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“I don’t know.” Blake shrugged. “It’s marked confidential from some lawyers in San Francisco.”

“San Fran?” Puzzlement flitted across his brow. He opened the letter and unfolded the pages.

But as he read it, the blood drained from his face. Tears welled in his eyes. He covered his mouth with his hand.

“Cole?” Flint, sitting diagonally opposite him, shot forward. “What is it?”

“Um...” He sniffled and shook all over. “Shelby was killed in a helicopter accident.”

“What?” Flint gasped. “As in, my high school ex, Shelby? Oh, Jeezus.” As he rubbed the back of his hair, water welled in his eyes. Sutton hooked her arm around him and hugged him.

My brain scrambled to put the pieces together. “Is that the dibs rule Shelby?” I asked no one in particular.

“Yeah.” Cole stared at the letter, then dropped it and his hands into his lap. “Fuck.”

Beside me, Slip swiveled toward him. Confusion furrowed his brow. “But why are the lawyers sending you a letter?”

Cole’s hands trembled. Tears pooled on the rims of his eyes. “I have to meet with them next week.”

“Why?” Tia asked.

“She had a child.” Cole closed his eyes. “Three years ago.”

The anguish in his voice stabbed my chest. No kid should lose a parent, by death or other means. I knew that for a fact.

But a chill shot through the air.

Flint’s face turned white. “So, what’s that got to do with you?”

“I didn’t know. I swear. I haven’t seen, or talked to, or heard from her for years.” The letter quivered in Cole’s hands as he struggled to form words. “This says...it’s my kid.”

“Our friend is dead...and you fucked my ex and never told me?” Flint shot to his feet, sending his chair tumbling backward and crashing to the floor. “Asshole.” He stepped across the circle, swiped a right hook into Cole’s jaw, and stormed out of the bar. Sutton rushed after him.

Everyone froze, clearly stunned by the news and the loss of an old friend. But I’d never seen Flint lash out. He’d never hurt a fly.

Tia grabbed my hand and squeezed it. Sadness and shock rippled through her eyes. Then she swiveled toward Cole and clutched his thigh. Her voice came out soft and full of anguish. “I told you, didn’t I? Secrets have a funny, twisted way of coming out. Guess you didn’t expect it to happen like this.”

His eyes glassed over as he rubbed his reddened jaw. “It can’t be my kid. It just can’t be.”

Slip wiped his hand down his face, then leaned forward. “But what are you going to do if it is yours?”

Cole shook his head. Closing his eyes, he said. “I don’t know. I have the tour coming up. I have a life. I can’t take care of a kid.”

A kid? Holy shit. What could I say? All I could do was be the friend he needed. “We’re here for you. We’ll help. Always.”

“Thanks. I know.” The rims of his eyes blazed red. Then every muscle in his jaw twitched and tensed. He roared. “Fuuucck! This can’t be happening. Not a kid. Please, God. Not a kid.”

As I caught Tia’s hand in mine again, my heart bled for Cole. I’d been through many drastic life changes over the past year...

Guess Cole was about to do the same.

...Bring on more of The Flintlocks.

***