Total pages in book: 85
Estimated words: 81333 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 407(@200wpm)___ 325(@250wpm)___ 271(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 81333 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 407(@200wpm)___ 325(@250wpm)___ 271(@300wpm)
“What if I’m a shitty Dad?”
“What if I don’t know how to be a mom? What if we disagree on everything and you do one thing at your house and I do another at mine and the kid is all screwed up?”
He laughs, almost reaching for me, but he stops himself short. “As long as we agree on what’s important, we’ll do fine.”
“So, like, religion and non-GMO’s?”
He makes a face. “I was thinking like the Legends, the Tennessee Arrows baseball team, and Beau McCrae’s music.”
“Oh, Beau McCrae,” I say, fanning my face.
“Second thought—no McCrae.”
“I’m going to have to disagree on the Arrows too,” I say, loving the easy smile on his face.
“Ha. No. There’s no compromise there.”
“I used to love them until Lincoln Landry retired. Now I pull for the Lions.”
“No way. My son will not be a Lions fan.”
“Your daughter will do what her mother says.”
“You’re right about that,” he says, leaning against the cabinet. “My child, regardless of sex, will do what their mother says.”
My heart tugs at the look of sincerity in his eyes. His lips upturn, an easy, sleep smile that I find myself hoping to see one day with a baby in his arms.
Shaking my head, I refocus. “I don’t know what to do about Finn.”
He lingers against the cabinet, quirking a brow. “I have to head back to the city tomorrow. I have an interview and a few appointments I have to get out of the way before the pre-season starts. Will you be okay here?”
“I’m leaving too, I think.” I toss the fork in the sink. “I have to get back into the real world and start making some plans.”
“Like what?”
“A lot of things . . .”
Not bothering to explain, I brush past him and head to my room. I hear him behind me, but he doesn’t say anything.
Pausing at my door, I feel him behind me.
“Night, Branch.”
“Night, Sunshine.”
CHAPTER 25
BRANCH
I pull my car into the driveway and kill the ignition. The last few hours have given me time to consider how to approach this subject and how to try to mend the fence that might just be irreparably broken.
A sprinkler kicks on as I make my way up the walkway, and I make a dash to the porch before getting doused. With a deep breath, I push the doorbell.
The little pop, pop, pop of the sprinkler head as it mists the entire yard frays my nerves. As footsteps become apparent on the other side of the dark wood decked out with a stained glass window, I steel myself.
“What the fuck are you doing here?” Finn glares at me from the other side of the threshold.
“I want to talk to you.”
“Didn’t I tell you if you showed up here I’d call the police?”
“No,” I correct him. “You told me if you showed up to my house that I should call the police. You said nothing about me coming here.”
“Go home.”
“Finn, who is it?” Poppy appears at his side, her arm going to his bicep. She looks at me with a much warmer level of acceptance than her boyfriend. “Hey, Branch.”
“Hi, Pop.”
Finn isn’t amused by her cordiality or my willingness to act comfortable on his porch after being ordered to leave. His knuckles turn white as he grips the door and starts to swing it shut.
“Oh, is this how it is?” I ask, knowing I’m playing with fire. “You just write everyone off because you don’t like our choices. Good call, Finn.”
The door shoves away and he stands in the middle of the doorway. Poppy shifts to see around him.
“You want to know how it is?” he asks carefully. “This is how it is: you are not my friend. You have no idea what loyalty is or the respect that goes with a friendship. You took your little motto of doing whatever you damn well please and elbowed your way into my personal space. My sister’s fucking womb, you asshole.”
He takes a step back and narrows his eyes.
“If anyone in this world knows me, it’s you,” I tell him. “You’ve been at my side for the good, bad, and even the ugly ones.”
He almost smiles. Almost.
“But because you know me, you should know this: I fuck up. I make mistakes that are sometimes bigger than anyone thought possible. It’s my trademark. But so is my ability to make good on promises.”
“What are you getting at?”
“What I’m saying is I’ll take responsibility for that.”
“Um, I think Layla was more than gung-ho,” Poppy chimes in, a move that gets her a glare from Finn too. She just shrugs.
“It doesn’t matter,” I say, looking at her. “I am Finn’s friend. I’m the one that should’ve seen the boundary and not crossed it. But I didn’t and that’s on me. I want you to know,” I say, my gaze crossing back to Finn, “that I’ll do whatever I can to make sure I’m there for her.”