18. Reed
Reed
“Excuse me. Repeat that,” Brinley says with her head tilted and eyes narrowed on me.
“You’ve got to be shitting me,” Frankie adds, shaking her head.
Jasper shrugs as he leans against the counter, already knowing everything. He came for moral support, and I hoped he’d help keep the dramatics to a minimum, but so far, he’s done little more than be a silent participant.
“I’m sorry,” is all I can say. “I don’t have another choice.”
“Are you sure she didn’t do this on purpose?” Cora asks. The question is laughable.
“You think she meant for us to both get blackout drunk, for us to get married, have sex, and her to get pregnant?” I ask her.
“Well,” she sighs, “when you say it like that…”
“But why does she need you to move there? I thought you were getting a divorce?” Brinley asks.
Lee’s quieter than normal, which is unsettling, but I don’t focus on that right now. I can’t with Brinley losing her shit on me.
“She doesn’t. Hell, she doesn’t really want me there, but…”
“Then don’t go,” Frankie says with pleading in her voice. “We want you here. We need you here.”
“You don’t need me,” I tell her, covering her hand with mine.
“We do, though.” Her lip trembles as she says the words.
“Why doesn’t she want you?” Brinley starts to pace a path behind my chair. “How could this happen?”
“Well, when a man and a woman…” Lee starts to say, but when Brinley stops moving and glares at him, he quickly shuts up.
“She doesn’t want me to uproot my life, but I can’t stay here knowing I have a kid somewhere else. I refuse to be a parent who only knows their kid through video calls and summer visits.”
I’ve put a lot of thought into this since Amelia dropped the news on me. I’ve done my fair share of crazy shit in my life, but never anything this important. I learned one thing growing up—nothing is more important than family.
“Maybe you need to think about this a little longer. It’s a big move,” Cora says as she crosses her arms, looking like she’s about to pout.
“I’ve already thought about it. It’s the only choice I can make and live with.”
“But you’re going to leave us,” Frankie adds.
“I’ll come visit,” I promise her with a soft smile.
“It’ll never be the same,” Brinley says as she continues to pace, reminding me of a caged panther at the zoo.
“I don’t remember anyone whining like this when I moved,” Jasper says, glancing around my kitchen at everyone. “I barely got a goodbye.”
“Jasper.” Brinley stops moving to stare at him. “You moved to the city, and you’re less than an hour away. It’s not the same.”
“I’m not here on the ranch,” he tells her. “No one said it’ll never be the same when you weren’t going to see me every day.”
“Stop changing the subject,” Frankie tells him. “We see you at least once a week, if not more. Reed’s moving hundreds of miles away.”
“It’s a forty-five-minute flight,” I tell her. “Quicker than driving to Jasper’s office.”
The corners of her lips pull down as she turns her gaze on me. “Any way you slice it, it’ll take me hours to get to you if you need me.”
“Think of all the shopping you’ll get to do when you come visit,” I say, trying to remind them of all the things they love about Chicago. I’m not the only one who goes there often, but they seem to be forgetting that.
“We see you every day, and now we’re going to see you once a year,” Frankie says.
“You’ll see me more than that,” I tell her. “I’ll come here, and you’ll come there. Someone has to spoil their new niece or nephew.”
Frankie gasps, as if the reason I’m moving is suddenly sinking in. “I’m going to be an aunt.”
“We’re going to be aunts,” Cora corrects her.
“And uncles,” Lee says with the slightest hint of a smile.
Brinley stops moving and comes to stand behind me. She places her hand on my shoulder, giving me a quick squeeze. “Are you okay?”
I reach back and place my hand on hers, tipping my head back to stare up at her. “I’m good, sis.”
She smiles down at me. “We’ll be there as often as we can to see you and the baby.”
“I know you will,” I tell her. “I’ll make sure to have enough space for everyone. And we’ll come here too. It’s important to me that my kid knows their roots.”
“We’re going to have a baby,” Brinley whispers. “I can’t wait to spoil them.”
I’m glad the focus has shifted. They’re no longer thinking about my absence, but instead, what’s going to be added to their lives.
“How are you handling this so calmly?” Lee asks me, turning a bottle of water around in his hands as if it’s the only way he can keep still.
“Freaking out won’t help,” I explain, still holding Brinley’s hand on my shoulder. “All I can do is take it one day at a time.”
“Pfft,” Lee mutters. “I’d be absolutely losing my shit.”
“No doubt,” I say with a chuckle. “The night she told me, I gave myself five minutes to lose my shit, but then I reined it in. I’m honestly excited.”
“You like her, don’t you?” Lee asks, but somehow the words sound like an accusation instead of a simple question.
“I do,” I whisper. “More than I probably should.”
“She is your wife,” Jasper reminds me, as if I have forgotten that simple fact.
“Are you still going to get a divorce?” Cora asks.
“I don’t know,” I tell her honestly. “Amelia and I will have to talk about what we’re going to do.”
“Does she want the divorce?” Cora replies.
I shrug. “She told me to have the paperwork redrawn to include custody and visitation, but I told my lawyer that I’m shelving everything for now.”
“You do like her,” Brinley says, giving my shoulder another squeeze. “You want to stay married?”
“I don’t know what I want yet. I think we need to spend some time together and need to wait until the baby comes before we make any big moves.”
Frankie snorts. “I mean, you already made the biggest move of all. Why rush the divorce?”
I shake my head, but she’s partially right. There’s no reason to rush the divorce. “I don’t want my kid to someday realize we divorced months before they were born. I’d like them to think there was something big and loving between us before we ended.”
“You always think about everyone else before yourself, don’t you?” Cora asks.
“Maybe that’s the problem,” Frankie says.
“Being thoughtful isn’t a fault,” I remind them.
“If you like her, it’s worth a shot to see where the relationship leads. You two are having a baby together after all,” Brinley says, always filled with sage advice.
I don’t know if that’s an older sister thing or a Brinley thing. Either way, I always listen when she talks. She’s never led me astray or given me a piece of bad advice, especially when it came to love and relationships. Without her help, I would’ve messed up big and probably often.
“When are you leaving?” Cora asks. “How long do we have you?”
“I’m going this weekend.”
Everyone’s eyes widen like someone pushed a remote control, activating the same expression at the same second.
“Why so soon?” Frankie asks, her voice laced with sadness.
“Why not?” I say, rubbing the back of my neck. “There’s no reason to drag my feet.”
“Where will you stay?” Cora asks.
“Same place we always do, until I find a place of my own.”
“Why not move in with her?” Lee asks.
“I don’t think either of us is ready for that—”
“Clearly, since she still wants a divorce,” Brinley interrupts.
“I plan to change her mind,” I tell them.
Cora laughs. “You think it’s that easy?”
“No, but that doesn’t mean I’m not going to try. There’s something between us. It’s how we ended up getting married. Or at least, I think it is since I remember absolutely nothing.”
“Still?” Lee asks with furrowed brows. “How is that possible?”
“Tequila, little brother, and way too much of it.” I do my best to explain, even though I don’t understand it myself. I’ve never been so drunk that I don’t have at least flashes of things that happened, but this time, I have nothing.
“If anyone can win a girl’s heart, it’s you,” Frankie tells me. She’s always been my biggest cheerleader. She’s looked up to me since she was little, and I have no idea why. I’m just as big a bonehead as my other brothers, but for some unknown reason, I became her favorite.
“For our baby’s sake, I hope I can.”
“Huh,” Cora mutters, tapping her fingers on the table. “I never thought I’d see the day when you’d chase a girl.”
“I already got her. I just need to find a way to keep her,” I say, wondering how the hell I’m going to do that.
All I can do is be myself and hope it’s enough. It either is or it isn’t. It’s as simple as that. We may barely know each other, but that doesn’t mean we can’t build something solid on top of a rickety foundation.
“Just be yourself, because you’re pretty awesome,” Frankie says. “If she doesn’t fall madly in love with you, then she’s hopeless.”
If only things were that easy.