Page 37 of The Refiner

“Don’t worry. You have a big family, right?” I’ve had too much heartbreak this past week. I can’t sit here and watch this man crumble.

“Just brothers,” he mumbles, not taking his eyes from the window.

“But those brothers have wives, right?” I saw one girl in the room with him the other day.

“Not wives. Just an assistant girlfriend.”

He’s not making any sense. Not that he usually does, but now it’s really bad. “You have a girlfriend who’s also your assistant?”

He shakes his head. “My brother, Vance. His girlfriend is my assistant.”

Don’t be relieved, Keys. This is not your man. You do not care if he has one girlfriend or a hundred. He’s Piper’s baby daddy—and right now, a very broken one.

“Ah. I gotcha.” I try infusing a little excitement into my words. “See? You have lots of help. Brothers and girlfriend assistants are notorious for being the best at child-rearing.”

His head snaps back to me, any hope for lightness disappearing with the sharpness of his tone. “This is not a joke.”

“Agreed. It would be in terrible taste, but then again, Piper always lacked a funny bone.”

“Keagan,” he barks, making my stomach respond by doing this tingling thing, which I quickly force down.

“Hate to break it to you, As,” (It should be spelled Ass) “but this isn’t the ideal situation for me either. As much as I love Tatum and want to do right by her, I’m not the ideal parental candidate. I still eat Froot Loops out of my ice bucket rather than wash dishes.” I shrug. “Neither of us are gonna win any parent of the year awards, but I’m sure Piper only expects that we keep Tatum alive long enough until she can tell us what to do next.” Seriously, this kid has Pipe-tastic’s genes. She’s going to rule Astor—and likely me—by the time she can form complete sentences.

“So, you plan on staying a while?” he asks.

I pause, leaving my mouth open mid-argument. “Not a while.” Archer and Ass Face pop into my head. “I don’t have much leave at work.”

“You still need to settle Piper’s estate, right?”

Right. Her estate. I forget my sister is the responsible one. She likely has a will and all that mumbo jumbo. “I don’t know how to settle an estate. Do you think she left instructions?” Or a timeline on how long that will take? If I go to battle with Archer and HR to keep my job, I need to know how much time it’ll require to settle everything.

I don’t know if my face or the crack in my voice betrays me, but the big, annoying man sits down beside me, raising his arm as if he’s going to hug me before patting me on the back in a very underwhelming and awkward manner. “I’ll help you sort it out.”

For once in my stubborn life, I don’t turn down an offer from a man. “I appreciate it.”

For a moment, all we do is sit in the small room, staring at the wall.

We’re two strangers forced together by life-changing circumstances.

Dr. Astor Potter is the father of my sister’s legacy—the only family I have left.

Piper would expect me to do everything in my power to make sure this little girl had a normal, happy life, despite growing up without my sister’s love and patience. The same love and patience that I will miss with a passion. But I’m not handicapped. Piper gave me all the tools.

She gave me the greatest gift—her memory.

And it’s my job to make sure I pass those memories and traits on to her daughter.

Keys, the Ball-Busting-Man-Hating Phenomenon, is gone.

In her place is Aunt Keys, the Ball-Busting-Baby Daddy-Tolerating Phenomenon.

I can be the responsible human Piper tried to raise.

And my first duty as a responsible adult starts with helping the man next to me. “I’m gonna need you to take your shirt off.”

Keagan

“Pardon me?”

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