Page 45 of Just Another Chance

I squeeze the back of my neck. “There’s more.”

“I’m listening.”

“Addie was acting a little weird and secretive. She wouldn’t invite me up to her place and she always left my loft by like 6 or 7 in the evening. I started getting suspicious and it felt like she was hiding something. So, I went over to her place unexpectedly and found out her big secret.”

My sister’s dark eyes widen in anticipation.

“She has a two-year-old son.”

Sierra’s mouth drops. “Oh, wow! Guess that explains why she wasn’t spending the night. She has a kid to put to bed.”

I swallow down another drink of whiskey. “And he’s mine.”

I’ve never seen Sierra look so shocked. It’s almost comical. “You gotta be shittin’ me. Are you serious?”

“Yeah. I had to practically pry it out of her, but he’s mine. His name is Owen and he’s a great little kid from what I’ve seen.”

“You have a son. Oh, my God, Tanner, that’s huge. You’re a dad. Holy crap! I’m an aunt!”

“Yeah, you are.” I chuckle at her amazed expression.

“Why didn’t she tell you sooner? You said he’s two?”

“That’s exactly what I want to know. I mean, she said she was scared and didn’t want to corner me or force me to be a father, but I don’t know. This is where I need some of your stellar advice.”

“Oh, man. Let me think for a second because you just blew my mind with that juicy announcement.”

The waitress appears with our food and another round of drinks. As we start eating, Sierra taps a finger against the table.

“Well?” I finally ask.

“I’m putting myself in Addie’s shoes,” she says slowly and finishes chewing her food. “And if I just found out I was pregnant and then saw the love of my life kissing another woman, I’d be devastated, too. Plus, on top of that, her sister confirmed you wanted to break up.”

“And there’s something else, too. Dad offered to pay her to get out of my life.”

“What?” she exclaims in disgust. “Shit, Tanner. Just when I think he wasn’t as bad as everyone says, I hear stuff like that.” She shakes her head. “He was horrible.”

I wait for her to continue.

“I don’t think I can blame Addie for freaking out and running. I can’t imagine it was easy being all alone and pregnant in a new city. And moving back took even more courage because there was the very real possibility of running into you. Which clearly happened. Then having a kid on top of it all. I’d be scared shitless.”

“So, what’re you saying? You wouldn’t have told me either?”

“Not because I didn’t want to, but because if things were going really well between us, I’d be scared to death of ruining it. It’s a pretty big bomb to drop.”

“You don’t think I should be upset?”

She shakes her head. “You have every right to be upset, but don’t you dare walk away from her. She’s a single mom and she’s used to carrying everything on her shoulders. You need to understand that and then go make up with her.”

I consider her words and I think I’m finally beginning to make sense of Addie’s decision to remain quiet for so long.

Me being upset at first only means I care. And I do– so damn much. I can’t let Addie being scared mess things up between us. What we have is too damn good and special and now that there’s a child involved that makes it even more important to get our act together.

“I have a couple other thoughts, too,” Sierra says.

“What?”

“I get the feeling that maybe she didn’t want you to feel trapped.”

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