The After of Us (Judge Me Not #4)(14)

“The kids will want to play with me?” she asks, worried. “Oh, Daddy, I hope they like me.”

Lily sounds so forlorn that something in me swells. I don’t know how to explain it, but it’s like my daughter’s happiness is suddenly tied to my happiness. Weird. All I know is I really want Lily to feel accepted.

“I’m sure Jack and Sarah will like you just fine,” I assure her, hoping that’ll be true.

We reach the farmhouse just then, and I tamp down my own apprehension.

Here goes nothing…

The house looks the same as always, a three-story creamy white frame structure with slate-blue shutters, situated on acres and acres of land. There’s a detached garage with an apartment above it across from the house, at the far end of the long driveway, and that’s where I park the rental car.

“We here?” Lily wants to know.

I take a deep breath, exhale slowly. “Yeah, we’re here.”

The moment of truth has arrived. There’s no more hiding from Chase why I’m really in Ohio.

I figure I probably have about five more minutes of peace before all hell breaks loose.

Or maybe less, seeing as Chase is already outside, walking over to the car, his gaze locked in on Lily.

Shit.





Will



“Hold up, I can explain,” I say to Chase as I slam the driver’s door shut behind me.

“Oh, you better,” he says.

Spinning away quickly, so I don’t have to face my brother’s penetrating steel-blue gaze, I open the back door and get to work on unbuckling Lily from her car seat.

Unfortunately, my fingers are shaky and I fumble with the straps, allowing Chase plenty of time to reach me.

He nudges me aside. “Here, I’ll get that.”

Mr. I’ve-Been-A-Father-For-Six-Years-and-I-Am-A-Pro-At-This has Lily out of the car seat in less than a minute.

“So, what’s your name, sweetheart?” Chase asks Lily as he lifts her into his arms. He turns and shoots me a look that conveys I have a lot of explaining to do.

When Chase sets Lily down on the ground, she peers up at him and says, “My name’s Lily.”

“Lily, huh? That’s a very pretty name.”

Chase sounds distracted, and I can see he is assessing. That platinum-blonde hair is a tip-off, for sure, but it’s the distinct green eye color that gives Lily away as being my child.

But if there was ever any doubt, it’s blown away like a dynamite blast when Lily tells Chase, “My daddy says there are little kids here. Can I go play with them now?”

Remaining eerily calm, even as his eyes meet mine, Chase says, “Daddy, huh? Well, your daddy is right. I have a son and daughter of my own. Their names are Jack and Sarah, and I’m sure they’d love to play with you.”

“Yay, yay!” Lily bounces up and down on her toes.

When we all turn to head over to the house, I notice Kay is out on the porch, watching our exchange. From the shocked look on her face, it’s clear she’s heard most of the conversation.

Chase takes Lily’s hand and starts over to the porch, but not before turning to me and pointing. “Stay here,” he tells me. “I have some questions for you.”

Oh, I bet he does.

I shrug. “Okay, bro.”

Kay takes Lily into the house, and Chase is back in no time at all. “Come on,” he says. “Let’s go someplace where we can talk privately.”

He gestures to the detached garage with the apartment upstairs. Kay lived there once, before she and Chase hooked up.

With a resigned sigh, knowing I’m in for an epic lecture, I follow Chase up the wooden steps on the side of the building.

When we step inside to the bright galley kitchen, I remark, “Not much has changed up here.”

The apartment was remodeled years ago by our father, and Chase has kept it up since. It’s a great little space, cozy and neutrally decorated. There are cool skylights in the ceiling, fashionable furnishings strewn about, and fresh-smelling Berber carpeting that appears to be fairly new.

“You put that in recently?” I ask, nodding to the carpeted floor.

Chase seems in no mood to talk remodeling. In fact, he gets right to the point. “So, that little girl, Lily, is your daughter?”

Sighing, I run my hands through my hair. “Yeah. Yeah, she is.”

“You sure, Will?” I give Chase a look, and he raises his hands. “I’m just looking out for you, baby bro.”

He is. That’s true, and I can’t be mad he has my best interest at heart.

“How long have you known?” Chase asks. “Not for long, clearly, seeing that I sure as hell don’t recall a little girl with blonde pigtails running around last weekend at your graduation ceremony.”

I have to smile at that image. It would’ve been a trip for all involved. And, yeah, I did put Lily’s hair in pigtails this morning before the flight. I looked up how to do it on Google and discovered it really wasn’t all that hard.

Chase sees me smiling and prods, “Will?”

“Oh, yeah, sorry, I was lost in thought for a sec.” I clear my throat. “To answer your question, I only found out about Lily, like, two days ago. Cassie is her mother, in case you’re wondering.”