“I’m so sorry,” Sam said. “I had no idea my father was in town.”
“It’s fine. I figured you didn’t,” Luke said.
“Why did he come by the office?” Sam asked.
“To do exactly this,” Liam said as he motioned to Luke. “He said that was for ‘knocking up his little girl.’”
“Oh, now he wants to give a shit? They fucking kicked me out. What the hell is wrong with them?” she asked.
“I guess maybe he has a fatherly instinct after all?” Luke suggested.
“Well this sure as shit isn’t the way to go about showing it. Come on, let’s get you in the house and get some ice on your face,” she said to Luke. She ushered him into her home like he was some delicate flower. I tried to let my jealousy go as much as I could, but it was hard. I wanted that closeness with Sam. She sat Luke at the dining room table and grabbed a bag of frozen peas for his face. Once he was situated to her satisfaction, she turned to us all.
“Look guys, I know I’ve been distant lately, but with Lauren finding out and the fight that we had, I just needed to process all of this. I came to the conclusion that it is what it is right now and I need to just be patient. Lauren will either come home and we’ll work it out, or we won’t, and I’ll have to deal with whatever happens. Right now, my main focus needs to be on this baby,” she said.
I nodded my head, glad to hear what she was saying. She sounded better than she had in a while “Your appointment was today, wasn’t it?” I prodded, even though I knew the answer.
“It was. I had an ultrasound,” she said.
Sam walked over to her purse and pulled out a string of pictures, and I couldn't take my eyes off them. The baby was so tiny. Just a little jumping bean in the middle of this fuzzy oval sac. I felt something rush through my veins. Something prideful and protective. I looked up at Sam, and her eyes connected with mine, and the smile that trickled across her cheeks made my heart stop.
For some reason, my mind was telling me this was my child that she was carrying.
But no matter what, I would help her and love this baby forever, if she’d let me.
“I figured you guys would want to see them,” Sam said.
“We did. Thank you for showing these to us,” I said.
“Of course. The doctor said that the baby is doing great, growing like he or she is supposed to,” she said.
“That’s great to hear Sam,” Luke said.
“It is. But I want to ask you guys a question,” she said.
“You can ask us anything, any time,” Levi chimed in.
She sat down beside him on the couch and put her hand on his knee.
“Do you guys want to know who the father is?” she asked.
I looked around the room and watched my brothers freeze. Did she have some sort of DNA testing done? I balled my fists up at my sides and watched her look around at all of us. Levi’s hand fell on top of hers, and he brought it to his lips.
“All I know is, I’m here to help,” I said. “I don’t give a damn whose child you’re carrying. It doesn’t matter to me.”
“I was thinking the same thing,” Liam said.
“I don’t fucking care. If it’s not my kid, it’s my niece or nephew,” Levi said.
“Luke?” Sam asked.
“Doesn’t matter to me, beautiful. I’m here no matter what,” he said.
“Sam?” I asked.
“Yeah, Logan?”
“Can I say something?”