a single word, Ben realized he was holding his breath, and he nodded.
“We raised you to be a good man, and you have excellent judgment. I trust your instincts, and I know you’ll make the right decision for all of you.”
What the fuck? That wasn’t an answer. “Dad—”
His father held up his hand, silencing him, and shook his head.
Piper scoffed. “In other words, you’re giving Ben enough rope to hang himself.”
“You of all people know that a rope can be turned into a lifeline, a sturdy bridge, or a noose,” his father said sternly. “Have some faith in your brother.”
Piper rolled her eyes and seethed, “I’d rather give that woman a piece of my mind. I have faith in that.”
That sparked an uproar of angry comments, heartfelt pleas, and accusations. Ben pulled Aurelia closer. He realized he was surrounded by all the people he loved on Mother’s Day, a day that should be celebrated. A day he’d wanted to be the most memorable and wonderful for Aurelia. And just a few streets away, Caroline was probably bawling her eyes out alone in an unfamiliar room.
He pressed a kiss to Aurelia’s temple as his family battled out his war, and he said, “Rels, can I talk to you privately?”
She nodded, and as they pushed to their feet, his family silenced, all eyes turning to them.
“I want to talk to Aurelia alone for a minute.” He led her out of the living room and up the stairs. When they were out of earshot of the others, he sat on a step and pulled her down on his lap. She looked like she was balancing on the edge of a knife, afraid to move.
He kissed her softly, holding her close as he said, “What a clusterfuck of a Mother’s Day, huh?”
She lifted one shoulder.
“I’m sorry, babe. I’m sorry for losing my temper and for the nightmare that we’re in.”
She swallowed hard. “What do you want to do, Ben?”
“I don’t think it’s about what I want to do any more than it’s about what Caroline wants to do. I can’t stop thinking about what you said earlier, about not being able to ignore that she’s Bea’s mother. You know you’ve become Bea’s mother in my eyes, but I feel sick to death because it’s Mother’s Day and I just slammed the door in the face of our baby’s biological mother.” He slid his hand to the nape of her neck, as he’d done so often, and touched his forehead to hers, tears burning as he said, “I don’t know what’s right or wrong, but I know I won’t be able to live with that and still look into our little girl’s eyes and feel like I’m the father she deserves.”
“I know.” Her voice was a fraying thread. “I just keep thinking that if my grandparents had lied to me about my mother, it would have totally messed me up. I don’t think it would help knowing that they thought they were protecting me. It would feel like a huge betrayal, and I could never fully trust them again. Ben, it’s not just that, but look how much our parents affected who we are. If they’d lied to me, it would have made trusting anyone else, even you and your family, much harder, if not impossible. I don’t want that for Bea. We’re adults. We can weather any storm. But she didn’t ask for any of this.”
She had taken the words right out of his mouth. “I know, babe. Will you come with me to see her?”
“I want to, to support you, but I think this has to be between you and Caroline. I worry she’ll feel ganged up on, and that will put her on the defensive. But if you need me, I will go with you.”
His love for her seeped into every crack and crevice of his being, filling spaces he’d never known needed filling. “I will always need and want you,” he said as he embraced her, soaking in her essence, her love, and her unconditional support. “But I’ve got this, babe, for all of us.”
After spending way too long explaining to a certain sister why he had to see Caroline alone, Ben gave Bea and Aurelia more kisses and tighter hugs than ever before, and then he headed over to the inn. As he made his way to Caroline’s room, he tried to prepare what he’d say when he saw her, telling himself not to go off on her again, to