Page 47 of Together Is Where We Belong

“Tough. I want to hold my niece,” I told him with a grin.

I wasn’t above using my sweet little niece as protection so my sister couldn’t throw something at me once she heard my news.

Olivia grunted in his arms.

“You don’t want to go to Uncle Leo, do you? I know,” he said to her as he handed her over to me. I made sure her head was nestled in the crook of my arm before I walked over to the chair and sat down.

“Spill the beans,” Ainsleigh demanded from across the room.

“Can’t a guy enjoy spendin’ time with his niece first?” I said as I looked down at Olivia who stared up at me. She was the perfect mix between Ainsleigh and Gentry, and my whole family adored her.

“That’s what I was tryin’ to do,” Holden said as he crossed his arms over his chest in a huff.

“You hog her all the time. You have to share her, you know,” I goaded Holden as I put my finger into Olivia’s now outstretched hand. She latched on with a tight grip, and I smiled down at her.

“What news do you have, Leo?” Ainsleigh asked again, and I knew I couldn’t hold her off much longer. Once you told her you had something to tell her, she had to know right away.

“Maybe I should’ve made you go to the confession tree,” I told her. The confession tree was an old tree on our property that we all enjoyed hanging out at as kids. We deemed it the confession tree years ago and the rule was that anytime someone made a confession there, no one was allowed to judge the person.

“Well, you didn’t, so out with it,” she said with a laugh as she picked up a pillow from the couch and put it in her lap.

“Butterfly, give him a minute. He just got here,” Gentry said as he pulled her into his side and kissed the side of her head.

“Hey now. Keep your lips to yourself,” I joked.

“If you don’t want to see it, turn your head,” Gentry replied with a laugh.

Brooks shook his head at our banter and gave me a comforting nod.

Ainsleigh didn’t miss a beat at our silent conversation.

“I take it you know what he’s about to tell me,” Ainsleigh asked Brooks with her lips pursed.

“I might,” he said, not admitting to anything.

“Well, now I really need to know,” she replied as she turned her gaze at me and tapped her foot on the floor.

“As you know, Carolina’s back in town,” I started.

“Yeah, we ran into her the other day at Olivia’s doctor’s appointment,” Ainsleigh said.

“And you know that she wanted to talk to me,” I replied, trying to hold off the inevitable a little longer.

“I do. What’s this about, Leo? Does she want you back or somethin’?” Ainsleigh asked, her tone raising a little and causing Olivia to fuss.

“It’s okay, little one. Your mama’s just bein’ a little dramatic,” I said as I bounced Olivia in my arms to soothe her.

“I am not. You’re the one who’s takin’ forever to get to the point,” Ainsleigh said impatiently.

“We talked, and she told me she has a son.”

I had hoped she would see where I was going with this, but she looked at me dumbfounded.

“What’s that got to do with you?” she asked in an annoyed tone.

“A seven-year-old son,” I told her as I looked up from Olivia and over to Ainsleigh.

Ainsleigh looked over to Gentry then back at me as she mulled my confession over in her mind. She looked up as if she were calculating the timing in her head.