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“I’ll make some,” Lexie offered.
“Is Eric asleep?” I asked. All this constant drama couldn’t be good for him. We’d tried to shield him from as much of it as we could, but the tension in the room was palpable.
“Out as soon as his head hit the pillow.” She started the coffee pot then put her arm around my waist. “I feel like I haven’t been there for you like I should.”
I put my head on her shoulder. “You have. It’s just been a blur. And somebody has to hold everything together.”
“How’d the house-hunting go?”
I adored this woman. I needed a minute without stress and violence and lies and murder.
I couldn’t hide my disappointment. “It’s not right.”
“On to the next one then.”
Pepper stretched and yawned when she appeared from down the hall.
“Feel better?” Teague asked, opening his arm.
She tucked herself into his side. “A little. I’m just so tired.” She looked at me. “I’m sorry I couldn’t hang, Beau.”
“That’s okay. You have a lot of babies to take care of.”
Pepper coughed and spluttered.
Teague patted her back. “You reallyarebothered by the idea of kids.” There was a note of disappointment in his voice, but more than that, concern.
“It’s just a lot of responsibility,” she snapped. All of our eyes went wide. That wasn’t like Pepper. She hung her head. “I-I didn’t mean to get snippy.”
“Yes, you did,” Miss Adeline said. “You might as well tell them. Or if you don’t want to, I will.”
“Tell us what?” Now there was a hint of fear in Teague’s voice. It amazed me that he could keep his cool in an emergency . . . unless it came to Pepper.
“I’m pregnant,” she whispered.
He looked back and forth between her and Miss Adeline, who nodded smugly.
“And before you get your underwear in a bunch, I figured it out. You know the only way that one will tell us anything is basically by badgering her.”
“I thought you were taking a nap,” Pepper snapped again.
“This is going to be a long nine months,” Miss Adeline said. “Either of you have any room at your house?” She frowned. “Oh wait, you’re all living with us right now.”
“Oh no, no, no,” Pepper said, pointing at the old woman. “You wanted to be a grandma so bad, you’re sticking around for the whole thing.”
“I’m sticking around for the whole thing,” Teague said quietly. He touched Pepper’s stomach. “We really have a person in there?”
She nodded, her eyes shimmering. “I don’t want to be a grouch for nine months.”
“I’ll still love you.”
Cal and I exchanged a look. I was thrilled I was going to be an aunt. Beyond excited that my brother was going to be a father.
And maybe one day soon, Cal and I would have that joy too.
“Damn it,” Lexie said.
Lincoln immediately went on alert. “What’s wrong?”
