Page 43 of Forever Mine

Ford clears his throat, and it’s obvious that he knows something’s up too. If it was any of us other brothers, we’d call them out on it, but you can’t do that with Austin. Nope; with him, you have to wait until you’re one on one. Otherwise, all you get is some kind of wisecrack from him.

Ford nods at me, basically letting me know that I’m up on dealing with Austin. He continues the meeting. I take my turn and go over the quarters revenue, profits, and margins. By the end of my time, everyone is basically yawning and ready to run out of here. When everyone is walking out, I ask Austin to hang back.

“What’s up, big brother?”

I point to the seat next to me, and he laughs. “Oh, is it that kind of talk? What am I in trouble for?”

I shake my head. “You’re not in trouble. I just want to talk to you.”

He falls down in the chair and leans on the table, his arms spread out. “Okay, talk.”

I lean back in my chair, debating on where to go with this. I know my brother, and if I say the wrong thing, he’ll clam up on me. “What’s going on with you?”

He scratches his chin. “Uh, nothing’s going on with me.”

“Bullshit.”

Austin’s face turns red, and he looks away from me. He was always the worst liar. “Nothing’s going on with me. I’m good.”

I cross my arms over my chest. “Where’s Ally been? She still dating that guy?”

He crosses his arms over his chest. “They broke up.”

I nod my head. “Well, that’s good, right?”

He nods, but his face is grim. “You’re not going to let me out of here until I talk to you, are you?”

I push my chair away from the table and block his path to the door. “Nope.”

He tilts his head and looks at me and then the door. “You know I could take you, right? If nothing else, on speed alone.”

I lean back, unfazed. “I’ll have you know I’ve been working out with Natalie. I’m stronger than you think. Plus, Huddy’s in the building. He’s probably out there blocking the door as we speak.”

Austin rolls his eyes at my antics, telling me that there really is something going on. Otherwise, he’d be running from here just to prove he could. “Look, just talk to me. I know there’s something going on with you. You can’t always keep things bottled up or hide behind a joke. I’m your big brother. Talk to me.”

He finally nods and blows out a breath. It’s like I can the see the relief on his face as he starts to talk. “Okay, fine. I’m going to marry Ally. She hasn’t agreed yet, but that’s my plan.”

I clap my hands together, excited. It’s no secret that Ally and Austin are meant to be together. They’ve been best friends for what seems like forever. We always thought they’d end up together. “What? That's great, Austin.”

He holds his hand up. “And we’re going to have a baby. She’s pregnant.”

I can’t help it. If maybe I’d had some warning, I wouldn’t react so badly, but it all is happening so fast. I’m shaking my head, stumped. “Pregnant? But you can’t—”

He cuts me off with a look. I don’t get to finish the sentence, but he knows exactly what I was going to say. Austin can’t father a child. There was an accident when he was younger, and the doctors told him that he would be unable to have children. My thoughts run rampant at what this all means, but before I can ask any more questions, Austin rolls himself toward me until he’s only a foot away. He doesn’t look happy; if anything, he looks intimidating. “I’m marrying Ally, and we’re having a child. He or she will be my child in every way that counts.” He takes a deep breath and continues, “I need you to have my back on this, Beau. I don’t want to hear a list of pros and cons, or to ask me if I’m doing the right thing. You know how I feel about Ally. I’m doing this.”

Searching my brother's brown eyes, I know exactly how important all this is to him. I know how he feels about Ally, even though he’s tried to hide it all this time. I stand up, pulling him with me. I pull him in for a fierce hug, and when I pull back, I have my hand wrapped around the base of his neck. “You know that no matter what you do, I have your back. I just want you to be happy. That’s all that matters to any of us.”

He nods and pats me on the shoulder. “I’m getting there. I can’t lose her, Beau. I just can’t.”

I pull him in for another hug. “Trust me, I understand that totally. I’m here for you. We all are, and if Ally needs anything, we got you.”

He slaps me on the chest as he pulls out of my arms. “Thanks, brother.” He inhales sharply. “Okay, enough of this mushy bullshit. Let’s get to work.”

He walks out of the conference room, and I instantly pick up my phone to call Nat. Since I got over my bullshit, I always want to talk to her. She’s my person. She answers on the third ring, breathless. “Hey, you!”

I stand up and go to the window to look out at the Blaze distillery on the hill. “Hey, you’re out of breath.”

“I just finished a class. What’s wrong?”

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