Page 88 of Forever After All

Colt’s eyes widened, and he mouthed “Oh.”

Jess took her plate to the dump tray and headed for the door in the back of the dining hall leading to the dance hall.

Hadley whistled loudly, turning everyone’s heads. “Lincoln North, get your broody behind to the dance hall.”

Everyone chuckled as Linc stood in the doorway. He was probably contemplating how far he could get before Hadley caught him.

“Now!” she said, pointing toward the other door.

Jess found a seat in the dance hall. Hadley had gone all out for the planning meeting. The chairs were placed in rows in front of a white board on an easel.

Linc took the seat beside Jess but didn’t say anything as Hadley went over the dos and don’ts of the combined shower for Jameson, Ava, Colt, and Remi. They’d all decided to move up the timeline for the shower, since Ava had been put on bedrest and was now considered high risk.

“Is everyone clear on the expectations and duties?” Hadley asked.

“Yes, and now I’m hungry again,” Brett said as he stood and headed back toward the dining hall.

Linc stretched his legs out beside Jess. “I’m headed to the pack storage room. You want a ride if you’re headed to the barn?”

Jess stood and stretched her back. “Sure, thanks.”

Maybe things weren’t changing, but the urgency she’d been feeling lately was only heightened by Linc’s confession. It was one thing to assume he was okay, but now that she’d had a glimpse of his internal struggles, she couldn’t just ignore it.

She followed Linc to his truck and got in. They’d driven the stretch from the dining hall to the barn dozens of times without speaking a single word. This ride wasn’t any different, until he parked at the stables.

Instead of getting out, he shifted into park and sat there. “I don’t have to go, do I?”

“To the baby shower? You definitely do. If I have to go, you’d better be there.”

Linc chuckled. “Maybe it won’t be so bad knowing I’m not the only one suffering.”

“And you’ll have another wallflower to hang out with.”

Thankfully, a baby shower wasn’t a social event where people were expected to show up with a date. If Linc asked her to go to another event like Ridge and Cheyenne’s wedding, she’d have to tell him no.

They weren’t on the same paths, and acting like they were would only make things harder later.

Linc grabbed his hat off the dash. “Brett is going to pester me to death if I go.”

“I don’t want to hear your complaining. He’s my brother, which means he bothers me ten times more than you.”

Linc looked out the front window of the truck. “Hmm. Guess it’s a good thing I don’t have to worry about that.”

“You don’t have siblings?” Jess asked.

“One that I know of, but probably more.”

The answer had come so easily. Maybe Linc shared information better in small doses.

“Really?”

“We were separated in the foster system. Last I heard, he was in jail in Atlanta.” Linc clicked his tongue behind his teeth. “It runs in the family.”

“You’re not like that.”

Linc’s jaw tightened, and he didn’t agree with her or deny it.

“You might end up with a secret sister like I did. I have to say, Emerson is not the sister I would have ever expected.”

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