Page 35 of Protecting Lainey (Broterhood Alliance #7)

The next morning, Lainey peeked into Luke’s room just as he was tugging a T-shirt over his head.

“Hey, kiddo,” she said softly.

He turned, looking a lot better than the night before. “I feel better.”

She crossed the room and pressed a hand to his forehead, relieved to find it cool. “You sure?”

He nodded. “I want to go to school today. Teacher said we might have a pizza party.”

Lainey smiled. “Well, we definitely can’t miss that.”

Downstairs, she packed a lunch just in case. Normal things. Small things she could control. Although nothing in her life felt remotely normal right now.

Luke chattered through breakfast and thankfully didn’t ask about the men in the living room last night. She didn’t offer any information.

She drove Luke to school, gave him a hug, and watched as he disappeared into the building.

On the drive home, her stomach twisted with nerves. By the time she pulled into the driveway, she was sweating bullets even though the AC was on high.

She walked into the quiet house and closed the door behind her. Not knowing when Finn would show up or what frame of mind he’d be in bothered her more than she wanted to admit.

She glanced at the clock. Was it only eight thirty?

Lainey turned on the coffeepot. When it finished, she poured a cup but couldn’t drink it. Instead, she moved through the house, picking up, doing laundry, catching up on the little things she hadn’t gotten to the past weekend.

She was waiting for Finn’s updated report and kind of hoped he’d email it over.

However, that was a wish that wasn’t going to come true. Lainey knew he’d be over soon. She just didn’t know when.

And somehow that made it worse.

It was late morning when she heard three firm raps on the front door. Her heart lurched.

Lainey stared at the door as if opening it would release every fear, every truth she’d been holding in since the day she found out she was pregnant.

She didn’t rush to answer it. Finn wasn’t going anywhere without answers.

Taking a deep breath, she forced herself to move forward.

This was it. This was the day she dreaded. No more pretending, no more what-ifs.

She reached for the knob and opened the door.

Lainey opened the door, looking as devastated as he felt. But he wasn’t feeling sorry for her. No sirree. She kept Luke a secret from him. That was unforgivable in his book.

“Come in,” she said quietly, stepping back and opening the door wider.

Finn walked into the living room. The same room where, less than fifteen hours ago, his entire life changed.

Without a word, he handed her the updated project report.

“We need to talk,” he said, doing his best to keep the venom out of his voice.

He was beyond furious but not as angry as he had been all night.

Lainey stood there with the report trembling in her hand, her face pale.

“Sit,” he commanded.

She sat on the sofa across from him, clutching her knees together. Almost everything about the room reminded him of last night, except Dex wasn’t there cracking jokes.

This time, it was just the two of them.

“Is Luke here?” he asked.

Lainey shook her head. “No, he was feeling better and wanted to go to school.”

Finn scrubbed his face with his hands. This wasn’t going the way he had planned.

Last night, this went a lot better in his mind than it was going now. He imagined going absolutely ballistic on her. Threatening to get custody of Luke. Threatening to ruin her life like she ruined his.

But now, all he saw was a woman he once loved. Thought he had feelings for her when she came back into his life before she flipped his world upside down.

“Why?” His voice was low.

Lainey took a deep breath, placed the report on the table, and cocked her head. “Why? You’re asking me why?”

“Yeah, Lainey. I’m asking you why,” he spat out. “Because I’ve been up all night thinking about it. I still can’t figure out how the hell you looked me in the eye for weeks—weeks—and never said a word.”

She opened her mouth to answer, but he didn’t give her a chance.

“I missed everything,” he said, his voice rising. “His first steps. His first words. His birthday. All of it.”

Lainey flinched.

“Was I just some mistake you wanted to forget? We had sex, and that was that?”

Her eyes filled with tears. “No. God, no…”

“Then what?” he demanded. “Did you think I wouldn’t have stepped up? That I wouldn’t have wanted him?”

His voice cracked, and he hated how exposed it made him feel.

“I would have been there for you, for him,” he said, softer now. “You never gave me a chance.”

Finn stood abruptly and started pacing. “I’ve pictured having a family a million different ways,” he muttered. “Like something for later. But I still hoped that one day…”

He shook his head, jaw clenched. “All this time I had one. A son. And I didn’t even know.”

He turned to look at her.

“Do you have any idea what that’s like?” he asked. “To find out your kid’s been walking around without you, wondering where his dad was or if he even cared?”

He dragged a hand down his face.

“I don’t know what he likes or dislikes. Not his favorite food. His favorite color. I don’t know him.”

His voice broke, and he turned away from her, swallowing hard.

“I don’t know him.”

The silence stretched between them.

Lainey didn’t move.

She couldn’t.

Her stomach roiled. Her throat burned. She wanted to speak. Wanted to explain. But nothing she said could possibly make any of this okay.

He was kind of right. She had stolen moments from him. Told herself she was protecting her son by not seeking Finn out after he didn’t answer her letters. But part of her had just been scared. Thinking he didn’t want them or would leave her all over again.

Lainey swallowed hard. “You left me that night,” she said quietly. “You snuck out. No note. No goodbye. I stayed at that motel for hours before they kicked me out. Then I sat outside waiting for you until it got dark, until I finally took a taxi home.”

Her voice cracked. “When I found out I was pregnant, I was already at school.”

She stood, her knees trembling, and took a step toward him.

He didn’t turn around, didn’t move. She could see the tension in his shoulders. His hands were balled into fists.

“I never wanted to shut you out,” she whispered. “But when I never heard back from you, I thought maybe I was just a girl you slept with before heading off for the next thing.”

She paused. “I didn’t want Luke to have his heart broken the way mine had been.”

For a long few minutes, Finn didn’t move. Didn’t speak.

Lainey stood frozen, her heart pounding. She braced herself for blame, for anger, for the final shattering of whatever was left between them.

Then he turned.

His eyes found hers, stormy brown eyes full of confusion, regret.

“You think I would’ve just walked away if I’d known?”

She shrugged. “I didn’t know what to think. You never came back or called. I waited for you, Finn.”

“I wasn’t coming back,” he replied, shaking his head. “I thought I was doing the right thing by you. You had dreams. College. A whole life to build. I had nothing figured out. I didn’t want to hold you back.”

He let out a bitter laugh. “I thought I was doing the right thing by you.”

Lainey swallowed hard. “I didn’t need space. I wanted to make it work with you. We could have made it even with you deployed and me going to school. I wrote to you as soon as I found out I was pregnant.”

“You wrote letters?”

“I did. I sent the letters to your mother’s house because I didn’t know how to reach you. I never heard back from you, so I assumed you didn’t care.”

“I never got them.” He dragged his hands through his hair. “After basic, my mom moved in with my sister in Colorado. I didn’t even know until I called months later. She never mentioned any letters.”

“They probably went to an undeliverable box or someone threw them out,” Lainey said. “I kept wondering why no one wrote back.”

Finn ran a hand down his face. “My mom loved you. She still asks about you every time I visit.”

“And I thought you’d left me behind.”

Finn’s shoulders dropped as if all the anger had gone out of him.

“I didn’t think you cared,” she said. “I thought what we had was special, but then…” She shrugged. “I thought I meant nothing to you.”

“You meant everything to me,” he said. “I just didn’t know how to make everything work.”

They both went quiet. Finn took her hand and led them to the couch. “You have no idea how much I wish I’d known. I’ve missed everything.” He swallowed hard. “I’ve missed you.”

“I’ve missed you, too,” Lainey whispered.

Something in him broke.

How could he ever have thought that Lainey, the girl he loved when he was barely old enough to understand what love really meant, would keep something as important as this from him out of spite?

Lainey wasn’t a vindictive person, never had been.

This was on him.

He was the one who left. Walked away like a damn coward, thinking it was a noble sacrifice.

Sure, he could excuse his actions by saying he thought it was for the best, that she’d move on, find someone better, achieve her dreams. He never took into consideration Lainey’s feelings, never asked what she wanted.

That was the immature boy speaking. Now as a man, what a clusterfuck he created. He left the woman he loved to fend for herself with a child. His child.

She was right. They could have made it work long-distance.

But he was here now. And he wasn’t going anywhere.

Lainey still cared. He could see it in her eyes, in her voice. How she let him touch her.

He knew he still loved her. And that boy … that boy was his responsibility. His second chance.

Maybe Lainey wanted nothing to do with him or didn’t want him in Luke’s life. Maybe she didn’t know if she trusted him to stay. And hell, he couldn’t blame her.

But he would make it up to his little family. For her. For Luke. For the family he should’ve fought for from the start.

And here she was, still looking at him like he hung the moon. Undeserving.

Still, he reached for her, cupping her face with both hands.

“I’ve never stopped thinking about you,” he said.

She leaned in, and then his mouth was on hers.

The kiss wasn’t soft. It wasn’t slow.

It was desperate. Everything unsaid crashed between them all at once.

She clutched his shirt, and Finn kissed her like she might disappear all over again.

When they finally broke apart, their foreheads touched. Breathing heavy. Hearts pounding. For a long moment, neither spoke.

“I don’t know if I can trust this,” she whispered against his chest. “If I can trust that you won’t leave again.”

His chest tightened. This was what he did. She was protecting herself and their son.

He gently tipped her face so she’d look at him.

“I’m not going anywhere, Lainey. Never again.”

She didn’t answer right away.

His thumb brushed her cheek. “You don’t have to believe me yet. I’ll show you every day, every way I know how. God, I’ve missed you,” he whispered.

Her lips trembled a little. He pulled her close again, wrapping his arms around her.

“We have to tell him,” he murmured. “If you’ll let me be there.”

Lainey nodded. “I know.”

She pulled back from him.

“How?” he asked. “How do you tell a nine-year-old that his world just shifted?”

Lainey sighed. “Carefully.”

Finn leaned back on the couch, his hand still touching hers. “Does he ever ask about me? About his dad?”

She nodded. “He did when he was little but hasn’t for a while.”

Finn flinched. Would the guilt of abandoning them ever go away?

“I told him that his dad loved me,” she said softly. “That he was the best part of what we had.”

Thank God for that. Finn wasn’t sure what he would have done if Lainey had turned Luke against him, even though he probably deserved it. But that wasn’t the kind of person Lainey was. Had never been.

And the fact that he even thought that she would talk badly about him? He mentally kicked himself.

“I want to do this right. I want him to know I’m not going anywhere.”

She blinked back tears. “I believe you.”

“I mean it, Lainey,” he said, his voice fierce. “I’m not walking away from either of you again.”

She gave him a small, trembling smile. “We’ll figure it out. Together.”

And for the first time in a long time, Finn could see the future—their future—and it didn’t scare him.

It felt like hope.