Page 109 of The Wrong Brother

Oh, cravings, maybe?

“It’s fine,” I tell her, waving off the apology, and watch as she curls up on the couch with a sudden appetite. “You’re packed?”

She nods, tongue darting out to lick her lips, apprehension in her eyes. I know what she’s thinking:Is he going to ask me?

But no. I made a promise to let her think, and we’ve reached the end of her contract.

The definitive date of her release, and already this morning I called my accountant to have him move the funds to her bank account.

From here on out, she’s free. She’s got a flight out to California tomorrow morning, and a future she gets to determine, while I stay here and figure out how to root my brother out of the core of Colorado.

Part of me would understand if Emma chose not to keep the baby. The timing is terrible. Our relationship is complicated. Her future remains uncertain, even with the money I offered her.

I’m tempted to blurt out, right this moment, that I’d give her my entire Californian empire if it would make her feel safe. If she would choose…

There are a thousand practical reasons not to go through with this.

Yet every time I attempt to imagine that outcome, something twists unpleasantly in my chest.

I have never considered myself a family man. Even when I found Kate after months of searching, my intention was always to give her back to her mother. But then Shannon was so afraid, and taking Kate back to Santa Barbara was the only option.

The thought softens something inside me. I wouldn’t give up my niece for anything, even though it meant struggling for a few years as she settled into our life, finding hair-ties all over the house, coming home to loud music and girls laughing.

A smile threatens despite my best efforts.

My niece would probably be excited enough to launch herself through a wall. She would immediately begin planning names, decorating rooms, and informing every person she has ever met that she was getting a little cousin.

A chuckle escapes before I can stop it. Emma looks up, eyes wide, cheeks full. I try a reassuring smile, and it must work, because she sinks back into the couch, content to watch re-runs ofBaywatchon the television.

The image of Kate meeting a baby should not affect me this much, yet it does.

Enough that I find myself lingering on the idea.

Enough that I begin imagining a future.

My phone rings and the spell breaks immediately. Stepan. The moment I answer, I know something is wrong.

“Boss.” His tone is clipped. Controlled. The way it gets when he’s trying not to say something offensive.

“What happened?”

A pause. Then: “What’s happening out there?”

“That’s a broad question. And one you’re paid not to ask, Stepan. I’d be careful if I were you.”

The warning, apparently, doesn’t faze him.

“The wedding is over.” Another pause. “You’re still in Colorado.”

I lean against the window, turning away from the flicker of the TV and Emma’s curious eyes.

“Your observational skills remain impressive.”

Stepan ignores that. “The woman you’re with—is she pregnant?”

The coffee nearly goes down the wrong pipe. I cough once, hard, and then try to catch my breath—with nothing to say.

“How?”