Change of Heart by Nicole Jacquelyn

Author:Nicole Jacquelyn
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Published: 2016-09-06T04:00:00+00:00

My phone rang late that night, pulling me from a restless sleep. “Mom, is everything okay?”

“It’s time, Bram,” she sang happily. “Get up. We need to get to Seattle.”

“What?” I sat up in bed, trying to wake myself up. Seattle?

“Ani’s baby is on its way.”

“Oh, uh—”

“Abraham Daniel,” Mom said sharply, making me silently groan. She and Dad had changed my and Alex’s middle names when they adopted us—with our permission—and whenever she used it I knew she meant business. “This is what we do. When someone in this family is having a baby, we go to the hospital.”

“Not sure that’s a good idea, Mom,” I said quietly, even as I climbed out of bed.

“Son,” she sighed, “I don’t know why you’re so adamant about this, but I’ll respect it.”

“Thank you.”

“But if you don’t go meet Ani’s new son or daughter, you’ll never forgive yourself, and neither will she.”

I swallowed hard.

“I’m on my way. Give me fifteen.”

“Good boy.” She hung up, and I tossed my phone on the bed, going to my dresser to grab some clean clothes.

When I got to my Mom and Dad’s, every light in the house was on, and Uncle Mike’s truck was in the driveway.

“Oh, good, you’re here. Let’s go!” my mom called as I opened the front door. I took a step back onto the porch as the entire family came pouring out of the house. Uncle Mike and Aunt Ellie, my dad, Trevor, and Ani, and then my mom, locking the front door behind her.

“I’ll ride with Ani,” Mom announced.

“Me too.” Aunt Ellie gave Uncle Mike a kiss and then headed toward Ani’s SUV.

“Catch you on the flip side,” Ani said to Trevor, her voice shaking.

“You’re going to do great,” he assured her, pulling her into a tight hug.

She passed me on the porch on her way to the car but didn’t look my way once. I almost reached out to stop her, but I met Trev’s eyes and fisted my hands by my sides instead.

“I’m going to take my truck so I can drive back down in the morning,” Trev said.

“I’ll ride with you,” Mike replied, walking away.

“Looks like it’s me and you,” my dad said. “Take my truck?”

I nodded and followed him to his truck, climbing into the passenger seat.

The ride was long as we followed Ani all the way up to Seattle. Dad was quiet as we listened to country music playing from his stereo, and I was really glad for that. I wasn’t sure I could choke out anything resembling actual words. My hands were sweating so badly that I left a damp spot on the thighs of my jeans by the time we arrived at the hospital, and by the time we parked the truck, I was shaking.

“Hey,” my dad called as he opened his door, but I stayed rooted to my seat, not even bothering to take my seat belt off. “You okay?”

“Yep.” I nodded jerkily, staring at the cement wall in front of the truck.

He shut his

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