I’m having a baby.
A strange sensation hit me. It was like the undertow of a powerful wave, but instead of pulling me under, it felt like it was pushing me up.
That crazy-ass hope was blooming bright and clear. This time, it wasn’t lurking in a dark corner, waiting to attach itself to the first sign of light. No, this time, hope had grown out of nothing at all and created a light all its own.
It was flashy and golden. Hard to ignore.
But I turned my back on it anyway, because I just wasn’t ready.
Chapter Seven
Caleb
“Did I just hear you say you dropped out of school?” My brother Eric’s voice echoed through our parents’ living room as he arrived with Jamie and their girls in tow. “Please tell me I heard that wrong.”
“You didn’t.” I scooped up my niece Mia before she could launch herself at my legs, and she giggled wildly as I tickled her.
Brooklyn hopped up and down in front of me. “Uncy Caleb! Me, me, me!” she demanded, and I lifted her in my other arm, wrestling them both into hysterics.
“Where’s Grandma’s love?” Mom complained, disappointed the girls hadn’t run to her first.
“So.” Eric folded his arms after I’d sent the girls over to hug our mother. “You dropped out.”
“It’s not a big deal.” I shrugged.
It was a huge deal. Not because of the decision itself—that was already done. Dealing with my family was the hard part.
“When did this happen?” Jamie asked, lowering herself into a chair like it was a military operation. Eric reached for her arm, but she shut him down with a single look.
Six months pregnant with her fourth child, Jamie was still the most beautiful sister-in-law in the world, and the most stubborn woman I’d ever met. And I loved the hell out of her.
“Three days ago,” I admitted.
“Three days, and you’re just telling us now?” Eric’s jaw tightened.
“I needed to figure out how to say it.” I wasn’t about to apologize for that. I’d earned the right to take my damn time. “And it deserved to be said in person.”
“Okay, so you’re done with school.” Jamie smiled, always the diplomat. “You can regroup here at home, figure out your next step?—”
“I’m not moving back in with Mom and Dad.”
The room went quiet. Even Brooklyn and Mia paused their play.
“What do you mean?” Mom’s eyes widened, her Quebecois accent thickening the way it always did when she was upset. “Of course you’re coming home. Where else would you go?”
“Chantel’s. She’s got a spare room, and I need some space to figure things out on my own terms.”
“At Chantel’s.” Dad pushed his glasses up his nose. His voice was calm, but the vein in his temple told a different story. “And what exactly are your terms?”
“I don’t have a list. But I know school’s not the place for me right now. And I can’t stay here to be watched over like I’m one wrong move from breaking.”
Mom flinched. It was small, not much more than a ripple across her features, but I caught it. I always caught it. Years of watching my mother try not to look terrified had made me an expert in reading her face.
“Mon ange, we don’t think you’re going to break.”
“Yeah, you do.” I kept my voice steady even though my chest ached. “I cough and you assume the worst. I miss your call, you panic. I know you can’t help it, but it’s suffocating.”
Jamie’s hand drifted to her round belly, her eyes flicking to Eric. He answered with a subtle but firm shake of his head.