Worth the Fall (The McKinney Brothers, #1)(52)

He’d talked to her as much as he could, which hadn’t been much. As soon as he’d retuned from Raleigh, his platoon had left out for ten days of joint special ops training. Communication had been nil. He’d left her a message when he could, but hadn’t heard back. She was putting up walls and he didn’t blame her. Didn’t mean he was going to let her hide behind them.

“So, Matt, did you have a good time at the beach?” Lizzy asked.

He grabbed a piece of bread, ignoring his sister, hoping she’d move on and use her psychology skills on someone else.

“I ran into Barbara at the store,” his mom said. “She mentioned Rob was home Thursday.”

Barbara was his mom’s sister and, yeah, he’d gotten a message from Rob. Turned out Brittney was not the one after all. Big surprise.

Lizzy wasn’t letting it go. “Why didn’t you come home with Rob?”

“Well, Nosey Nellie, the condo was available and I was there. Figured I’d use it. What?”

His brothers Patrick and Andrew stared at him from across the table. Patrick was just two years younger than him, Andrew two years younger than Patrick. Both were married with children. Stephen, J.T., and himself were the only ones still single. J.T. wasn’t even old enough to drink and Stephen…Three years ago Stephen had come tragically close.

“Oh, nothing,” Patrick said. “I just find it interesting that someone who can’t sit still for more than five minutes decides to sit on the beach for a week. Alone.”

Matt gave Patrick his best poker face.

Beth eyed him suspiciously over a spoonful of mashed potatoes. “You have something to tell us, Matt?”

“Yes, please. Tell us everything,” Lizzy said dramatically. “You owe us for your general lack of gossip after years of listening to ours. Time to pay up, brother.”

Tony stopped eating. “Okay, let’s hear it.”

Matt looked up and found all eyes on him. He didn’t know what the hell had possessed him, and he was sure he’d regret it, but he laid his fork down and took a breath. “I met someone. At the beach, and I went to see her last weekend.”

They waited, Tony’s hand motioning for him to go on.

“She lives in Raleigh.” He paused, then decided to get it all out. “Her husband died six months ago. She has four children.” He started to take a bite, then stopped. “Oh, and she’s pregnant.”

His mom sucked up half the air in the room, so he added. “Not mine.” But it could be.

Jaws dropped around the table, a couple still filled with food, and the room went quiet so fast the walls probably thought they’d gone deaf.

Lizzy recovered first—no surprise. “Wow. That makes up for…a lot.”

Matt went back to eating, like he’d reported the weather. He’d be assaulted with his family’s version of the Spanish Inquisition in…five, four, three—

An explosion of voices and questions erupted. He instantly regretted opening himself up to this.

“I don’t even know what to say.” His mother looked baffled. “Where is her husband? Why is she pregnant?”

Did she not listen to anything I just said?

“All right.” His father sat back, his deep, booming voice overriding all others. “Why don’t you tell us about her, son?”

Anthony McKinney was a man who commanded respect just by being who he was. He was still Matt’s hero and the type of father he wanted to emulate. The rest of the family sat in silence as Matt spoke primarily to his dad.

It wasn’t his usual MO to share details about anything, especially women, but he wouldn’t deny what she was to him, what the kids were. And with that thought, the words just spilled out.

“Her name is Abby. She’s sweet and smart and funny.” With eyes that dance and sparkle when she laughs. “Jack is five and can’t catch a football to save his life, but we’re working on it. Gracie’s three. She’s got curls and dimples and can talk me into just about anything.” Even dressing up like a princess.

The more he talked, the harder it was to control the smile spreading across his face. “Charlie is two and a half and sticks to me like a tick. Annie’s almost seven and most of the time I’m not sure she likes me.”

Matt glanced at his mother, took in her less than happy expression.

“You move fast,” J.T. said, with irritating smirk. “Evidently so does she.”

That last bit was muttered into his glass, but Matt didn’t miss it. “What the hell did you say?” He wanted to jerk the little punk up by his shirt, but J.T. already looked remorseful.

His brother stared into his iced tea. “Nothing.”

Matt was close to all his siblings, and he loved his youngest brother, but the kid walked around with a growing chip on his shoulder Matt couldn’t figure out.

Matt pushed back in his chair. “I need some air.”

—

He stared out at his parents’ backyard, looking hard at the trees on the edge of the property and the small wooden structure. Lots of good times in that fort. Probably what had started his love of building.

The screen door creaked open behind him and he glanced back to see Beth, tall and willowy, with the same dark bob she’d had in high school.

Tony followed and stood next to him at the deck rail. “What are you thinking?”