41. Kyle

“Think it went okay?” Harper asked, grabbing the skirt of her green dress so she could climb out of the car in front of my building. I grasped her waist and lifted her out, then held on to her as she found her balance.

If Avery was still dealing with family drama, it didn’t show. She had glowed during the wedding ceremony and seemed to enjoy herself at the reception. The only person who had seemed anything but wonderfully happy today was Avery’s best friend, Wren. Which was strange, since she was in the wedding party and was close to both the bride and the groom. But she’d been quiet, like she wished the floor would open up and swallow her.

“Seemed great. Did you see Dragon?” I shook my head, remembering the look on his face when Avery walked down the aisle toward him. “I’ve never seen him so happy.”

“The wedding was gorgeous. I was there too, you know.” She whacked my stomach as we headed through my lobby. “I meant the babysitting.” Harper sighed.

Oh. “You know how good Ashley is with Piper. And Cam stayed home in case she needed an extra set of hands.” When he heard the kids were staying at my place with Ashley, he insisted he stay rather than attend the wedding with us. “I’m sure it all went smoothly.”

When we got off the elevator, I was proven right. It was quiet, apart from the TV, which was playing a movie I didn’t recognize.

“How were the kids?” Harper asked, stepping toward the couch.

“Shh.” Cam pointed to his shoulder, where Ashley was out cold. “Kids were great. No issues. Asleep by eight thirty.”

So he’d gotten four hours with his girl. I bet he was happy.

“You taking her home?” I asked, being sure to hit him with a smirk.

He shook his head. “I told her she could stay.”

I cocked a brow. “And she was good with that?”

Lips pressed together, he nodded. “Nothing’s going to happen.”

“ Right .” Scratching at my jaw, I took a step back. “Have a good night.”

While he dealt with his girl, I ushered mine down our hall with an arm around her shoulders.

Harper stopped at both kids’ rooms and peeked in. Although they’d been here a few times, this was the first time they’d spent the night, so to have them in bed and asleep on time was a feat.

Having them all under my roof was a relief. It kept me from having to worry about whether Piper was having a bad night or whether Harper could use my help. A feeling of complete peace washed over me as we made our way down to the end of the hall. We needed to do this more often.

I shut the door behind us and clicked the lock before turning to my girl. “Did I tell how stunning you look tonight?”

She giggled. “At least ten times.”

My heart thumped out a steady rhythm against my ribs as I drank her in once again. “Good.”

She reached along her side for the zipper of the fitted hunter-green dress, but I covered her hands with mine.

“Let me.” Slowly, I pulled the zipper down, exposing her freckled skin, and let the fabric puddle around her feet.

Once she stepped out, she swiped the dress off the floor and hung it up. Then she moved into the bathroom, probably to let her hair out of its twist and remove her makeup.

As I undressed, I watched her every move, relishing the normalcy of the moment. The comfort of just being together.

When she came back into the bedroom and began digging through her bag, I shucked off my dress pants. “Don’t bother with clothes. I’m just going to take them off,” I teased as I slipped into bed in my boxer briefs.

She didn’t listen, of course. Instead, she shook her head, chuckling, then exchanged her bra and panties for a satin night dress before she slid beneath the sheet beside me.

She turned my way, and I pulled her closer to kiss her, wrapping her up, my bare skin pressed to hers. Our bodies moved together as I slipped into her.

After we both came, we fell asleep in each other’s arms. As I dozed, it hit me. I finally had everything I needed. Harper was tucked under my right arm. The one I told her months ago represented what was important to me. And here I was, with that arm literally cradling the most important thing in my life, and it had nothing to do with baseball. So much had changed in one offseason, even the fact that I’d rather keep holding her than get up and find myself something to eat.

Waking up with her was even better. And even though it was only six when a knock sounded on the bedroom door, I didn’t mind in the slightest. Making breakfast for the kids and drinking coffee with Harper was the best way to start a day.

It was the picture of what I hoped our future would look like.

“You have plans at noon, right? Let me jump in the shower, then we’ll get out of your hair,” Harper said once the kids had eaten and were both happily playing. Piper in her room, Sam at the Lego table in the living room.

As much as I wanted to join her in the shower, that wouldn’t happen while the kids were here.

So I took my coffee over to my chair and watched Sam work on his newest Lego dino. At about ten thirty, Ashley and Cam slipped out of his room.

“I’m going to drive her home,” Cam announced, keys in hand.

I held my mug aloft and nodded. “Thanks for watching the kids, Ashley.”

“Anytime.” She dipped her chin in acknowledgment, then wiggled her fingers at Sam. Then she and Cam were gone.

Shaking my head, I grinned at the empty space where they’d been a moment ago. I couldn’t wait to hear how that had gone. When the elevator dinged ten minutes later, I stood, expecting to see Cam.

“What did you forget?” I asked as I shuffled into the entryway.

But it wasn’t Cam.

“JJ.” My heart stopped in my chest. Oh shit.

“Traffic was light coming up from New York, so I figured I’d come here rather than kill time wandering the city.” He tossed his keys onto the round table where I kept mine and moved into the main room.

Normally, I’d be cool with him showing up like this. He was always welcome, and he knew that. But with Harper and the kids still here…

I opened my mouth, but before I could form a single word, Harper called.

“Kyle, I can’t get the—” She appeared at the mouth of the hallway, her wet hair dripping onto my T-shirt, the only thing she currently wore. My stomach dropped.

“Harper?” JJ whispered, his eyes going wide.

Fuck.

“James?” she asked, just as shocked to see him here.

No one called him James, so it was odd coming from her. His father, my uncle, was James. But his son, James Junior, had always gone by JJ.

Blinking, she zeroed in on me, then a line of confusion appeared between her brows. “Do you know James?”

I sucked in a breath, then tried to clear the lump in my throat.

“We’re cousins,” JJ said, beating me to the punch. “What’s going on?” This he directed at me while wearing a look that could definitely kill.

All the color drained from Harper’s face, and I swore she swayed on her feet.

Shit.

“No.” With my heart in my throat, I darted to her side. “Not like that.” I rushed the words out. “Look at me.” I cupped her cheek, forcing her panicked eyes to mine. “My stepfather is his biological uncle. You and I aren’t related.”

The air rushed out of her lungs, and her shoulders sagged. For one second, I thought this might be okay. But then her spine went ramrod straight, and she yanked away from me.

“Wait,” she murmured, her eyes going hard and turning to slits. “You knew James was my brother.” She turned her attention to James, then focused on me again. “That means your aunt and uncle.” She swallowed. “Wait, your stepfather.”

I winced. Yes. Every one of them had been awful to her.

“Yeah,” I breathed, gripping the back of my neck. “I know.”

“You knew.” Her lips parted. Her eyes flicked between us again. “You both knew.”

“I asked him to help me with our situation, but I had no idea that he was fuc?—”

“Don’t.” I cut him off with a warning glare.

“Uncle James?” Sam stood two feet behind him.

JJ cringed. Yeah, dumbass, exactly.

“Hi, Sam.” He spun around and crouched in front of his nephew.

“You know Kyle.”

“Uh-huh,” he said, keeping his tone even. “He’s been my best friend since we were seven.” He glowered at me over his shoulder.

That comment twisted the knife that had lodged itself in my chest the moment he stepped off the elevator.

Beside me, Harper’s breath came faster, and I worried she might hyperventilate.

“Sam, bud. Can you do me a favor?” I forced a smile his way.

He tipped his head, angling closer to his uncle. Their red hair was almost the same shade. I’d known they looked alike, the hair and the golden eyes, but I hadn’t realized just how many other features they shared until this moment.

I swallowed, determined to focus on the issue at hand for now. “Can you go play in your room for a bit?”

Nodding, he skipped across the room and darted past his mom, oblivious to the tension thickening the air.

“His room?” JJ asked through clenched teeth. “You don’t even let the women you fuck into your house, and yet you moved her and the kids in?”

I took a deep breath, garnering all the control I possessed. “JJ. Don’t say something you can’t take back,” I warned. “We are all aware of how easily that can ruin things.”

That might have been a cheap shot, but it hit the mark. His mouth snapped shut, and he simply grunted.

“Give Harper and me a few minutes, and I’ll meet you at the restaurant at noon like we planned.”

He scoffed, his face reddening. “Are you kidding me?”

I shook my head. Maybe fixing a decades-long friendship should have been my priority, but the only thing I cared about was the silent woman who’d gone ghostly white beside me.

“Fuck it,” JJ mumbled. “We don’t need to talk. The reason you invited me is pretty damn obvious.” Sneering, he spun on his heel and stormed to the elevator. “Thanks for your help, bro.”

Nausea rolled in my gut. That definitely could have gone better. But as I turned back to my girl, it was clear the bigger problem was in front of me. Because the shock was gone, and in its place was pure anger.

“Harper?” I grasped her upper arm gently.

“Don’t touch me.” Shaking free of my hold, she stepped back. “You knew. How long did you know that your family—” She swallowed, her bottom lip wobbling, but she held it together. “God, I can’t believe it.”

I wouldn’t lie to her. Especially not now.

“The whole time.”

“What?” she screeched.

I tried not to wince, though I knew how bad this sounded without context.

“I knew who you were to JJ, who you were to my family, the moment I met you at Lang Field.”

She blinked back a sheen of moisture and crossed her arms over her chest. “Vivianne,” she said, lifting her chin. “That’s your mom?”

Stuffing my hands into my pockets, I nodded.

“She was actually the nicest. All she did was ask me to please leave.”

With a scoff, she took another step back.

“Bill is your stepfather?”

I nodded again.

“He straight-up asked me if I was using my father’s apparent dementia, dementia I wasn’t even aware of, to steal his money. And Susan, your aunt?”

I nodded, despite how badly I hated admitting that I belonged to a family who’d treated her so poorly.

“She called me a money-grubbing slut just like my mother .”

I balled my hands into fists in my pockets and gritted my teeth. I loved my aunt, but at the moment, I really wanted to have words with her.

Harper swallowed, and this time when she spoke, her voice was barely a whisper. “My kids were with me. They heard it.”

I flinched.

“Danielle, your cousin? She came to see me here in Boston. She told me to stay away from her brother. Told me to stop trying to trick him into giving away the family money. Because I’d never be family.” Lips pursed, she shook her head. “She didn’t care that he was the one who’d sought me out.”

I swallowed. “I am aware of the full story.” Now.

“How nice that one of us was.”

“Harper.” I reached for her, and once again, she flinched away.

The move caused a sharp pain in my chest. Rubbing at it, I assessed her. I understood the anger, but I didn’t do any of this to hurt her. There were reasons. If she’d hear me out, maybe she’d understand them.

“If I’d told you who I was at the start, would you have had anything to do with me?”

She didn’t hesitate. Chin lifted again and voice strong, she said, “No.”

Exactly. It was a punch to the gut to hear it, but I wasn’t surprised. “I wanted to help you. To help JJ. And I couldn’t have done any of that if you knew who I was. So can you understand why I didn’t tell you?”

“No.”

“Harper. Please. I get why you’re mad.”

“Then you get that there is nothing you can say.” The response was so chilly I almost couldn’t believe it had come from my fiery girl.

My heart dropped. “You don’t mean that.”

“I do.” She snapped her mouth shut, and her anger morphed into a mixture of pain and defeat right in front of me. Eyes welling with tears, she said, “I don’t know why everyone I love lies to me.” Her voice cracked, and she blinked furiously. “But I do know you can’t come back from it.”

“I never lied.” The words were loud, full of frustration, causing her to step back. But I pressed on. “Everything I told you was 100 percent true. Not telling you about my family wasn’t a lie.”

“It was.” Her voice cracked. “I need to go.”

Panicked, I moved closer. “Please.”

She held out a hand, stopping me, and shook her head. “I need time to think. The kids and I will be out of here in five minutes. Please don’t make a scene in front of them.”

That request was what made my heart crack in two. Fuck. “You know I wouldn’t.”

With a nod, she turned away.

“Harper. Please.”

She froze, but she didn’t turn back around. “There is nothing left to say.” Her shoulders shook for a moment, but then she took a deep breath, steadied herself, and walked out of the room. She didn’t appear again until she had the kids and their stuff.

Throat tight, I stood from where I’d been doubled over with my head in my hands. “Can I help with the bags?”

“No thank you.” Her voice was formal. “Wes called a car.”

Of course he did. I’d made it very clear that her wish was his command. Boy, had that come back to bite me in the ass.

“Say goodbye to Kyle.” She swallowed, and her eyes flitted shut. Subtly, her breathing hitched, but then she pulled her shoulders back and lifted her chin.

She was the woman from months ago. The one with a bird on her head, barely keeping it together in front of her kids. I desperately wanted to hug her, to hold her. And for a moment, I convinced myself that was exactly what I’d do. But before I could, she opened her eyes and inhaled deeply.

“He’s going to spring training and won’t be back for a very long time.”

Sam ran over and jumped into my arms. “I’ll miss you,” he said, squeezing my neck. “You’ll FaceTime Piper, right?”

I glanced over his head at his mom, who shrugged.

“Yes. Help Mom with stuff, okay?” I told him as I set him down.

Piper stepped up next and threw her arms around my waist. My heart squeezed and my eyes burned. I couldn’t lose these three. I couldn’t lose my family.

“You’ll message me, right?” she asked, her head tipped back but her focus roaming.

“Every—”

“Don’t say something you don’t mean,” Harper said, her words hitting me like a slap.

My entire body tightened, and when I answered Piper’s question, I made sure I was looking straight at her mother. “I will message you and your mother every day.” It was a promise I intended to keep.

Harper’s jaw locked, and she looked away.

In front of me, Piper nodded and stepped away.

“Wait,” I said, darting to the cabinet. I pulled out several extra sets of headphones and held them out to her. “Take these, girlie. Just in case.”

“Thanks.”

I nodded.

“Come on, Piper,” Harper called as she herded Sam toward the door.

And as soon as the elevator doors shut. I collapsed into a chair in the living room and dropped my head in my hands, letting the sob I’d been holding back break free.

I. Could. Not. Lose. Them.