Page 103 of Once Upon A Small Town Secret
He lets go of the knob and steps back once, twice, like he needs room to process the information. His eyes flick over my face like he’s waiting for me to say, “Just kidding! Gotcha!”
But I don’t.
“Is it—” He doesn’t finish, because there’s only one option. “It’s Ben’s.”
“Yes.”
He swallows. The sound is loud in the quiet.
When he doesn’t speak, I continue, “We had the first appointment a couple of weeks ago.”
“And you’re… keeping it?” The way he asks is careful, like he doesn’t want to sway me one way or the other.
I want to be angry he’d even ask, he’d even consider it, but he’s entitled to doubt my character right now. I let it slide.
“Yes.” I steady my breath. “I’m keeping it.”
He drags a hand over his jaw, and for a heartbeat he’s just my brother, not the owner of a glossy riverfront gym, not the man who hit Ben in a burst of pain. He looks wrecked. “Tell me everything,” he says, his voice rough.
I nod and sit in the nearest chair because if I keep standing, my legs are going to give out. He stays on his feet, arms crossed.
“Okay,” I say. “The beginning.”
So, I tell him everything. I leave out the part where Ben told me it was a mistake. The situation is already too delicate right now, and I don’t want him to fly off the handle and punch Ben again.
But I do tell him that we never planned it. It just happened so quickly that we both felt guilty about it. We agreed that it wouldn’t happen again, that Ben felt like he was betraying Jason, my parents, and how torn up he was about it.
Jason’s jaw ticks at that, but he doesn’t say anything.
I also don’t tell him about me spending the night at Ben’s again last week. Seems like a detail that wouldn’t help at all.
“And then the other night…” I shrug. “I went over there and things just… happened. Then you walked in,” I finish without flourish.
It’s quiet for a moment.
Jason inhales quickly and lets it out on a long breath.
“And Mom knew the whole time?”
I nod. “She knew about the… first time.” Then I quickly add, “But don’t give her grief about it. This isn’t about her.”
“No, it’s about you and Ben,” Jason says tightly. “And the fact that you both betrayed me, and Mom knew.”
“No, this is about the baby,” I say, standing, hand on my belly. “Whatever happened, happened. Before we knew I was pregnant, we tried to take it back. We tried to put it back in the bottle, and it didn’t work. Maybe it would have if things were… It doesn’t matter. That’s not important anymore.”
“What about Dad? What did he say?”
“We told him a few days ago,” I say. “He was… baffled. And then he hugged me and started researching tax-advantaged college savings accounts.”
Jason barks out a sound that’s not quite a laugh. It vanishes. His arms drop to his sides.
“So everybody’s just… okay with this,” he says in disbelief. “Not a damn person cares how this affects me.”
He pushes his hand through his hair and blows out a breath. “And now I sound like a selfish jackass because you’re pregnant, and I’m making this about me.”
I shake my head. “No one thinks that. We were going to tell you,” I insist, because that part needs to be repeated. “In fact, we thought ofyouthe most. We just didn’t know when or how. Then—” I wince. “Then I went to the Pint that night. Stupid choice. And—”
He holds up a hand. “I was there,” he says. “I remember.”
