Page 36 of Through the Storm

“Of course.” He shifts a little. “Listen, Katy, we all care about you. We’re your friends. And just so you know, none of us would interfere with whatever’s going on between you and Ben.”

I nod, processing everything. I was so scared of judgement, but this is not that. At all.

I knew they were all good guys, that’s why they’re my friends. But I didn’t know just how great they really are until now.

Then he adds, carefully, “Also… my mom knows.”

My head snaps up. “What?”

“Yeah.” He winces. “She’s, uh, very excited. She wants to meet you.”

“OH MY GOD.”

“I know.” He runs a hand through his hair. “I’ll try to hold her off, but she’s unstoppable. Sorry in advance.”

“Logan,” I say slowly, “did you tell her we don’t even know if it’s yours?”

He shrugs. “Yeah. It didn’t matter to her. She still wants to meet you.”

“That’s… not how I picture it would go.”

He smiles, small but sincere. “Well, first, she slapped me for not being careful. But then she started crying. Said if I screwed this up, she’d disown me.”

That hits somewhere I wasn’t braced for.

“She sounds… nice,” I manage.

“She is.” He smiles a little. “You’ll like her. She’s already ordering baby clothes and talking about a baby shower.”

And that’s when the ache sneaks up on me.

My mom didn’t cry when I told her. She didn’t even look at me. And here’s Logan’s mom, celebrating a baby that might not even be hers.

He gives me a careful, reassuring smile. “You don’t have to say anything. We just all wanted you to know you’re not alone in this. Whoever the dad is, we’ll take responsibility. We’ll figure this out, okay?”

Wow. This is so unexpected. But somehow, I believe him.

I’m about to get into my glorious cozy bed when my phone buzzes.

Then again.

Then…. Oh no.

I open it.

Maybe Daddies Brigade

Jason

Okay who made this chat

Matt

Ethan. Obviously.

Logan

For the record, I said don’t make it weird.