Page 3 of Through the Storm

The words are stuck in my throat, but I force them out anyway.

“I’m pregnant.”

His breath catches, but he doesn’t say anything.

After what feels like an hour of him patting my back while I sob, he finally says to me, “It’ll be okay, Katy. I’ve got you, okay? I’ve got you.”

“Mom’s going to kill me,” I whisper, my voice cracking.

He huffs a tiny laugh, the kind that still sounds like heartbreak. “Yeah, that won’t be pretty. But I’ll handle Mom. You just… breathe.”

When I finally look up, I know he’s already making a list in his head—doctor, Grandma Patty, nursery. He’s terrified, but he’s moving forward. Because that’s what Declan does.

“How am I gonna do this, Dec?”

“If anyone can handle this, it’s you. You’ve always juggled a million things at once. You’ve been training your whole life for this. And I’ll help you.”

After months of being in denial, I’m strong enough to finally stop pretending. As long as my brother’s here, I’ll be okay.

CHAPTER TWO

ben

THE FUN ONE

People thinkI don’t take anything seriously. That I treat everything like a joke. But the truth is, when I’m not laughing, I’m overthinking. And when I’m overthinking, I remember every single detail about her.

And about that incredible night we had. The one I never called her after.

Katy Montgomery.

The girl who used to follow me around every summer, looking at me like I hung the moon. Like I could do anything.

The girl I’d spent years talking to on boats, beaches, and pool decks. Who somehow trusted me with pieces of herself she kept hidden from everyone else.

The girl who was always willing to try whatever ridiculous idea I came up with, even when she was nervous.

The girl who grew up, and suddenly I couldn’t look at her without wanting her badly enough to wreck both of us.

And maybe I already did.

We had one night together. The best night of my life. But it was also a stupid, selfish mistake.

I still remember the way she laughed into my neck. The way shetrusted me like I was someone steady.

I’m anythingbutsteady. I’m just the fun one. The easy one. The guy people call when they want a good time, not a future.

And Katydeservesa future. Someone as smart as her. She’ll be running boardrooms one day, and I can barely read the articles my agent keeps sending me.

She’s also two years younger than me, and I’m declaring for the NFL draft next year. I could end up anywhere. She deserves the chance to figure out who she is before someone like me turns her whole life into mine.

I picture her five years from now—sharper, stronger, laughing about that guy she liked once before she knew better. And I hate that the thought both wrecks me and strengthens me.

Wanting her is easy.

Being good enough to ask her to change her life for me feels impossible. Not when she still has choices to make. Places to go. People to meet. Her own dreams to chase.

So yeah, I told myself that letting her go was the right thing to do.