While she’d been chatting, Daniel’s father had come to stand next to them. “Lori, you’re manhandling her.” He’d always seemed more biker than rancher to Hope, with his burly build and long graying hair and beard, but the fierce exterior was matched by an equally fierce love of his family. He hugged her, too, lifting her off her feet. “We missed you, Hope.”
“I missed you, too.” Against all reason, her eyes pricked, and she sniffed. She’d forgotten how much she loved the Rodriguezes—and how much they adored her.
Rodger set her back on her feet. “I hear you’ve decided to give our boy another shot.” He gave Daniel a significant look. “It’s a shame it took this long for him to pull his head out of his ass.”
“For God’s sake, Dad.” Daniel crossed his arms over his chest. “You know there were extenuating circumstances.”
Extenuating circumstances like him blaming himself for her brother’s death and wallowing in his guilt.
Lori wiped her eyes, still beaming like it was Christmas morning. “None of that matters now that you’re back.”
I don’t know if I’m back. She couldn’t force the words out. Every time she said them, they felt more and more like a lie. She wanted to be back. But every time she was in danger of falling completely under the spell Daniel and Devil’s Falls wove, something would happen to jar her back to stark reality. She wanted to believe. She just couldn’t help waiting for the other shoe to drop.
Hope was saved from answering by the arrival of Jules and Adam. He didn’t look particularly happy, but then, he hadn’t every time she’d seen him recently. Jules, on the other hand, was grinning, just like her aunt. “Hope!”
They went through another round of welcomes, and then another when Quinn and his girlfriend, Aubry, showed up. Apparently she was Jules’s best friend or something. The energy of the room was great, everyone smiling and chatting.
Which was when Hope’s parents showed up.
They stopped just inside the doorway, their faces expressionless. Just like that, she knew exactly how things were going to go down. There would be no happiness here. No joy. Nothing but more guilt, filling up the room until she was liable to choke on it. She broke away from talking with Quinn and crossed to meet them, her heart in her throat. “Mom. Dad. I’m glad you’re here.” She wasn’t, though. She kind of wished she’d saved this news to be shared privately, so it wouldn’t tarnish the Rodriguez family’s happiness.
“What’s going on?” Her dad put his arm around her mom’s shoulders, as if she would break apart if he didn’t hold her tightly enough. Ever since Hope graduated, her mom had become almost…brittle. As if she’d managed to put a good face on things and hold it together until she was sure her one remaining child would be okay. It was only then that she’d fallen apart and never quite seemed to put herself back together again.
Now, in the room full of John’s old friends and the Rodriguezes, she looked like she was about to burst into tears.
Hope cleared her throat. “I, uh, we have something to tell you.”
“Oh, God, don’t tell me you’re pregnant.”
The room fell silent, the harsh words seeming to take up physical space, creating an atmosphere that no one was willing to break. The seconds ticked by—five, ten, fifteen, twenty.
She jumped when Daniel’s arm slipped around her waist, a comfort she hadn’t been aware she needed until it was there. His expression gave nothing away, but his dark eyes weren’t happy. “Yes, you’re going to be grandparents.”
Hope’s mother swayed like she might faint. She pinned Hope with a look. “How did this happen? You said you weren’t seeing anyone, let alone him. You said nothing about seeing him when you were here for John.”
She had to say something, but she couldn’t push the words past her closed throat. Daniel didn’t seem to have the same problem. His arm around her tightened, a slight tremor the only indication that he was as unsteady as she was. “It might not have been planned, but it doesn’t matter. We’re having a baby.”
Her mom made a face like she was going to say something to cut straight to the bone, but her dad cut in. “I think now isn’t the best time to talk about things. We all need some time and space to calm down so we can talk rationally.” He nodded at Hope, pointedly not looking at Daniel. “We’ll call you, honey.” And then they were gone, sweeping out the door and leaving awkward silence in their wake.
Well, that’s a great sign of things to come.
…
Daniel could feel the tension in Hope’s body, even if none of it showed on her face. They’d known there was a chance the people in their lives wouldn’t react positively to the news, but he’d expected reactions more like Adam’s—shock and anger and then acceptance. He hadn’t thought that the Moores would actually turn around and walk out the second they heard they were going to be grandparents.
He squeezed Hope’s hip, trying to tell her that even if every other person turned their back on them, he would stand by her side no matter what. He owed that to both her and the memory of John. They shifted to take in the shocked expressions on the faces of every single person in the room. For one eternal second, no one said anything.
Then his mom moved forward, her dark eyes shining. “A baby?”
Hope gave a jerky nod. “I’m due May seventeenth.” They’d calculated her due date using some internet site, but she had a doctor appointment in about a month to confirm it.
May 17. That’s going to come up so fucking quick.
“Oh, honey, that’s wonderful.” She hugged Hope again, meeting Daniel’s eyes over her shoulder. There was so much there—too much to readily decipher. It was like he’d offered his mom a lifeline in the middle of a hurricane when she’d given up hope of a rescue. It was too much for the news they were giving her. He didn’t deserve that look for what had started as yet another fuckup in a long line of fuckups. Daniel might not view it that way now, but it wasn’t like he and Hope had planned it out. The damn condom broke, and this was where they ended up.
Then there was no time for him to focus too closely on that, because it was hugs and congratulations and more than a few tears. The only faces not happy were Adam and Quinn, and he knew he was going to catch more than a little shit about it before too long.
It didn’t matter.
He was here with the people he cared most about in the world, with the woman he’d never gotten over next to him, and the entire future laid out before them, full of possibilities.
As if the last thirteen years hadn’t happened.
As if they really had a chance.
Really, he should be over the moon right now—and part of him was. The other part, though? The other part couldn’t get the betrayed looks Hope’s parents had given him out of his head. They’d wanted him to know he’d already done enough and he was a selfish piece of shit to be taking this, too. He shouldn’t care. The only person who mattered was Hope. But then, Hope hadn’t agreed to staying beyond this week. He’d done his damnedest not to push her, and so they hadn’t talked again about her staying in Devil’s Falls. For all he knew, she was still planning on heading back to Dallas.
He knew what side of the argument her parents would side with.
Growing up, the Moores had been like second parents to him. Adam’s mom did her best, but she was a single mother with a little hell-raising asshole to bring up. Quinn’s parents had never really approved of any of his friends, the exception maybe being John. As a result, their group split their time equally between the Moores and Daniel’s parents’ place. He’d never thought he’d live to see the day they looked at him like he was shit on the bottom of their shoe.
But then, he’d killed one of their kids and crippled the other.
“Are you okay?”
He blinked, finding Hope’s hand on his arm, a worried look in her brown eyes. Daniel dredged up a smile from somewhere. “I should be asking you that.”
“Yeah, well, it’s been a hell of a day.”
&nbs
p; And it wasn’t over yet. He forced a smile and mingled with his family, though they could have been speaking Greek for all he registered it. His mind kept going around and around, bouncing around like a pinball as he tried to come up with something—anything—to convince Hope to stay.
They ate, the food tasteless in his mouth, and as soon as it was cleared away, his mother stood. “I think that’s more than enough excitement for one day. Hope, I know this wasn’t planned, but never doubt for a minute that we consider you a daughter and we love both you and the baby unconditionally.” She reached over and squeezed Hope’s hand. “If you need anything at all while you’re here, don’t hesitate to call.”
“Thank you.”
She sank into the seat next to him and leaned down to rest her head on his shoulder. They watched the Rodriguez clan clear out in record time. Adam nodded at him as Jules towed him through the door. I’ll be hearing from him sooner rather than later.
Quinn and Aubry stopped in front of them. The little redhead gave Hope a considering look. “I don’t really like kids. Disgusting creatures, and I’m pretty sure they were put on this earth with the sole purpose of destroying everything within reach.” Quinn cleared his throat and nudged her, and she sighed. “But, as you’re going to have Daniel’s spawn and said spawn will be related to Jules, I’m willing to make an exception to my no-kid policy.”
Hope’s lips twitched. “I very much appreciate that.”
“Quinn, stop nudging me. I know I’m an ass.” Aubry rolled her eyes. “The man should know by now that I’m untrainable in polite society.”
Daniel coughed to cover a laugh, but the chuckle broke free when Quinn cursed and tossed Aubry over his shoulder. “Peaches, we’re going to have to talk about your bedside manner.”
“I don’t have a bedside manner.”