Page 1 of You're the Reason

one

He might not be able to outrun his past, but Seth Warner could outrun Grant’s wife before she roped him into another ridiculous baby shower game. He owed Grant his life—literally, but whatever Caroline had planned next involving those diapers, he was out. He sipped at his pink punch, eyeing the swinging door that led to the kitchen, then glanced at the front door. The entire Kensington house had been transformed into a cacophony of pink as if they feared someone might forget that Jon and Leah Kensington would be welcoming a baby girl any day now.

He’d never cared for pink, but today he found it extra annoying.

Balloons? Pink. Tablecloths? Pink. Even the banner of baby clothes that wound up the grand staircase in the foyer—all pink.

The plan for Memorial Day had been simple. Come to the baby shower, drop off the gift, ask his cousin Jon for a job. The three-part plan should have been foolproof. But he hadn’t realized that half the town of Heritage would be invited. And although he’d received a few smiles, it was clear not all were glad to see him back in town.

Maybe he should cut his losses and put the zip code of Heritage, Michigan, in his rearview mirror once more. But he really couldn’t. He’d run out of options and he’d run out of time.

“Don’t go anywhere.” Caroline Quinn spoke in a loud voice to the entire room, but it seemed to Seth that her green eyes paused on him a moment. “We have one more game before we serve the cake.”

He’d never had a sister, but if he did, he imagined she would be bossy like Caroline. And as soon as she looked the other way, Seth ducked through the swinging door that led to the kitchen. He walked straight to the three trays of sandwiches that had been discarded on the island after lunch. They’d been well picked over, but food was food, and this was still better than anything he’d eaten this week. Seth lifted another sandwich from the tray and took a hearty bite.

Jon Kensington’s six-four frame filled the door for a moment as his gaze found Seth. “Trying to escape.”

He and his cousin hadn’t looked much alike as kids. But as adults, the similarities were unmistakable. Same brown eyes. Same brown, unruly hair. Same square jaw. It was weird and a little confusing to others. That was unless they were standing. There was no mistaking the seven-inch height difference. Jon stepped into the kitchen followed by Grant and Nate, each with a piece of pink cake.

“Nice try.” Grant Quinn slapped Seth’s shoulder and then brushed some of his slightly too-long blond hair from his face before forking another bite of cake. “Caroline saw you make a run for it.”

“But I applaud the effort.” Nate Williams downed the last bite of his cake and set the plate aside. Seth didn’t know the local pastor well. Nate had arrived in town about the time Seth made his grand exit, but with the tattoos poking out of his collar, he didn’t look much like the stuffy preacher that he’d replaced. And from the few things he’d picked up from Grant and Jon, Nate had quite a story. “When did inviting guys to a baby shower become a thing?”

Jon shook his head. “Who knows, but you know when Leah and Caroline get something in their head, there’s no talking them out of it. If Abby was here, she would have sided with me.”

“Where is your sister these days?” Seth hadn’t seen his younger cousin in a few years.

“Nannying in England. She plans to visit after the baby is born.”

Seth lifted another sandwich from the tray and took a bite.

“Dude, is that your fifth?” Nate laughed as he dropped his plate in the trash.

“This guy can eat like no one else I know.” Grant nodded toward him. “But what do you expect from The Storm?”

Seth winced at the nickname. Of course they knew. Looking back, the fact that he’d thought he could keep it a secret had been naive. “I’m not The Storm. That was just a gimmick for the show. Which is over. It was a onetime thing.”

“Onetime?” Jon pulled some Cokes from the fridge and passed them around. “The onetimers are the people you crushed at the Detroit city qualifier. You’re officially a Ninja Warrior, my friend. You’ve got a date at the semifinals in Chicago in July.”

“I needed the money to pay off my school bill. It’s paid. I’m done. Time for me to get a real job.” A real job, like one at Kensington Fruits. He should just say it. It was why he came to this shower, after all. It should be easy. But now that he stood here next to Jon, the timing felt off. Jon might be his cousin, but he was also the owner of a major corporation and probably didn’t want to talk business at his own baby shower.

“Why wouldn’t you go for it?” Grant cracked open his pop and took a drink. “You’re good and the crowd loved you. You’ll kill it at the semis.”

“I’m done.” His voice came out harsher than he planned, but not one of these guys knew what it was like to be him. He set his sandwich down and leaned on the kitchen island. “You’ve seen the show. The more popular you become the more they dig into your life—your past.”

Jon looked ready to say something, but Grant shook his head. They all took the cue and went back to their pop.

Right. Uncomfortable silence. Because he’d bet the last five hundred dollars he had in his bank account that every one of them had the same word running through their head. Felony. The same word that had shown up in every background check in every job interview he’d been to. Which was why, awkward or not, he needed to talk to Jon. It was now or never.

“Jon?” Leah stood a few feet away. Her red curly hair framed her face and emphasized the shock in her green eyes. That, combined with a large wet spot on her colorful dress, seemed to jolt Jon into action.

“Now?” Jon rushed toward her and placed his hands on her stomach. “I’ll get the car. You get the bag. No, I’ll get the bag. You get the car. No?—”

“Jon. Relax. It will still take hours.” Leah gripped his arms. “Caroline is already upstairs getting my bag. She’ll meet us at the front door.”

Seth blinked back and forth between the two as his brain finally connected the dots. “Is she having the baby now?”

“Hopefully not right now.” Leah patted her husband’s hand. No doubt because he’d gone pale.

---