Page 81 of The Refiner

“Did you leave one—a sample, I mean—that night?”

I nod. “Piper called me the next morning, confirming that I had no traces of sperm. She wanted to run more tests.”

“Which I’m guessing you didn’t do.”

“You would be guessing correctly. But you know your sister. She knew I was in pain and knew it would only continue until I addressed it. So she invited me to dinner, where we had a long conversation and a lot of alcohol.”

“And sex, I’m guessing.”

I bow my head. “We were both lonely and…”

“I get it. You don’t have to explain your reasoning to bang my sister. She was hot and had good sense. Not many women would turn down a night with you, Pec-tastic.”

“Pec-tastic?” What in the hell is that? “Never mind, it doesn’t matter. Your sister and I shared a night in which we didn’t use a condom, because why would we? We were clean and I couldn’t get her pregnant.”

“Oh hell, that was too far. Speed up until the end. Tatum was conceived because there was one soldier left in the tank and he was up for the mission.”

Both of us belt out a laugh. “I guess so.”

“And you ended up feeling comfortable enough to let my sister touch your penis in the office afterwards and run the needed tests.”

I chuckle, noting that none of this news seems to bother Keagan. “Exactly. She wanted to do a procedure and then extract what sperm I had left, just in case it was unsuccessful. But either way, fertility issues aside, she could relieve the pain.”

“And you didn’t want to do that?”

I take a deep breath. “I needed time to think about it.”

“So you decided what better way to create space and time than to go on the six-month Grace of Mercy Mission Ship?”

I grin. “Piper and I set a date for when I returned to do the procedure. But once I was distracted with surgeries, the pain became just something I learned to deal with.”

“You were going to change your mind?”

I sigh, feeling exhausted from this conversation. “Yes.”

Keagan’s face falls. “She knew you wouldn’t believe she was pregnant—because of the tests and Twat Face. It’s why she made the book and didn’t tell you. She wanted you to see the proof.”

I nod, shame consuming me from the inside out. “She knew I would need to see results.”

Tears swell in her eyes. “She could have told me. I wouldn’t have told anyone.”

I kiss the tear that falls down her cheek. “Your sister had so much honor. She knew what Tatum meant for the both of us.”

“Eighteen years of debt?” She tries laughing off the sting of betrayal.

“A miracle—something we both wanted and thought we never would have.” I squeeze Keagan harder. “I think Piper wanted to tell me the news first. I think that’s why she was waiting to tell you about her pregnancy. Because Tatum was more than just an oops. She was a miracle.”

Keagan

Aweek later, and I have almost all of Piper’s house boxed up.

I kept several—or dozens—of boxes that I thought Tatum would, one day, like to have, like a few of Piper’s dresses and her entire jewelry collection. Astor may want to invest in a storage unit.

But I need to get this stuff out of here.

Astor and I are supposed to meet with Piper’s attorney for the reading of her will after Thanksgiving (apparently, he’s in Maui). I needed to be sure everything was ready to be moved or sold when Piper’s wishes are handed down.

Though, if I was smart and knew anything about wills and death, I would have known that I should have called the attorney prior to boxing Piper’s things. That way, if she wanted certain items to go to certain people, I wouldn’t have to root through the boxes to find it.

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