Page 135 of Kaden & Keegan
Her chest tightened, her stomach lurched. What had she done? That one night, her lapse in judgement, it was going to taint the rest of her life. She would have to explain not only to those who knew her but also to her child that she was not the woman she’d prided herself in being. Bristol had spent her life attempting to set a good example only to screw it up.
And to think, she’d somehow managed to overcome Baxter’s betrayal. For the longest time, she’d gotten sympathetic glances from everyone she knew, everyone feeling sorry for the girl who couldn’t keep her man happy.
A sob tore free and she rolled over, hugging her pillow tight to her chest.
What made it worse was the fact that she wished Kaden and Keegan were there, holding her, assuring her, helping her through this.
But they weren’t here and she seriously doubted they would be ever again. Not after the way she handled things. Her reaction to people finding out she was pregnant … it was inexcusable.
Bristol’s stomach lurched again and she breathed in deeply. Slowly. In, out.
She honestly didn’t know what was worse: the town finding out or her losing Kaden and Keegan for good.
Both were enough to keep her stomach in chaos.
*
“What the hell was that about?” Keegan asked, joining Kaden in the kitchen.
“She accused us of spreadin’ the news about the baby,” Kaden told his brother as he stared at the refrigerator, debating on whether he was going to have a beer or something harder. Right now, the latter was looking damn good.
“To who?”
“Accordin’ to her, the whole town.” Kaden could still hear the fear in her voice, as though someone finding out was the end of the world.
“We haven’t even told Mom and Dad yet,” Keegan stated firmly. “And trust me when I say I’ve been damn close to callin’ them about a dozen times.”
Yeah. Kaden knew the feeling. They were the first people he wanted to share the news with, but out of respect for Bristol, he’d refrained. Well, that and he’d been hopeful they would attend the sonogram with her so they’d have some first pictures of the baby to share with their parents. However, if word got around before…
“We’re gonna have to tell ’em now,” he told Keegan. “If word spreads to Eve, she’ll go straight to them first.”
Keegan sighed. “I was hopin’ to wait until we saw the sonogram. Figured we could give the details. You know Mom’s gonna ask.”
Yes, she would. She would want to know the expected due date, the sex of the baby. All that good stuff. Just thinking about it had Kaden’s chest warming. They were having a baby with Bristol. It was probably stupid, but the idea of it made him hopeful.
“We have to go talk to her,” Kaden decided.
“Then what’re we waitin’ for?”
Twenty minutes later, Kaden pulled his truck into Bristol’s driveway directly behind Keegan’s. Bristol was still driving it because they hadn’t gotten around to fixing her car yet, although the parts had come in midweek. It was on his list of things to do, but he’d been caught up in other things this week. Like work, renovations, his overwhelming thoughts about their shaky relationship with Bristol. He’d procrastinated because he knew her car gave him an excuse to talk to her if it came down to it.
Kaden hoped like hell it didn’t come to that.
He wasted no time getting out of the truck, heading for her porch. Keegan stared up at the burned-out light bulb while Kaden knocked on the door.
“I just changed that,” Keegan muttered. “I think she’s got a loose wire.”
Probably. The entire house needed work.
When he heard the deadbolt unlock, Kaden took a single step back, waited until Bristol opened the door.
He didn’t give her a chance to greet them or to send them away before he said, “Can we come in?”
She looked like she’d been crying, but he pretended not to notice, walking inside when she gave them room.
“Were you asleep?” Keegan asked, closing the door behind him.
Kaden wasn’t normally rude, but right now, he wasn’t interested in making small talk. He was still trying to pick himself up off the floor after she’d blasted him with her phone call.
