Page 96 of Rebel Heart
Surprise washed over their faces. “What’s that?” Cooper asked.
“Get Ivy on board with this, too. Because I’m not realkeen on the emotion I’m feeling right now on behalf of the woman I love being taken out on her pregnant sister.”
Tate said, “We’ve got Ivy covered.”
I offered a nod of appreciation in response and walked out of the conference room. And as I walked back down the hall toward the elevator, I did it hoping that those men loved their sister enough to take my suggestion seriously.
JULES
It had been just over a month since I’d revealed my pregnancy and marriage to my family.
Nothing had improved.
Beyond receiving the occasional call, text, or passing visit at the bakery from Ava, Skye, Layla, and even Rhea had reached out, there was nothing. My mom had called me once, begging for me to come over, so we could all talk. I thought I was finally getting that olive branch I so desperately wanted and needed. But when I asked what time she wanted Beau and me to come over, she’d shared that my dad just wasn’t ready for that.
So, over this last month, I’d stopped hoping. When nothing got better, and there weren’t any attempts tomake it happen, the letdown just became too much to handle.
Even the handful of bright spots I did have—Beau being incredible, another visit with the doctor confirming the baby was growing perfectly—hadn’t been enough to dull the pain of not having my family along for this journey with me.
I’d grown so accustomed to having them around all the time. Calling them whenever I wanted, visiting them, or having them pop by the bakery to grab themselves something savory for breakfast or a sweet treat before they went home at the end of the day.
Now, I had none of that. And my heart ached because of it.
Worse, no matter how much I told myself I wouldn’t be the one to reach out to them, it seemed I no longer had any choice in the matter.
Because one of my commercial mixers was broken. And any time I had an issue with something needing to be fixed at the bakery, I called on either Liam or Cooper, depending on the time of year. Cooper was the head of our maintenance and operations for the entire Westwood’s campus minus the amusement park. Liam oversaw the team that took care of the park.
Given the way they’d reacted the last time I’d seen them, I felt Liam was the safer option. But considering we were in the middle of summer and the park was a constant flow of work for the youngest of my older brothers, I understood that my only option was Cooper.
So, I sucked up my pride and sent him a text.
JULES
I’m having a problem at the bakery with one of my mixers. I’d appreciate if you could send someone to help.
God, it was sad that this was what our relationship had come to. With any luck, Cooper would do what I’d suggested and send someone else to deal with the problem.
I’d suspected, based on how furious he was with me, that Cooper would make me wait all day—or longer—for a response and resolution, but much to my surprise, it was less than a minute later when I received his reply.
Cooper
I’ll head over there right now.
Great.
This was going to be just fantastic.
We were between that breakfast and lunch rush, so things were slow enough that Birdie and my newest hire, Danica, could handle anything that came in until I finished dealing with Cooper.
In record time, my brother arrived.
And the moment he came face-to-face with me for the first time in weeks, the tension between us was still as thick as ever. But there was something else besides the anger lingering in his stare. I noticed the way he looked at me, at my slightly rounded belly now growing with his niece or nephew. Whether he intended for it to or not, ifhe even knew I could see it, I didn’t know, but sorrow was etched into every feature.
I ignored how it made me feel, swallowed past the tightness in my throat, and said, “Thanks for coming. I’ll show you which mixer is a problem.”
Cooper followed me, doing it in silence, and nothing had ever felt more unnatural between us. It made me feel sick, and my hand instinctively went to my stomach.
Seconds later, I turned and said, “This is the one that’s giving me a problem.”
