“You okay?” he asks.

“She’s having his baby.” The words are no easier to say after an hour of hearing them on repeat in my head.

Carter grabs my bourbon and takes a big swig, grimacing a little as he puts it back down. “The situation’s so fucked up. First of all, I can’t even wrap my brain around Shay getting involved with this guy to begin with, but then, get this—according to Teagan, she had a talk with him and they agreed he wouldn’t be part of the baby’s life. Who does that?”

I snap my head up. “She said that?”

“Apparently. Teagan said she didn’t want George involved, and he was uninterested.” He shakes his head. “Seriously, he’s just gonna have a kid out there and not even care?” Carter releases a humorless laugh at my arched brow. “Right. I guess you’d know something about that with your dad.”

“I never understood it either. My first thought when I found out Scarlett was pregnant was just to figure out the best way I could be a dad to the kid.”

“And then it turned out you weren’t Abi’s dad at all.”

“Don’t say that.” The words come out harsher than I intended, but I don’t care when his felt like a blow.

“Shit, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it like that.”

“I know, but Abi and I talk about it. We talk about how words matter and we choose the words we use for our relationship. While I might not be her biological father, I am her dad. That has nothing to do with DNA. Fuck, look at my father. He’s the best evidence to prove that doesn’t mean shit.”

“I’d say you’re the best evidence of that, East. You are a great dad to Abi.”

The pride on his face makes my throat go thick, and I have to swallow a lump of emotion I’m not equipped to deal with right now. “Thanks.”

He leans back in the booth. “I’m supposed to let my little sister raise a baby on her own in another state?”

“She’ll land on her feet. This is Shay.” But it burns like hell.

“It’s not that I don’t think she can do it. She’s going to be an amazing mom. But hell, Easton. I watched your mom. It was so much harder for her than it was for my parents, and there were six of us. It’s just harder without a partner, and I don’t want that for her.” He sighs. “Also something you’re familiar with.”

I roll my pint glass back and forth between my palms. “Not exactly. Scarlett might not be the most consistent parent, but she is involved. She loves Abi and makes sure she knows it. That alone is worth so much.”