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Austin slapped his hand against the wooden seat, the gouge in the bench poking his palm with a splinter. He winced and pulled the wood from his skin. “We broke up. Nothing more to it.”
With a sigh, Josh dropped back against the tabletop too, mirroring his brother’s position. “You can talk to me, you know—”
“It’s the new job,” Austin interjected, heaving out a breath. “It’s just way more than I thought it would be. That’s all. Casey has nothing to do with... my mood.”
That’s a lie.
“Casey—”
“Isn’t my girlfriend anymore.” Austin swallowed, gulping down a deep breath. “Come on, Josh. Now what’re the other two things?”
He frowned and blew out a breath as his gaze sank to the sand. He nodded. “Okay... then when’s the last time you talked to our sister?”
Austin’s stomach rolled, churning the tiny bits of salad he’d managed to choke down for lunch. Turning his head, he met his brother’s dark eyes. “Couple weeks, maybe? I don’t know... why?”
Josh exhaled and cracked his knuckles, lifting his gaze to the darkening sky. “Mitch told me he’s moving forward... filing for a divorce.”
Fucker.
“Damn it! Ugh, he’s actually going through with it?” Austin closed his eyes as anger descended on his body, bathed in the cold wind from the ocean. Guilt exploded in his heart.Lauren.“Fuck! How is she? I should have called her.”
“Yeah, you should have.” Josh rammed his elbow into Austin’s side again. “You’ve had your head lodged up your ass for too long.”
Austin bit his bottom lip and peered at his brother out of the corner of his eye. “I’ll call her tonight and see what she needs, find out what paperwork he’s going to file—”
“I don’t think it’s your expertise in law she needs right now, dude. She needs her brother, her real brother. Not this weird self-loathing version.”
Ouch.
Austin dropped his head to rest his chin on his chest. “You’re right. I’ll go over there tomorrow.” He sighed. “Where’s Mitch?”
“My house.” Josh smirked and shrugged, widening his eyes. “I mean, he’s Mavis’s brother... What was I supposed to do?”
“Damn. That’s not awkward at all.”
Josh raised his eyebrows. “Not in the slightest.”
“What’s Mavis think?”
A grin spread along Josh’s lips as his eyes turned to his brother. “Mavs, umm... well, she’s a little distracted right now.”
Huh?
Austin shuffled his feet in the sand and wrinkled his nose. “Okay, what’s that supposed to mean?”
Josh dragged his hands along his cheeks and grinned. “Can you keep a secret?”
Austin snorted. “It’s literally what I do best.”
Josh rolled his eyes and dipped his hand into his left pocket, pulling from within a folded-up piece of glossy paper. He pressed it into Austin’s outstretched hand.
“She’s pregnant.”
His throat went dry as his eyes scanned the images of the tiny black and white blob in his hands.My niece. Or nephew?With a grin, elation trickled outward from his heart, seeping into the pit of his stomach until a belly laugh burst forth from his mouth, the first bit of genuine happiness erupting in months.
“Josh!” he yelled, as a grin tugged at his lips. The image of teenage Mavis, her eyes clouded in tears before him in his dorm room, disintegrated into the past.A second chance...“This is fucking incredible!” Austin turned and wrapped his brother in a hug as some of the heavy weights surrounding his heart lifted. “You guys wasted no time.”
Josh laughed and tapped the sonogram in his brother’s hands. “Making up for lost time, maybe.”
