“Celine’s ex-husband.”
Duke raised his brows impossibly higher. “Seriously?”
Lane took another bite of bacon and nodded. “Guy had a mountain of gambling debt. That’s what caused the split, and she’s not sure if he ever paid it. She left him when she found out and never looked back.”
“How long ago was that? I mean, they’ve been divorced for a while I’m guessing.”
Lane shrugged. “A year or more? Parker’s three months old. Add nine months or so to that and that’s about the time this all went down.”
Duke swished his lips to the side. “If gambling debt is the root of this shitstorm, why wait so long to collect on the debt? And why go after the ex-wife?”
“All good questions,” he said, pointing his bacon at Duke. “And questions I plan to answer.”
Celine swept into the room with Parker cradled in her arms. Her hair hung in loose waves around her shoulders. Pink and white striped shorts sat high on her lean thighs, and the tiny straps of her sleep tank reminded him of the way it’d slipped down her biceps the night before when she’d fed their son. “What do you plan to get to the bottom of?”
Duke hid his grimace behind his mug and stared at Lane.
Unease skittered up his spine. He wasn’t sure how Celine would respond to his thinking, but he couldn’t let that effect how he chose to move forward. All he had to go on right now was his gut, and he had to trust that would be enough to convince Celine of his plan. “I want to talk to Kevin.”
“Do you really think that’s a good idea?” she asked, eyes weary.
There were a lot of reasons why he thought showing up on Kevin Koffman’s doorstep was a good idea, but he’d keep most of those to himself. “Yes. I want to talk to him about his gambling addiction, and I want to look him in the face when I do it.”
“And you think he’ll just open up and tell you the truth?”
She had a point, but he didn’t see many other options in the moment. Tension simmered in the air as he struggled to find the right words to reassure her this was the best move.
“Has the little guy been fed?” Duke asked, finally filling the silence.
Blinking as if surprised, she fixed a pleasant smile on her face and aimed it at Duke. “He has, yes.”
“Then how about Uncle Duke takes him into the next room and tells him a few stories about his dad.” He set down his mug then held out his arms for the baby.
Celine’s pinched expression broadcasted her hesitation.
Lane rolled his eyes. Duke had gone from an annoying acquaintance to reluctant friend and business partner to self-proclaimed uncle of his child over the course of a few days. Life was freaking wild.
“I’ve got plenty of experience with kiddos,” Duke said, winking. “My sister has a couple of rugrats. I’ve been changing diapers and chasing them around since the day they were born. You can trust me.”
She flicked her glance to Lane.
He gave a subtle nod. Dammit. He did trust Duke and had zero doubt Celine could too.
The second she placed Parker in Duke’s large arms, Suzy’s singsong greeting called from the foyer and preceded her into the kitchen.
“Good morning!” Suzy strolled into the kitchen, her eyes widening as she set eyes on the group. “Wow, I didn’t get the memo there was a party going on.”
“No party,” Lane said, taking a sip of coffee.
“These two were about to figure out how to plan their day. Wanna help me watch this one?” Duke hoisted Parker a little into the air.
The baby giggled and kicked his feet.
Suzy squealed. “Oh my goodness. I’d love to. Let me see him.” She wiggled her fingers in a give-me motion.
Shaking her head, Celine chuckled. “Uncle Duke and Aunt Suzy to the rescue.”
Lane growled, not wanting his sister to have anything to do with Duke.
