Page 26 of Whiskey Reveals

Chapter 13

Fox satat his brother’s bar, knowing that he needed to get his thoughts in order, but with so many going through his head at once, he had no idea where to start. Melody had told him he could tell his family about the baby since she had a feeling there wouldn’t be any hiding it soon given how far along she was, but even then, his mind wasn’t on the news he was about to tell.

He was damn worried about those flowers and that note they’d found on the porch. And though she had looked shaken at first, she had shrugged it off, saying that it must be a prank from a kid or something silly. She’d said there was no reason to worry, even though that’s all he’d been doing. And though they had a thousand different things on their minds right then, and had more than one life-altering circumstance slamming into them, he wasn’t going to let those flowers and that note go. Only the fact that Ms. Pearl’s house had a kickass security system installed by his brother had allowed Fox to leave Melody and her grandmother at the house at all.

In fact, he’d be talking to Loch to see if there was anything else they could do about the place.

He frowned, sipping his lime and soda. He knew he might be overreacting, and damn sure overstepping if he was planning to talk to his brother behind the ladies’ backs about security, so maybe he should stop and think for a second.

Because finding out that he was going to be a father in a few months had seriously knocked him off his feet, and he wasn’t sure what the hell would happen next.

“You’re sitting here drinking lime and soda after five?” Loch asked as he took the stool next to Fox. “What’s wrong?”

Fox stared at the little lime wedge in his glass and shrugged. “Nothing.”

“Well, that was a lie if I’ve ever heard one,” Dare said as he walked up to them on the other side of the bar. “What’s wrong?”

“I’m fine.” He sipped his drink, doing his best to avoid both of his brothers’ eyes. He knew it wouldn’t work for long, and he had come to the bar to tell them about Melody and the baby, but he still fell out of sorts. Once again, he had no idea what he was doing, and he hated that feeling.

“It’s not busy here yet since half the town is at the game, so I can sit here and stare at you until you tell me. I’m good at that.” Dare leaned against the bar, his eyes on Fox’s.

Loch twisted on his stool so Fox could feel him staring, as well, and he knew that he’d break soon. His brothers had perfected this routine over time, and he knew when to give up.

“You’re making this really hard to keep to myself when you keep staring at me like the weirdos you both are.”

“Then our job will be complete once you fess up and tell us what’s on your mind.” Dare raised his brow, and Fox had a feeling that Loch was doing the same on his other side.

“You know Melody?”

“The woman opening up the new dance studio next to my place? Yeah. We know her. What did you do?”

Fox scowled. “Why do you think I did anything? I’m the one sitting here frustrated.”

“Because you are a man, so it has to be your fault. But let’s not get off track. Melody. Yes, we know her. I remember her from that first night when you and she were in here pounding down whiskey and thought the rest of us didn’t notice.”

Fox let out a breath. He hadn’t actually known that everyone had been looking at them, but then again, his mind had been on whiskey and Melody. And, honestly, that hadn’t really changed.

“If you saw us together, then you probably know that we left together that night.”

His brothers didn’t say anything, but they both nodded. He could go into every single detail and try to figure out how he was going to tell the people closest to him that he was going to be a father, but for all the words that he knew and used every day in his life and in his passions, he couldn’t think of a damn thing to say.

“She’s pregnant.”

“Say that again.” Dare leaned closer, his eyes wide.

“My girl is pregnant.” He hadn’t actually meant to call Melody his girl, but then again, it felt right to say it. They hadn’t talked about what the baby would mean for them, or what it would do to whatever relationship they had, but with this new life they created between them, everything had changed. They would be forever connected, no matter what happened in the future. And that should’ve probably scared him beyond all reason, but it didn’t. In fact, it gave him…he wanted to say purpose but he wasn’t even sure that was the right word.

He’d spent so long feeling as though he were falling behind, and that everything was happening at once, that he couldn’t quite pull together the right idea of what he should be thinking now. Because the fact that Melody was pregnant really hadn’t hit him yet. He could say the words and try to think about the ramifications, but it didn’t really feel real. Add that to the fact that every time he was near Melody, he couldn’t help but want her, couldn’t help but want her in his life, and he knew that he needed to slow the fuck down and get his thoughts in order. Because he was starting to scare himself, and he knew that he would scare Melody away just as easily if she heard the thoughts running through his head at a thousand miles per hour.

“What?” Dare’s voice brought Fox out of his thoughts. “Who is pregnant? Melody? She’s your girl? When the fuck did all this happen? Did you say pregnant? Oh, God, I think I need to sit down.”

“If you can keep your voice down, that would be really helpful. We haven’t actually told anyone else, even though she said I could tell the two of you. And we are in a public place, even though no one else is around right now. So, if you could stop screaming that word, that would be really helpful.”

“She’s your girl?”

Fox turned to Loch, his mouth gaping. “That’s what you got out of that? That I called Melody my girl? Because I really think there’s something a little bit more important in what I just said that you’re sort of glazing over.”

“I’m not glazing over anything. I’m trying to figure out exactly what is going on. Dare is over there looking like he’s about to have a stroke, and I’m a little bit behind. So slow it down for us. She’s your girl?”

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