“Ew, no.” She shivered. “He’s my brother in every way except by blood. I’ve shared every detail of my life with him; the good, the bad, and the downright ugly. For the most part, he did the same. But when it came to his heart, he was guarded. No matter what I tried, there was no breaking through the barrier he’d erected. Now I know why.”
Duncan’s statement from earlier floated through my mind. “He thought I was dead.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“That’s what he went to find out. In the meantime, know this. If he couldn’t have you, he didn’t want anyone else.”
“I felt the same way. Still do.”
“Good, because you need to be prepared. Duncan won’t waste any time going after what he wants. And what he wants is you and his kids. My guess is he’ll be at your doorstep the second he rolls back into town tomorrow.“
“Now I’m nervous.”
“You have nothing to fear with him. He’s one of the bestmen I know. Just do me a favor? Don’t be too hard on him, but also don’t cave too easily. Make him sweat a little.”
I cracked a smile. “Aren’t you supposed to be his friend?”
“Yes, but I’m yours too.” She sobered. “You deserve to be happy. You both do.”
She kissed the side of my head, then left me to my thoughts. And, oh boy, there were a lot of them. First and foremost, Rogan and Reagan. My babies were smart. If they hadn’t already figured out something was going on, it wouldn’t be long before the questions started. The problem was, I didn’t know how to answer them. What I did know was I couldn’t hide away in the bathroom any longer. It was time to face the music. And by music, I meant my brother.
After splashing a bit of cold water on my face, I went in search of Finn. Luckily, all I had to do was follow the sound of giggles to the living room. Finn and Way had the twins between them, tickling them mercilessly, while my sister, Shannon, looked on with a smile.
Shoot.
In all the chaos, I’d completely forgotten about Shannon. We’d only just discovered her existence a few weeks ago when I received the results from one of those mail-order DNA tests. Finn and I used to joke about possibly having another sibling since our father had a hard time keeping it in his pants––pun intended. Color me surprised when it turned out we actually did. She’d flown to Huntington earlier in the morning from her home in Texas to meet us in person for the first time. Lord, what she must think of me.
“Mommy, save me,” Reagan squealed when she saw me.
All eyes came to me, giving Rogan the distraction he needed to wiggle free from the tickle-fest. He jumped off the couch and took off at a dead run, his bare feet slapping againstthe hardwood floors. Even though I braced for impact, he still knocked me back a step or two when he slammed into me at full force.
“Home base,” he yelled, wrapping his arms tight around my waist.
“No fair,” Reagan pouted.
“Ro, what have I told you about doing that?” Finn scolded. “You’re going to hurt your mother one of these days.”
“Sorry, Mom.”
“It’s okay, Love.” I ruffled his thick brown hair.
Waverly pushed up off the couch. “All right, munchkins. Let’s go clean up the mess you made in Uncle Finn’s office.”
“Oh man,” Rogan complained, but his sister took a different approach.
“Aunt Way?”
“Yeah?”
Reagan twisted her fingers around each other nervously. I grinned, knowing exactly what she was going to say before the words left her mouth. My girl rarely missed an opportunity for dessert, even if she had to come out of her shell to ask for it.
“If we do a good job, can we have more cake?”
Waverly stooped down, bopping her on the nose. “Great idea.”
“Yes.” She pumped her fist in victory, making us all laugh.