He cupped her jaw and lifted her face. “And the other part of you?”

“Loves it,” she whispered.

He stilled for a beat and then cuddled her back into him. “Same.”

After a wow kiss, during which she nearly climbed him like a jungle gym, she pulled back. “I need to go back in there, don’t I?”

Gaze solemn, he nodded, and together they reentered the kitchen.

Gavin was eating out of a gallon ice cream container with a wooden spoon. Winnie had been pacing, but when she saw Piper, she slid down the cabinets and sat on the floor, bending her legs, putting her forehead to her knees.

Cam glanced at Piper, and then without giving away a single thought or clue as to what the actual hell was going on, he crouched at Winnie’s side, balanced on the balls of his feet. “Tell her, Winnie. She deserves to know.”

“I don’t think I can do this,” Winnie whispered, and although Piper had no idea what “this” was exactly, it almost seemed like Winnie was saying everything, which was heartbreaking.

As was the way that Cam wrapped an arm around her sister and she buried her face in his shoulder, taking strength from him.

Something Piper knew a little bit about.

“It’s not fair to her,” Cam murmured. “You need to tell her.”

Piper agreed, even though she wasn’t sure she was strong enough for another hit. But she managed to walk closer on wobbly legs.

Gavin silently offered her the ice cream.

She shook her head, eyes on Winnie and Cam. “Tell me.”

“Wait,” Gavin said. “Would you prefer a shot of vodka? Because probably, you don’t want to do this without a sugar or alcohol rush. If not for you, then do it for me.”

Piper watched as Cam kept his gaze on her sister until she nodded. Then he rose to his full height and turned to Piper. Reaching out, he squeezed her hand, but she pulled away. She didn’t know why.

Okay, she did know why. Whatever the hell was coming, he knew about it.

And she didn’t. “What is it, Winnie? What’s happened? Just tell me.”

Her sister sighed and lifted her head, eyes wet. “I . . . got something in the mail today. A check. It’s from Rowan’s life insurance policy, the one none of us knew he had. It’s a hundred thousand dollars.”

“Wow. Okay,” she said, seriously confused. “Why did the check come here? That’s probably just a post office delivery mistake, it happens all the time. You can give it to Emmitt.”

Winnie shook her head, her eyes overflowing. “The check’s written to me. I was his beneficiary. I didn’t know he’d done that—” She pressed a hand to her mouth. “He must have done it when he found out I was pregnant.”