
I swear, it happens in slow motion.
Logan claps me on the shoulder. “No hard feelings, right? Whoever it is, we’ll make it work. If it’s you, awesome. But if not, I won’t get between you two, man.”
And then he’s gone.
Leaving me alone on the porch, holding a half-empty cup and the worst timing of my entire life, because Declan Montgomery is standing ten feet away, looking like he just realized the murderer’s been in the room the whole time.
“Dec—”
He takes a step closer. “You.”
His voice is low, controlled, way scarier than if he were yelling.
“Let me explain—”
“You slept with my sister?” he snaps, finally breaking. “And what? Just didn’t bother following up? Didn’t bother calling her?”
I take a breath, heart hammering. “It’s not what you think—”
“Oh, it’s exactly what I think,” he cuts in, chest heaving. “You screwed her and then disappeared. She was alone for months. You think I don’t know that? She came home a wreck, scared out of her mind, and I couldn’t figure out why. It was because of you.”
“I didn’t know, Declan,” I say quietly. “I swear, I didn’t.”
His jaw tightens. “And that makes it better?” He steps closer. We’re almost chest to chest now. “I trusted you,” he says, voice raw. Declan’s face is red, his voice breaking. “You left her alone, Ben.”
I close my eyes. He’s right. Not about all of it, but about enough.
“I didn’t know, Declan,” I say again. “But I know how it looks. And I’m so sorry.”
“There is no defense!” Declan thunders.
“Dec.” Ella’s voice cuts through the tension, her tone steady but pleading.
“Stop. Right now.” She steps in front of me like a tiny bodyguard, arms out like she could stop her six-foot-something boyfriend if he lunged.
“Declan. Babe. Take a deep breath. Please remember, he’s my cousin. You can’t murder him.”
He looks like a raging bull, barely contained.
I keep my voice calm. “El, it’s okay. Go back inside before Katy realizes something’s off.”
She doesn’t listen to me. “I mean it, Declan,” she warns. “You will not touch him.”
He finally looks at her, then at me, like the math of betrayal just keeps adding new numbers.
“Ella, go back inside,” he tells her.
She doesn’t move. Then her brothers appear next to her, one on each side.
“I can handle him, guys. Take El inside,” I tell them.
“No, I’m not going back inside. Dec, if you want, I can mace him again,” she offers calmly. “But that’s my final offer.”
Declan looks like he might actually explode. “Leo, take your sister inside.”
“No,” Leo growls.
Mateo is beet-red. “You mad your sister got hurt? You think we don’t know what that’s like?”
“That was different!” Declan growls.
“Declan,” Ella says sharply. “I expect you to remember that today isn’t about you.”
The silence stretches. Declan’s jaw works, his throat tightens. And then he exhales one long, furious breath and takes a step back.
Finally, he mutters, low and deadly, “If you hurt her again…”
“I won’t.”
He scrubs a hand down his face. “Jesus. I fucking hate you, Davis.”
“Now you know how much we hate you,” Leo spits.
That’s when Katy steps outside, eyes wide and red from crying.
“What’s going on?”
All five of us freeze.
And Declan, the unshakeable, unbreakable big brother, can’t even look at her. He just exhales and mumbles, “Nothing you need to worry about.”
Katy’s chin trembles. “I made everyone mad at everyone, didn’t I?”
Ella’s already wrapping her arms around her, shaking her head. “No, honey. They’re just idiots.”
I swallow hard, guilt burning in my throat. “She’s right. We’re idiots.”
Katy’s crying again—softly this time, her hand trembling on her belly—and that’s what finally cracks him completely.
Declan rakes a hand through his hair, turns toward the door. “I just… I need a minute.” He storms inside, the screen door slamming behind him.
Ella sighs, turning to me. “You should probably give him a day before you try again.”
I nod, staring at the door. “Yeah,” I say quietly. “Or a year.”