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“Hear me out.”
I folded my arms, and Knox laughed. “You’re so damn stubborn, peanut.”
“Like you aren’t,” I mumbled.
“He’s got a place halfway between home and your office. Literally less than eight miles from here.”
“Where would you live?”
“A few blocks away, in one of their other rentals. It’s a duplex, which would’ve been ideal, but the other side isn’t inhabitable yet.”
“I don’t know…”
“You won’t have to see his parents, or him, for that matter.”
Tackle hadn’t shown up unannounced since the day I ran out of the restaurant on him, so I doubted he would do that there.
“I don’t want anyone to know I’m pregnant.”
“There is no reason they’d have to. You’re twenty-six years old, Sloane. It won’t come as a surprise to anyone that you’ve decided to move out of our parents’ house. I think it would raise more questions if you and I shared a place.” He nudged me and laughed.
“I guess, but wouldn’t it be just as easy for me to find a place that their family doesn’t own?”
Knox shook his head. “It’s a nice place in a safe part of town at a price that’s unheard of. It will be impossible for you to find something similar.”
“I don’t want them to do me any favors.”
Knox got up from the sofa and stalked over to the window. “Here are your choices. You live there, with the parents, or with me. Which one is it going to be?”
“Okay.” After everything my brother had done for me, I couldn’t argue with him.
Knox smiled. “Which one, peanut?”
“I’ll live in Tackle’s dad’s place.”
“I think it’s the best option, or I wouldn’t have suggested it.”
“It’s nice, right?” Knox said two hours later when he took me to see the rental.
Nice didn’t begin to describe it. Even though it was a duplex, it felt more like a house. It had a front and back yard, and since the two units were separated by garages, it didn’t feel any different than living in my parents’ house had.
There were three bedrooms, including a master that was larger than any I’d ever seen. The kitchen was bright and sunny with a window that looked out at a tree with a swing hanging from one of its branches.
When Knox stood beside me and said, “Wouldn’t be a bad place to raise a kid,” I burst into tears.
He took a step back. “What just happened?”
I shrugged and grabbed a paper towel to blow my nose. “It’s been happening with greater frequency.”
Knox leaned against the kitchen counter. “Sloane, I know you don’t want to talk about the baby’s father, but I have to ask—”
“Don’t.”
“But—”
“I mean it, Knox. Don’t go there.”
“Will you let me speak if I promise not to ask a question?”
