Page 42 of The (Maybe) Murderer Who Knocked Me Up

I don’t see a separate entrance to the basement. I guess I’ll have to look around.

I reach for the door handle. “Thank you for the ride.”

“Wait,” he says.

Of course. This is the part where he tells me to stay away from his brother. I can’t blame him. I’d do the same if Jake had gotten knocked up by someone like me.

“Chime is starting kindergarten this fall,” Silver tells me.

I pause, not sure why he’s telling me this.

“Do you know how kids treat raccoon shifters at school?” he asks.

I nod. I remember the things people used to say about Quin.

“It wasn’t so bad for me and my brothers because we had each other. Chime isn’t part of a litter. When the kids call her a mongrel, she won’t have anyone to comfort her or play with her at recess. She’ll have to deal with that all on her own.”

My heart aches at the idea of anyone hurting Chime. It isn’t fair. I feel a fierce urge to protect her from the world, even though I’ve already failed her so completely.

“Imagine how much worse it will be for her if word gets out that her alpha dad is a murderer,” Silver says.

He lets those words hang in the air between us, the weight of them heavy and unbearable.

“Chime has a good life right now,” he continues. “School will be hard for her, but she has grandparents and uncles who love her. She also has the raccoon shifter community. What can you bring to the table, Slade?”

He’s right. I have nothing to give her. I don’t even have a job right now.

“All I’m asking you to do is think about what’s best for Chime,” he says. “Do you honestly think that entering her life right now is the right thing for her? Or is it just what you want?”

The ache I felt for Quin earlier turns into a chasm in my chest as I realize that Quin and Chime would both be better off without me. I climb out of the car without saying a word to Silver. He’s just trying to protect his brother. After everything I’ve done to protect mine, I can’t fault him for that.

The front door of the house opens. My brother steps outside, his hand rubbing his belly, which is round and jutting out from his small frame. The way he beams at me quiets down all the hurt and anguish in my heart, if only for a moment. For thelast six years, I’ve only seen him behind plexiglass in the visiting room at Sciff, which felt like a different universe.

He waddles down the stairs as fast as he can. For the first time in six years, I’m allowed to wrap my arms around him and give him a big hug. I hold him for a long time, but he doesn’t seem to mind. He just stands there and hugs me back.

I finally release him. “This house is beautiful. Are you renting out the whole thing?”

He shakes his head. “We own it, Slade. Stew got a big bonus last year, and we were able to swing the down payment. Sorry I didn’t tell you sooner. I wanted it to be a surprise for when you got out.”

Tears burn in the corner of my eyes. My little brother is a homeowner.

“Wow. That’s amazing.”

He grabs my hand and tugs me forward. “C’mon. Let me show you around.”

I follow him up the stairs into a living room with hardwood floors and a fireplace. Jake has a fireplace. I can’t believe it.

“Stew put in the flooring. There was stained carpet throughout the house when we bought it.” He leads me to a separated kitchen and dining area. The cabinets are old, but in a quaint, antique way that makes the kitchen feel homey. “Stew painted the cabinets. Don’t they look great? And I got that table second-hand. Also, check this out.” He reaches up to open two of the cupboards. “All our plates and glasses are matching.”

I can’t help but laugh. When we were little, we ate straight out of tin cans half of the time. The few plates and glasses we had were mismatched because our moms got them from Goodwill.

“That’s how you know you’ve made it,” I say.

He reaches out and grasps my arm. “Thanks to you.” He turns around before I can argue with him. He’s the one who’sresponsible for turning his life around. But it’s obvious he doesn’t want to talk about that right now.

We walk down a hallway with three doors. One is open, so I can see the nursery inside with a crib and a rocking chair. The second door is open too. That room has a large bed and dresser. The third door is closed. Jake opens it, and I hear a loud “Surprise!” Stew is standing inside the bedroom with a big poster that says, “Welcome home, Slade!” The moment I step inside, he drops the poster to give me a hug. He’s a full grizzly shifter, so he’s just as big as I am and practically crushes me in his arms. “Congrats on getting out early on good behavior, man. We’re happy to have you here.”

The bedroom is larger than the one next door, with a king-sized bed and a big screen TV mounted to the wall. Another door opens to a bathroom, which must mean this is the primary bedroom of Jake’s house.

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