Page 53 of His Best Friend's Baby

“I just want the best for you,” she whispered. “The best for Ben.”

“I know. I know.” Julia put her arm around Agnes’s soft, round shoulders. “Ben, go on inside, let’s find out what Ron is doing.” Ben skipped ahead and Julia took one of Agnes’s fists in her hand—the fist holding the letter.

Agnes looked down at it as if she’d forgotten it.

“It’s for you,” she finally said. Color was coming back into her face. “It’s from Lawshaw.” She put the letter into Julia’s hand and smiled, big and warm and friendly. Julia could only gape at the change from the hateful person she’d been just moments before. “You’ve been accepted.” Agnes pulled a stunned Julia into her arms. “I’m so proud of you. Now you can forget about that job and get your degree like Mitch wanted you to.”

She read my mail! That was the only thing Julia could think. She opened my mail!

“Oh, Ben!” Agnes yelled, her attention inside the house. “You do not put that in your mouth. I better go get him his lunch. He always comes home so hungry when he’s been walking with you.”

With that unsubtle jab, Agnes hurried into the house.

Julia stayed in the front yard. The words of the letter—Dear Mrs. Adams, it is our pleasure to inform you that you’ve been accepted—blurring in front of her eyes.

What have I done? What am I in the middle of?

And how do I get out of it?

“I’M SORRY, JESSE,” Rachel said. “I didn’t mean to interrupt—”

“You didn’t,” he said. He tore his eyes away from Julia’s back as she crossed the street with her boy and his niece. “You didn’t interrupt anything.”

“That’s not what it looked like.” Rachel laughed and Jesse wanted to put his hand through the wall. He stomped past her to the kitchen. He took all the plates and dumped them in the sink, where one of them broke.

“Jesse, I’m sorry.” She put her hand on his shoulder and he jerked away. “I didn’t mean to make a joke.”

“No, make jokes. It’s hilarious. Me and Mitch’s widow. It’s the funniest damn thing on the planet.”

“It’s not. It’s not funny.” Rachel’s dark green eyes swept over him. “I can tell it’s really important to you.”

God, sympathy…understanding even, from his sister of all people. He rubbed his hands over his face and cursed when he bumped his nose and he tasted the copper of blood all over again.

“Here.” Rachel emptied her pockets of tissues and held them out to him.

“Thanks,” he muttered and snatched them out of her hands.

“Have you known her a long time?” Rachel asked, her voice a soft comforting purr that smoothed all of his ruffled feathers. It was stupid—ludicrous—but he wanted to talk about Julia. He was a mess. He was spinning in circles, paralyzed by his guilt and his want.

“I met her a few weeks before the accident.”

“Do you…are you…?” Rachel stalled and he lifted the wad of tissues from his nose.

“In love?” he asked, brutally of himself and her.

She nodded.

So did he and instantly felt better. Better for having admitted it to someone, anyone.

“Wow, Jess, that sucks,” she said the words that so perfectly summed up his entire life that he couldn’t help but laugh.

“Excellent assessment, counselor,” he said and when her eyebrows creased he realized the error he’d made.

“How’d you know I was a counselor?”

“I threw away your letters, not Mom’s.”

He kicked out a chair and collapsed into it. The easy moment they’d just shared lay gasping between them. “I’m leaving, I’m not joking. The house is yours.”

“You should wait until you can see out of that eye.” Rachel leaned against the counter, her arms crossed over her chest, and suddenly Jesse was hurled back in time.

He was watching his big sister talk on the phone, the cord wrapped up her arm as she leaned against that counter. She was talking to Mom, leaning against that counter. Fighting with Dad, helping Jesse with his homework.

---