Page 62 of Off Limits

“You let him leave.” There’s a deep annoyance in his tone.

“Chelsea doesn’t want to see him. She asked me to send him home.”

“Maybe I wasn’t done talking to him yet.” His voice is clipped and low, angry. I’m not sure if it’s at me or the situation. Glancing at the counter, I can see he’s gone from one beer to the next, two bottles in front him and one in his hand as he picks at the label.

Taking a deep breath and walking over to him, I prepare myself for him to fall into a worse mood. Brushing my fingers along his back, I slide into the barstool next to him, keeping my hand on his arm, hoping my touch will calm him and ground him a little.

“We need to talk.” I try to keep my voice level.

His head drops. “That’s never a good thing.”

“First, you need to promise me that you’re going to stayin this seatand not go storming upstairs or after Brendan.”

One of his eyebrows quirks up as he looks at me. “That bad?”

“In reality? No. To you? Maybe.”

He grumbles, “Get it over with.”

“Chelsea had a pregnancy scare.” I’m usually blunt. I like to rip off the Band-Aid instead of beating around the bush.

He turns and drops his head to my shoulder, hands moving to my upper thighs. “You’re joking.”

“I’m not.” He hasn’t moved except to wrap his hands around my waist, thumbs sliding into my belt loops. Even though Chelsea is in the house, I have zero concern she’s going to be coming downstairs anytime soon.

“Is she?”

“No. She thought she was, for a few days.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” There’s a hint of accusation in his tone that I don’t exactly appreciate but understand.

“I didn’t know. She didn’t tell me until just now. Said she thought I’d make her feel like it was okay because I’m calm and she wanted to feel stupid for a little bit.”

“Good, she was stupid.” His voice is rising. “And what was his deal? Why did they fight? Did he know about it beforehand?” He tilts his head up, hands still at my waist, voice loud. “Does she ever think about anything?”

“Lochlyn. Calm down. She feels bad enough. Lower your voice.” My voice is low as I try to draw his to my level.

“Lower my vo—" One look at me is all it takes for him to freeze. “Okay, fine. Can I go kill him now?” His voice is at a normal octave again.

“No. You don’t even know what happened.”

“Do I need to? My baby sister came home crying over the guy she’s with and then you tell me she had a pregnancy scare. What more do I need to know?” Angry Lochlyn is something I’ve seen before, but this is a situation where I’m not sure I can control his reaction like I usually can.

“She just needs time to cool down. He didn’t do anything except act like having kids was the worst possible thing in the world. He said he doesn’t even know if he wants kids someday.”

“She wants to have kids with that asshole?” He practically shouts it.

“Lower. Your. Voice. I’m not joking. We just got over a fight. Want to jump into another one already?” My tone is as forceful and stern as I can make it.

Noticeably clenching his jaw and digging his fingers into my hip a little, he sighs. “So, she’s upset because he doesn’t want kids?”

“I think she’s just upset because she doesn’t feel supported. She doesn’t feel likeifsomething were to happen, he’d be there for her. Or be happy. She’s not sure she does want kids with him, or to even stay with him for long enough to find out. But she wanted him to be supportive. I can’t blame her for that.”

Tightening his hands on my waist, he pulls me into his lap, resting his forehead against my temple and wrapping his arms around me. “I failed her,” he mumbles against my ear.

“Lochlyn, you arenother parent. You’re her brother, and you’re at college. Chelsea and I are basically orphans doing the best we can. She just missed a few pills.”

“I let her have sex in the first place.” His self-deprecation is a new side of him. But I will not let him feel bad about this.

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