Temptation Trails (The Haven Brothers #3)

There was that grin again. “Yeah. It was great.”

I rolled my eyes and hoped the ibuprofen would kick in soon.

“Do you have time for food, or are you in a hurry?” he asked.

My stomach growled, as if trying to answer for me. “I have time if it’s quick.”

“Good. I know exactly what you need.”

“What?”

“Zany Zebra.”

Okay, he was right, that actually sounded great.

The Zany Zebra was a burger and ice cream place in a building with, you guessed it, black and white zebra stripes. Back in the days of the feud, it had been Bailey territory. But their burgers were famous for being the best hangover food, so we’d found ways to sneak over there and get them without being seen.

Nowadays, the feud was over, and we didn’t have to disguise ourselves just to get greasy burgers. Which was a good thing. I didn’t have the energy for that nonsense. I just wanted some food—and at least a pitcher of coffee—so I could survive the day.

As I climbed into Zachary’s truck, he handed me a spare set of sunglasses, which cut down on the stabbing pain in my head. We drove over to Zany Zebra and got our food. Not only were they famous for their greasy burgers, they were open early and you could order said greasy burgers any time of day. I insisted on paying, although one could argue he owed me for all the bourbon he’d plied me with.

I inhaled two double cheeseburgers on the way to the Timberbeast. Zachary dropped me off, telling me to have a great day and make good choices as I got out of his truck. He was such an asshole.

Have a great day? Who was that guy, and what had he done with my brother?

It was probably the wife-effect. He was so happy all the time, his snark had been cut at least in half. It had happened to Josiah, too. He grunted less and smiled more since he’d married Audrey.

It made my chest ache. That had not been my experience when I was married.

Our side trip to the Zany Zebra had left me just enough time to swing by my house to change before going into work. I probably looked like hell, but there wasn’t anything I could do about that. At least I wasn’t late. I looked bad enough as it was. I didn’t need another knock against me.

My aviators cut out some of the glaring sunlight as I drove to work and my headache was starting to ease. Thankfully I had an iron stomach, so that wasn’t a problem.

What I was going to do about Harper was another issue.

I almost took the left that would have taken me past the bakery. Maybe if that wouldn’t have made me late, I would have. But what was I going to say to her? As the pain in my head receded, the tide of overwhelm washed over me.

She was pregnant.

I’d told her I was in love with her.

And she didn’t believe me.

Did I believe me?

I knew the answer to that but I couldn’t deal with it right then. I pulled into work and parked. I needed to focus. Compartmentalize. I was good at that. Do my job while I was on duty. Put aside my personal issues until I was off the clock.

I did just that for most of the day. But walking out to my car after I got off work brought my personal life crashing over me. I needed to talk to my son. See Harper. Figure out what I was going to say to her—what the hell we were going to do.

I slipped on my aviators, got in my car, and headed home to see Owen.

This was going to be interesting.

When I walked into the house, I almost tripped over Owen’s backpack. With a roll of my eyes, I pushed it aside with my foot. We’d been over this a million times. There was a hook for him to hang his things. But it was a battle for another day.

Or maybe I felt guilty.

He sat sideways on the couch with a mug of hot chocolate on the coffee table. A drip trailed down the side of the mug, but he’d used a coaster, so I didn’t worry about it.