His sister’s subsequent capture and imprisonment, for a year, being the one thing that’d set him off the most.

But whatever he was hearing…

Oh, god.

Papers.

Was he just now getting divorce papers?

Those should’ve been delivered two days ago!

“No,” he said. “I haven’t been home to check. They were just sitting in the driveway waiting for me to return?” He closed his eyes and then, “Burn them.”

Burn them.

Certainly he couldn’t be talking about…

Bram hung up the phone, turned off the ringer, then slid the phone into his pocket.

“You know,” he drawled. “If you wanted to shred my heart, there wasn’t a better way to do it.”

“On that note,” Gary said. “I’ll go check on the OB.”

Gary left, and I looked at Bram like he’d grown a second head.

“What are you talking about?” I asked, feigning ignorance.

“Divorce papers,” he said. “Though I guess I can see how I would deserve it. I haven’t treated you well at all.”

I didn’t know what to say to that, so I didn’t.

He hadn’t treated me very well.

In fact, he’d treated me quite poorly.

But I’d kind of ruined his life.

I can see why he felt like he’d been trapped.

Trapped animals always lashed out.

Something came over his face, and before he could put voice to it, a frazzled looking older man rolled into the room. Along with Gary and an ultrasound machine.

“If your estimations are correct,” the doctor said without preamble, “then we should be able to do this over the belly and not transvaginally.”

I blinked as the doctor rolled over, flipped my shirt up, then said, “Lie back.”

I did, mostly because he was already squirting on the goo that would allow the ultrasound to see the baby better.

Gary hit the lights, and all of a sudden, I couldn’t breathe.

Because my baby was on the screen.

“Holy shit,” Bram breathed.

I looked over at him to see him absolutely transfixed with the screen. Our baby.

He looked like he’d been punched straight in the solar plexus.