Seventeen
Rust orange, golden yellow and green rushed by the car window as Isaac drove up the wooded mountainside to his brother’s house. Meghan had been silent during the short drive, watching the colorful landscape whisk by the window. He let her have a moment. Hell, he needed a few himself.
She was pregnant. She was keeping the baby. He was going to be a father. The facts had finally sunk in, but dust from the atom bomb hadn’t completely settled yet.
She was going to be in his life forever. No takebacks. No temporary about it. Even if they never saw one another romantically again, he’d forever be the father of their child. She’d forever be their child’s mother. After foolishly believing he was in control of his life, he was witnessing parts of it careening off the edge of a cliff. He kept his eyes on the road so that he didn’t do the same with the car.
Max’s house came into view, the setting sun bathing the luxury cabin in a warm orange hue. At first Isaac had thought his brother crazy for moving from LA to the sticks, but after he’d visited Dunn, he understood why Max chose to settle here.
There was something inviting and homey about this town. Nature surrounded them on all sides, below and above. The changing seasons, from rainbow-colored wildflowers to pure white snow on the mountaintops, were majestic to behold. Dunn was a great place to raise a family.
Isaac hadn’t planned on raising a family anywhere, let alone in LA, but people did it all the time. At least, he assumed they did. He pictured moving to Dunn and cringed. As beautiful as this town was, he hadn’t planned on retiring this soon, either. He and Meghan would have to find a solution together. But first things first. They had to tell Kendall what had happened.
He parked in the driveway and rounded the car to let Meghan out. By the time he was on her side of the vehicle, she was already halfway up the walk. He caught her hand before she stepped onto the porch. No matter what happened inside, he was here for her. He gently squeezed her fingers and, as if she understood, she nodded. They walked up the steps of the front porch together.
“Oh my God!” Meghan shrieked, dropping his hand to cover her mouth.
A glass door separated them from the scene inside. A candlelit dinner. Flutes of champagne. Max on one knee, a ring held up in offering to Kendall.
“Oh my God,” Isaac echoed.
Then the four of them just...stared at each other in shock.
Meghan recovered first, throwing open the door while repeating, “Ohmygod! Oh my God!”
Isaac caught the door before it could shut in his face. He stepped inside behind her, nodding at his brother as Max stood from his kneel to take in the melee around him.
Kendall embraced her sister, laughing. Meghan offered an apology for interrupting and expressed how happy she was for them.
Isaac read Max’s expression clearly, and it was asking, What the hell are you doing here?
Long story.
Well, it better be good.
Don’t worry, brother. It is.
“What are you two doing here?” Kendall asked aloud. Meghan sobered, nodding at Isaac as they both sat down at the table.
“Um...” Meghan looked to him for help. He could read her expression, too, and it appeared to be asking, Line?
“Since you’re my agent,” Isaac said to Kendall.
“You’re here for a work matter?” Max boomed, a displeased line where his mouth used to be. There was beard and more beard. No lips to speak of.
“It’s bigger than that,” Isaac told him. Then to Kendall, “Gossip has a way of making it to you before me, and I don’t want you to be caught unawares.”
“Unawares of what?” Kendall’s eyes flicked to her sister and then back to him. “What happened?”
“As you know, Isaac and I have been...dating,” Meghan jumped in. “And living together.”
Kendall’s face scrunched. “Yeah. I know.”
“Well...we’ve also been doing other things couples do when they are living together. Alone. With ample access to the entire house.” Meghan nodded meaningfully.
“Yeah, I figured,” Kendall said with a low laugh. Then her smile dropped slowly, realization dawning in her eyes. “Oh God. Did you—Are you—”
Meghan nodded. “I’m afraid so.”
Kendall rested her hand on her forehead much like Isaac had done when he found out. Her engagement ring glinted in the candlelight, reminding him of what they’d interrupted.
“What the hell’s going on?” Max looked from Kendall to Meghan to Isaac.
“Meghan’s pregnant,” Isaac said. “With my baby.”
Max’s attention was solely on Isaac now. His brow darkened, his shoulders stiffened. Isaac mentally prepared for his brother to attempt to make good on the promise he’d made to crush Isaac into tiny pieces.
Instead, Max looked to Kendall and said something none of them expected. “You didn’t answer me.”
Kendall pulled her hand from her head. “Sorry?”
Max took her left hand in his and showed her the ring. “I ended my speech—the one about how much I love you and how I deserve to have you in my life every day—with a conclusion. I told you I never saw myself getting married again. And then I gave you this.” He thumbed the ring on her finger.
Kendall smiled. “You didn’t ask me a question, Max.”
“It was implied, California,” he muttered.
“You still have to ask.”