Gabe paused in the doorway and grinned at her. “Eager to lose again?”
“Oh, I’ll be winning this time.”
“We’ll see about that,” Gabe said, and with a wave he hurried out of the house. Owen hoped he’d be able to catch up with Jacob. Gabe might actually be able to talk some sense into the dude.
“Are you staying?” Owen asked Kelly.
“Free home-cooked meal?” He inhaled deeply through his nose. “Fried chicken, if I’m not mistaken. Do you need to ask?”
Owen laughed, a bit of tension draining from his body. He hadn’t seen much of this version of Kelly since the guy had gotten laid. Maybe this time he hadn’t lost a friend when Kelly had gained a romantic interest. He pounded Kelly on the back and then helped Caitlyn to her feet. He still had plenty of good in his life. He just needed to focus on the positives and hope the negatives righted themselves.
At dinner he and Kelly talked about most of their usual topics of conversation: baseball and music, family and plans, the weather and news. Caitlyn weighed in as though she’d always sat at his side. They purposefully skated around more serious topics—like band breakups and Jacob’s apparent meltdown. Even Lindsey seemed in her element as the elephant in the room—her pregnancy—was tactfully ignored.
“Have you gotten any job interviews yet?” Owen asked her as they cleared the table.
She sighed. “Not yet, but I’ve had a few good leads—most telling me to come back in six months. The problem is that no one is going to offer me a job when I’m going to need to be on maternity leave very soon.”
“I don’t have a problem with you waiting to find work until after the baby is born,” Owen said. He wasn’t sure why Kelly was suddenly grimacing at him and shaking his head.
“I have a problem with it,” Lindsey said. “I’m not a mooch.”
“I might have some contacts in Austin that could help you out,” Caitlyn offered. “I’ll look into it when I return to the office.”
“That’s nice of you,” Lindsey said with a smile.
Owen was starting to think this might work. Caitlyn hadn’t tried to stab Lindsey at the dinner table, and everyone seemed to be getting along well. If he could just get his band back together.
“Have you thought about temp work for now?” Kelly asked, his grimace replaced with an encouraging smile. “Maybe an agency has an assignment that will last a couple of months. And then you can find something permanent later.”
“That’s a great idea, Cuff,” Lindsey said, placing the dishes she carried into the sink and giving him a hug.
To Owen’s surprise, Kelly actually hugged her back. Owen supposed Kelly was the only member of the band who knew for a certainty that the baby wasn’t his, so he could relax in her company. And she really wasn’t a bad person; she was just in a bad situation. A situation he had probably gotten her into by idiotically using a contaminated condom. She’d kept her word as far as he knew and hadn’t told anyone how stupid he was. And he hadn’t told anyone either. Not even Caitlyn. Maybe he should confide in her. As he watched her fill the sink with soapy water, he decided he’d wait to rock that particular boat when the waters of his life were a tad less choppy.
“Have you been to the doctor?” Kelly asked Lindsey.
“Joan took me to meet her ob/gyn yesterday. We scheduled a thorough appointment for Friday. I’m going to have an ultrasound and everything.”
“And a paternity test?” Kelly asked.
Lindsey glanced at Owen and then flushed when her gaze landed on Caitlyn. “If I have to.”
“If it’s not Owen’s baby, do you still plan on staying here?” Caitlyn asked.
“I suppose I’ll have to leave.”
When Lindsey’s eyes met Owen’s, he could see the fear behind her gaze. Was she afraid that there’d be no one there for her and the baby when the time came to give birth? With all the shit that Jacob and Adam were currently going through, Owen doubted that either of them would take proper care of her. And Tex was fucking married. Owen was sure his wife would love to have a pregnant groupie move in with them. Gabe would probably do right by her, but his girlfriend might have issue with him taking on another woman on the side. Caitlyn had already come to terms with the situation. She didn’t like the arrangement, but she trusted Owen and she had reason to. He would never break her trust.
“She can stay here,” Owen said with a shrug. “Even if it’s not my kid.”
Caitlyn dropped a pan in the sink with a loud bang.
Kelly rubbed a hand over his eyes. “I’d accuse you of being an idiot . . .”
Oh I’m definitely an idiot.
“. . . but your family took me in and made me feel welcome, so I can’t insist you offer Lindsey any less.” He turned to Lindsey. “I can help you out too.”
“But it’s definitely not yours, Cuff,” Lindsey said, rubbing a hand over her belly.
He smiled, and Owen had to wonder if he saw as much of Sara in the pretty blonde as Owen did. The resemblance between Lindsey and Kelly’s lost love was almost eerie.
“I don’t have to be responsible to want to help you, do I?”
Silverware clattered loudly as Caitlyn slammed the utensils into the dishwasher. He’d never heard anyone load the machine so noisily.
Lindsey gave Kelly another hug. “Thank you so much, Cuff. You’re almost as nice as Owen is.”
“Almost,” Kelly said, winking at Owen over her head.
“Excuse me,” Caitlyn said, giving Owen a pointed look he didn’t understand. “I need to use the bathroom.” She stared at him for a long moment before adding, “Upstairs.”
Owen took that to mean she had to go number two and didn’t want to smell up the main floor, but wasn’t sure why she was announcing her bathroom situation to everyone. She gave him another hard stare before blotting her hands dry on a towel and leaving the room with a frustrated growl.
“You’re supposed to go after her,” Kelly said.
Owen made a face of disgust. “No thanks. What she does in that bathroom is her business.”
“Trust me. You need to go after her.”
Owen shrugged, but before he could hang out with Caitlyn in the upstairs bathroom, his phone rang. He was smiling in relief as he answered. “Hey, Mom, we just fin—”
Her broken sob cut him off. “Owey?”
“What’s wrong?”
“I can’t say it,” she said. “Not on the phone.”
“I’ll be right there,” he said, his heart hammering so hard, he could scarcely breathe.
He raced from the house, not bothering to close the front door. He jumped his front steps and sprinted the block to his mother’s house, vaguely aware of Kelly racing after him and calling, “Owen, what is it?”
He opened his parents’ front gate—none of the dogs were in the yard to greet him—and hurried to the front door. From the porch, he could hear his mother sobbing inside. Knocking loudly, he yelled for her before trying the handle and finding the door unlocked. He followed the sounds of her crying to the living room and found her in a heap on the floor, fiercely hugging one of her rescue dogs while the others either watched or licked the tears off her face.
“Mom!” He knelt in front of her and took her hands. “What is it? Are you hurt?”
The pain in her eyes when she lifted her head wasn’t the physical sort. It was of the soul-crushing variety.
“Ch-Chad.”
Owen shook his head. Whatever she was about to tell him about his brother, he wasn’t prepared to believe a word of it.
“His helicopter went down.”
Owen shook his head harder. No. He was coming home soon. That was what she’d meant to tell him. Chad was coming home.
“Monday. It happened Monday, and they didn’t bother to tell us until now!”
“Is he—” Owen couldn’t actually say the word dead, because Chad’s death was too unreal to consider.
“Alive,” she gasped. “In a hospital in Germany.”