Chapter 5

The next morning, Lizzie stumbled from bed and, after wrenching open the bathroom door, collapsed in front of the toilet to vomit until she had nothing left in her stomach. She moaned and shook, her skin clammy, and she wondered if she’d gotten food poisoning from those oysters the night before. But wouldn’t she have gotten sick sooner?

She dry-heaved before lying down on the cool bathroom tile, waiting for the nausea to fade. She breathed in deep, slow breaths, her eyes halfway closed.

“Lizard—Jesus Christ, are you okay?”

She groaned when Seth crouched down next to her. She must’ve not locked the door. He touched her forehead, smoothing back sweaty strands of hair.

“Can you sit up? Here, come on.” He helped her sit against the wall, and then he left for a moment, returning with a glass of ice water.

She drank the water in long gulps, her throat burning. Finally, she looked into Seth’s concerned gaze and tried to smile.

“Thanks. I’m okay. I think I have food poisoning. Too many oysters last night.” At the mention of oysters, she felt the nausea return, and she closed her eyes again.

Seth sat next to her and just waited. Even though they’d been living together for two months now, Lizzie hadn’t spent a lot of time with her twin brother. He preferred to be alone most days, and he didn’t like to go out like Lizzie did. Sometimes they’d stay home and watch TV and eat dinner together, but even then, Lizzie had felt a distance between them.

Now that Seth was on inactive duty, he could go and do what he wanted for the most part, but Lizzie had a feeling he was as lost as she was. What a great pair we make, she thought wryly. Both of them twenty-six and having no idea what the hell they were doing right now.

Seth refilled her glass of water, and after a few more minutes, Lizzie felt steady enough to stand up. After brushing her teeth and splashing cold water on her face, she went to sit down on the couch.

Seth just watched her, his gaze assessing, and Lizzie wondered what he was thinking. After he didn’t say anything, she snapped, “What is it?”

His lip curled but he looked away from her. “You sure it’s food poisoning?” was all he asked.

She rolled her eyes. “I mean, I guess? Or the flu? Who knows. Maybe it’s stress.”

“Hmm,” was his helpful reply.

She wanted to strangle him. “If you have something to say, then say it. I’m too tired to try to figure out what you mean.”

“You should probably eat something.” He rose and went to the kitchen.

Lizzie waited, sipping her water, and eventually he returned with some dry toast and a cup of tea. Her initial irritation faded, and she smiled up at him.

“Why are you being so nice to me?” she asked with a laugh. “Did you break something of mine?”

He didn’t laugh. He gazed down at her, his eyes serious, and she wished she could sink into the couch.

As she bit into a piece of toast, he said in a grim voice, “What if you’re pregnant?”

She choked. Coughing, she grabbed her cup of tea. Gasping a little, she croaked, “What?”

Seth wasn’t looking at her; if she wasn’t mistaken, his cheeks were flushed slightly. “You heard me.”

Seth hadn’t known about her first pregnancy until Trent had called him, desperate and afraid, when Lizzie had miscarried. When Seth had come down to the hospital, he’d barely been restrained from beating Trent to a pulp.

Lizzie had never told Seth about the pregnancy—the initial nausea, the tiredness, the tears—but she had a feeling he’d never forget that his twin had been pregnant and lost a baby when she was only seventeen. She knew he blamed himself for not being able to protect her.

She swallowed. Her mind raced, trying but unable to catch a single train of thought. Pregnant. She hadn’t even thought of that possibility. How could she be pregnant, though? She and Trent had used a condom, unlike when they’d gotten pregnant the first time like the naive teenagers they’d been.

But then she thought back, and she realized she hadn’t had a period in July. And she hadn’t gotten her period this month. She’d never been regular, though, and she’d attributed it to stress.

She started breathing hard, the nausea returning.

“It can’t—no. Not again.” She bit back a hysterical laugh. “No, no, no.”

Seth didn’t look at her; he stared up at the ceiling, and if she weren’t freaking out, Lizzie would’ve been amused at how uncomfortable he was with this conversation.

“I need to go get a test, just to make sure. I don’t think I am, though. That would be too crazy. What are the odds? Oh my God.” Lizzie pressed a hand to her stomach, her nerves in a jumble.

But as she rose to get up, Seth pushed her back down. “I’ll go buy one,” he rumbled.

She blinked. Then she giggled. “What?”

“I think I can manage it.”

“Yeah, but…are you sure? You’re my brother, and—”

“Don’t remind me. Eat your toast. I’ll be back.”

Nonplussed, Lizzie waited on the couch for Seth to return. With a pregnancy test. She collapsed onto the cushions, staring at the white ceiling, her mind whirling. Pregnant. A baby. A baby with Trent.

No, she couldn’t be. She refused to believe it. She was just checking to make sure she wasn’t, but she couldn’t be. What kind of bizarre twist of fate would make this happen again?

She wished with a suddenness that hurt that Trent were here. She wanted his arms around her, his steady presence. When she’d told him she was pregnant that first time, she’d expected him to disclaim it, to tell her it wasn’t his problem. She hadn’t known what to expect from a teenage boy not much older than her. But he’d hugged her close and told her he’d take care of her—and the baby—no matter what happened.

When Seth came back and handed her a plastic bag without looking at her, she bit back a laugh. “Thank you,” she said seriously. “I’ll just be right back.”

He grunted and sat down.

She opened the box and managed to pee on the stick despite her trembling hands. Placing the test on the bathroom counter, she set a timer on her phone and waited.

How long did these things take?

Her palms became clammy. She washed her hands and then considered taking a shower to give herself something to do. But she just ended up sitting down and waiting.

One minute seemed to take hours. Her heart pounded until she felt dizzy.

Finally, her phone dinged. She took a deep breath and picked up the test.

Two red lines: pregnant.

I’m pregnant.

Lizzie clutched the test, staring at it, almost wishing she could will it to give her another answer. The hysteria bubbled up into her throat, and she clapped her hand over her mouth to keep herself from laughing. Or sobbing. Maybe both.

I’m pregnant with Trent’s baby. Again.

That thought sent her into peals of laughter, mostly because it was just too ridiculous. Who gets pregnant by accident with the same man twice? She was an idiot. She hated Trent and his swimmers, and she wanted to rail at fate for doing this to her a second time. They’d used protection. What were the odds?

When she came into the living room, she sat down next to Seth, her spine stiff. Seth just waited.

Then, she let out a deep sigh that seemed to come from her very soul.

“Oh, Seth,” she whispered. “What am I going to do?”

Seth just wrapped an arm around her and held her close.

When Trent saw Seth Thornton enter his bar, he had a feeling it wasn’t for any good reason. Trent watched him, Seth’s eyes narrowed slightly. When Seth spotted Trent, Trent could see the darkness wash over his expression.

Just what I needed. More angry Thorntons.

Seth, though, didn’t approach him. Instead, he found a booth in the back, but Trent noticed that Seth made a point to sit facing the entrance and in a spot where he could watch Trent.

“Hey, where’s my refill?” a customer asked.

Although Trent didn’t usually serve customers, he sometimes helped the staff if they were busy. With a tight smile, he snagged another beer from the fridge and slid it over to the customer.

Trent talked with Ash and Thea, their sister, who’d arrived a little while ago to have some drinks. At twenty-six Thea was a tiny thing with short blonde hair cut into a pixie cut, one arm covered in colorful tattoos, a septum piercing in her nose. She had a bright laugh and could drink her bigger brothers under the table if she felt so inclined. Currently, she was a receptionist at a law office downtown.

“Who are you looking at?” Thea glanced over her shoulder and then whistled. “Oooooh, never mind. He looks like he wants to take you out back and shoot you,” she added in amusement.

“Thanks,” Trent said wryly. “He still hates my guts, even nine years later.”

Ash and Thea knew some part of the story, including the pregnancy and miscarriage, although Trent never talked about it. He didn’t talk about it with anyone because it was his and Lizzie’s story, not anyone else’s. Sometimes he dreamed of the child that never was, and he’d awaken with his heart hurting and dampness on his cheeks. Those were the times when he wished he could go talk to someone about what he’d lost.

For some reason, tonight was not the night Trent wanted to have some angry Thornton male hanging around his restaurant. Why come to The Fainting Goat in the first place? Fair Haven wasn’t so small that this was the only conceivable place in town for Seth to get a beer.

And at any rate, Seth wasn’t drinking a damn thing. He was just glaring at Trent.

Trent glared back.

Ash looked at Trent with a raised eyebrow. When Ash was about to make some pithy comment, Thea poked him in his side.

Trent didn’t stop to think. Striding over to Seth’s booth, he asked in a low voice, “What do you want?”

Seth didn’t even blink. His forehead creased slightly, but no other expression crossed his face. It was rather eerie, his ability to harness his emotions. Trent felt out of his depth, like he’d overreacted. But instead of standing down, he waited for Seth to reply.

Seth stood up. He and Trent were of similar heights, although Seth had about an inch on him. He looked so much like Lizzie that Trent felt his heart twist in his chest.

“I don’t want anything from you,” Seth said.

“Then why do you look like you’d love to murder me in my own bar?”

Seth’s mouth twisted. “Leave my sister alone,” he said in a harsh voice. “Hasn’t she been through enough?”

“As if she’s the only victim here? As if she hasn’t chosen to be with me time and time again?” Stepping closer, Trent murmured, “Stop acting like Lizzie is some martyr. She was just as much at fault as I was, if there is any fault to be found.”

Seth didn’t say anything, but Trent could sense the barely leashed anger boiling inside him. When Seth had arrived at the hospital after Lizzie had miscarried, he’d told Trent he’d rip him limb from limb the second they left the hospital. The moment they’d arrived back in Fair Haven, Seth had punched Trent in the nose, Trent was too heartbroken to fight back.

Now, though? Trent had nothing to be ashamed of. Seth needed to get over his issues already.

“Get out of my bar if you don’t like it here,” Trent said quietly. “I don’t have to serve anybody who would like to strangle me in a back alley.”

Seth’s eyes narrowed, and when Trent saw the man’s fists clench, it was the first real emotion Seth had shown. Trent didn’t back down even as he waited for the blow from Seth.

“What are you—oh. Oh, it’s you.” Lizzie approached both men like you would approach two wild animals about to rip each other to pieces. “Seth?” she asked quietly. “What is it?”

Nobody said anything for a long moment. The world seemed to stop, but then Seth stepped aside.

“Nothing,” Seth said. “Let’s eat.”

Lizzie cocked her head to the side in confusion. When she met Trent’s gaze, he just raised an eyebrow. To his surprise, her cheeks flushed bright red from that single look before she looked away.

Trent went straight to his office in the back of the restaurant. He had accounts to look over, emails to reply to, and a list of other mundane tasks that seemed extra pointless at this moment in time. He couldn’t stop thinking about Seth’s reaction to him. And the real question: why were those two here anyway? Why did they seem intent on haunting his every step?

He groaned and rubbed his temples. Was Lizzie doing this just to hurt him? Mess with him? He didn’t know at this point. One second she kissed him, the next she pushed him away. And then she came to his bar and acted like they were strangers.

“That was interesting,” Ash said as he entered Trent’s office. “I was half-expecting you guys to fight it out.”

“Where’s Thea?”

Ash shrugged. “Playing darts or pool or something to make a bunch of biker guys cry. She’ll be all right. You, though? You look like shit.”

“This feels like déjà vu.”

“Your life will be perpetual déjà vu being around her.” Ash grimaced. “Why is she here?”

Trent let out an incredulous laugh. “God, who knows? I think she exists just to drive me insane. I try to do the right thing and leave her alone, but she pops up everywhere I am.”

“Well, it is a small town.”

“It’s not that small.”

Ash considered. “True. Did you ever stop to think that maybe she wants you back?”

“By telling me to leave her alone? Yeah, sounds like she really wants me.”

Ash sat in the chair across from Trent’s desk before propping his feet on the desk. “Women are complicated creatures. They like to fuck with you.”

“Are you trying to tell me some new information here?”

“No, but I’m commiserating with you.”

That made Trent smile a little. “Your latest conquest not text you back?”

“She’s ignoring me,” Ash grumbled, “after she told me she ‘had a great time.’ Who says that and then ghosts on you? I’m tempted to think she dropped her phone in a well.”

“Mm-hmm, you keep telling yourself that.”

Ash just gave him the bird.

Ash hadn’t had a serious relationship in—well, ever. Ash considered monogamy to be boring and archaic (his words), and Trent had watched his younger brother flit from woman to woman for years. But Trent had a feeling Ash was tiring of the hookups and one-night stands, the women who were beautiful but had no depth. Trent had once suggested that Ash avoided real emotional connection because of their childhoods, but Ash had shut that conversation down before Trent had even begun it.

After Ash went to collect Thea, Trent decided to head home. When he opened his office door, though, he heard familiar voices just down the hall, and although he wasn’t much for eavesdropping, he couldn’t help himself in this instance.

“So you’re just not going to tell him?” Seth asked.

“I will, just not tonight. This isn’t a good time,” Lizzie replied. “I told you we shouldn’t have come here.”

“You wanted to come here!”

“And I changed my mind!”

The siblings bickered a moment longer before Seth stalked away. Trent waited a moment longer, barely breathing, his mind working at top speed. Had they been talking about him? But what would Lizzie need to tell him that she hadn’t already said?

He peered into the hallway and, thinking that the coast was clear, he began to emerge from his hiding place. But right then, Lizzie emerged from the alcove where she’d been standing. The two of them stopped abruptly, neither one knowing what to say.

Trent drank her in: she wore a high-waisted skirt with a pink crop top, her hair spilling down her shoulders. He’d always loved her hair, and his fingers itched to stroke the soft skin revealed below her top. Her lips were a bright red tonight, and he swallowed against the sudden rush of desire.

As he was about to speak, though, she pressed a hand to her forehead. The world seemed to move in slow motion as Lizzie’s eyes rolled back into her head, and she began to collapse right in front of Trent.

Rushing to catch her, he fell to the ground with her in his arms, Lizzie having fainted dead away.