“It’s a place where children who don’t have a family to take care of them can live,” Brooke said.
“Ohh,” Hailey said, looking back and forth between her mother and aunt, and Natalie gave Brooke the same apologetic look as she had earlier.
Brooke stood up. “The cake was so good,” she said to Hailey and Henry, even though she’d only taken one bite. “You and your mom did a great job.” Then she looked at Natalie and Kyle. “Thank you so much for having me, but I really am exhausted. I should head home.”
Natalie set down her untouched dessert. This was not how she’d hoped the evening would end. “Are you sure?” Brooke gave a tight-lipped nod. “Okay,” Natalie said. “Let me walk you out.”
“Time for bed, you two,” Kyle said. “It’s way past your bedtime.”
“Noooo,” Hailey said, giving her legs a little kick, and Henry shook his head against his father’s bicep, smearing it with raspberry sauce.
“Come on, kiddos,” Kyle said, standing up and lifting a reluctant Henry from the couch. He looked over at Brooke and smiled. “I’m sure we’ll get a chance to see each other again, soon.”
Brooke nodded again, and Natalie accompanied her to the front door. She grabbed her older sister’s coat and then her own, insisting on walking with her to her car.
“I’m sorry if Kyle said anything to upset you,” Natalie said as they walked together in the cool evening air. They stood next to the driver’s side door, lit only by the warm glow of the porch light and the streetlamp on the corner. “He’s a little protective, and it just came out wrong.”
“It’s okay,” Brooke said, but her voice broke on the words and she looked away, down the dark street.
Natalie reached out a hesitant hand and placed it on Brooke’s forearm. “Oh, no. I’m going to kill him for making you feel like this.”
Brooke sniffed and shook her head. “It’s not him, really,” she said, looking at Natalie with tears glossing her violet eyes. “It’s me. I just . . . it’s just . . . I’m not sure I fit in here.”
“Of course you do,” Natalie said. “This is new to all of us. It’s going to take some time to adjust, but I promise, I want you to be here. I want to get to know you better.” She swallowed hard, fighting back her own tears. “I always wanted a sister. And now I have one.”
Brooke’s shoulders shook, and she pressed a hand to her mouth. Tears rolled down her cheeks. “I’ve never had a family,” she said after she’d dropped her arm back to her side. “I don’t know how to do any of this. I don’t know how I’m going to do anything.”
Natalie tilted her head and stitched together her brows. There was a distinct, desperate edge to her sister’s words. “How you’re going to do what?” she asked. “Be my sister? We just . . . spend time together. We just get to know each other.”
“No,” Brooke said. “You don’t understand. Seeing you tonight . . . seeing Hailey and Henry and Kyle, just reminded me how little I know . . . how I’m not . . . I can’t . . .” She closed her eyes and began to sob quietly, and Natalie couldn’t help herself, she pulled Brooke into her arms. She rubbed a circle on her sister’s back, the same way she did for her children when they were upset.
“Hey,” Natalie murmured, unsure exactly what it was about the night that had taken Brooke to this fragile point. “Everything’s going to be fine.”
“No,” Brooke said again, breathing into Natalie’s shoulder. “It’s not. I don’t know what the hell I’m doing. I might have made the worst decision of my life.”
Natalie pulled back but kept her hands on Brooke’s arms. “What decision? Coming here? Seeing me? Or is it something else?” She saw the fear in her sister’s eyes, the tight muscles along her jaw. Whatever her sister was dealing with, it was big, and she was terrified. “It’s okay,” Natalie said. “You can tell me. I promise, I won’t judge. I just want to help. Please. Let me help.”
She watched Brooke glance off to the side and then down to the ground, as though she were uncertain what to do next. She seemed so small, so exposed, with her guard let down. She reminded Natalie of Hailey when her daughter’s feelings were hurt, needing comfort. Needing reassurance. Needing to know she wasn’t alone.
“I’m pregnant,” Brooke finally whispered. “Ryan . . . my ex . . . is getting a divorce, but he’s still married. He wants me to get rid of it and I basically told him to screw off.”
Natalie was quiet a moment, letting this news sink in, Brooke’s fatigue, refusal of wine, and her likely hormone-spurred tears suddenly making perfect sense. When Natalie was pregnant, she could cry over a burnt piece of toast. “What do you want?” she asked Brooke, who looked at her with wide, glassy eyes.
“I want to keep it,” Brooke said after a moment. “I want to try and be the kind of mother I never had.”
Natalie smiled, sensing this wasn’t a decision her sister had come to lightly. “I’m so happy for you,” she said. “Please, will you come back inside? We can talk. Just you and me.”
When Brooke finally nodded, Natalie hugged her again. And this time, she wasn’t so quick to let her go.