Page 27 of Play the Game
“Is it though?” I wonder. “For a minute in Evan’s office today when she told me, I kind of thought it would be. She was freaking out, and it was like the more worked up she got, the calmer I felt. But then as soon as I got here, it felt like everything came crashing down.”
“Because this is your safe place. We’re your safe place. This is where you fall apart if you need to. Where you have people to hold your broken pieces until you’re ready to put yourself back together.” Emotion covers Jordan’s face, and his words hit me somewhere deep because I know he feels the truth of them right down to his core.
“He’s right,” Cece says. “This is your safe place. This house. This family. I think before this is all over, you’ll have another safe place too, but it’s going to take some patience, some faith, and a whole lot of trust to get there.”
I want to scoff at that, but something about Cece’s words burrow into my brain, looking for a place to dig in, and I know I’ll be thinking about them when I’m inevitably staring at my ceiling at two in the morning, sleep a distant memory.
“You can lean on us, Cooper. All of us.” Hannah’s voice is quiet. “We’ll help you however we can.”
“I don’t know anything about babies,” Amelia says, “but I’m really good at research. I can find you the answers to anything you need to know.”
“And I’m fucking amazing at babies.” Jo grins at me with that contagious, infectious energy of hers. “I love babies the most, and with Hallie and Ben so far away, I barely ever get my baby fix. When you’re ready for babysitters, I’m your girl. Gotta get my guy here ready for all the babies because I want to have a million of them.”
“Three,” Jordan says, smiling into Jo’s hair.
Jo scoffs. “That’s not nearly enough. Four, with the option for five.”
“That one,” my mom says, pointing at Jordan. “You all gave me daughters. Now I need everyone to give me babies. Well, except for you,” she says, looking at me.
I roll my eyes again. “They all gave you daughters.” I wave my hands at my brothers. “Don’t I get any points for the baby?”
Oh my fucking god. The baby. I’m having a baby.
“Oh my god, you’re having a baby, Coop.” My mom’s face goes soft, and her eyes fill with tears as she wraps her arms around my waist and drops her head on my shoulder. I’m surprised it took her so long. Pam Wyles is a champion crier.
“We’re having a baby,” Cece says, looking around the circle.
“It’s going to be one lucky kid.” Elliot studies me, and I can tell he’s checking to see if I’m really okay, and I know he’ll keep checking in with me until he’s satisfied. That’s just the kind of brother he is.
“Fuck yeah, it will be,” Noah says, grinning widely. “We’re amazing.”
“We really are.” Jordan kicks out his legs and crosses his ankles, still holding Jo against his chest.
“I think this calls for s’mores,” Amelia says, kissing Elliot’s cheek and popping up from her seat. “We have a lot of things to celebrate tonight.”
“Yes!” Hannah jumps up too and goes to the table Noah set up along the edge of the patio, coming back with a handful of marshmallows and roasting sticks.
“Do mine, Ames,” Jo says from her perch on Jordan’s lap. “I’m too comfortable to move, and you’re a champion marshmallow roaster.”
“You mean because I don’t burn them to a crisp?” Amelia asks wryly. Jo has the patience of a toddler and usually just shoves the marshmallows into the fire, burning the crap out of them. Amelia is a slow roasting master.
“That,” Jo says, grinning lazily.
“Amelia, honey, you can make mine too.” Cece leans back in her chair with such extreme queen energy that I have to laugh. “Make sure to use the peanut butter cups instead of plain chocolate. Plain chocolate is boring, and I’m definitely not that.”
“You feel better?” My mom’s voice is pitched low, so only I can hear it.
I consider her question and realize that strangely, I do. “Surprisingly, yes.”
My mom hooks an arm through mine and squeezes tightly. “My baby is going to be a dad.”
Dad.
I roll the word around in my head as I look around the fire at all the people I love the most, and I realize that, with them on my side, it doesn’t feel quite so scary after all.
CHAPTER NINE
COOPER
