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I tugged her into my arms, holding the back of her head. “Don’t be, baby. You can’t help how you feel,” I told her. And that was the truth.
I looked at my older brother as Bailey tried to get herself back together enough to face him. His eyes were on her, something in his gaze that I saw often enough in mine.
My brother liked Bailey.
Fuck.
* * *
Bailey was takinga nap upstairs when I called Steven. She’d been okay when I had put her to bed, so I was taking some time to clear my mind.
And talk to my brother about what I’d noticed at the diner.
But I couldn’t even be angry about what I’d seen in his expression. All I wanted to do was help Bailey. I wanted her to blossom again, and I’d seen a piece of her I hadn’t seen in a long time when she was talking to Steven at breakfast.
He’d lit that spark in her soul again.
If he liked her, and if she eventually grew feelings for him, I wouldn’t step in between it. Would I leave her? Fuck no. But I would share her if it meant my girl was finally okay again.
Time away from her had taught me that I would do anything in the fucking world to keep her alive—to keep her breathing.
“Yeah?” he said, sounding like he’d been working out.
“You busy?” I asked him.
“Nah,” he grunted. “Got time, little brother. What is it?”
I looked out over the lake, watching as a fish jumped, creating a splash. Rings slowly spread out from where it had landed. “Wanted to talk to you about Bailey,” I began.
He cleared his throat. “What about?” he asked me.
“I noticed you like her,” I told him. He remained quiet. That was his go-to when he wasn’t sure what he was supposed to say. I sighed. “How deep is that running for you?”
He was silent for a moment. “Not sure at the moment,” he finally answered, not denying he liked my girl. Steven wasn’t one to lie. “I think I started falling for the girl you described to me, to be honest. Seeing her today ripped through me. Fucking gutted me.” I blew out a soft breath. I knew what he meant. “She’s beautiful as fuck, bro. Lost, but still pretty.”
Perfect way to describe her, to be honest.
“You staying around here?” I asked him. I knew he’d crashed at Brayden’s the night before, but I wasn’t sure what his plans were beyond that.
“Yeah. Had no plans of leaving, at least not until you finished school and I could bring you with me. Fuck knows you don’t need to be by yourself in this goddamn town.”
I snorted at that. “I’m not leaving Bailey behind,” I told him.
He hummed. “So bring her with us. You two are having a baby together anyway, right? You two stay with me. She won’t have to work. You can focus on keeping your life together. We’ll both help her with the baby.” He paused for a moment, and I didn’t know what to say. He was offering a hell of a lot more than I’d ever expected from anyone, even him. “Got a feeling your girl is going to end up suffering from postpartum depression.”
That thought struck fear in me. I knew it was a possibility considering how much she hated being pregnant, how much she hated the thought of being a mother.
“I’ll cross that bridge when we come to it,” I told him. I wasn’t sure if I could handle that yet. He made a sound of acknowledgement. “But I was actually calling to ask you something kind of important.”
“Which is?” he asked.
I drew in a deep breath, watching as another fish jumped. “If Bailey grows feelings for you, are you willing to share her with me?” I asked him.
Steven coughed, spluttering. “The fuck did you just say?” he demanded, his voice sounding a bit strangled.
I repeated my question. I was dead fucking serious about this. I didn’t play around when it came to Bailey, not anymore. “Jesus fuck, bro, what kind of question is that?”
I sighed. “It’s the kind of question a guy asks when he just wants to save his girl from fucking drowning,” I confessed. “She’s barely got her nose above the water now as it is.”
