Page 26

CHAPTER 26

brOOKS

T he game was into the fourth inning and the further it went, the more likely it was that we were going to be facing Minnesota, which was perfect for us. Though we couldn’t get cocky. That was when we’d lose. It’d be a three-game series whomever we played and I really hoped we’d clinch it in two.

It was then that I realized how much time had passed and Harlowe wasn’t back, nor had she called me. As I went to grab my phone off the coffee table, it rang.

Camden. At least this probably meant she and Harlowe had made up.

“Hey, Camden,” I answered, but something happened on the TV, causing all of my brothers to loudly cheer.

Then, just as loudly, they discuss the play. Fuck. I couldn’t hear a thing.

Camden was talking a mile a minute, but none of it made sense. Clearly, there was something wrong. So I got up to get away from the noise.

“Say it again, Camden. I couldn’t hear anything.”

She blew out a frustrated breath. “Harlowe came over for us to talk—”

That part, I knew, but if she was calling me about Harlowe, something was wrong. My stomach dropped like I was on a roller coaster and my hand tightened on my phone. I was about to tell her to hurry the fuck up, but instead, was met with my dad’s loud voice yelling at someone.

“What do you expect, Ann Marie?” Whoa. He never yelled at Mom. “I tell these boys to either keep their dicks in their pants or at least wrap it up so that this shit does happen. This is the second one to not listen to me.”

“Cobb didn’t get anyone pregnant,” Mom countered, her voice brimming with anger.

“Camden. Tell me what the fuck is going on.”

There was shuffling against the phone, then a door closed, drowning out the sound of our father. “Harlowe was here. We made up, but whatever. Dad overheard me tell her to marry you before the baby came. I’m sorry, Brooks. I didn’t know he was here.”

“What happened?” I began to pace the other side of the living room.

“He called her a ‘whore.’”

My footsteps stopped and I dropped the hand that I was holding the phone with to blow out a hot breath. My skin was suddenly too tight and I was about the Hulk the fuck out. After slowly bringing my phone back to my ear, I said, “Say that again.”

“He called her a ‘whore.’ I mean indirectly but he said she got you to knock her up for your money. I tore into him, but when I turned around, Harlowe was gone.”

Angry acid burned my throat as I said, “I’ll be right there,” and ended the call.

Without saying anything to my brothers, I went to the door, pushed my feet into my shoes, and tied them quickly, then grabbed my keys out of the bowl I kept on the side table for that purpose.

“Hey,” Silas called out. “Where are you going?”

My hand was on the doorknob when I said, “I’m going to kill our father.” Then I was through, not even closing it behind me.

I heard a round of “ Shit! ” and some commotion behind me, but I didn’t want to see what any of it was. As I drove away, I glanced in my rearview mirror to see all three of my brothers piling into Silas’s car.

I wasn’t sure why the universe wanted to put so many things between Harlowe and me. Why it couldn’t just let us be happy for five seconds, but I was about to end one of those things.

On the drive over there, during which I went at least ten miles over the speed limit, I tried to call Harlowe, but she didn’t answer. Why would she? She had to be hurt hearing that shit from my dad and while none of it was true, other than he had told us to steer clear of women until our careers were over even though he hadn’t, it would still have cut Harlowe deeply.

Harlowe was a retreater most of the time. Camden seemed to be the only person she met head on. So hearing this, knowing that this baby and her by extension was causing turmoil in the family, she’d retreat. No doubt about that.

She wasn’t ever good enough—in her eyes—to get her own parents to even want to stay home with her, so she probably didn’t think she was good enough for any of this.

Fuck that. She was better than all of us. She didn’t let her parents’ selfish actions make her an asshole. She was so fucking sweet to all of us and probably hadn’t even tried to defend herself against my dad.

Fuck. I shouldn’t have let her go by herself.

Seconds after I’d gotten out of the car at my parents’ house, Silas’s car pulled behind me and my brothers got out, hot on my trail into the house. When I came through the door Camden was in the living room pacing with the bridge of her nose pinched between her finger and thumb. She glanced up as soon as she’d heard us.

“Where the fuck is he?” I asked her.

“Kitchen with mom.”

I gave her one nod then stomped through the house until I got to the kitchen. The kitchen was a good place for this to happen. The cleanup would be easy if blood was shed. I wasn’t going to actually kill my father, but I couldn’t guarantee that punches wouldn’t fly.

“What the fuck is wrong with you?” I said as soon as I turned into the room. I didn’t have to look to see that all of my siblings were filing in behind me.

“What the fuck’s wrong with me ?” my dad asked with outrage. “What the fuck’s wrong with you , Brooks. You’re at the top of your career and you knock up some… woman.”

“Be really fucking careful with what you say right now, Conrad.” I added his name because he hated it when any of us called him by his first name. But he wasn’t really a dad now, was he? No. He was the exact opposite of how I was going to be.

“After everything with Cobb?” he asked. “You couldn’t put a fucking condom on? And Harlowe Chandler, of all people?”

My fists clenched at my sides.

“For the record…” Cobb stepped forward with his finger in the air. “I didn’t get anyone pregnant.” I sent him a scowl and he added, “Yet. It’s just not the right time.” Then he stepped back.

“You didn’t even bother telling us that you got some chick pregnant! We could’ve helped with it. Figured out the best solution.”

“I don’t need you to figure out the best solution !” I yelled. “I’m a grown-ass man. I figured out the best solution.”

Dad scoffed. “And what’s that? Marrying some girl just because she’s pregnant?”

I took a step forward, not able to control what I’d do if he said another word about Harlowe. “I’d marry her today if she’d let me. Sorry to break that news to you and it’s not because she’s pregnant—which she is and I’m that baby’s father—but because I love her. Now, I don’t know what goes on between you and Mom, but I’m starting to think that you might not know what love really is. Which is sad for you, for Mom even more so, but I’ve loved that woman for years.”

Camden let out a quiet gasp. Fuck. I hadn’t even told Harlowe that I loved her. I’d been too afraid of scaring her away. Camden had teased me about loving her but maybe she didn’t realize that I actually did.

“You’re too young,” he snapped. “You’re all too young for this shit. It’s going to fuck with your game.”

I threw my hands out to the side. “Then let it fuck with my game. It’s my game to fuck with.”

He shook his head and at least we weren’t yelling at this point. Mom was stressed. Her jaw was concrete and her face was pinched, wrinkling at the corners of her eyes.

“You don’t understand, Brooks,” Dad said. “ I do. I’ve been there. Getting caught up in easy pussy at this point in your career is going to hurt you.”

Rage boiled under my skin as Silas muttered, “Jesus Christ.”

But I lunged toward him. The only reason I didn’t punch my father in the face was because my brothers held me back.

“He’s not worth it,” Silas said as I struggled against them. “We’ve got a game tomorrow.”

Once I’d settled enough for them to let me go, I said, “I don’t give a fuck about the game tomorrow right now.” Then I turned back to our father. “I seriously hope you weren’t just talking about Mom right there. It’ll just give me more reason.” To punch him in the fucking face , but I let that part go unsaid.

“Of course I wasn’t. I didn’t get with your mom until I knew when my career would be ending. I was still playing but it wasn’t the same thing. You’re on the way up.”

“ Conrad ,” she snapped. “That’s enough. It’s more than enough. You’ve got to step back.”

“I’m not stepping back from anything. The only reason these boys have the careers they do is because of me.”

“In spite of you,” Urban corrected him. “In spite of you.”

Dad’s face reddened.

“We’re all fine,” I yelled, bringing my fist down on the countertop like a gavel. “Our games are fine. You just have a problem because you can’t control any of us. News flash. You haven’t controlled us in a long fucking time.” Then I stepped forward until I was almost toe to toe with the guy. “And if you ever refer to Harlowe, Monroe, Amity, or Everly as ‘easy pussy’ or in any other derogatory way again, you’ll discover just what kind of son Mom raised.”

Dad snorted. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Stay out of my life. Stay out of all of our lives. If you want to be part of it or even set eyes on my child, which Harlowe is having, you’re going to need to earn it because the fact of the matter is, I don’t give a fuck what you think about this.” I turned toward Camden. “Or what you think about this.”

She held her hands up in defense. “Hey, I’m good. We’re good. I’m sorry I was being a bitch.”

Dad opened his mouth to respond, but Mom pushed in between us. “That’s enough, Conrad.” He was about to argue, but she held up a hand. “That’s enough or you can leave this house right now.”

My siblings had to be as surprised as I was. I’d never heard my mom threaten my dad to leave the house. Basically kicking him out. Of course, normally, when she told him that he was on the verge of too much, he’d settle down.

This was something he clearly felt strongly about to argue with her as long as he had. In fact, I didn’t think I’d ever heard my parents argue the way they had when I’d been on the phone with Camden.

“Now.” I turned to my sister. “Where is Harlowe?”

“I don’t know,” she told me, regret in her eyes. “She looked like she was about to cry when she left.”

My jaw and fists clenched. That fucker had made her cry and I wanted to end him, but I wouldn’t. Me being in prison wouldn’t help anyone.

“Does she share her location with you?” Silas asked.

I shook my head as Camden said, “No. Usually, we just share arrival times when we have plans. You know how you can let someone know where you are.”

“Sounds like I need to have her share it with me,” I told her. “All right. You keep trying to call her. I will too, but I’m going to go find her.”

“How?” Camden reached out and put her hand on my arm to stop me.

“I’ll check the places I know to check. I don’t know, Camden. I’ll figure it out but I can’t fucking sit here and wait.”

“I’ll go to her parents’. They’ll tell me if she’s there. You… probably not.” She hurried to the living room and pulled the closet open to shove her feet into shoes.

“What do you want us to do?” Cobb asked.

“Nothing. Just go back to my house. See who we’re playing in the playoffs.”

My brothers patted me on the back as they passed by me to pile into Silas’s car. Once they’d pulled away, I tried Harlowe, not expecting her to answer. She didn’t, so I headed to her apartment.

Of course her car wasn’t in the driveway and she didn’t answer the door, so I had to assume she wasn’t just hiding out. Then I went to Cleats & Kegs, found Jazzlyn, but she said Harlowe wasn’t scheduled to be in today and she hadn’t seen her.

Where the fuck else could this woman be?

As I was getting back into my car, Camden called.

“Hey, I’m leaving her parents’ house right now. She’s not there. They haven’t seen her since they told her how much the restaurant was going to cost.”

“Fuck,” I muttered.

“Did you know how much they want her to pay? You do know that her main goal has been buying the place, right?

I closed my eyes and let out a breath. Of course I knew both things. “Yes, Camden. We do talk sometimes.”

“Gross.” She groaned. “That’s never not going to be gross.”

I chuckled, but there wasn’t a lot of humor to it. “You took it there. I didn’t.”

“You did.” She grew silent for a moment. “I’m sorry, Brooks. I already apologized to Harlowe, but I should to you too. I let my own insecurities get in the way and I shouldn’t have. Shouldn’t have given you two any trouble.”

“You’re right. You shouldn’t have.”

“I said, I’m sorry . Tell me you forgive me or I have to come find you.”

This time, there was a little more humor in my laughter. “Fine. Fine. If Harlowe’s good with you, I’ll be good with you, but we can’t keep doing this.”

“Nope. I’m firmly on the Brooks and Harlowe team. I get to be an aunt and I might just steal your baby.”

I snorted. Camden had always loved babies and I had no doubt she’d be the best aunt ever. One who showed up. My brothers, as well as their girlfriends, would be there for anything Harlowe needed. What Harlowe didn’t realize was that she had a family right here. Sure, maybe it didn’t look like you’d expect, but our kid was going to be surrounded by aunts and uncles who loved them.

“Over my dead body,” I told her. “Maybe you can kidnap him once in a while, but you have to bring him back.”

A huff of air blew against the phone. “‘Him.’ You really are a guy.”

“No. It’s a thing between Harlowe and me. I don’t care what the baby is.”

“Good. Because I’m hoping for a girl. We’ve always needed more estrogen around.”

“Please.” I scoffed. “Have you looked at our family recently?” Though I wasn’t sure how to handle a girl. Eventually. she’d grow up and I’d probably have to deal with boys coming around. Being a man, I knew how boys thought and fuck, I didn’t want my daughter to have to deal with that.

I’d just make sure she knew how to throw a punch.

“All right, Camden. I’m going to go see if she went home yet. Let me know if you talk to her.”

“Will do, big brother.”

Then I ended the call and got my car back on the road.

Harlowe hadn’t gone home yet and once I was back at my house, everyone was gone. It wasn’t until I was in bed that night that I sent her a text pleading with her to at least let me know she was OK.

A few minutes later, I got a reply that said she was fine. The baby was fine and we’d talk later. She just needed some time.

There wasn’t much else I could do when I couldn’t even find her. She had to deal with her feelings and would let me know when she was ready.

But it was the one quality I hated about her. The fact that her instinct had been to run away from me instead of toward me.

Another thing I’d have to change—this would be the last time that happened.

Once I could find her.