Calling Me Away by Louise Bay Page A

course she is. I’ve told you, there’s no choice. You two need to find a way because I’m not having my family breaking apart.” Haven’s voice quivered and Jake reached out to smooth circles on her back. “Not now.” She moved away from him and scurried past me into the bathroom at the same time the door buzzer went. Jesus, I’d had no idea she was so upset.
    “Can you get that?” Jake asked. “I’ll go and check on Haven.”
    “Yeah, of course. God, I’m sorry. I—” I hated to see Haven sad. It was my job to protect her. The last thing I wanted was to be the cause of her sorrow.
    “Listen, don’t worry about it. I’ll explain in a bit . . . You see in Ash.” Jake hurried after Haven, and I went to answer the door.
    Her smile faltered, just a tiny bit, when she saw me. “Hey.” Her voice was quiet and unsure, and I had to muster up a burst of energy when all I wanted to do was stand and stare at her. To remind myself of her every soft curve.
    I bent and kissed her on her cheek. “It’s good to see you, Ashleigh. It really is.” I inhaled her scent. It was a call home, a call to where I belonged. Every time I saw her I was more and more certain that we were meant to be together, that I needed her, wanted her . . . loved her. I’d been giving her some space by not coming to Sunday dinner, but I’d also been giving myself some space. It was too painful to be constantly reminded of what I desperately wanted but couldn’t have. Of where I should be, who I should be with.
    “Where’s Haven and Jake?” She looked round the living room as we entered.
    I frowned. “The bathroom, I think. Haven got a bit upset. I think because the whole Sunday dinner thing. I mean, I’ve not been coming. I don’t know about you.”
    She shook her head. “No, me neither. I thought—”
    She thought she’d give me room to keep on with our ritual, and I’d tried to do the same. “We should make more of an effort.”
    She nodded, the light catching on her hair, highlighting her beautiful face. I had to look away. How had I gone so many years without being totally mesmerized by her?
    “God, that’s not like her to be upset about stuff like this.” She shuffled from one foot to the other. All I wanted to do was pull her close.
    I held my breath as Haven’s and Jake’s voices became louder and doors opened and closed.
    “So, it’s this guy’s fault,” Haven announced, pointing her thumb toward Jake.
    “What is?” I asked as Haven hugged Ashleigh. Why was Jake getting the blame?
    “Me getting emotional.” She pulled away from Ashleigh and put her arm around Jake’s waist. “He knocked me up.”
    “What?” Ashleigh squealed. “You’re pregnant? That’s amazing.”
    “We wanted you both here, so we could tell you at the same time,” Jake said.
    “Beth, too, but she’s in Chicago, and I wasn’t drinking when she popped in earlier in the week. And well, she guessed . . .”
    “Wow, congratulations,” I said, shocked as I shook Jake’s hand and pulled him into a hug. I looked Haven up and down, trying to spot evidence of a bump. She grasped at her stomach. My sister was pregnant. I was going to be an uncle. Fucking hell. I’d thought life was moving quickly before. “You’re a braver man that I.”
    “Don’t look at me like that.” I pulled her toward me, and she wrapped her arms around my waist. Pride knotted in my stomach. A huge wave of relief passed through me that I’d never had an accident with Emma. I would have married her, of course, and it would never have been enough for me.
    “I’m so proud of you,” I said, my cheek resting on her head. “You’re going to be an amazing mother.”
    “Turns out it’s not that difficult to get pregnant,” Haven replied. “It wasn’t planned.” My stomach churned. I hoped she was ready. I wasn’t sure I’d ever be. A kid was going to change things in our family forever.
    “That’s because we’re so good at baby making.” Jake