Page 10

CHAPTER 10

HARLOWE

T he doctor was right. Going to the hospital to get hydrated had helped, though I still felt kind of gross. At least the vomiting had stopped. According to Dr. Google, the closer I got to my second trimester—which was still weeks away—the better that would get. Though apparently, some people dealt with this their entire pregnancy and given who this kid’s dad was, I’d probably have all-day sickness until the day I gave birth out of sheer stubbornness.

But my energy had started to return and any anxiety I’d had started to dissipate. Part of that was probably because I knew Brooks was out of town, so I wouldn’t accidentally run into him. The other was knowing that this kid was all right.

In the snap of the fingers, someone else became more important than me. At long as that little nugget was doing fine, then I’d do whatever I had to.

The funny part was that I hadn’t thought about whether I wanted kids in the future or not. I wasn’t one of those girls who’d always dreamed of being a mom. Hell, I might not even be good at it. But now that I was pregnant and a baby was already in there, I wanted to be a mom.

Maybe I could’ve waited a few years, but I supposed we didn’t always get to choose these things.

Most importantly, I’d never make this kid feel the way my parents made me feel while loving me the way that they could. I vowed to love my baby the way they needed me to. Thinking about my parents reminded me that I hadn’t told them, which wasn’t unusual. I didn’t normally tell them anything about my life.

Eventually, I’d have to but I was thinking maybe on this kid’s first birthday.

After finishing up at work, I took a nice, hot shower and felt a little better. Maybe some sleep would make things even better.

Just as I had lain down on the couch, though, someone knocked at my door. For a moment, my heart rate picked up as the idea that Brooks would be on the other side of the door swept through me. That was dumb. I could’ve turned the TV on to see him playing a game across the country right now.

That meant it had to be Camden.

When I opened the door to her smiling face, I honestly didn’t expect to also see Amity, Everly, and Monroe. All of whom I’d met, but only in passing when it came to Monroe and I hadn’t spent much time with Everly, either.

“I thought it was time we all hang out,” Camden said, somehow making her smile bigger. “You could use a girls’ night.”

She wasn’t wrong, so I opened the door wider for them all to come in. My apartment was small, but I preferred to think of it as cozy. Still, there was enough room for the five of us to settle in. Three on the couch, one in the chair, and one on the floor. Camden chose the floor before the rest of us even sat down because it was where we often landed when she and I were hanging out. I couldn’t count the number of times she and I had sat on the floor at the coffee table to eat dinner.

Given that I’d moved into this place the weekend after graduation, we’d spent a lot of time here.

“Not watching the game?” Amity asked. Sure. Her man was the second baseman, but she loved baseball even without that. Her dad was a coach for our high school team and her brother had played. She’d grown up with it in her blood the same way Camden had.

Now, I liked baseball and loved going to games with Camden for a variety of reasons—Brooks being one of them—but those two were on a different level.

“I wasn’t, but we can if you want to,” I told her. “I’m not into anything.” Because I hadn’t had a chance to start a show.

“You really don’t care?” Everly asked.

I shook my head. “I actually like baseball, but I just hadn’t turned it on.”

Camden grabbed the remote and got it to the right channel so they could all watch their men play. The Knights were in Colorado tonight and the game started at 4:10. Given the time zones, that meant they’d started at 6:10 our time. It was almost seven, so they were only in the second inning and I had a feeling these women were going to be here at least until the game ended.

“We should get food,” Camden said suddenly, but then she looked at me. “Can you eat?”

After a nervous glance at the other women watching me, I nodded. “I’ve been feeling better.”

“What sounds good to you?”

What sounded good to me? I wasn’t sure. I’d been eating mostly sandwiches and something more sounded great. Then my mouth started to water when I thought about tacos. Apparently, this baby liked the idea of tacos, though it wasn’t a craving. It just sounded good.

“Tacos,” I said definitely.

Camden looked at the three other women as she held her phone in front of her. “What about everyone else?”

“Tacos sound good to me,” Monroe told her.

“I’ve been craving pizza, but I could eat some tacos,” Amity told her, causing Camden to pinch her face together.

“Woman, we can get multiple things. I’m ordering ice cream for later too, so…”

There was a ton of conversation about what they wanted on the pizza and all of that, but I just wanted some tacos.

“Oh.” I sat up straight from my position on the couch. “You know what sounds so good? An ice-cold, crisp, fountain Diet Pepsi.”

Camden cocked her head to the side. “Can you have caffeine?”

My eyes widened. If she kept asking questions like this, everyone was going to figure out I was pregnant. “Yes, Mom, I can have some.”

But the other three were watching me with curiosity, making me sigh. It wasn’t like they weren’t going to find out, anyway.

Once Camden had placed the order, her phone went back down onto the table and she turned her head to watch the game.

“I’m pregnant,” I said out loud for the first time other than to Camden. I hadn’t even said it to my doctor. Not those words.

“What?” Everly exclaimed, turning toward me on the couch. “Are you serious? Are we happy about this?”

I snickered because Everly was the kind of woman who would ask that. She’d want to know if the pregnant woman was happy before congratulating. Basically, her reaction would be based on my feelings. But Amity raised an eyebrow at Camden and I wished I knew what was going on in her head.

“It was a huge surprise, but… yeah, I’m happy about it now.”

“Then congratulations.”

“Thanks.” Which was followed by the others excitedly congratulating me.

But then Monroe snickered. “Do you think that this is going to freak your brothers out?” she asked Camden, causing me to choke on some water.

“Why would it?” I asked. No one—including Camden—knew that Brooks was the father. Not even him.

“I don’t know.” She shrugged. “Guys get weird about stuff like this, right? Like you being pregnant and us knowing you will suddenly have all of us wanting to get pregnant, which could freak all of them out. It’s like when a guy hears that their girlfriend’s best friend is getting married. They assume she’ll also want to get married.”

Now that, I had to laugh at. “I hope it does. I’d love to see all of them freaking out by assuming you all suddenly want to get pregnant. I can’t even imagine what they’d be like as dads. Good, I assume since they’d want to be the exact opposite of their dad.”

Camden snorted. “You know that’s right. But watching them trying to figure out how to change a diaper would be hilarious.”

“What do you mean?” Monroe asked. “Didn’t they do all that with you?”

Now Camden’s loud laugh echoed off my walls. “No. They did not. Brooks was only seven when I was born. We had a nanny when we were little because Mom was working and Dad’s… Dad. They weren’t in charge of those things with me.” She tapped her chin like she was thinking about what she wanted to say next. “But, if I’m being honest, I think all of my brothers would be happy if you all got pregnant.” Now I sat up to listen more closely. “They’d be totally freaked out at first, of course, but I think they’d be happy.” She took a handful of my popcorn and shoved it into her mouth. “Except Brooks,” she added, making me wish I’d never ordered tacos as my stomach churned.

“Why not Brooks?” Amity asked with her brows furrowed. “I think he’d be a good dad.”

Camden nodded. “He would be. I meant happy to find out he’d gotten someone pregnant.”

My head felt a little buzzy at her saying that and my hands started to shake. As if I didn’t have enough worry about how he was going to react, his own sister was right here telling me that my worst fears were probably true.

“He wouldn’t be happy to be a dad?” Monroe asked.

“It’s not that.” She swallowed hard. “It’s just Cobb, Urban, and Silas would be happy if you got pregnant.” She moved her hand left then right to indicate the three of them. “Because you’re all already together. You’re in love.” She rolled her eyes. Camden wasn’t into the love stuff—at least not with baseball players and while her brothers were her brothers, they were still baseball players. “But Brooks wouldn’t be because it’d have to be some one-night stand because he’s not with anyone. Who wants their one-night stand to be pregnant? Most of the time, they don’t want to see the person again.”

I swallowed hard as my heart raced and now I desperately wanted to change the subject. “How’s the school year going, Everly?”

She groaned. “It’s going well. Or as well as the beginning of school years go. Some of these high schoolers are way too comfortable already, though. Like they don’t censor things a lot of the time. Sometimes, I remind them that I am a mandated reporter, so they’ll watch was they say.”

“What’s the worst thing you’ve heard this year?” Amity asked.

Everly blew out a breath, letting her lips purse to make the helicopter sound. “On the second day, two boys were talking about ‘railing’ the other’s girlfriend so they could ‘Eiffel Tower.’ Like what the hell? Were guys like this when we were in high school?”

At the same time, Amity, Camden, and I said, “Some were.” Then they giggled about it.

“But not all,” I added. “Like as far as I know, the Briggs boys were either more respectful or kept it quieter.”

“Exactly.” Camden slammed her hand down on the table. “But some of the ballplayers made me wish I could shower after a small interaction with them.”

“What about you, Monroe?” Amity asked. “You’re back to school, right?”

She nodded as she took a drink of the water she’d brought with her, which reminded me that I hadn’t offered any of them a drink. “Does anyone want a drink? Sorry. I should’ve offered when you first got here.”

“I got it.” Camden pushed up from her spot and headed to the kitchen. “I can still hear, so keep going.”

“I am back in school,” Monroe confirmed. “One year left, so I’m pretty excited.”

“What’re you majoring in?” I asked. “I never went to college, so I’m always curious.”

“Political science.”

Camden was back with the drinks. She hadn’t asked anyone what they wanted, but she brought a bunch of pop and water, then set it in the middle of the table for everyone. “Yeah. I’m pretty politically involved. Right now, I’m focusing on getting my coursework done and not getting arrested again.”

Amity snorted. “I heard about your mugshots.” Then she devolved into a fit of laughter.

The game was running smoothly, even though the Knights were behind. Monroe said she’d bet that Cobb was pissed he wasn’t pitching because their starter was not having the best game of his life, but Cobb couldn’t pitch every game.

The food arrived while we continued watching and the tacos hit the spot like I’d thought they would. It was exactly what the baby and I had needed. Somehow, getting food into me woke me up. I wasn’t nearly as tired anymore.

“I don’t know if I should ask,” Amity started, “but who’s the daddy?”

She and I had known each other long enough that it wasn’t weird for her to ask. We’d basically grown up together, even though she was a little older, simply because we had all always been at the games.

Camden shook her head, though. “Good luck getting that out of her. She hasn’t even told me.”

Everly snorted. “Does that mean it’s someone you know?”

Camden’s eyes widened as her mouth dropped open. “I hadn’t thought of that. Now I’m running through everyone I know that you do too.”

I held a hand up to stop her from going any further. “I said you’d know soon enough. Everyone will. I just think I should tell him first so that no one else can let it accidentally slip.”

“He doesn’t know yet?” Everly snickered. “Poor guy.”

“Not poor guy ,” I snapped, a little more than I wanted to. “I tried to tell him. He didn’t want to talk to me. Now he’s… busy with work. An important project, so to speak. So I’m doing him the solid of waiting until that project is done before I tell him. That way, he can focus. I’m not a monster. Also.” I took a deep breath. “Like I said, I tried to tell him. He didn’t want to speak with me then, so it’s probably better that I give him some time.”

That was the best description of the playoffs that the guys were about to go into that I could think of on the fly.

It was important and he hadn’t wanted to talk to me when I’d tried before. None of it was lies.

“Well, you’re nicer than I am,” Amity told me. “If I got pregnant by someone I wasn’t with or hell if I was with, I’d try to force him to be in it with me. Come hold my hair while I vomit. That kind of thing.”

Camden tilted her head to the side. “Kind of like Silas did the first night you saw him after you came back.”

I snickered because I’d heard this story, but Monroe and Everly had not, so Amity rolled her eyes.

“It was nothing. I was at Cleats & Kegs. Had some shots because Silas was right freaking there looking all hot and I was hating myself for thinking it. Anyway. The shots and the wings were a bad combination. I ran to the bathroom because my stomach was revolting. Saw him coming out of the men’s room with a woman, which didn’t help. He came in and assisted me.”

“Aww…” Monroe sighed. “That’s such a great meet cute. Gross, but still a great meet cute.”

Which made all of us laugh.

We watched the game and talked some more, eventually moving on to the ice cream and making more popcorn. At this rate, this little party was about to become a sleepover, which I wouldn’t mind at all. Hanging out with these women was exactly what I’d needed and given that the little bean in my belly meant I was going to be around—not with Brooks, but still around—it was good for all of us to get to know each other. Especially since these women weren’t going anywhere in the brother’s lives so they’d basically be aunts in like eight months.

Besides, we could be friends regardless of who we were with.

When the game ended, a tough loss for the Knights, Monroe put on a cheesy movie that I wasn’t really paying attention to.

Camden let out a loud yawn as she grabbed her phone that hadn’t made a noise, but she mostly kept it on silent, anyway. Then she looked up at me. “My brothers are so annoying. Do you have my brother blocked?”

It took me longer than it should have to realize she was talking to me. “What?”

“Brooks is asking if you have him blocked. Actually, he asked if your phone is all right, considering he’s tried texting you, but it doesn’t deliver. Is he blocked?” Her brows slammed down in confusion. “Why is he even texting you?”

I rolled my eyes, trying to play if off, even though a shot of nervous energy pulsed through me. “Your brothers text me randomly sometimes. It could be about a gift for you or if I think you’re busy on a certain day like when they did the surprise party for you on your eighteenth birthday.”

“Yeah… true.” But her tone was still confused. “My birthday’s not coming up. Do you have Brooks blocked? Was he an asshole to you?”

I swallowed hard as I set my bowl of popcorn on the table but didn’t answer her. Instead, our gazes locked and she cocked her head to the side. My non-answer was still an answer, which led her to typing out a response that I really wished I could see.

After she set her phone back down, I said, “I was done helping him,” I told her. “So I blocked him. Sorry, Camden.” That excuse shouldn’t have flown with her, considering I’d had her brothers’ numbers in my phone since I’d gotten my first one. Even when they’d changed their numbers, I’d get a text telling me the new one. They’d mostly taken me in as another little sister and wanted me to have people to reach out to if I needed it because they all knew my parents were not the most reliable. “Maybe I left something at his house when I was helping him while you were in Cincinnati.”

“It’s fine,” she told me as she typed out a message. “My brothers can be assholes. Hell, I can be an asshole. We get it from our dad. I’m just thankful that you were there to make sure he did what he was supposed to while we were all gone.”

And I’d let her continue to consider that was why I’d blocked him for now.

The women didn’t end up staying the night. They went home late and before they’d made it to their cars, I had sunk down into my very comfortable bed. When I’d moved in here at eighteen, I’d made a lot of concessions on things. Most everything was a hand-me-down. Except my bed. That needed to be comfortable.

But alone, I thought about unblocking Brooks until the way he had treated me when I’d gone to tell him I was pregnant played through my head like a movie. I put my phone on the nightstand and plugged it in, refusing to give it another thought.

Besides, these were probably my last quiet moments since the minute the team was back in town, Brooks would probably head straight to me. If he was asking his sister if I had him blocked, that meant he’d want to know why.

With the team headed to the playoffs soon, I would just try to avoid him.

Though that might mean avoiding the bar and grill that I was working so hard to make my own.