I was madly in love with Francesca St. James.
“I’m not even sure what that looks like.”
He waved over my face. “It looks like this.”
Misery? That was about right.
“She wants to take my kid away.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Explain.”
“She’s interviewing for a professorship at Harvard. Harvard, Theo! She did say at the start of all this that her career was important and it might involve a move out of Chicago, but that seemed like something that would happen years down the road. I just saw red. I think I could have persuaded her that we had a future, but as soon as I objected to her leaving Chicago for good, she got on her high horse and told me my opinion didn’t matter. She already knew how annoyed I was about the guest lectureship for most of her pregnancy, but this? She’s talking about leaving and the kid’s not even here yet.”
My brother looked at me with pity, then out of nowhere said, “Dad’s a jerk.”
“What the hell does that have to do with it?”
“He screwed you and Sean over, not to mention Jenny. Luckily, you had me to pick up the slack and be the perfect father figure, so I’m not sure why you’re so fucked up.”
“I am not fucked up!”
“Yeah, you’re all little orphan Jason, and as soon as you think Franky might skip town, you’re acting like she’s leaving you behind. Pulling a Nick.”
Well, she was, wasn’t she? “Are you saying I have abandonment issues?”
“Nah. How could you?” He patted his chest. “Perfect older brother here who stepped in and acted in loco parentis. You didn’t need Nick. None of us did. We had each other.”
True. But it still hurt not to have him around. To find out that he had wanted to start over, to make a life without us. The second I heard Franky might be leaving, I was that thirteen-year-old kid, wondering why Dad was packing a suitcase.
“I was pretty messed-up when he left.”
“I know, dude. I was there. To be honest, you’ve grown up to be remarkably well-adjusted, considering. Awesome brother, great uncle, cool teammate, or so I’ve heard.” He grinned. “You’re one of the best men I know, J, and you’re going to make a great dad. And whether Franky’s in Chicago with Baby Isner or halfway around the world, you will still be a family. Nothing’s going to change that.”
His lips twitched. “Unless you do something about it.”
Chapter Forty-Eight
Franky
* * *
“Anything I can get you?”
Violet eyed me over the lip of her coffee cup as she moved off a stool at the kitchen island.
“I’m fine with my oatmeal, thanks.”
A few days ago, I returned to Chicago and had decided to stay with my parents while Rosie packed up her stuff at my place. She was still looking after the cats, which was probably good because I couldn’t bend over to feed them.
“Tea? I have the herbal junk.”
“No, I’m okay. Honestly.”
Super Kid was very active today, making sure I got my kick counts in quickly. Maybe it was the oatmeal or maybe it was the fact she would be here in a few weeks, screaming her way into the world. Our Valkyrie shieldmaiden.
Violet smiled at me. “We’re thrilled to have you here, Franks. We’ve missed you so much.”
“I missed everyone, too. I loved my time at Harvard, but it’s good to be back in my hometown.”
