My heart was pounding so hard in my chest it felt like it was going to jump out. “All right.”
“Kate was pregnant when she died.”
I sat there for a few seconds letting her words sink in.
“What did you say?”
She sighed, “Oh gesh, don’t make me say it again, Ryder.”
Staring at her, I felt my chest squeezing tighter, like someone had a damn vise grip on it.
The only thing I could do was stare at her. My sister was pregnant. Oh God. We not only lost her, but we lost her child as well.
“Do you need me to really say it again?”
I shook my head. “No,” I barely spoke.
Scraping my hands down my face, I let out a frustrated sigh. “What in the hell?” Dropping my hands back down, I hit Ava with question after question.
“How far along was she? Why didn’t she tell anyone? Did Jackson know?”
Ava took in a deep breath and slowly let it out. “I don’t think she was that far along, I’m not sure why she hadn’t told y’all yet other than she thought she had time to figure things out first and then tell everyone. Yes, Jackson knew and he had asked her to marry him.”
“What?” I stood up. “She was only a senior in high school! What in the fuck did she think she was going to do with a baby?”
Ava stood. “Ryder, getting mad about it is not going to make you understand anymore. Your sister was in love with Jackson; they made love in this house more than once and they were going to have a child. The only person who can really answer your questions is Jackson himself.”
I shot my head in her direction as my heart sank. “What? Have you talked to him?”
Her eyes widened in surprise. “No! Of course not.”
I walked back and forth not knowing how I should be feeling. My sister was pregnant. Oh my God. Why did you take them from us?
My throat was burning from the tears I was trying to hold back. I’d never really allowed myself to cry over my sister’s death.
Jumping when I felt Ava’s hand on my arm, I pulled her to me and wrapped her up in my arms. Not being able to hold back my emotions, I let my tears fall as I whispered, “Why did he take them from us, Ava? Why?”
I SAT ON the sofa in the little stone house and stared down at Ryder. He had completely lost it. I’d never seen him so emotional before, and a part of me wondered if I had made a mistake in telling him about Kate’s baby.
Then I realized what was happening. Ryder was finally allowing himself the chance to cry. It was as if the reality of his sister’s death hit him in that moment and he decided to stop pretending Kate had gone away, and accepted the fact that she was gone forever.
My phone buzzed. Picking it up, it was from an unknown number.
Swiping it, I softly said, “Hello?”
“Ms. Moore?”
“Yes, this is Ava Moore.”
“This is Parker, the caretaker of the house in Helena.”
This was strange. Why was he calling me?
“Yes, hello. How are you doing?”
“I’m doing well. Ms. Moore, I know the last time you were at the house we chatted about its history. You had asked me if Kate ever came to the house alone and I couldn’t remember.”
My heart dropped to my stomach. “Yes. I was wondering that. You know she was so intrigued by Lizzy and Robert’s love story as am I.”