Page 88 of Twins For My Bestie's Brother

The vibrating of a phone. Jackson’s pocket. I feel it up against my leg.

“Sorry, I thought I turned this thing—” Jackson pulls the phone out.

I see the flash of the contact.Danforth. “Answer it.”

Jackson laughs like I’ve made a joke. “No, I don’t want that life. I want you here in Cider Bay.”

I touch Jackson’s wrist. “What if you could have both? That life? Here? Why can’t you build the businesshere? We’ve got the water. We have mountains for skiing. We’ve got so many trails and—”

Jackson pauses, but then shakes his head. “He won’t go for it. He’ll—”

“Will you just ask, Jackson? Please.”

We’re running out of time as the phone buzzes and buzzes and buzzes. “You don’t need to shed your past self for me.” I move his hand flat to my stomach. “For us. They’ll need to see your multitudes just as they need to see mine.”

Jackson considers for a moment. And just before he runs out of time, he answers the phone, “Hi.” His eyes flick to mine, and a smile appears on his lips. “Listen, I’ve been thinking . . . ”

Chapter 28

Jackson

“Ihave to admit, Jackson, your town is charming,” Danforth says, sliding his hands into his pockets as we amble down the forest path.

I smile, though I’m unsure. Charming can be a compliment, but it can also be a veiled insult. “I’m glad you think so. We quite like it.”

Carina and Lily walk up ahead of us, chatting enthusiastically, heading toward the bend toward the lookout point. From behind, you wouldn’t be able to tell Lily’s over four months pregnant now. However, it’s a different story face-to-face. The twins are growing rapidly. It was the first thing Carina said when she and Danforth arrived in Cider Bay.

“You’re pregnant, and you’rehuge.”

I’ve been working extra hard at making her feel beautiful since then, not that her size should be of any concern given that she’s growing not just one life, but two. It goes deeper than that, though. It’s all moving just a little too fast. Amidst all the excitement, there’s still the fear of everything changing.

“A good place to raise your children,” Danforth goes on. “I understand why you wouldn’t want to leave.”

“We turned out okay,” I say with a nod toward Lily just before the girls disappear around the bend. “It’s why I moved back in the first place; I was ready to settle down. It just happened a lot faster than anticipated.”

Danforth laughs. “That’s life. And that’s having children. You’re never quite ready for them. And then when you are, it doesn’t happen as you’d like.”

The note of sadness in Danforth’s words pulls at my chest.

“I like that they get on,” Danforth says, quickly changing the subject. “The girls.”

“Me too.”

Today is their last day here. Unlike my time in Banff, their trip was short, only a long weekend, versus a week. It’s the tradeoff for Danforth’s experience. He doesn’t have to comply to the same unspoken rules I do.

It has happened quickly. Well, as quickly as things can happen for a businessman like Danforth. When he says jump, I say how high. When I say jump, he says as soon as he can.

That has turned out to be a month after our phone call. It has given me a good amount of time to get my business proposal together and start scoping out potential partners. Between Northern Michigan and the UP, there are plenty of adventure expeditions that could be done any time of year. I’d focused on engaging a corner of the market that wanted adventure not too far out of their backyard. It’s not all Everest and Tuscany and all the far corners of the earth. Sometimes it’s something nearby.

Lily and I have spent the past three days introducing Danforth to Cider Bay’s majesty. The potential for yachting on Lake Michigan and extended “survival” camping trips in the dense forests and nearby mountains. Danforth has been poised butengaged. I haven’t been able to get quite as good a read on him as I’d like.

The truth is, if he doesn’t want to do this with me, I’ll do it myself. Because Lily’s right. We have a life set up for ourselves and for our children. But that doesn’t mean our lives have to stop. That’s a quick way to dissatisfaction, and while being a dad is already becoming the most important role in my mind, I want to still be me. I’d never ask Lily to tamp down her spirit and contain herself to being a mother. So why should I expect that of myself?

We’ve mused together in bed over all the adventures we’ll have as a family and all the art we can make together.

Our children will have a full life because our lives were full before they were even conceived.

“I have to say, Jackson, I’m not used to being told no,” Danforth says as we kick up dust toward the bend in the path.

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