Kate fixed him with her no-nonsense stare. “You know how many times the same person is struck by lightning in their lifetime? Statistically? It happens. But it’s not fate. It’s math. If you stand on a hilltop during every thunderstorm, it increases your odds. But it doesn’t make you cursed.”
He huffed a laugh. “I stayed in the kitchen so my béarnaise sauce didn’t break, and let my girlfriend, who was walking dead exhausted, get in a car and drive to Target for diapers. I didn’t stand on any hills.”
“I’m comparing your logic to superstition,” she countered. “Which is what curses are. There’s no scientific basis for them. None. The very idea is a baseless crutch that you’re allowing to scare you.”
He looked away, silent for a long moment. “My dad doesn’t want me to say it out loud. He acts like if I say the word ‘curse,’ I’m invoking it.”
Kate leaned forward. “Eli believes in blessings and curses because his faith has room for that. I…get that. Can’t say I truly understand it, like it, or even respect it, but he does. On the other hand, I deal in facts, figures, and formulas. You are not cursed, Jonah. You’re just in pain. That’s not the same thing.”
He stared out at the water, wondering how she and his father could reconcile that difference in philosophy, but the thought was fleeting. His own problems seemed bigger right then.
“It’s hard not to feel like something’s stacked against me.”
“I get it. I really do.” She lowered her voice and rocked forward. “But if Carly were here—if she could see you now—what do you think she’d want?”
He didn’t hesitate. “She’d want me to go to the program. She was pretty excited about it. She even said…” He swallowed, remembering the conversation and how happy it made him. “She was thinking she’d move out here for the year I’m in the program. We were going to get married and…” He couldn’t finish. It hurt too much.
“She believed in you, Jonah. She loved you. And you have to go to school and labs and internships and whatever they ask of you. We’ll all help with Atlas. You don’t have to do it alone.”
His throat grew thick with emotion. “I don’t know how I got this lucky. To have you. And Aunt Vivien. And Dad. All of you.”
“You deserve it.” She looked down at the baby, then back at Jonah. “You both do. And, Jonah, can I give some practical advice?”
“Don’t believe in curses?”
“Much simpler. Get out of the house. Go get your knives and aprons. Get your life together. This place is teeming with people who want to love and care for your baby—take advantage of that. Please?”
He didn’t answer because a door banged, followed by a young woman’s voice he knew very, very well.
“Hello? Anyone home? I’m here!”
“Meredith,” he said with a humorless smile. “Let the comparisons begin.”
“Jonah, stop.” Kate stood and offered the baby to him. “Introduce him—and me—to his aunt, please.”
“You’ve never met my sister?” he asked, just realizing that.
She shook her head. “No. And I understand she’s quite protective of your father, so have my six, will you?”
“Forever,” he said, a little surprised at the syrupy response, but not willing to change it. He loved Kate Wylie, and would defend her to anyone.
As he took Atlas in his arms, he heard his dad’s voice and Aunt Vivien greeting Meredith. He tipped his head for Kate to come with him as he walked inside.
They stood in a cluster, hugging, showing off the house. Meredith turned and her whole face lit up.
“Hey, stranger,” she said with a grin.
“Hey,” Jonah replied, walking toward her giving Atlas a littleLion Kinglift.
“Oh, my gosh! Let me see him!” She reached out both hands and he gave the sleeping baby to his sister. “Hello, Atlas.” Her voice cracked and she looked up, unexpected tears in her eyes. “Jonah, he’s perfect.”
Was she really crying? Meredith? She was the strongest, most stoic person he knew, a trait he both envied and adored about her.
“Yeah, he’s…cool. Except when he’s not, which is usually somewhere around three in the morning.”
She laughed and traced his little face with her finger. “Oh, my goodness.” Her voice caught again. “I’m just overwhelmed.”
The reaction touched him, and he turned to the woman next to him to cover his reaction. “Oh, this is Kate,” he added, putting a hand on her shoulder to ease her closer. “Dr. Kate Wylie.”
