Page 25 of High Water

“When were you and Bishop—I mean, obviously, I can do math, but I thought you were with Ethan that whole time.”

“The winter I came home from college early for the holiday break and stayed here. Ethan and I had broken up over some disagreements about our future. I came home to get away from him and our friends while I was hurting, and Bishop was here that winter when his active-duty time was up; he was trying to figure out what to do while he was in the reserves.”

“I thought you two hated each other?” Ramsey looks confused.

“We bickered a lot.” I shrug. “But you know how that is.”

“Did he know you were pregnant when he left?” Grant’s countenance takes a darker turn.

“No. I didn’t know I was pregnant when he left. When I found out, I tried to find him, but he just disappeared. He didn’t tell any of us where he was going. I didn’t know any of his friends to ask. His dad was the only relative I knew, and if I didn’t know where he went, there was no way his dad did. His phone number was disconnected. He never had a social media presence. I knew Levi and Dad had looked for him to no avail at one point too. I even looked up his old unit. Nothing. He was like a ghost.”

Grant nods quietly and then looks at our middle brother, raising a brow.

“You’re taking this well.”

Levi raises and drops one shoulder, taking a sip of water to wash down the bite he’s just taken and leaving us all in suspense. “I already suspected. I just wanted them to tell me on their own time.”

“I’m surprised you’re not halfway to wherever he is now.” Ramsey’s amused that for once, he’s not the drama in the family. “If it were Grant in your position, we know Bishop would have a broken nose by now.”

“You think the nose? I really thought it would be the kneecaps.” I grin at my younger brother, thankful for the moment of levity in what feels like a heavy conversation, even between us.

“Both of them, if he was pursuing my sister when she was already vulnerable from a breakup.” Grant’s brow descends in irritation.

“Or…” Levi starts, eyeing Grant and then looking to me. “He was there for her when she needed someone.”

“He was. My whole friend group and Ethan’s were the same, and I felt like I was on the outside of everything looking in. He spent that whole time trying to cheer me up.”

“Sounds like he was very fucking cheerful,” Grant grumbles, but it’s less threatening than before.

“I mean, who here hasn’t ended up in bed with a friend’s sibling?” Ramsey ribs Grant, and he flashes him another grumpy look.

“I’ve managed to avoid that,” Levi adds but then turns to me with a look that tells me I’m about to have my feet held to the fire. “So just that winter then?”

“No.” I sigh. “Off and on since he moved into the bunkhouse.”

“All that time?” Grant’s incensed again. “Right under our noses? Under Dad’s?”

“It was none of your business. And that reaction right there is exactly why I kept it a secret from you. You and Dad would have ruined it, and I—” I stop myself before I overshare just how much I cared about Bishop at the time. It would have been one thing if he were still gone, but now that he’s back, there’s an awkwardly painful awareness of how close we once were compared to the stark feeling of being strangers in the present.

“And you?” Levi presses, eyes lifting to meet mine.

“And I deserved to have my own relationship with him separate from yours.” I sit back in my seat, daring any of them to challenge me. Grant begins to speak, an argument on the tip of his tongue, except Levi cuts him off.

“I agree.” It’s a simple enough phrase, but it carries a lot of weight in this room right now. Grant goes silent, and Ramsey takes another bite of his food.

“At any rate, Bishop knows he’s her father now. Fallon’s known for years that she has another father, but I was leaving it up to her to decide whether she wanted to know who that is.”

“And Ethan?” Levi asks, no doubt concerned for his best friend’s place in his daughter’s life.

“Ethan’s always known that the moment could come when she might want to know her bio dad. We didn’t anticipate him being in her life, though, so it’s a bit more complicated. Especially with the divorce.”

“Has she asked about him?” Ramsey looks to me.

“Not yet.”

“Will you tell her?” Levi asks.

“I’m not sure. His being here changes things. I want her to have the chance to know him. I just know she’s still hurting from the divorce. We’re still navigating her feelings about Ethan and me going our separate ways and moving to a new place, starting over for her when it comes to friends and sports and hobbies. It’s been so much change already in the last year that I just don’t want to do the wrong thing. I’ve been talking to her therapist and my own, trust me.”