He grimaced. “No, I didn’t know.”
“Dude.”
Andrew nodded glumly.
Aaron rode in silence for a couple minutes, digesting the information, then chuckled drily. “You know what’s funny? Just a couple weeks ago, I wished that for once you’d do something to scandalize the family and take some attention from my issues for a change.”
“Yeah, that’s freaking hilarious,” Andrew grumbled.
“Sorry. So how do you feel about it? Suddenly finding out you’re about to be a dad, I mean.”
“Nervous. Pleased. Worried. Proud. A little embarrassed to find myself in this situation at my age. Scared spitless about the responsibility.”
“Those all sound like perfectly reasonable reactions,” Aaron conceded. “But, um, maybe you should let me do the talking when we get to Cavender’s house. You have too much emotionally invested this time to be objective.”
Andrew’s fingers white-knuckled around the wheel. “Hannah could have lost the baby,” he grated, the words ripping almost painfully from his throat.
Aaron touched his arm, the gesture carrying a wealth of understanding. “I know. And I’m furious about that, too. But it won’t help anything if you beat the guy to a pulp before we even have any proof that he’s involved.”
“It would sure as hell make me feel better.” Andrew sighed gustily. “Fine. You do the talking.”
Aaron nodded in determination. “He’ll lie of course, but maybe we can get a feel for the truth. After that, we’ll figure out a way to prove it. And in the meantime, maybe knowing we’re on to him will stop him from trying anything else.”
“Especially if I promise to beat him to the pulp you mentioned if he ever even looks at Hannah again.”
“Uh, yeah, that should probably do it.” Aaron suddenly spoke with a bit more care, seeming to choose his words carefully. “So what’s going to happen with you and Hannah? You know her grandmother, at the least, is going to be pushing for a wedding. Wouldn’t be surprised if Mom drops a few broad hints about that, too.”
Andrew tensed again. “We haven’t had a chance to talk about the future yet. Hell, we’ve hardly had a chance to talk at all. Every time we try, we’re interrupted.”
“It is hard to find privacy at the resort,” Aaron agreed.
Andrew slanted his brother a questioning look. “That doesn’t bother you?”
Aaron shrugged. “It’s just part of the package. I’m not complaining, I like the family. Maybe someday Shelby and I will get a place nearby and commute to work there, but we’re good in her trailer for now.”
For himself, Andrew couldn’t imagine living that way. As fond as he was of the Bell family and as much as he liked their resort, his home was in Dallas. He’d trained from childhood to work in his own family’s business, and he thrived there. Yet he had a place of his own, a life outside his job and family, and he needed that, too. He wanted to be with Hannah, fully intended to help her raise their daughter, but even for them he couldn’t see himself being happy or fulfilled giving up his career and trying to find something to do with himself here.
Did Hannah feel the same way about her job in the resort, her home surrounded by her family? And if so, where did that leave them in the future?
“This is the place,” Aaron said, drawing Andrew from his troubled thoughts. “On the left.”
The Cavenders’ house was a simple, white-sided ranch-style in a working-class neighborhood. No vehicle was parked in the short driveway, and the garage door was closed. Andrew saw no sign of life around the place, but that didn’t mean no one was home, he reminded himself. He stood just behind Aaron on the stoop when Aaron rang the doorbell, braced for a confrontation in which he would be forced to call upon all his self-control. But the bell went unanswered after the third time Aaron pres
sed the button, and they had to concede the house was probably empty.
“They’re gone,” someone called out from the almost-identical house next door, drawing the twins’ attention in that direction.
An older man in faded jeans, boots and a short-sleeved Western-cut shirt stood by the mailbox at the end of the adjacent driveway, looking their way. “They left for vacation yesterday,” he added, his voice raised so they could hear him clearly. “Won’t be back for a week. I’m collecting their mail and papers for them.”
Andrew frowned, remembering that Hannah had spotted Chuck when they were on the way to the doctor’s office yesterday afternoon. “When did they leave?”
“Maybe about five o’clock? Got a late start because Justine had to work yesterday.”
“Do you know where they went?” Aaron asked.
The man looked at them narrowly. “Not sure as I should say. Who are you guys anyway?”
“We’re acquainted with their son,” Aaron replied.