Stealing Harper (Taking Chances #1.5)(52)

“Harper’s pregnant.”

He snorted. “Know that. And I know the baby is yours.”

“I’m sorry you had to find out the way you did; I should have come to you first.”

“Not really necessary since I’ve known. She told me the day she found out.”

I blinked quickly. “So you knew all that time, and you never said anything to me?”

“Wasn’t my place to tell you, Chase, it’s your baby. Harper needed to be the one to tell you.”

“No, not that.” I shook my head and took a deep breath, “I—I hated that you had her. I hated that I’d pushed her away in the beginning and told you she was available. And I just acted like a dick to you because of it. I started fights with you just because I wanted a chance to hit you. And you knew . . . for what? Two months? And you never did anything?”

“Three months.”

“What?”

He turned to look at me, his eyes glassy. “I knew for three months. As soon as I came back from Arizona, I knew. You couldn’t go more than a day without trying to start shit, and I come back and you won’t even say a word to me and look like you’re dead . . . and she couldn’t stop looking at that ring you gave her. I didn’t know she was pregnant yet, but I knew I’d already lost her.”

My gut churned with guilt. “And you did nothing?”

“What, Chase? What could I have done to make things different than how they were? She was in love with you, too. You’d already slept with her. She was already pregnant! I couldn’t f*cking change anything. I couldn’t change the way she felt for you! So what’s the point of beating the shit out of you when it would change nothing?”

I watched as the tears rolled down his face, and, for the first time since all of this started, I felt sick. All I’d wanted was her, and I never considered how that would hurt my brother. All I cared about was how I felt like I was dying without her. “I’m sorry.”

“You were like a brother to me.” Before I could respond, he turned to glare at me again. “But I’m sure you can understand why I’m saying we’re done.”

Trying to swallow past the lump in my throat, I nodded and took a step back when he turned his Jeep on.

“Chase.” He cleared his throat and shook his head once. “That girl means everything to me. Which means her baby does, too. I will never do to you what you did to Harper and me. But know this. If you do not take care of them, and cherish them . . . I will not hesitate again to beat the living shit out of you. You get me?”

“I got you. I love them, I’ll always take care of them.”

With a hard nod, he threw his Jeep into drive and took off.





Chapter Twelve



“YOU GOT EVERYTHING ready for today?” Brad asked as he jumped up onto the counter and brought Sarah between his legs.

“Pretty sure.” I took the last bite of my apple and threw the core into the trash. “Called the dealership, called the B&B . . . everything should be good to go.”

“Harper’s gonna love today, Chase.” Sarah said with a wide smile on her face. “So sweet of you to do all this for her. But she’s going to think you’re gonna propose with how the day is set up!”

I grinned. “I already know when I’m going to propose, and it’s not today.”

“When?” Her eyes brightened, and she bounced up on her toes a few times.

“You’ll see.” I shrugged and caught the bottle of water she threw at me. “I’m not telling anyone, it’s a surprise.”

“Whatever. So you’re going to find out if it’s a boy or a girl today?”

“Guess so, she’s due October 4, so she’s sixteen weeks today, and her doctor said we should be able to . . . but I already know—” I broke off, and the massive grin I’d been sporting fell as Brandon walked into the kitchen.

“It’s not like I don’t know what’s going on,” he said without looking at anyone as he grabbed a bottle of Gatorade and two bottles of water. “You don’t have to stop talking because of me.”

Brad’s eyes bounced back and forth between the two of us, and Sarah was covering her mouth while she slowly shook her head, her eyes full of pity as she watched Brandon.

After he’d grabbed a couple of protein bars and put everything in his bag, he finally looked back at us, his gaze resting on me. “Or maybe you do.” Without another word, he left the kitchen, and Brad hung his head.

I pushed away from the counter and followed after him. “Brother—”

“I thought we’d already decided we weren’t that, either.”

Grabbing his shoulder, I stopped him before he could reach the door. “Look, I’m sorry! I’m sorry I did this to you.”

He turned to look at me, his brow raised high. “You’re sorry. So, what . . . we go back to being cool again?”

“I don’t know, man. But we can’t do this.”

“And why can’t we? You couldn’t stand to let me have one normal day with her. Have I done anything to you since she and I broke up?” He paused, but I didn’t respond. “No. I haven’t. You dealt with it by being an ass, so let me deal with this my way. And my way doesn’t include acting like you didn’t steal my girl from me.”