Page 88 of Bought and Broken

“I don’t even know what to say about any of this.”

“I wish I had advice for you, but I have no experience with hidden kids.”

I glance at Devon. She’s staring up at the ceiling, but I can see she’s intent on listening.

“Did she say why she didn’t tell you until now?” I ask when Dane doesn’t say anything.

“No. We didn’t talk. I’m stressed the fuck out. Not only over all that, but Dev is pissed at me. I have no idea where she is.”

I glance at her again, this time putting my hand on her knee. She gives a slight shake of her head, telling me not to say where she is.

“I’m sure she’s just trying to process all this.”

“Same, bro.”

“So, what now?”

“I need to talk to Summer when I get my head clear. I need to talk to Devon.”

“Have you called her?”

“Only a million times,” he huffs.

“She probably needs time.”

“I knew I should have told her when it happened, but Summer freaked out and thought Devon wouldn’t talk to her anymore, so I agreed not to say anything. I feel like shit over it because I’ve never kept anything from my sister.”

“Make sure you tell her that when you talk to her.”

“I plan to.” He sighs heavily, muttering under his breath. “A fucking kid? A kid, Tate. What the fuck?”

I nod absently. “That’s a big deal, Dane. What do you want to do?”

“I want to raise my kid, obviously. Had she told me this from the beginning, I would have done the right thing. She didn’t give me the chance.”

“I commend you for that. Raising a kid and dealing with your father’s business won’t be easy.”

“I don’t care about easy. My father was always there for me, and I’ll do the same for my kid. Whatever it takes.”

Devon’s lips turn up into a little smile. I give her knee a squeeze.

“Give Summer and Devon a couple of days to calm down. Once everyone has their heads on straight, I’m sure it’ll all be figured out.”

“Yeah, I know. Where are you, anyway?”

“Working. There was an issue at one of the resorts I’m trying to handle.”

“And you tell me I work too much.” He huffs out a laugh. “It’s early as shit, but I need to sleep. I can’t handle all this. Talk to you tomorrow.”

“Yeah, of course.”

I end the call, putting my phone on the end table and looking at Devon. I wait to see if she’s going to say something.

“I wouldn’t expect anything less from my brother, but I’m mad at him for keeping it from me.”

“And you have every right to be mad at him, but I think you should talk to him.”

She nods, shifting to her side and reaching for the remote. “I will. Eventually. Tomorrow or the day after. I don’t know. I need to figure this out in my head first.”

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