Page 19 of Return By Fire

CHAPTER TWELVE

Dean’s flabbergasted.

That is until I give him the whole story—about me being the guy who answered the phone the night Kara went into labor. I recall his demanding to talk to Maris verbatim, quoting, “Look, I don’t know who the fuck you are, but my sister’s about to have a baby, and you’re cockblocking the godmother from being on the phone.”

A dark red flush cuts across the blades of his cheeks. “I had no idea.”

An unexpected smirk is pulled from me. “I’m shocked.”

I move closer to him before sharing details about Maris’s hospital visit. Folding my arms across my chest, I admit, “She almost died, Dean. She had internal injuries. Still, she sat on that phone for hours with you both. Even as that little boy cried for the first time, I did too. He was a miracle. He brought my Little Mari Sunshine back to life.”

His hand squeezes my shoulder. “Jed. I had no idea. I never would have called. I’d have told Kara I couldn’t reach her. Something. Anything.”

I swipe beneath my eyes unobtrusively. “And I’d have never known about Jennings’s baby.”

Dean is trying to keep himself upright. His ravaged face turns toward mine. I’m prepared for anything to be shouted at me. Demands to keep my silence. I’m prepared for everything except for the one question he asks, “How’s Maris now? Today?”

“In a state of perpetual denial.” Knowing I have an unbiased sounding board, I explain what happened to further splinter me away from my friends—only this time involving Maris and the man who had captured her heart.

“Christ, what a fucking mess.” The look of disgust he shoots me mirrors my own when I think about the night in Vegas when the indomitable Nick Cain won the MMA title belt and, in the process, shattered my sister’s heart beyond repair.

I lift an imaginary glass and toast him. “That’s the understatement of the century. So, I get your protectiveness of Kara.”

“Could you?” he murmurs.

I don’t take offense. For all this man knows, he can’t be certain if I’m a friend or foe. To be honest, my own stance depends on the hour. “For years, I wondered when was Maris going to tell me? Show me a picture? There have been times I felt as bonded to Kevin as if I was in that delivery room with all of you. Wait, why Kevin?”

Dean jerks his chin up. “My middle name. Also our grandfather’s name.”

My lip quirks. “Well, that settles one of the million questions I have.”

His gaze sweeps the other ships in their slips. “You’re certain Jennings doesn’t know he has a kid and hasn’t done dick?”

“No.”

He twists so his back is against the rail, and he’s facing me. “Why not?”

I open my mouth, and before I know I’m about to say it, the words just come out. “When we were working together at the Great Alaskan Lumberjack Show, we became a family—the five of us. I knew they were a bunch of pain in the asses—particularly when they were taking off with my car,” I grumble.

Dean chuckles appropriately. I go on. “Jennings shared about his personal life—no, that story’s not mine to share.”

“Fair enough.”

Relieved, I rush on. “Still, he deserves to know.” I take the blast of Dean’s glare full-on. “Hey. They never gave up on me over the years. Is it fair to give up on them?”

“Sounds like me and the guys at the station,” Dean murmurs appreciatively.

Grateful he understands, I turn so we both face the setting sun. “I’d like to meet him.”

“Kev?” I jerk up my chin. Dean warns, “Kara’s going to want some major reassurances, Jed.”

“Such as?”

“Such as your promise never to tell Jennings,” he informs me coolly.

“Why hasn’t she tried to tell him?” I ask bluntly.

He straightens, puts his bottle to the ground, and pats his pocket before pulling out his cell phone and keys. Without saying “thanks” or even “fuck you,” he moves toward the plank. Just as he’s about to cross over, he calls back, “What makes you think she hasn’t?”

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