Gage staggered toward the door with a groan. Please, dont. Im really tired of seeing you hook up with guys who are all wrong for you.
Gage watched Zoey wolf down a cheeseburger and fries, and he listened patiently as she filled him in on the details of how Derek the Ass had used her and left her stranded.
How am I supposed to face my family? Her voice warbled as she dragged a French fry through mustardthat habit still turned his stomachand sent him a look of misery. My dad all but disowned me. My sisters have their perfect lives with men who actually love them, and my mom will want to fuss over me like Im some errant child who can do nothing but mess things up, she scoffed. And maybe thats who I am. The family screwup. The problem child. I cant blame them for being ashamed of me.
Gage sat straighter and scowled at her. Your family is not ashamed of you, Zee. They love you, no matter what. Just like I do. He bit his tongue. Hed almost said the last aloud. And wouldnt that send her running for the hills, screaming?
Maybe before. But this time I really messed up. Im knocked up and broke. Not a lot to be proud of there. My dad was right about Derek. So how do I go home with any dignity at all?
Well, maybe you dont. He jabbed at the ice in his glass with his straw, watching her expression carefully. Maybe you go home with humility and a lesson learned.
If I didnt have to put my babys needs first, Id stay here and work as a topless cocktail waitress in some dive rather than be a burden and humiliation to my family.
Gage knew her well enough to know she wasnt serious, but he still pictured her delivering drinks topless and his libido kicked hard. Then he imagined the grubby drunks shed be serving ogling her, and his blood pressure spiked.
She gave a humorless laugh. Cant you just see that? Me, pregnant out to here she held her hand a foot from her belly and serving drinks topless?
Gage gritted his teeth. Not gonna happen, Zee. I wont let it.
She slumped back in the booth, and he mentally prepared to deliver the speech hed prepared on his twenty-five-hour drive from Lagniappe. He rubbed his scratchy eyes, wondering if he ought to wait until hed slept to launch into this discussion.
The very real possibility that shed hate his idea and turn it down stirred a drumbeat of caution in his chest. The last time theyd taken their friendship in a new direction, hed nearly lost her. Her rejection had cut a wide, deep swath that still ached on days like today. The plan hed devised was risky, but hed take the chance of getting hurt again if it would help Zoey.
Hed do anything for Zee, even put his heart on the line.
Arent you going to eat? she asked, nodding toward his half-eaten pizza. The other half sat like a rock in his gut.
Im not hungry. I ate earlier. Gage shoved his napkin under the edge of his plate and took a deep breath. I have an idea, but before you answer me, I want you to hear me out. Okay?
She wrinkled her nose as she munched a French fry, a mannerism he remembered from high school that meant she was skeptical but curious. Okay. What?
He pressed his palms on the table and met her gaze. Her bright jade eyes held such open trust and affection that he almost balked. What if he screwed this up and she got hurt?
Ive been thinking about your situationand mineand I think we can help each other.
More nose scrunching. Help each other how?
What if there was a way for you to go back to Lagniappe
and face your family with your head high and your future secure?
She arched a copper eyebrow and propped her elbows on the table. Im listening.
I need help with Pet.
Pet?
Elaines daughter. I told you about her, right?
Zoey tipped her head. Yeah. I thought her name was Magnolia or something.
Petunia. We call her Pet because Petunia is just well, a ridiculous name. I have custody of her while Elaine deals with her alcohol problem.
Zoeys eyes widened. Youre raising a baby? By yourself? Since when?
Well, shes not a baby anymore. Shes five, but shes still a handful. And yes, Im doing it alonewell, except for the babysitter who watches her while Im at the fire station. Ive had Pet since August, so about a month now.
Zoey flopped back in the booth, grinning broadly. Youre a father!
He raised a hand and shook his head. Im an uncle just trying to help out.
Gage, thats so awesome. If I said I was proud of you, would you take it the right way? Cause you must be the best brother ever to raise Pet for Elaine.
He held up a hand. This isnt permanent. Just until Elaine gets her act together and can be the parent she should be.
Combing her thick hair back from her face, Zoey shook her head. Like that will ever happen. Elaines way too much like your mom. Id be surprised if she ever gets her life in any shape to take care of a kid. Not without serious counseling.
Gages gut tightened. Zoeys brutal honesty cut close to the truth. Shed seen his family, up close and personal, throughout high school. After Zoey had nursed Gages injuries from one of his dads beatings in eighth grade, hed seen no point in hiding the ugly truth from her. His family put the dys in dysfunctional. His parents might be gone nowhis mother succumbing to illness right after he finished high school, his father killed in a car-versus-tree wreck just last yearbut their warped legacy lived on. Zoeys family, the hours, days, weeks hed taken refuge in their pool house, had been his saving grace throughout his troubled youth.