“Oh.” Too anxious to give an answer, I reached for the first diversion I could think of. “How many siblings do you have?”
“Three. Caleb, Celeste, and Marc. I’m the oldest, then Celeste. Marc was the youngest until my parents had their late-in-life surprise.” A faint smile crossed his lips. “Caleb.”
“The two of you seem really close.”
“We are.” His tone softened without losing its edge. “I sort of helped raise him. He followed me around so much when he was little, people thought he was my kid.”
He shook his head, amusement flickering across his face. “The looks we’d get. I can’t imagine being a parent at seventeen. That would’ve been a nightmare.”
Nightmare. The word nearly knocked me back. My steps slowed, my whole body growing rigid.
Eric didn’t notice. He was still walking, still talking, unaware of how sharply that single sentence had cut.
But how could he know? He had no idea that I’d been pregnant at seventeen. That I’d seen those looks, felt that judgment, absorbed it all until it felt like part of my identity.
Hunter had never been a mistake. Never a burden. He was the best thing in my life. Protecting him was instinctive.
And right now, I wasn’t ready to find out how Eric would react to that part of me.
“This is it.” I motioned to my father’s room, lifted my gaze to his, and shut the door on the truth about my son. I didn’t want to examine why. Not with him standing this close. That was a problem for later, when I was alone.
“You sure you don’t want me to go in with you?” He scanned my face like he could read everything I was hiding.
“I’m sure.”
The corner of his mouth crooked. “Fine.” He reached up and tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. The gesture was maddeningly gentle for someone who radiated control like he did.
I turned toward the door, but his hand closed around mine again, firm and sure.
“Jamie.” He didn’t wait for me to look back. He stepped closer, close enough that his breath stirred the hair at my temple when he spoke. “I’m coming with you to the house. You’re not walking into that place alone.”
Every nerve in my body flared. “But?—”
“No buts.”
When I finally met his eyes, there was nothing wavering there. No softness. No doubt. Just immovable resolve.
“Ten minutes,” His thumb brushed mine one last time. “I’ll be right here. Then we go.”
“Okay,” I whispered.
But it wasn’t really agreement.
It was surrender.
He let my hand go and leaned back against the wall, arms crossed, waiting like a soldier on watch.
I turned toward my father’s door, stride strong and purposeful, but when I reached the doorway, I faltered, looking back for one last dose of moral support.
Eric’s gaze lifted immediately, sharp and intent.
Was he checking out my ass?
The corner of his mouth tipped, slow and unapologetic, like he knew exactly what he’d been caught doing and didn’t mind one bit.
“Ten minutes.” His voice was calm as ever.
I turned and walked into my father’s room, his certainty following me like a hand at my back.
