“Help? Meaning that you gave her attention to see if Hammer would claim her in a jealous fit?”
Seth knew him well. “Raine needed a bloody guiding hand and some damn affection. What woman doesn’t deserve that? Hammer sure as fuck wasn’t giving it to her.”
“I guess he finally did or she wouldn’t be knocked up.”
“Oh, he did. As soon as I took her for my own. So now he hates my fucking guts. I’m not too fond of him, either.”
“Holy shit.” Seth whistled.
Liam sighed. “Jesus bloody wept, it really does sound as fucked up as it feels.”
“So which one of you is Raine actually with now?”
“It’s supposed to be me, but I don’t rightly know.”
“What shit are you guys smoking out there?” Seth huffed.
“I almost wish I had some. Half the time, I don’t know whether to laugh, scream, or jump off a bloody bridge.”
“You know the easy answer. Share her, like you did Juliet.”
It sounded so simple. Nothing could be more impossible.
“No chance in hell,” Liam said.
“Why not? You’d both get the girl. She’d feel more secure, get more guidance…”
“Hammer may have shared his wife with me, but Raine? I think he’d rather castrate himself. I don’t want that daft prick touching her, either. Besides, he seems convinced that sharing Juliet caused her death. I’m not sure why exactly, but he won’t risk it again.”
“Do you think he’s right?”
Liam closed his eyes and didn’t say anything for a long moment. “I’ve asked myself that a thousand times. Hammer and I have never talked about the end. He was so shut down, and I wasn’t there. I never wanted to pry. I just know that Juliet wasn’t communicating with either one of us. Neither is Raine.”
“Shit. Do you think she’s unstable enough to pull a Juliet?”
“I doubt it. She’s emotional but bloody obstinate.”
“You should tread carefully until you’re sure.”
Liam sighed. “I know, but…I’m in deep, man. I love this woman.”
“Love?” he asked incredulously. “Oh dude, but if her heart belongs to Hammer—”
“She cares for me, too. At least, I think she does. But Raine is confused, Seth. And so damn vulnerable.”
“I suppose that suggesting you pack a bag and take a red-eye home is out of the question?”
“Fuck that. I don’t hear a fat lady singing yet. It’s not over.”
“Are you sure you’re not wearing earplugs?”
“Sometimes I’d like to, but Raine’s crumbling. I can’t leave her now. Everyone else in her life has.”
Seth blew out a stunned breath. “Do you have a game plan?”
“I’m working on it. First, I need to find out if Raine is pregnant. Then…we’ll see.”
“If she is, what the fuck are you going to do?”
Liam shook his head as the image of Raine swelling with Hammer’s spawn made him grit his teeth. “Not much I can do except be there for her. But fuck…”
The silence hung between them, the gravity of the conversation weighing them both down.
“I’m sorry for the hell you’re going through.” And Seth’s voice said that he meant it. “Either way, you need to reach Raine before she falls apart. I know you’ll hate this idea, but can Hammer do it? Does she trust him?”
Did she? Liam had always assumed she did. But Hammer had figured out how late her period was; Raine hadn’t volunteered the information. So maybe not. “As much as she trusts anyone, I suspect, but it’s not a lot.”
“Just a suggestion, but maybe you and Hammer need to stop trying to claim your territory by planting your um…flag, and—”
Liam growled.
“And work your shit out,” Seth continued. “It might take both of you to reach her.”
“He wouldn’t lift a fucking finger to help me now.” Not that he wanted Hammer’s help.
That saddened Liam, too. Over a decade of friendship gone in a flash, ripped apart by their unyielding determination to possess and claim the same woman.
What a bloody fucking debacle.
“One of you has to swallow your pride. Working together might help you and Hammer kiss and make up. You’ve been friends too long to fight like this,” Seth pointed out. “Remember, Raine has to come first.”
“She does. But she has to want to do the work. So far, she’s dodged every attempt I’ve made to help her.”
“She’s not trying at all? That changes a lot, then.”
They talked about Raine’s behavior and pounded out a rough idea designed to help him reach her.
“You hate it.” Seth didn’t even ask; he knew.
“Every bit,” Liam admitted. “But I see the wisdom. I’ll have to think on it.”
“It’s not a move to make lightly, for sure,” Seth advised. “But you won’t be happy unless you’ve earned her whole heart and total surrender.”
The following morning, Raine chopped some nuts for a loaf of banana bread, pausing to flip on the light in the oven to check her red velvet cake. Fresh baked chocolate chip cookies cooled on her left. Their scent wafted to her nose and should have tantalized her. But it didn’t. Hammer’s favorite, apple spice muffins, sat on the table behind her. Their smell should have perked her up too, but no. The yeasty bread rising under the dish towel nearby looked ready for the oven. She’d already baked a plate of cinnamon rolls and set them nearby.