“Although I never thought that it would be my youngest that would make me a grandma,” she continues and purses her lips.
Okay, maybe she’s a little disappointed. But she puts her arm around me and hugs me to her side. There’s still a lot unsaid, and I know there will always be a lot unsaid. This isn’t Zeke’s family. I’ve spent the last five months with five women in my business nearly constantly, and my heart aches.
I grab my phone sitting on the step beside me and call Tabby. She should be on the East Coast by now, and I miss her.
“Hey you,” she says. “How are you? Are you aware my brother is very famous right now?”
Of course, she saw it. I sigh and stand, not wanting to talk to Tabby with my Mom next to me. I pace to the entrance and step outside on the porch. The air is cool, but after being in Canada, it feels tropical.
“I’m okay. He’s on his way here now. I’m just trying to lay low.”
“Not low enough, it seems.” She laughs and clears her throat. “Poor Zeke is entering a world he’s wholly unprepared for, I think.”
Guilt picks at me for a moment, but I swallow it. I lived in his world for the last five months, and he’s now getting a taste of mine. There’re challenges to both, but I’m not worried about him. He’s got the skills necessary to survive in my world.
“Zeke also told us about your trouble. We’re all really worried for you, Nov. And the baby. Have you figured out who’s doing this?” Her voice tips low and bathed with concern. Knowing they care about me and want to help me fills my heart with a belonging I’m not sure I’ve ever felt. Their love for us bolsters my confidence and sets my determination to end this. To smoke out my blackmailer and force them to act.
“No. Zeke thinks it’s Dru. She’s definitely being strange, and I overheard her last night. It makes me wonder if she didn’t send this photo in. I didn’t take it. But it’s in the apartment. Some stuff lines up, and other things just don’t make sense. Dru is up to something, but I have a feeling I’m missing a huge piece to this.”
“Is there anything I can do?” she asks.
“We’ll be okay. Just keep an eye out for anything weird. I have a bad feeling. I think you’re far enough away, but I don’t want you getting hurt, either.”
“It will be okay, Nova. You’ll figure it out. I know it.”
Her optimism isn’t quite as infectious as it needs to be to permeate this heavy, sinking feeling in my gut, but her belief in me helps.
“I have to go get Zeke from the airport. Talk soon.”
“We all love you, Nova. And your peanut. Stay safe, okay?”
I sniff hard and clear my throat. “Thanks,” I say because I’m an idiot and choke on the words. I love them, too. It’s the weirdest damn thing to have a one-night stand and make a huge mistake, but then months later, have it blossom into this warm, fragrant sense of belonging. My living nightmare accompanies the thing I’ve been craving my whole life.
Cade said at Thanksgiving that there’s never a dull moment in the Stryker family, but I’ve never felt more a part of something than when I was with them.
Mom opens the door and gives me a warm smile. I have no idea how long I’ve been zoned out on the porch, but her expression says it’s time to move.
“Go get dressed, Pumpkin.” She tugs a messy strand of hair, and I know she means dressedup. Not just dressed. “We don’t want to be late to the airport.”