“Thank you.”
“Mm,” Fallon said. His anxiety was now at a low simmer, and his adrenaline had calmed down. He was getting tired. “I might doze off.”
“Please do. I know things have been weird, and we moved, which is, you know, different. But this home will always be half yours.”
“It doesn’t need to be. I know you two have your own life now,” Fallon said. And he meant that. He didn’t mind.
Lucas snorted a laugh. “Yeah, except you’re part of that. My family, your family. All of it. Okay? You’ll never be shut out.”
Lucas was so different from Frankie’s ex. So,somuch, but in the best way. Fallon had gone out of his way to forget the shithead Frankie had been with, but every now and again, Fallon was reminded of what had been.
But only because what existed now was so much better.
“I love you,” he said.
Lucas startled.
“Family,” Fallon added.
Lucas squeezed his hand tight. “I love you too. And we’re gonna love the absolute fuck out of that baby. It’ll be good.”
For the first time since making his choice, Fallon actually believed that.
CHAPTER NINE
FALLON
He sleptuntil he heard the front door open and the creak of Elodie’s walker. There were tiny feet slapping on the floor the moment Fallon opened his eyes, and then he was met with an armful of his baby sister.
“Flallon!”
He held her tightly against his chest and looked over her shoulder at Frankie, who was staring at him carefully. His face was full of so much caution, Fallon felt his guilt grow big and heavy. He kissed Elodie on the side of the head as she settled back away from him, her big eyes blinking behind her glasses.
“You comed to eat chiten nuggets?”
“Um.” He glanced at the table, where Lucas had left the sandwich. It was too hard and crusty to have now, but he’d eat another. “Maybe something else.”
“We’re not having nuggets,” Lucas said as he appeared in the room. He walked with a hand out, and Frankie tugged him close, giving him a long but chaste kiss. “We’re having spaghetti.”
“I don’t like it,” Elodie said.
“That’s a lie,” Frankie reminded her. “Now, go put your backpack away, and you can sit with Fallon in a bit.”
Lucas took her hand and helped her keep her balance as she made her way back toward the bedroom.
The silence was heavy now—thick and oppressive. Frankie was staring at him, and Fallon knew his brother could tell something was up.
“Did Lucas tell you?”
“That you were here and you had something to tell me?” He walked over and dropped down. “Yeah, he did. And I’m kind of losing it here, man. I’ve come up with about seventeen different scenarios. Several of them involve you being diagnosed with something terminal, so…”
“I’m not terminal. I’m pregnant.”
The silence was heavy. Intense. Pointed. Frankie wasn’t looking at him at all. His gaze was fixed on a spot to Fallon’s left, but he was pretty sure his brother wasn’t actually seeing anything. His breathing was shallow, cheeks pallid.
Yeah. He was in shock.
Or panicking.
