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“Maybe. Maybe not.” The ominous way he said it reminded her how seriously he’d taken his uncle duties today.
“You’re not such a bad guy, Luke Powers.”
“What happened to me being a selfish asshole?”
“Well, no one’s perfect all the time.”
He threw his head back and laughed. “And she’s back.”
“Seriously, if you put your mind to it, you’d probably make a decent father.”
“Nah. Today was all fun and games. Anyone can do that. The real work of parenting is the day in, day out stuff. Making sacrifices for your kids. Putting their needs before yours. It’s what Mimi and Zeke have been doing since before they could legally drink. A day of fishing and messing around? No problem. But the other stuff… I’m not cut out for that.”
The way he said it made her sad. She shook her head. It must be the wine making her melancholy. Luke was a confirmed bachelor. Not because circumstances had dictated it, but because that’s the way he wanted it. His “before they could legally drink” comment about his sister and brother-in-law made her remember something Zeke had said once about Luke being responsible for him and Mimi getting together, and she was curious. Now seemed as good a time as any to ask him about it.
“Zeke and Mimi must have gotten married pretty young to have a child ready to go off to college,” she said, hoping that would spur him to tell her the rest of the story.
Luke glanced down at his beer bottle. “Yep.” She waited for him to continue. He met her gaze, then let out a long sigh. “This isn’t my story to tell, but Mimi has never hidden the truth from anyone. She got pregnant her senior year of high school, but she never told Zeke abo
ut the baby. She didn’t tell our parents, either, until my mom figured it out herself. By then, she was about six months along.”
“Wow.”
“Yeah. I was in my sophomore year at Duke, so I was pretty much out of the loop, until I came back home for summer break.” He shuddered. “Lots of drama, lots of tears. Mostly all on my mom’s part.”
Seeing Ann Powers in action, Sarah could only imagine. “When did Zeke find out about the baby?”
“When I told him. After I punched his lights out, of course.”
“Wait. So, you told Zeke about your sister’s pregnancy?”
“I really thought the guy knew. I went to high school with him, but we weren’t close. He was a total loser back then. A brilliant athlete, and smart, too, but he cut too much class to make good grades and he was a pot head to boot. Plus, from what I’d heard about him, he was a real player. Basically, the last guy on earth I’d ever want for my sister.”
Sarah leaned forward in her chair. “This is Zeke Grant we’re talking about, right? The current chief of police of Whispering Bay?”
“Yeah, the guy really cleaned up well, didn’t he?”
“You could say that again.”
“Anyway, after I told him about the pregnancy, he made a mad dash to my parent’s house to propose to Mimi. Just in time, too.”
“What do you mean?”
“I don’t want you to get the wrong idea about my parents. My mom, especially. They only wanted what was best for their daughter.”
Sarah nodded. “Of course, I can see that.”
After a few seconds, he said in a low voice, “My mom wanted Mimi to give Claire up for adoption. Had the whole thing arranged and everything. She wanted her to go to Duke and get her degree, and…”
“Live the life she was supposed to have,” Sarah finished softly. A life that probably included a sorority and grad school and a prestigious career. Not to mention a husband who made a high-six-figure income. “But, surely now that everything has turned out so well, she realizes how wrong she was.”
“She’s come around, sure. Zeke is a great guy and Claire and Cameron are gold and no one would change that. But you have to admit, Mimi beat some pretty shitty odds.”
“What do you think?”
“About my sister’s choices? It doesn’t matter what I think. Like you said, it turned out all right.”
“But you wouldn’t have done the same?” she persisted.
