Page 42 of Can't Win 'Em All
I swallowed hard. “Your sister and I got drunk and made a mistake,” I insisted. “Now we’re going to have to be parents together. She’s insistent that we be friends and nothing more. She believes it will be a healthier environment for the baby.”
“And what do you believe?”
“I believe that she’s smarter than me and I should do what she says.”
That nudged a small smile out of Zach. He was stern when he straightened, however. “Don’t hurt my sister. I know I don’t have any right to tell you what to do here because … well … I did the exact opposite of what I said I was going to do with your sister. This is different, though.”
“It’s way different,” I agreed.
“If you need help with something, tell me,” Zach urged. “If you have doubts, don’t lay them on Ruby. I’ll be your sounding board. She’s dealing with enough, especially now that my father is acting like a moron. I mean … did you see him?”
“You mean Pop-Pop?” I had to hold back a laugh. Then I remembered the way he’d barreled into Ruby’s room a few days before. “He seems insistent that Ruby is the one who is somehow going to help him take back the leadership reins. Do you have any idea why he would believe that?”
Zach shook his head. “No, but I’m not surprised. As the youngest girl, Ruby has always been the people pleaser in the group. It’s possible he believes she’s softer than the rest of us.”
“And being pregnant makes her vulnerable,” I said.
“I need you to watch her.” Zach was serious now. “If he tries to take advantage of her when she’s hopped up on hormones, I’m going to kill him.”
“Do you think that’s his move?”
“I don’t know. It’s impossible to tell with him. Whenever I think he can’t get any smarmier, he proves me wrong. It’s just … I don’t want to smother Ruby. She’s going to have to settle into things. You’re going to be spending a lot of time with her because I’m assuming you’ll be going to all the doctors’ appointments and helping her get the nursery ready.”
I nodded without hesitation. Ruby and I hadn’t talked about the nursery thing, but it was something I wanted to be involved in. “That’s the plan.”
“Just watch out for my father. If he thinks he can bully Ruby in her present condition, he won’t hesitate to do just that.”
“I’ll watch him.” I cracked my neck. “I’ll hurt him if he hurts her.”
“He’s up to something. We have to figure out what it is. We have to protect Ruby at the same time.”
“I’m onboard for that.”
“Good.” Zach planted his hands on his hips and ran his tongue over his lips. “I kind of feel like I should punch you for knocking up my sister. I mean … isn’t that in the friendship rule book somewhere?”
I smirked. “I kind of felt like I should punch you when I found out you were sleeping with my sister. What if we just call it a trade-off?”
“Fine, but I’m only agreeing because you’re bigger than me and the nature of your job suggests you can throw a better punch.”
I was amused despite myself. “Does this mean we’re okay?” I was honestly worried that our friendship would take a hit, and it was the last thing I wanted.
“We’re okay. I’ll probably complain about you to your sister for a few days—I’m sure she has some complaints too—and then I’ll be over it.”
“Livvie has already lodged her complaints with me. She did it the day Ruby found out she was pregnant.”
Confusion knit Zach’s eyebrows together. “What?”
I recognized my mistake when it was too late to take it back. “Oh, um … she somehow knew it was me. She said she saw us leaving the engagement party together. I begged her not to tell you,” I added quickly, although that wasn’t entirely true. “She agreed, but only because she wanted to give me a few days to get my head together and she was afraid you would scramble my brain with your fist.”
Zach’s eyes narrowed. “She knew and didn’t tell me?”
The last thing I wanted was to cause problems in my sister’s marriage. “Dude, don’t give her grief over it. I was a mess. She was angry—like really, really angry—but she agreed to not say anything for a few days. If I didn’t get it together and tell you myself, she was going to handle it for me.”
Zach didn’t look convinced. He also wasn’t as angry as I expected. “It’s fine.” He smiled. “Don’t worry about it.”
“Are you going to fight with her?” I was legitimately afraid.
“I’m going to fake fight with her so she offers a massage and then I’m going to make up with her.” He waggled his eyebrows. “I like to fake fight with your sister. She has good energy when she’s annoyed.”
