He smirks. “Ha, that seems to be the theme. I’m sorry, I wasn’t thinking at all. It just caught me off guard. I mean, my sister and my best friend—I didn’t see that one coming at all.”
Ollie uses his feet to rock himself back and forth on the swing. His eyes focus on Gabby, who continues to giggle with each time she swings through the air.
“Payton.” His voice hitches slightly. “You’re a great mom. I hope that one day, Hollie and I are half the parents you are—and you did it all alone.”
Words catch in my throat at his honesty.
“Well, I wasn’t alone. I had Mom, Archer, you and Hollie, and, more importantly, Rhyland. He’s been there for me and Gabby since we moved back. He’s wonderful with her, never hesitating to offer help.”
His words from just this morning are loud in my head—we’re a team, remember?
“Even when we weren’t officially together when we first moved in, he would offer to hold her, feed her, change her.”
He’s just like that Brad Paisley song, “He Didn’t Have To Be.”
“He’s shown her without her even being able to realize it what a father should be.”
“I guess I just assumed that since you know firsthand how toxic keeping secrets can be, you’d always be up-front with us.”
“Ol, you think I don’t know that? It’s not like we intentionally did this to hurt you. We didn’t. But I just wanted time to have this for just us. I didn’t need anyone else’s opinion about moving on or things moving too quickly. Never once did I ever put that before Gabby. She’s always been first. She’s my priority always, above all.”
“I know, sis. And I have to live with the guilt that I made you possibly think otherwise. Throw in the fact I wasn’t thinking when it came to Gabby’s safety, and I deserve a spot in hell.”
I could spend every last breath in my body reminding Ollie of his fuckup with Gabby, but I know my brother well enough that his regret about that will weigh heavily on him for a while, if not always, and that is enough for me. Of course, he ever does it again, and then I won’t think twice before I bury his body. “I’m sorry, too.”
Gabby’s swing has slowed down, and her attention is on her uncle. Ollie notices and pauses his swinging, reaching over to tickle her belly.
When he straightens back up, his eyes meet mine as if it just registered what I said. “What are you sorry for?”
“We weren’t trying to keep our relationship a secret. It was just uncharted territory for us, and we wanted to figure it out on how to navigate it before going public. Not to mention, I didn’t need to put my love life under scrutiny yet again after everything that went down with Joel. There wasn’t any additional motive behind him asking me to move in. He was just trying to help. And yes, I’ve always had a thing for him—”
Ollie’s eyebrows shoot up to his hairline. “A thing,” Ollie mouths, and I flip him off before continuing.
“But in the beginning, we were strictly platonic. Over time, it blossomed into more. It blossomed into everything. He was the one to heal my broken heart.” Tears form behind my eyes, but I’ve cried enough today. “We were going to tell you, though. After today, that is.”
“I know. He told me.”
I freeze. They spoke? Is that why I haven’t heard from Rhyland? Did they continue their brawl since I wasn’t there to come between them? I grab my brother’s hands and inspect his knuckles before flipping his palms over to the sky.
He laughs. “What are you doing?”
“Just checking for any signs that you might have hurt him.”
He pulls his hands from mine and holds his hands up innocently. “No violence, I promise. He blew off his day off and came in to work and confronted me and Archer. He told us everything.”
I wince. Everything?Please don’t tell me he told my brothers that he went down on me in the kitchen, breaking Lord knows how many health code violations.No, I don’t think hewould’ve done that. He’s quite a possessive man to share those details, especially with his girlfriend’s family, no matter what his relationship is with the guys.
“We may not have fought, but I did threaten him just in case he ever hurt you. I may be his best friend, but foremost, I’m your big brother.”
Clasping my hands together, I hold them over my heart. “Oh, my heroes,” I sarcastically say.
“But I apparently didn’t need to offer my threats.”
“What do you mean?” The wheels in my brain take off, going a mile a minute in scenarios.
Ollie must sense it all over my face because he quickly rises from the swing and closes the distance between us.
“Hey, breathe, Pay.” He wraps his arms around me in a tight hug. “Stop freaking out, okay? Breathe in and out for me.”
