Page 44 of Fighting For Light
“That may be, sweetheart, but I want you to understand something that your future husband will never understand,” Mom says, and I frown at her. I don’t know what there isn’t to understand. I lived through it, we all did. “Kai may do whatever it takes to take care of you, your child, and his family, but a mother knows when all of her resources and options are expended. There is a spirit within you that knows for the sake of her child, she must act.” Mom pauses and levels me with a starebefore she continues, “If that means you run and you have to leave the man you love, then you do it at any cost.”
I glance at Cordi, and the blood has drained from her face. Anger and the desire to tell her everything right in this moment surges up, but Cordelia speaks before I can get my words straight. “Esmarie, I’m so happy I will have a mother-in-law like you because my mother doesn’t hold a candle to you. But my place and this child’s place are with my soon-to-be husband. That means good, bad, ugly, and againstallodds.“ Her cheeks are pink, and there is a look of total determination in her eyes. Pride, strong and sure, fills me.
Mom gives Cordi a look of respect and winks at me. We will all be okay.
My phone rings in my pocket, and I pull it out, expecting Reece to be calling, wondering where I am, but it’s Liam. Rising from my seat, I kiss Cordi on the cheek before waving my phone at Mom and going to the front of the restaurant, away from prying ears.
“You usually text, so that must mean this is serious,” I say in greeting.
Liam grunts, and I hear his fingers fly over the keyboard. “I spoke with Emerson. He’s on his way back to Mom’s place. I’m already here. I found something interesting… hold on,” he says. I wait a moment. “One?” Liam says.
“Hey, Emerson,” I say.
“Hey, so Mom told us the news,” Emerson says.
My lungs squeeze, and I take a deep breath, trying to steady the pounding in my heart. I knew I would have to talk to my brothers, explain what’s going on, and tell them the whole truth. Whether I want to admit it or not, Rafe is a threat to me and mine. My brothers need to be aware of any and all threats.
“I want to say congratulations, but I also want to punch you in the face because you told me to stay away from women,” Liam grumbles.
“I did, and that still stands, you ass. But this is different, Three. You’ll understand.”
Liam curses.
“And how is that?” Emerson asks.
I look both ways before crossing the street to my truck, paranoid that anyone could be listening. “Hold on a second.” My gut churns with paranoia. I get on the ground and look under the truck, just in case. Looks clean.
I hop up and, slide into the vehicle, and turn it on to get some cool air going. “It’s a messy story, but you all know Cordelia.”
“Yeah, and?” Liam chastises.
I lean my head against the headrest. “She’s pregnant,” I say with more strength than I feel right now. Before they can volley questions at me, I continue, “And I’m not the father.”
Emerson curses this time, and it’s silent on both ends.
“So you mean to tell me you couldn’t stand to see your bestie in trouble, so you saved her by offering to marry her?” Liam clarifies.
If I could glare at him, I would. I don’t answer right away, but Emerson speaks up. “Is this a good idea, Two?” he asks, ever the strategist. He’s always thinking five steps ahead before we even have the information to do it with.
“Probably not, but she needed me and…” I’ve never told anyone this other than Cordi and Mom. “I love her, guys. She’s it for me.”
“That explains alot,“ Liam says. I roll my eyes, and Emerson sighs.
“She doesn’t know everything yet, but she is aware it’s messy. I will give her details after my comp tonight. I gotta get my head right for freestyle. We need to have perfect scores all around,or we’re going to drop in standings. Then there will be a whole other mountain of issues.”
“Well, that makes things significantly more complicated, but so be it,” Liam grumbles.
“I’m not going to apologize,” I say sternly.
“No one asked you to. We will protect them. You deserve to be happy, brother,” Emerson says. My heart surges. I love my brothers. They will treat Cordi like our own. There is no question about it.
“Mom wouldn’t tell me what Dad said, so I can only assume she didn’t tell either of you,” Liam says. Emerson and I both say no, and she likely never will. “She would if she felt like it was necessary. That brings me to the next order of business. But it also changes some things. What Mom didn’t know about the Malibu house was that our cameras were hacked, not just shut off. Someone was looking for something, and, guys, they were good. They left no trace behind. The only reason I know is because I set up a fake firewall, so if someone broke through it, I’d know they were looking for something,” Liam says.
“Did you figure out what they were looking for?” Emerson asks.
“No, I didn’t. The beach house holds none of our information or the private server. It’s literally the normal Wi-Fi and cameras that upload to a cloud that is completely separate from the one we work with. It would be very difficult to find back doors to things that aren’t connected.”
“Do you think it was some kid messing around?” I ask him. Kids are good with tech these days, so I don’t want to rule out the simplest answer. I glance at the clock. I need to wrap this up and shovel food in my mouth.
