Page 49 of Set Me On Fire

“One thing led to another, and with the help of some antibiotics, I got pregnant.” I shook my head, my eyes burning with the effort to keep the tears back. “I’m having a baby.”

For a moment, there was only silence, and in that space, I could take a full breath. One after the other, that’s what I focussed on, just keep breathing.

“You don’t have to.” Mum tried to hush Dad, but he wasn’t having it. “I know you want grandies, love, but not like this. Millie, you don’t have to?—”

“Yes, I do.” I stood up and stared the table down. “That’s what it means when it's the woman’s choice. She decides what’s right for her, not her father, not her brothers, for her.” My hand slid down, and the guys all watched me do it. “Dad, I’m never going to find the kind of relationship you have with Mum.” I tried to laugh and ended up letting out a little sob instead. “They don’t make guys like you anymore.” My focus shifted to my brothers. “And no guy is ever going to meet your standards, so I’ve given up even introducing them to you. That just leaves me, alone. I can either reconcile myself to never being a mother.”

“No, love,” Mum said in a small voice.

“Or I can take this as a sign. I’m tough. You’ve all made sure of that. Tough enough to be mother and father to this child.”

“Noah—” Hunter growled.

“Isn’t going to want to be a father, is he? Just like you wouldn’t have if a girl you had a one-night stand with told you that she was pregnant.”

Hunter blinked, then collapsed back against his chair.

“He will if he’s any sort of man,” Dad said. “I did.”

“What?”

We all stared then, and Mum shot us a weak smile.

“Brock was an oops baby,” she said. “Your great aunt Mildred always called him the bastard.”

“I thought it was just because he was a prick,” Hunter muttered.

“We thought we just had the summer together.” Dad wrapped his arm around Mum’s shoulders. “I was in town for a work contract and expected to go back to Sydney at the end of it. I did go back.”

“I rang your father when I found out,” Mum continued. “Hoped we could work out what to do together.”

“And we did.”

They were trying to help, but it just hurt, to see the love in the look they gave each other. I couldn’t see one guy doing that, especially when we had no idea who the damn father was.

“Well, I have to get in contact with them and see what the next step forward is.” This was sensible Millie, the one who stayed in control when shit was hitting the fan at work. “I’ll keep everyone posted…”

A knock at the door interrupted the rest of my speech.

“Who the bloody hell would that be?” Dad said.

“Probably your brother.” Mum shook her head, throwing her napkin down before beginning to rise.

“I’ve got this.” Hunter was never this serious, so I watched him closely as he walked back into the house.

“I’ll go with him,” his twin said.

“Hayden—” Jamie reached for his hand, and he gave it a squeeze before letting go again.

“Just need a second to get our heads together.” He pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Be back in a sec.”

Quiet fell over the table after they left, and that was awkward as fuck, before Brock leaned forward, collecting a huge spoonful of broccoli and cheese salad and dropping it on my plate.

“What the hell was that for?” I asked.

“You’ll need the calcium from the cheese, the good oils from the pine nuts, and the broccoli is full of nutrients the baby willneed.” He nodded to my plate. “Eat up. No more double quarter pounders if you’re going to be a mother.”

I snorted, tried to recompose myself, and then found I couldn’t smother the laughter. It came out unbidden, and the grumpy prick even smiled slightly. I stabbed a tree of broccoli with my fork and then munched it. Apparently, all I needed was a challenge to settle my stomach.

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