I don’t know why that made me smile, but it did. “Wow.”
“She just started college last year. I’ll kill anyone who hurts her.”
Was he picking Jared and Kel’s side? Didn’t he feel the strength between us?
“I’m not giving up on us,” I said.
“They’re not saying you don’t have a choice. They’ve just seen the fallout from your past relationships. They don’t want to see it happen again, and they’re right. They don’t know me. There’s nothing wrong with giving them some time.”
I tensed, shaking my head because he sounded so logical, but there was nothing logical about this situation. I grunted.
“What? You want me to tell you they’re wrong? Cause I won’t. They’re making a solid point. It’s been three weeks since we met, Lauren. We barely know each other. We can’t expect them to be on board two seconds after they met me. Let’s give ’em a few months to wrap their minds around it.”
“I don’t have a few months.” My vision blurred, and my head was pounding, and I didn’t want to sit and pretend like we could afford to waste another minute. “I’m homeless at the end of this month, and I’m having a baby, Carter! Don’t you get it? My whole life’s closing in on me, and if I can’t get my junk together, I’ll drown and so will this baby.”
“You won’t be homeless,” Kel’s voice cut in as she joined us at the railing. She leaned back against it, facing me and then she glanced at Carter. “Can you give us a minute?”
Carter ran a hand over his hair. “Yeah. I should go check my phone anyway.”
My chest constricted watching him walk away to his truck. I wouldn’t be surprised if he got in and drove off. Why did I think he could really handle this? Nobody could want me that bad.
Kellie watched me, so much sympathy in her eyes, I thought I might break down again. I didn’t deserve sympathy.
“What happens if you tell your boss?” she asked.
“I’ll probably lose my job.”
“Jared and I have been talking about converting half the garage into a studio apartment for a while. If we can get the permits, Jared thinks he can have it finished before winter. You can take the guest room until he’s done if you lose your job. And, I have a few connections in town. I’m sure we can find you some work.”
Wait. What?
“You’re not doing this alone, Lauren. I’m sorry I freaked when you told me. I just . . . I don’t want to think about my baby sister having to go through what you’re about to go through, and I really don’t want to think about you getting your heart crushed again.” Her eyes trailed Carter to his truck before she returned her attention to me.
“He’s not like that, Kel. I don’t know how to explain it, and I know it’s fast, but he’s different. Seriously different.”
I didn’t want to air his past out right here, but knowing he’d loved someone with everything he had, and seeing the tenderness in his eyes when he talked about her, gave me a confidence in him—and in us—I’d never experienced before. If he was capable of loving Megan that hard, why couldn’t he love me the same way someday?
“I overheard what he was saying. He definitely sounds different, Laur, and Jared has a good feeling about him, but you have to be careful this time. You’re a mama now. Things aren’t the same anymore. Not when you have someone else to take care of.”
She came off the railing and hugged me. Between her arms was the only place I’d ever felt like I could really let go.
So, I did.
Twenty-Three
-CARTER-
Matty had left another message. He wanted four hundred more bucks. I didn’t have any extra cash. If I gave him any more, I wouldn’t have enough for a security deposit on an apartment in the valley, which would mean I could forget about taking Lani up on his gym job offer. I was grateful Matty called when I was busy. I still didn’t know if I would’ve told him no. Not when I was the reason he was failing.
“Everything okay?” Lauren asked, as I stepped through the front door. I didn’t miss the alarm in her tone.
“Just a message from Megs’ brother.”
She ran her fingers through her hair and set a hand on her hip, looking a lot better than she did on the porch.
“Kel hired a babysitter for the night. They want to take us out for dinner.”
“With a tray of beautiful steaks in the fridge?”
She gnawed her perfect bottom lip and held my gaze. “Jared said the steaks will still be here tomorrow, and he feels bad for the way things went down earlier. They said dinner and Putt-Putt golf, on them.”
“Putt-Putt?” I couldn’t help my chuckle as I retied my shoes. “You should’ve led with that.”
“I wasn’t sure if you were done with me, after my whole toddler fit out there.”
She wouldn’t look at me. I stood and pulled her into my arms, breathing her fruity scent in deep as I rested my chin on her head and rubbed her back. “Uphill battle, remember?”
She buried her face into my chest. “You smell so good.”
I pressed a kiss to her forehead, and swept her hair behind her shoulders; Lauren tilted her head back, vivid honey eyes searching mine—like she was begging me to fix this for her. I couldn’t, but I wanted to. Dropping my mouth to hers, I pulled her closer and reveled in the feel of her soft lips and the way her body melted in my arms. She pushed in, like one kiss could eradicate all of our problems.
Footsteps traveled down the stairs and we pulled apart. When Jared and Kellie came into view, our hands were the only thing connecting us. They were both wearing
