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Feeling like a complete idiot, I decide to ask Zane a stupid question. “Hey, can I ask you something about Deanna?”
“Like what?”
“Did she ever ignore you?”
The beginning of a grin makes me want to punch him. “Sure, but it was either because she didn’t want to talk to me or because she was with someone else.”
“You’re a dick.”
He laughs. “You asked.”
She wouldn’t be with someone else, so that isn’t why she’s ignoring me. I’m almost completely certain of that. Turning to EJ, I say, “Can Raelynn do something for me? I’ll pay her whatever you pay her in a week.”
His eyebrows shoot up. “What do you want her to do?”
“Go to Deanna’s work, talk to her, see what her mood is like.”
“Spy on her for you?”
“Yeah.”
He shakes his head, but pulls his phone out to text her. A moment later, he confirms that she’s out running errands and she’ll swing by the quilt shop for me. No pay needed. I was willing to double her week’s pay if she had said no. I’m that desperate to figure out what’s going on with Deanna.
Scotty sits across the table with Marco on one side and Serge on the other. Marco and Scotty seem to be quietly arguing over something.
“What’s wrong with you two?” I ask. Anything is better than thinking about Deanna right now.
“Nothing,” Scotty answers while Marco says, “We’re finally telling everyone the sex of the babies.”
Oh, that’s right. Their wives, Sylvia and Lizzy, are both pregnant. “Well? Which one of you is going first?” I direct the question at Scotty since he’s older.
He glances at Marc. “It doesn’t matter, I guess.”
> They have the table’s full attention now. “Just get on with it,” Bruiser rushes them.
“Scotty,” Marco quickly says. “It’s Sylvia’s first pregnancy, so Scotty can tell everyone first.”
Wait, what? Doesn’t he have that backward? I glance around, but I’m the only one confused and surprised by this. EJ leans over and whispers, “I’ll fill you in later; they talked about it a little when they announced the pregnancy.”
Got it. Scotty stands and takes a deep breath. “Come February, I will be the proud father of...” The guys rap their hands on the table, earning us glares from nearly everyone in the restaurant. “A little boy,” Scotty finishes with a proud grin. “My girls are all very excited, but so am I because I’ll be a little less outnumbered.” Scotty sits back down.
“Now, for Marco,” Rams says as he nudges Marc’s shoulder.
Marc stands and his grin is there before he even speaks. He waves his hand in the air and the drum roll comes once again. “It’s a boy and a girl! She’s having twins!”
“Way to go, Marco!” Cal shouts.
That means there will be three more little rebels coming to the family in a few months. In the past year, it expanded by three with Bruiser’s two kids and EJ’s baby. As long as the next person isn’t me, I’ll be happy for everyone.
“Hey.” EJ bumps his elbow against mine. “Raelynn said she stopped by the quilt shop. One of the employees said Deanna took a last-minute vacation and they don’t know when she’ll be back.”
A vacation? Last minute? I can see her freaking out and ignoring me, but why would Deanna abandon her job? She cares more about that than anything else. Something isn’t right. Something must be wrong and it must be big. It both worries me and pisses me off that she’s choosing to ignore me as a way of dealing with whatever it is.
To get my mind off of it, I ask EJ to tell me how this is Sylvia’s first pregnancy. Apparently, they adopted their girls from Lizzy after her husband died and she’s had fertility issues for a long time. Interesting and a bit confusing, but whatever. It’s not really any of my business. The table buzzes with happy energy over the news about the babies, but something seems off with Scotty. He’s happy, but he seems worried about something too.
When he decides to leave a bit early, I follow suit and catch up with him on the way out.
“Oh, hey, Brayden,” he says when I step in next to him.
