“Winnie . . .” He searched for words to put meaning behind the emotion clogging his throat. “I lost time with my brother,” he finally said. “I don’t want to make the same mistake here. As far as I’m concerned, you and your baby are family.”

She seemed surprised but also relieved. “What will happen when you go back to work?”

“We’ll stay in contact,” he said. “I’ll still be there for you and the baby, however I’m needed.”

She looked torn between wanting to believe him and being utterly unable to do so. That was okay; Cam was used to proving himself.

Finally, Winnie sighed and squeezed his hand. “What you did for me, helping me get to the funeral, means more than you’ll ever know. Thanks for letting me say good-bye to him with you. But I absolve you of any further obligation. Really. It’s not your fault Rowan’s gone.”

Her honest grief hurt. Not that his grief wasn’t honest. It was, and that shit went soul deep, so much so that he wasn’t sure he could ever climb out. But his grief was tainted by guilt. So much fucking guilt. Because it was his fault Rowan was gone, and his alone. He hadn’t realized how much that would hurt, or how it would twist everything inside him, leaving him feeling lost and alone. He’d gladly give up everything to see Rowan again, to tell him how fucking proud of him he was for following his heart, for not letting circumstances dictate his direction in life. But he couldn’t. So he’d do this, watch over what Rowan couldn’t. “You shouldn’t keep this a secret from your siblings.”

“Gavin knows,” Winnie said.

“But not Piper.”

“Not yet, no.”

“Listen,” he said. “Take it from me, secrets like this tear families apart.”

“It’s . . . complicated.”

“Secrets always are.”

Winnie sighed. “She also doesn’t know I dropped out of college.”

“Why did you drop out?”

She shrugged. “I was never into it.”

He absorbed this for a beat, worried that the real reason was money. Rowan wouldn’t have wanted her to quit because of that. “Is it too late?” he asked. “Because I can help you with the costs.”

“It’s not about the money. I only went in the first place to make Piper happy. I hated it. I wanted to be back here. Having morning sickness meant a lot of lying on the bathroom floor thinking too much, but the truth is that staying in college isn’t practical. I couldn’t graduate before the baby came, so what’s the point? Plus, I really want do something with my hands. I want to be useful. And I’m going to do that from here. Somehow.”

“Are you sure? Because seriously, whatever you need—”