Pulling at the crisp gray shirt underneath his black suit, I drenched him with my tears, and he simply continued to comfort me, not saying a word. He knew me well enough to know I didn’t want to talk. Not yet. He was the only man in my life who always gave me exactly what I needed when I needed it. He had always been true and honest. He never had an ulterior motive. His love was pure and untainted.

“It’s about time you started acting like a human again,” he soothed, breaking the silence between us. He rocked me gently, running his fingers up and down my back. “You can’t keep pretending what’s been going on didn’t affect you, baby girl. It’s obvious it did. It’s okay to show your emotions once in a while. It’s okay to show you’re not impenetrable.”

I nodded slightly and clung to him as if holding him was the only way to keep my world together. He and Jenna had prodded me for an explanation about why I ran out on Tyler, but I didn’t know what to tell them. I couldn’t tell them the truth. Instead, I maintained that I wasn’t ready to talk about it, but that I found out he wasn’t the man I thought he was, which had a sliver of truth.

“How did you know I’d be here?” I pulled back and stared at his kind face, his blue eyes sparkling as he gazed at me with all the tenderness and understanding I needed from him at that moment.

“Call it my gut instinct. I went to the restaurant and Jenna said you had an appointment this morning, then never showed up afterwards. That doesn’t exactly sound like the Mackenzie we all know and love, so I had a feeling something must be wrong. I was on my way to the condo and noticed your car on the side of the road here.”

I wiped at my cheeks, taking a deep breath to settle my cries.

“Want to tell me what’s wrong?” he asked, almost guarded at how I would react.

“What isn’t wrong?” I scoffed. “I still go back and forth, boo,” I confessed, leaning my head on his shoulder. I picked up some shells in front of me and began tracing patterns in the warm sand. “Sometimes I feel like I’m losing my mind, that something in my brain snapped and I made it all up.” Lifting my gaze, I stared at the ocean waves, hoping they would calm me as they used to. “The only people who assured me I didn’t imagine any of it were you and Jenna. If I didn’t have you swearing it was real, that he was real, I probably would have checked myself into the loony bin at this point.” I glanced at him, seeing him studying my every move, almost as if he was ready for me to freak out at any second.

Returning my eyes to the sand in front of me, I softly asked, “Do you know I still go by his house every day?”

Biting his lip, he nodded. “I figured.”

“I don’t know why.” I shrugged, fighting back the new tears brimming in my eyes. “Part of me wants to think all of this has just been one giant nightmare, that I’ll wake up and everything will be like it used to be. What would you think if you were me? If, a week later, you decided to be the bigger person and try to talk things over, but you find someone completely different living in Tyler’s house, trying to convince you he’s lived there for years? It’s as if someone wants me to feel like I’m losing my mind. As if they want me to question whether any of it’s real. No matter how many times you and Jenna have told me it was real, I still had my doubts. My brain was yelling at me that it couldn’t be real. I had no physical proof it was. My heart didn’t want to believe it, though, and that’s been the only thing that’s kept me going. In my heart, I just knew it had to be real.” Meeting his gaze, I studied his gentle face, his eyes brimming with the same pain I felt.

Taking a deep breath, my voice quivered. “But there’s no doubt anymore.” I pulled the black-and-white image I had been staring at most of the day out of my purse and handed it to Brayden.

He glimpsed at the photo, then shot his wide eyes to me, questioning.

“You’re going to be an uncle, boo.” I covered my mouth, my breath catching at the words. Until that moment, it hadn’t sunk in. Even after the doctor confirmed what over a dozen pregnancy tests already had, I didn’t think it was real. Finally speaking those words surrounded me with the truth amidst a lifetime of lies.

Brayden’s expression momentarily grew grim before he replaced it with a cheerful smile I was certain was for my benefit. “Uncle Boo… I like the sound of that.” He pulled me to him once more and planted a soft kiss on my temple.

A thousand thoughts ran through my mind, the most pressing of which being how the hell I was going to afford this. Since most of my money was tied up in the restaurant, I had allowed my health insurance to lapse. The doctor visit itself was going to cost me a small fortune. I knew Brayden would offer to help, as he always did; however, at some point, I was going to have to find the man who had become a ghost…Tyler.

“Mack, I know you probably don’t want to, but you need to talk about what you’re going to do.” He released his hold on me, forcing me to stare into his eyes.

“What do you mean?”

“You know what I mean,” he insisted, raising his eyebrows at me once more. “He has a right to know. I’m assuming it’s his…”

I nodded. “But how am I supposed to tell him? It’s like he’s dropped off the face of the earth! His cell is disconnected, and so is Eli’s! Every time I’ve called his company’s office, I get nowhere! Hell, maybe I am losing my mind. Maybe I did imagine him. Maybe it’s someone else’s kid! Right now, I just…” My chin wavering, I squeaked out, “I’m barely holding it together here, Brayden.”

Tears began to stream down my face again. There was a hollow feeling in my chest as I struggled to come to terms with the reality that would soon be my life, that I was carrying the baby of a man who wounded me, then disappeared. I would be forced to stare into my baby’s eyes every day and be reminded of how stupid and naïve I had been.

“Shhh, baby girl,” Brayden soothed, comforting me in his embrace. He kissed the top of my head, brushing my hair back just like my mother used to all those years ago.

“I’m stuck and it’s all my fault.”

“Mack, baby, it takes two to tango. He’s just as responsible as you so don’t you dare put all the blame on your shoulders. He could have easily slipped on a rubber and you wouldn’t be faced with this.”

I shook my head. “I told him it was okay. I was so stupid and caught up in the moment. I wasn’t thinking straight. Now I’m knocked up, carrying the baby of a man I can’t even think about without breaking down.” I turned to him and stared into his eyes, finally allowing myself to voice my true emotions instead of bottling them up. “How am I supposed to get through this?”

“Mackenzie,” Brayden started, “you are one of the toughest females I’ve ever had the privilege of knowing. You have so much life, so much strength. You’ll get through this just like you’ve gotten through everything else over the past few years. With Jenna and me by your side.” Enclosing my hand in his, he gave me a sincere look. “You know, you have options and I will fully support you, no matter your decision.”

Taking a deep breath, I briefly closed my eyes. “I love how you’ll back me, no matter what.”

“Why wouldn’t I? I don’t have a vagina or uterus. I’m certainly not going to try to tell you what to do with yours.”

I giggled at Brayden’s words, thankful he always had a way to lighten the tension. “I know. As much as I hate the idea of having his baby, it’s also part of me.” I held my hand over my stomach. “I can’t… I’m keeping it. I’m sure there’s going to be moments down the road where I may regret this decision, especially when I’m trying to do all of this on my own–”

“You won’t be on your own,” Brayden interrupted. “In the past eight years, when have you ever had to do anything alone? I’ll be there. Hell, if I need to, I’ll move back into your condo and help out.”