The Friends We Keep

Makayla walked into the kitchen. “Is it true? Is he gone?”


“He is. I’m sorry, Makayla. He wants to give up his rights to the baby.”

The teen started to cry again. Gabby rose and held out her arms as the girl walked to her. Gabby hugged her tight, then felt the twins holding on, as well.

While the news wasn’t a surprise, it still sucked. Having Boyd out of the picture made things both better and worse. They didn’t have to include him or his family in any decisions they made, but Makayla was hurt. With things bad with Andrew right now, Gabby felt stressed and hopeless.

“We’ll figure it out,” she promised, not sure what that meant.

“He said he loved me,” Makayla repeated. “He said we’d be together always. How can he walk away from me and our baby?”

Gabby heard the garage door open. The twins released her and ran toward the door.

“Daddy! Daddy!”

She expected Makayla to follow in their footsteps, but Makayla stayed where she was. Gabby heard the door open and the girls greeting their father.

“Daddy! Makayla’s crying and Mommy’s mad and she screamed and we were scared.”

Gabby winced. She knew it wasn’t on purpose, but they’d made it sound like she’d been the one screaming, not the teen. Given how things were between her and Andrew, she could only guess how bad this was all going to go.

She braced herself for the accusations and waited for him to walk into the kitchen.

Kenzie came first, followed by her sister, then Andrew. He looked at her holding his daughter, but his expression was unreadable.

“What happened?”

Gabby hesitated, thinking Makayla would want to tell him herself, but she only hung on, her head buried in Gabby’s shoulder.

“It’s Boyd,” Gabby told him. “His parents sent him to a prep school back East. He’s not coming back anytime soon.”

“Is there going to be a baby?” Kennedy asked.

Gabby held in a groan. Because the twins didn’t know their sister was pregnant. She and Andrew had been putting off telling them. But Makayla had said that Boyd didn’t want her or the baby, which meant— Talk about a hell of a day.

The teen looked at her dad. “I don’t understand! He said he loved me.”

Andrew held out his arms. Makayla stepped into his embrace and began to cry again. Gabby took the twins into the family room and sat them on the sofa. They were both wide-eyed.

“Your sister’s boyfriend moved away. She was in love with him, so she’s very, very sad.”

“Is he coming back?” Kenzie asked.

“Not for a long time.”

“Will she have a new boyfriend?” Kennedy wanted to know.

“Not for a while. Her heart has to heal.”

“Like when I skin my knee?”

“A little like that.” Gabby thought about mentioning the baby, but figured she would wait. If the twins brought it up again they would have to talk, but with a little luck they would forget. At least for a while. One crisis at a time was so much easier.

Three hours later, calm had been somewhat restored. The twins and Makayla were in bed, the dinner dishes done and a bottle of wine consumed. Gabby appreciated the fuzziness the alcohol facilitated because right now she didn’t want to have to think about anything. Certainly not what was going to happen over the next few months.

She sat alone in the family room, her feet tucked under her on the sofa. Andrew had retreated to his office to answer a few work emails. She half expected him to simply go up to bed. It wasn’t as if they were actually talking. But he walked in exactly when he’d promised and sat in one of the chairs.

“I hate that little shit,” he grumbled. “How could he have done this?”

“You know it was his parents’ decision.”

“Maybe, but I doubt he put up much of a fight. He could have told her he was leaving. She’s devastated.”

“She is. Most first loves end badly, but no one deserves this.”

“Thanks for being there for her.” Andrew held up a hand. “I mean that, Gabby. She was in terrible shape and you were totally there for her. I’m not saying you wouldn’t have been, I’m just—” He cleared his throat. “I’m grateful you supported her. That’s what I really mean. Whatever you think of me, I trust you to take care of her.”

An olive branch, she thought in surprise. “Thank you for that.”

He gave her a brief smile. “We’ve got to stick together through this. We’re going to have to be there for her. It might even be easier without Boyd.”

“That’s what I thought. We don’t have to listen to him or his parents. God knows what kind of advice Lisa would have given.”

He leaned toward her. “I know. But now Makayla feels abandoned and scared.”

Gabby wasn’t sure that was a bad thing. Maybe now she would consider adoption. But she would have to tread carefully when broaching the subject.

“I need to ask you something,” he said.

She waited expectantly.

“Are you leaving me?”

The question left her openmouthed. “What? Leaving, as in leaving our marriage?”