My stomach bottoms. If Griff and Beck bonded over something, it has to do with Lane.
“Jake,” Beck growls. “He’s who got her pregnant.”
Fuck.I’d noticed him next to Gail at the meeting. “He used her to get to us.” Bitterness fills my mouth. “Gonna be hard to forgive that, but we’ll have to—”
“The fucker doesn’t want anything to do with her,” Griff interrupts. “He’ll be signing away his parental rights once the baby is born.”
“Say what?” A part of me is relieved, another part is downright outraged.
Beck kicks a pebble off the loading dock. “Said it right to our faces last night.”
My heart goes to my sister. “It never ends, does it? Shit way for her to start her adult life.”
“She’s better off without him,” Beck says.
“She just wants peace,” Griff adds.
“Then we’ll make sure that’s what she gets,” I say. I’ll start by keeping today gentle—no questions, no plans. Just family. Turning to Beck, I add, “How did you manage not to punch him?”
Beck smiles. “Who said I didn’t?”
I have to chuckle at that. For the first time in my life, a part of me hopes he did.
We finish the last dregs of our coffees in silence, then Dean pokes his head outside. “Just saw Willow and Marcy drive away!”
No time for second thoughts. We grab the ladders, the large slab of wood, the toolbox, and get to work.
After an hour, we’re done measuring and pre-drilling. Lane joins us with a large swath of fabric and the disposition of a field commander. If what happened last night between Griff, Beck, and that asshole Jake affected her, she’s not showing it. But I still give her a quick hug before we tackle the fine-tuning of our project.
“A little more to the left!” she cries out. “Now to the right! This right! Beckettttt! To here!” she yells, pointing up. “Not so much!”
Griff grunts under the effort.
“Lanie! Are you sure?” I ask, my shoulders tensing under the effort.
Lane walks to me and shows me the last picture she took.
“Beck, up two inches,” I confirm.
“Perfect!” she cries out.
“Fucking building is totally out of whack,” Griff says.
“Yup.”
We finish our drilling and fastening, get down our respective ladders, and cross the street to admire the handiwork.
“She’s gonna love it,” Lane states, and I breathe easier. “Now you guys need to go back up there and help me with the draping.”
“Holy fuck, seriously?” Beck growls.
“Is that really necessary?” Griff adds.
“D’you want a surprise or not?” she asks me.
I glance at my brothers, seeing the exasperation in their gazes. But this is Willow we’re talking about. My wife. If this is the last time I’m going to be a pain in my brothers’ neck, I’m gonna make it count.
“It’s non-negotiable,” I say, repressing a smile. “Sorry, guys.”
