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I stared at my brother. “I’m not that much of a skank. It’s Ethan’s.”
“What did he say when you told him?”
I glanced at Roxy. “I haven’t told him yet.”
Lines marred his brow. “Why the hell not?”
“Because both times that I tried, they haven’t been the right times.”
He laughed shortly. “You need to make it the right time, Riley. How far along are you?”
“Almost nine weeks.”
“Jesus, Riley! When were you going to tell us?”
“After I told Ethan. I was still trying to figure out what I was going to do.”
He studied me. “What do you mean, what you were going to do? Do you mean you considered having an abortion?”
“No, not really.”
“Not really? Do you know how pissed Ethan would have been once he found out about that? How pissed all of us would have been?”
“No one would have known.”
His laugh was brutal. “Yeah, like anyone can keep a secret in this town.”
“Hey! I kept a secret for five weeks! I’ve known I was pregnant since the night before he left, and no one else except my doctor and his mother knew.”
“You told his mother?”
“No, she guessed,” I said softly. “I was asking her questions about her life so that I could tell the baby about her, and she guessed.”
“Hmm—” He sat for a moment staring at me. “Why didn’t you tell Ethan?”
“I was going to tell him the night before he left, but we had a huge fight, and he was going on about how he had to get over me and move on, and I couldn’t say it. I was struck mute, and I wished him well and ran out the door. At that point, I wasn’t sure what I was doing yet. I had just learned about it myself.”
“Did you try to talk to him while he was home this time?”
“Henley, I was going to. That was my plan before Rebecca died. I was going to try and get a few minutes alone with him and tell him, but then he brought that woman with him, and I realized that he moved on. But Roxy, Charlotte, and Daniella figured out what was going on with me, and they talked me into going to see him. I went this morning, but he was getting ready to leave, and he was angry with me—again.”
“He was angry with you?”
“Yes, he asked if I had broken up with Joe and was crawling back to him.”
Henley’s features hardened, and I grabbed his hand. “Henley, you need to stay out of this. I will speak to him. I swear I will do it. I know I need to tell him. It won’t be long before I can’t hide it anymore anyway.”
“Are you okay? I can’t believe you kept this to yourself all this time.” He pulled me into his arms, leaning back on the couch and pulling me with him. “Jesus, Riley, you should have said something.”
“I wasn’t ready, and I didn’t want you all to look at me as a failure.”
He leaned back, lifting my chin so he could see my face. “A failure? Riley, you’re going to be a mother. What about being a mother would be a failure? Do you know how freaking happy Mom and Dad are going to be?”
“Don’t you dare tell them!”
“I won’t, but you better do it soon.”
“I will. I need to find time to speak with Ethan next weekend. He’ll be back for the funeral, and I hate to spring it on him, but if I don’t tell him then, he won’t be back until I’m four months pregnant. That would really shock the hell out of him.”
