Page 64 of Mine to Gain

“I just, uh… I forgot something in the car. I’m going to run and get it. Probably a good time anyway since it’s a family moment.” She squeezes me again and then slinks around the kitchen counter toward the door.

I do my due diligence, congratulating my brother and the mother- and-bride-to-be before I go after Trix, motioning for Lizzy to stay when she starts to follow. Lizzy thinks this is all for show, but if I’m about to find out that Trix is still hung up on Rob, we’re both going to be distraught in a way that’ll be hard to cover up. And I don’t want Lizzy hurting for both of us.

When I catch up to her, she’s outside, past my truck and halfway down the hill to the lake, leaning on one of the old trees my brother and I used to climb when we were younger. I walk up slowly, trying to make sure that whatever questions I ask are thoughtful ones. Reminding myself that even if something’s there between us now, she had a whole life with him first.

“Trix?” I say her name softly when I walk up to her, touching her shoulder gently, but she still startles.

She blinks away tears that fall down her cheeks when she turns to look at me.

“Oh. Hey, Coop.” She brushes at them and forces a smile.

“You okay?”

“I’m fine. That was just… a lot. I’m sorry. This is ridiculous.” She swipes one last tear off the corner of her eye and wipes her hands on her dress.

“It’s okay to not be fine, Trix. I wasn’t expecting that either. It was a shock, and I didn’t even date him.” I try to force a smile myself for her sake.

She shifts uneasily on her feet, staring off at the lake.

“I probably shouldn’t have come out here with you guys. I just didn’t want to let Lizzy down, and I’ve gotten so used to being around you all the time. I didn’t think about how weird this would be. I mean, I did… but it was a fleeting thought, and then I said what the hell, you know? But it’s weird. He’s definitely weirded out. Your parents are probably wondering what the hell is going on that I dated one of their sons, and now I’m after the other one. And Lizzy. Oh god!” She puts her hand over her mouth and looks at me wide-eyed.

“Lizzy knows why I did it.”

“Why did you do it?”

“I’m not letting him dismiss you like you’re some random person who doesn’t matter to this family. Just because he didn’t want you in it, doesn’t mean the rest of us don’t miss having you.”

“You’re so sweet, Coop. I don’t know how I got so lucky to have someone like you in my corner.” Her eyes soften, and the tears threaten to return.

“You’re pretty great to have in a corner too.” I wrap my arms around her shoulders and pull her into a hug.

“I can’t stop crying, apparently.” She smiles up at me, laughing as she fidgets, blinking away another set of tears that grow fat and roll down her cheeks, staining a trail down them.

“I’d kiss them away if I could, but I don’t know if that makes sense anymore.”

She frowns. “What do you mean?”

“You seem like you’re pretty broken up over my brother right now. I’m not trying to make you feel bad; I’m just… trying to figure out where that leaves me.”

“Oh, god, Coop… no. It’s not that. Not at all.” She shakes her head violently and takes my hand, squeezing it. “I don’t miss Rob. Carly seems nice. I just… him lying about it, who I was, and then finding out he lied about a lot of other things. Just felt like a gut punch.”

“What else did he lie about?”

She takes a deep breath, staring out at the water for another beat before she looks back up at me.

“I can’t have children. I didn’t know for sure until early last year, and then they confirmed it. I was upset, but I rallied. I figured we could find a way to make it work. Maybe adopt or foster. But Rob was insistent that he didn’t want to. He said he didn’t want to raise another man’s kids. Didn’t have any interest in adoption. That it was a hard line for him. That he’d rather not have kids if that was the choice and wasn’t sure if he wanted them at all.

“I wasn’t ready to shut the door like that. I wanted him to at least consider adopting. Maybe take some classes and do research, but he got so pissed. I mean, you know we were always on and off. I went back to stay with Xander more times than I can count, especially when his team was doing badly. But that argument… That did us in. We’d been talking engagement rings and a future, and then he told me he couldn’t marry me.”

“And now he’s in my parents’ lake house with two future stepkids and one on the way.”

“That’s a pretty short timeline to change your mind on such a life-changing thing,” she says softly, her shoulders falling. “So it was just me he didn’t want kids with. I guess he thought I’d make a bad mother.”

“Trix. No fucking way. I’ve seen you with Lizzy enough to know you’d be a fucking fantastic mom. Don’t let this get in your head like that.”

“I’m just… embarrassed.” She sighs and stares out into the distance. “I can’t imagine what your parents are thinking. How awkward this all is. It’s obvious he doesn’t want me here, and now we have to keep up a whole lie about us dating.”

“It’s not entirely a lie. We’ve been on some dates.” I smile at her and tuck a piece of hair that’s drifted into her face back behind her ear. “We went to the fair. Did some stargazing. There was definitely a pinic in the woods where I had a fantastic fucking meal.” I’m hoping I can get her to smile at least.

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