A few days later, Gavin worked until late afternoon and then went for a run. He went hard around the lake, until his legs were quivery and rubbery, and then sat on the rocks facing the water, watching a thunderstorm move in. A raindrop hit him and then another. He didn’t care. He knew Piper still harbored nightmares in storms like this and he hated that for her. But he wasn’t afraid of storms.

He was afraid of loss.

And now that he’d looked into CJ’s eyes and seen the same sense of loss, loss he’d caused . . . Damn. He’d thought he’d created a shield to protect himself, that he’d be bullet-proof to more pain. But the truth was, life was fucking full of pain.

Feeling sorry for himself, he walked back in the rain, showered, and then made breakfast for dinner. And since he hadn’t figured out how to make up with CJ, and Piper was still at work, it was just him and Winnie. And speaking of his pregnant sister, her little baby bump arrived before she did as she came into the kitchen. She had a toolbelt slung around her hips just below her growing tummy, walking and watching a YouTube video on how to repair drywall at the same time.

“Yum,” she said, propping her phone up on the napkin holder, the one made of popsicle sticks, which they’d been using since Winnie had made it in kindergarten for Piper. She then began to pour syrup all over the waffles.

Gavin took the syrup from her.

“Hey! The Bean loves syrup.”

“Does the Bean love diabetes?”

“The doc says I’m fine, although my jeans are starting to disagree.” She ate for a few minutes, putting away a shocking amount of food. Finally sated, she leaned back, hands on her belly. “The place is looking good, right?”

“Really good.”

“So what’s our next step?”

“You keep growing a baby.”

“Yes, but I really want to keep helping around here too,” she said.

“You’re not exactly quick on your feet right now.”

Her eyes narrowed. “Are you saying I’m slow?”

“No,” he said carefully. “You’re just . . . slower than you used to be.”

“And now I’m fat?”

Gavin sighed. “You know, I’m starting to understand everything we ever put Piper through.”

She grimaced, and he had to laugh. “Just wait until the Bean pulls even a fraction of the shit you’ve pulled.” He stood. “I’m going back to work, I’m planning on finishing up the business plan this week.”

“Which we’ll use to convince Piper to start up the B and B, right?”

“Right,” he said, and hoped that was even possible. It wouldn’t be easy. “She still wants to go back to school.”

“I know.”

“She deserves that, Win. So much.”