Page 131 of Well Played

Arielle, the woman he’d hooked up with back in Colorado, had called him out of the blue to tell him she’d gotten pregnant from their one night together. Tanner had been freaking out, and I’d done my best to calm him down and assure him that even the worst-case scenario—that the baby was indeed his—wouldn’t be the end of the world.

I’d promised him he’d grow to love the kid just as much as he loved Alex. He’d asked me not to tell anyone until he could confirm that her claim was legit. As much as it had been a nightmare, the fact that he’d turned to me in his darkest hour proved our bond was still there. That night had been a turning point.

Tanner ended up flying to Denver to arrange for a gestational paternity test, which confirmed that he was indeed the father of Arielle’s baby. He’d stayed with me at my house there during that trip, and also a few times after that—whenever he’d come to visit Arielle and accompany her to appointments. The following June, my nephew, Eli James Miller, was born. Even after months of mentally preparing, my brother still didn’t seem to know what had hit him. He’d moved to Beaufort to be closer to Alex, and now he had another son across the country to look after. It was the craziest twist of fate and proof of life’s unpredictability.

During one of his trips to see the baby, he and Arielle had decided to start dating to see where their relationship might go. It had started for the sake of their son, but over time, they fell for each other. Arielle agreed to move to South Carolina, which meant a lot to my brother. I couldn’t tell you whether Tanner would remain faithful to Arielle. He’d yet to pop the question. But I could only hope that at some point, he’d grow up and settle down for good without messing things up.

Tanner lifted Eli out of the highchair. “Well, it’s been nice, Millers, but this guy here needs a diaper change. And the bathroom here sucks, so…”

I chuckled. I’d never gotten a chance to witness my brother as father to a baby since I wasn’t around when Alex was small. It cracked me up to think of him changing diapers.

“Say hi to Arielle,” I told him.

“I will. She wants to have you guys over soon.”

“Anytime. I’ll send you my schedule.”

“Cool.” He looked over at Alex. “I’ll pick you up Friday, buddy.”

Alex spent every other weekend at Tanner’s and loved hanging out with his little brother.

“Bye, Dad.”

When Alex and I returned to The Palm, I found Presley in the bedroom we planned to turn into a nursery. My woman was four months pregnant with our first child, and I was over-the-moon excited. Presley and I had gotten married here at The Palm this past summer during the off-season. It was an intimate ceremony with just our closest friends and family—and yes, that had included Tanner. Presley and I danced to one of Gramps’s old recordings for our first song and swapped wedding cake for a tower of peach cobbler. It was the perfect day, without a cloud in the sky.

“What are you up to?” I said as I wrapped my arms around her in the nearly empty bedroom.

“I’ve just been putting some paint swatches up against the wall, trying to decide on a neutral color. It would be easier if we knew the gender, though.”

“My point exactly.” I glared at her teasingly.

We’d argued a lot about this lately because I wanted so badly to know what we were having, while Presley hadn’t been able to decide if she wanted to find out. She kept going back and forth between leaving it as a surprise or throwing a gender-reveal party.

“I think I still want it to be a surprise,” she said.

I kissed her forehead. “Then a surprise it will be.”

At the last ultrasound, the technician had written the gender down on a folded piece of paper that Presley had tucked away in an empty cookie jar in the kitchen, both of us vowing not to touch it until we’d made a firm decision.

“How did lunch go?” she asked.

“It was good. Eli is getting so big.”

“He must be.”

“They want to have us over soon,” I said.

“Wow. Okay.” She nodded. “That’ll be good, I guess. For Alex, especially, you know?”

“Yup.” I squeezed her tighter. “I missed you today.”

She sighed into my shoulder, and when she looked up at me, I sensed worry in her eyes.

“Are you okay?” I asked.

“Honestly, I’ve been a little anxious lately.”

“About what?”

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