AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Leaning back against the booth, I groaned. I might have eaten a tad too much if the fit of my leggings was any indication. I had dressed for comfort in a pair of black, soft, spandex pants, with a heather-grey, t-shirt dress. The dress was one of the first maternity items I had bought and was super comfortable. It stretched over the small baby bump that was forming.
Not one to dress up much, I thought I just may live in leggings and these tops, because they were so dang comfortable. With Hannah, I wasn’t showing for people to notice so nobody was looking. It was a little odd having everyone look at me this time around and know I was having a baby.
But it also felt damn good.
Embrace.
That word kept playing over and over in my head and I was doing it a little bit more each day.
Rolling my head and neck a little, then moving my shoulders, I told my body to relax as I geared up for another talk.
“Do you want me to wait in the car?” Gemma’s sweet voice asked. She seemed to sense I had something to say. But as close as I was with Jurnee and Summer, she was my friend too. She may not have been directly affected or lied to like them, but she was around us a lot.
“Stay,” I told her. She nodded in acceptance.
Then I proceeded to tell the girls, my best friends, how sorry I was for not telling them about Landon, Hannah, and lying along the way. I also told them how bad I felt for sneaking around and making up the story about going to a book workshop to help get my writing career going, when in fact, I was in the hospital losing Hannah.
“It was wrong of me. You guys are my best friends, and you didn’t deserve that,” I told them softly.
Summer stunned me a little when she spoke.
“We are best friends, and we know each other well, Alley. Jurnee and I both figured there was more going on for a few years with my brother.”
My mouth opened and shut, stunned. “Then why didn’t you just call me on my bullshit or get pissed at me?”
It was Jurnee that spoke next.
“Because we love you and respect your privacy. It is a part of you, and we accept that. We knew in time you would tell us. I just wish we could have been there for you when you needed us most.”
“Me too. But you're here this time.”
ChapterThirty-Three
ALLEY
It had been a long day.
After lunch, then shopping, where I had once again bought a load of stuff, the girls and I had indulged in a double scoop ice cream cone, and then finally made it back to Jurnee’s.
The house seemed quiet when we walked in. It was still not that late and I expected to at least hear the guys bullshitting and Embry running around. Hell, usually she convinced one of the guys to let her do their hair, dress them up, or even put make-up on them, and the other guys would laugh. But there wasn’t a peep.
And when we walked into the living room and found all the men sitting around, including Landon, whom I thought was still at home, I knew something was wrong.
Jurnee dropped her stuff and went straight to Braxton, clearly worried about the kids. “Where are Embry and Hudson?” she asked, her voice shaky.
“They are upstairs with your mom and dad. Baby, they’re fine,” he told her.
“Then what the heck is the somber mood for? You are scaring me.” She stood by her husband, her hand resting on his back.
My brother wasn’t looking at her when he spoke next. He was looking at me, along with everyone else. A shiver raced through me wondering what was coming.
“I need to talk to my sister,” he said.
Then Landon was up and heading right for me.
Grabbing the bags out of my hand, he placed them on the floor. Then he took my palm in his and gently pulled me toward the sofa. “Baby, come sit down.”
I sat and he was right beside me. Summer had wandered over and was sitting on Gyth’s lap. Kace and Gemma were leaning against the wall close by. Braxton didn’t seem to mind that everyone was there, and it seemed that the guys all knew what was going on and had even called Landon.
