I scoff to myself. Brooke might say that she’s over it, but we all know that’s the furthest from the truth. That girl is never going to be completely over what Maxen did to her.

“Finally,” Nate groans, though I know he’s thinking the same thing.

Seeing as though there’s going to be people coming from everywhere, I glance across at Kaylah. “Did you want to invite anyone over? Looks like it’s going to be a bit of a party.”

Kaylah’s eyes light with excitement and she sits up a little straighter before her walls come slamming down. She gently shakes her head as she slouches back into the couch. “Nah, I’m good.”

I let out a sigh as I realize that she was thinking about Henley. She’s still hurting and I don’t know how to make it go away, but the thought has me glancing across at Jackson with a heavy scowl, knowing he was the one who fucked this up. Maybe he needs to be the one to fix it.

I go to reach for Kaylah and give her a bit of support but Tora jumps in first. “All my girls will come. I’ll introduce you properly. You and Elle would get along so well.”

Kaylah’s eyes brighten with excitement and a strange feeling of adoration flutters through me. I’ve been waiting for this moment. The chicks in my grade are alright, but they’re not Tora, Brooke, Elle, Courtney, and Bry. Kaylah has told me that she’s met Elle a handful of times through Jackson, but they haven’t really had a chance to hit it off. Who knows? Maybe Jackson has been holding Elle back so Kaylah doesn’t let her know why she’s so angry with her brother.

I catch Tora’s eyes and give her a grateful smile before winking. ‘Thank you’ I mouth.

Tora rolls her eyes and I see a ‘fuck you’ on the end of her tongue when a baby’s screeching comes from inside. I drop my head in frustration. “For fuck’s sake,” I groan, getting up from the couch before looking down at Kaylah. “Don’t ever get pregnant.”

“Finally,” Jackson grunts as I walk away. “Something we can agree on.”

I make my way inside and grab the screaming baby. “What the hell do you want?” I groan, holding it to my chest and patting it’s back. I don’t know how I’m going to make it through the next two weeks with this thing. Maybe Jackson will take it home with him and I can be one of those part-time parents who only see their kid on Christmas and Birthdays.

I bounce the baby in my arms, willing it to calm. “I, uhh…I think she’s hungry. She might need her bottle.”

I turn around to find Jackson awkwardly standing in the opening of the den and I nod. That’s not such a bad idea. I grab the bag of supplies off the ground and make my way into the kitchen with Jackson trailing behind me.

I go to pass the baby to him but he shakes his head in distaste and grabs the bag from my fingers instead. He starts rifling through the bag for the bottle before glancing up and furrowing his brows. “Support her head,” he tells me.

“Her head is supported,” I snap back. “Where’s that bottle?”

Jackson huffs and I adjust the baby in my arms as he finally finds it. I get comfortable on the kitchen stool and he passes me the bottle before pulling out a diaper. “I think we should change her afterward. She hasn’t had a change in a while.”

“Yeah, we can’t forget to burp her this time. She gets angry when she has a sore tummy.”

“Shit, yeah. I forgot about that. Maybe she’ll like to play out in the sun once we’re done. We can set her up with a play mat or that rocker thing.”

“Holy shit,” Nate says from the backdoor, looking horrified at the sight before him while also extremely amused. “What the fuck did I just walk in on? It’s the Real Housewives of Broken Hill or something? Should I leave you three alone to be a family?”

“Shut up, man,” I scowl at him, grabbing a water bottle off the counter and launching it at him. “This shit ain’t easy.”

Nate narrowly avoids being hit in the head and catches the bottle before launching it straight back. Jackson steps in front of the bottle, letting it crash into his chest, protecting me and the baby from being hit while glaring at my brother. “Hey,” he demands. “That’s my kid. Be careful.”

Holy shit. Why does that make my heart feel so fucking warm? Anyone who protects my baby like that surely couldn’t be so bad. Have I had this wrong this whole time? Is everything everyone has been saying true? Is Jackson really a cool dude?

Nate raises a brow and watches in astonishment as I’m filled with a strange camaraderie towards this guy. I place a hand on Jackson’s shoulder and he turns around to look down at me. “Thank you,” I tell him from the deepest, darkest depths of my heart. “No one has ever looked out for my baby like that before.”

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