“Uh!” Lewis’s voice went comically high-pitched. “I didn’t do anything.”
“Other than act like a kid at Christmas, which is the way you acted when Harley was born.”
He turned to me for support.
I shrugged. “Sorry, mate. Eils is right.”
“Well, excuse me for being excited I’m about to be a father again.”
Callie rubbed a soothing hand up his arm. “Just keep the excitement inside for a while.”
“You’ve no chance.” Eilidh studied her brother. “Lewis will give you away.”
“Your faith is astounding.”
Her lips twitched. “It’s adorable that you can’t hide how happy you are.”
“I am not adorable.”
Callie scoffed.
Lewis scowled. “What was that?”
She made a “you’re so cute” face. “You can be adorable sometimes. In a manly, biker sort of way.”
“What is with the roastin’?” Lewis threw his arms up. “A man finds out he’s going to be a father again and it calls for a roastin’?”
“Only when that man is absolutely adorable,” I teased, leaving the room to the sound of his insults. Shoulders shaking with laughter, I hurried downstairs to grab some bottled water from the fridge and a few snacks before returning to the nursery. I handed water and food to Callie first.
She smiled as she took them. “Thanks. I’m good, by the way. A little morning sickness like with Harley, but otherwise good. Lots of energy.” A slight flush on her cheeks was telling.
“Aw, so that’s why you’re so happy.” I handed Lewis his water and snack with a cheeky grin.
“Watch it, Moray.”
Chuckling, I turned to Eilidh. She laughed as she took her water and snack but said, “Please don’t talk about my brother’s sex life in front of me.”
“Fine, we’ll just talk about mine.” Callie grinned wickedly. “This morning, my husband woke me up with his?—”
“La la la la la la!” Eilidh yelled, squeezing her eyes closed like a toddler.
We all laughed as we found a seat on the busy floor.
“Okay, let’s stop torturing Eilidh because it’s slightly torturing me at the same time,” Lewis joked. His amusement drifted off as he glanced at me. “Any word from Millie’s birth mother?”
An instant chill swept over me. “Not a word so far. Had a look into her family. Dad was out of the picture at an early age, so no reason to believe he’ll come looking for a granddaughter. Her mum relocated to Australia and remarried a bloke in Melbourne. There’s no one else. No siblings. No close aunts and uncles.”
“That’s maybe why she thought she couldn’t handle raising Millie alone,” Callie offered quietly. “I couldn’t imagine raising Harley without a support system.”
Anger cut through the chill, and I gritted my teeth against it. “Your mum did it for a long time. I know you would do it if you had to.”
“Not everyone is made the same way.” Lewis sighed heavily. “From what you said about her reaction, it sounds like a messed-up situation for her.”
“So?” I scowled at my best friend. “You do not abandon your child. Ever. You compartmentalize whatever the fuck is messing with your head so you can prioritize the innocent child who is relying on you to not only keep her alive, but to make sure she knows she’s loved.”
Tension crackled between us.
I didn’t give a fuck if they thought I wasn’t being compassionate toward Pamela. They weren’t the ones who somehow had to explain to Millie when she was old enough to understand that her real mother just didn’t want her enough to stick around. As a kid who very much understood what that didto a person’s sense of self-worth, IhatedPamela for putting our child through that.
