Page 100 of Duke
“I’d offer to intern as a model, but you already have a hot cowboy in your stable. I mean, on your roster.”
“Ha.”
“How is Hottie in the Backward Hat?”
So. Fucking. Hot.
“He’s good.”
“Have y’all…”
“Made a decision yet? No. But.”
I turn into a grove that’s bursting with green, and I feel a familiar flutter when the cottage comes into view. Will I ever get over howbeautifulthis little slice of heaven is? I half expect Snow White to walk out the front door, birds landing on her shoulders as she steps into the afternoon sun.
Haines scoffs. “Hello? You can’t leave me hanging like that!”
I put my car in park and kill the engine, keeping the windows rolled down. Snow White’s birds chirp and sing as I let my head fall back on the seat.
“When this first happened, I thought there was no way we’d keep the baby.”
My brother gasps. “But now you’re thinking about keeping it? Him? Her? Sorry, it feels wrong to refer to a baby as ‘it.’”
I laugh. “Agreed. I still can’t wrap my head around the whole thing. But I talked to Mollie, and…I mean, is it crazy to think having a baby with a guy I’m not even dating might end with us making the happy family I’ve always wanted?”
“Aw, Wheeler. You’re getting me choked up. What a beautiful idea. Not crazy. It would be crazy if you wanted to have a baby with a deadbeat. But Duke is…” Haines scoffs again. “Not that.”
I close my eyes, heart thumping. “I haven’t told him what I’m thinking.”
“Somehow I don’t think he’ll react poorly to this development.”
“Seriously? If I say I want to keep the baby, I’ll be upending his life. He’s already said he wants to be involved, which means—”
Another gasp. “He said that?”
“He did.”
“Be still my beating heart. My God, Wheeler. Maybe he wants to keep the baby too.”
My stomach flips at the idea. “Would you…be there? If I had this baby and we, like, needed you?”
“Of course.” No hesitation. No qualifications.
In many ways, Haines bore the brunt of my parents’ divorce. My parents’ relationship got worse and worse—borderline abusive—as the years went on. Preston and I were able to escape the worst of it since we were in college. But Haines was stuck at home, witnessing the awfulness firsthand on his own.
It’s kind of a miracle he didn’t turn out to be a douche like Preston. Instead, he’s an awesome human being brimming with empathy.
Reminds me a lot of Duke, come to think of it.
“Thank you.” My voice trembles. “I’m scared, Haines.”
“I know you are.”
“Can you imagine what Dad’s gonna say?”
“Fuck him. If he wants to react like a lunatic, let him. It’s his loss.”
I nod. “You’re right.”
