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of the reason but we’ll never know.” Caden punched the bag,
“Why’d you do it?” “Sleep with her?” “Yeah.” “Have you seen
Harper? She’s hot as hell. And we were at a party and she came
on to me. What else was I supposed to do?” Caden shook his
head. “Look, I’m really sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you: you’re
my younger brother and I love you to death.” “...I know.” Cole
sighed, “Caden, I… about Harper… I…” Cole couldn’t find it in
himself to tell Caden he was in love with Harper. “You…?”
Caden prompted. Cole shook his head, “Nevermind.” “Spit it
out, Cole. It can’t be worse than having a kid with her.” Cole
looked away, “I’m in love with her.” Silence. Absolute silence.
Cole looked at Caden who was staring at him. Caden looked
down at his hands, “Yeah… I know.” “You know?” Cole wasn’t
expecting that, more like a punch to the face. Caden humorlessly
laughed, “The way you two were looking at each other when she
said gave birth. I tried to deny that look in my head but it was
painfully obvious you two were in love. I guess that was why I
was mad in the first place. Yeah, knowing you’re the father was
part of it but at least she’ll have a father and I’ll make a great
uncle. The worst part was the fact that I always knew she never
had feelings for me but I hoped maybe over time she’d start to
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like me, but then I saw the way her eyes lit up when you came
in, and… it was hard.” Cole nodded; his brother was handling
this better than he’d expected. Caden looked at him, “I love you
both and I want you both to be happy, and if that’s with each
other then I’ll just have to get over my feelings eventually.”
Cole smiled, “Thanks.” “But one thing: she’s underage.” Cole
groaned, “Yes, I know.” Caden walked over, “Good luck with
that.” “Do you want to come back to the hospital?” Caden
nodded, “Yeah. Let’s see my niece.”

Cole took Caden back to the hospital. They arrived just as

Paige’s mother was leaving with Paige. Chase and Conner had
already left, leaving their mother there. When he and Caden
walked in, Harper’s eyes filled with tears. Caden gave her a hug,
“I’ll be okay.” When he went over to his niece, Cole walked
over to Harper. She smiled at him and he couldn’t help but plant
a quick kiss on her lips. He pulled back only inches from her
face, “I’m proud of you.” She smiled and pulled him down for
another kiss. “I love you too,” she whispered against his lips.
His heart soared. “Get a room,” Caden said. Cole looked up and
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chuckled. Caden stayed for about 20 minutes then left Cole,

Harper, and Emerald alone.
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on the couch and her bag beside it on the floor. Cole gave her a
kiss, “Have a good day baby. Love you,” he said against her
lips. “Love you too.” She went to school. Cole watched Emerald
all day. He fed her milk that Harper pumped the previous
evening, changed her diapers, and put her down to nap. His
brothers teased him that Emerald already had him wrapped
around her finger; she did. After school, Harper came right over
and did any homework she had then went to sleep. Emerald kept
her up a good portion of the night. Cole stroked her cheek as he
watched her and Emerald sleep. He couldn’t remember a time
when he was happier. That evening, once Harper was up, she’d
play with Emerald or hang out with him, his brothers, or one of
their friends that came over. Cole dropped her off at home after
dinner. Once home, Harper got ready to bed, fed Emerald and
pumped some extra milk for the next day, then went to bed. That
was their routine Monday through Friday. On the weekends,
Cole would spend the day at Harper’s house playing video
games with Harvey or spending time with Harper and Emerald.
It just depended on how tired Harper was. This was a routine
Cole could get used to, and was getting used to until it all came
crashing down.
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