Page 98 of The Story of Us
She wiped her eyes and closed the door to her office. Looked around the room that she’d already started to pack up and realised it wasn’t the end ofherstory.
It was time for her to embrace being a main character in her own life.
31
Nate was expecting his brothers to be waiting at the airport for him, but Charlie was a surprise. Hell, he wasn’t even sure his friend was ever going to talk to him after the stunt he’d just pulled. But they were all there, crowded around Owen’s white Jeep, in big jackets and beanies except for Teddy. He had a pair of fluffy grey ear warmers on.
“Hey,” Nate said as he walked out of the special airport only used by private planes. Jemima Jenkins hadn’t just done him a favour; she’d saved his ass.
“A little birdie told us we’d find you here, Nathaniel,” Teddy drawled, hopping off the bonnet. Nate owed Garrett a case of his favourite whisky.
“Thought we’d give you a lift home,” Owen said.
“You’re in the back, dude.” Teddy pushed him towards the rear passenger side door, claiming the front seat for himself. Raff gestured for Nate to get in.
This was a fresh start. He’d been telling himself that the whole way home. If he wanted his life to change, he had to make it happen.
He scooted into the middle just as Charlie opened the opposite door and climbed in. Well, this wasn’t awkward at all.
“Don’t think I’m not pissed as hell at you for making my sister cry,” his friend said, and Nate’s stomach bottomed out. Knowing he’d hurt Eloise caused a pain he’d never experienced before.
“But we’ve known each other for too long for me to not recognise something bigger is going on here and friends stick together. Do it again, though, and I make you no promises …”
The engine rumbled, vibrations rolling through the car as Owen gave it a minute to warm up, fiddling with the air vents. Rafferty’s and Charlie’s shoulders pinned Nate in place and, rather than find it disconcerting, he swallowed a smile. Despite everything he’d done, they’d all shown up for him. Like they always did. Why had he ever thought keeping so much from the people who loved him was a good idea?
“How was your trip?” Raff asked once they’d left the airport car park and merged onto the highway.
“Long. And short.” Nate scratched his beard.
“Seemed to come out of nowhere.” Owen’s tone was measured.
“Jemima Jenkins is adapting my books into a television show,” Nate replied. “I went to finalise the deal, which can’t leave the car because the contract I signed is bigger than my head.”
He brushed away the congratulations his brothers offered him, painfully aware that Charlie was still staring out the window. Cramped into the backseat together, it was impossible not to notice the hard set to his jaw, even if he was directing his frown at the trees and cars whipping past them.
Making himself small had created so many problems for Nate. No more, though. Placing his hands on his knees, he exhaled slowly. Remembered everyone in this car wanted him to be happy, even if they were angry with him right now. Jesus, he was angrier at himself than any of them could have been.
Being in such a small space with so many other big guys should’ve felt oppressive. And, yeah, it probably would’ve been easier to talk about this after a few beers and one of Lulu’s famous roast lamb dinners. But Nate had to stop waiting for the right moment because that wasn’t how life worked. “That’s not why I went. Not really.”
“We figured as much,” Raff said.
“Is everything okay?” Teddy asked, twisting in his seat as much as his too-tall body would allow him.
“I’m a private person,” Nate started, thankful when Owen took one of his hands off the steering wheel to playfully smack Teddy, whose mouth was curling into the universal ‘no shit’ shape. Nate could imagine the quip right on the tip of his youngest brother’s tongue.
“You all know what happened with Cobie. At college, before the draft.” Nate clasped his hands together, homing in on the coldness of his skin.
“We know you broke up because she was cheating, and you felt like she was using you.” Trust Raff to calmly state the facts, his years of detective training on show.
Nate rubbed his left thumb against the palm of his right hand, felt the bones underneath. “And you know about the baby. The one that wasn’t mine.”
“Thank God it wasn’t yours,” Teddy muttered.
Nate directed his next statement at his hands, not wanting to see their reactions. He’d carried the shame of his infertility around for years, and it was going to take more than a couple of conversations to untangle himself from the way it made him feel. But every step was progress and deserved to be recognised.
“She’d been trying to get pregnant for over two years. And it hadn’t happened.”
In his peripheral vision, Raff shifted forward and buried his hands in his face. Nate was probably the only one who heard the quiet “oh shit” that slipped from his oldest brother’s lips. It wouldn’t take long for the others to reach the same conclusion, but Nate couldn’t stop the words from tumbling out of his mouth. He’d spent so long keeping them in, and now they were flowing out of him like a faucet.
