The Ransome Brothers_A Ransom Novel

by Rachel Schurig

  Cash blows out a breath, running his hands through his hair before bringing his knees up to his chest. I have a sudden flash of him sitting that way as a kid, when he was in a bad mood and didn’t want to play his instrument.

  “She’s pregnant,” Cash says, his voice heavy. “She took a test this morning.”

  “You found out about this today?” I sit on the sand next to him. “And you still had this party?”

  Cash shakes his head. “She insisted. She threw a huge fit when I said we should cancel—crying and shit. I’ve never seen her like that.”

  “Jesus.” I have no idea what to say to this. It was shocking to find out that Daltrey was going to have a kid, with him being the youngest and all. But in a way, it hadn’t been, because he and Daisy are so tight and committed and they have been for so long. It seemed like a natural step for them. But this…I watch Cash’s face, wondering what he’s thinking. “You okay?”

  Cash buries his head in his hands. “This is so fucked, Reed.”

  “Why? I mean, I know it’s probably not what you planned but—”

  “We don’t even live together,” Cash says, his voice sharp. “How in the hell are we supposed to have a kid together?”

  “You love her.”

  Cash makes a growling noise. “Of course I love her. That’s not the problem.”

  “You don’t live together now,” I say. “But that doesn’t mean you can’t.”

  Cash is already shaking his head. “You don’t understand. Sam’s life is complicated enough. She doesn’t even have Wyatt living with her full time yet. And now we’re going to bring another person into it? And what about her career? She’s supposed to be looking for a job now that her internship is ending.”

  “Breathe, man,” I say, more than a little worried by the panicky sort of gasp Cash is doing. “You’re getting way ahead of yourself. Do you even know if she wants to…you know. Have the baby?”

  Cash looks even more horrified. “You think she wouldn’t?”

  I hold up my hands. “I’m not saying that. I just wondered what she has to say about everything?”

  Cash sighs. “I have no idea what she wants to do. I don’t even know what she’s thinking! It’s like she’s in denial or something. She refused to talk about it. She just kept saying that she wanted to get through the party.” He snorts. “Like a damn barbecue matters for shit.”

  “It sounds like she’s in shock. I mean, can you blame her? If you guys weren’t—you know—planning on this, it would be a shock to find out.”

  Cash nods, his face clouding even more. “I know. I just…I don’t know how to help her if she won’t talk to me. I don’t know how I’m supposed to sit here all day pretending like nothing is going on. How am I supposed to not worry about where we’ll live and her job and all of that?”

  “All of that stuff can be worked out.” I have a feeling the complicated nature of their current situation isn’t what’s really bothering him.

  Sure enough, Cash buries his face in his hands again, his voice muffled. “I don’t think I can do this, Reed.”

  “Hey, Cash—”

  “I mean it.” He looks up, his eyes wild. “I really don’t think I have it in me.”

  “Why would you say that?”

  “Just look at me! I’m a fuck-up, man!”

  “You’re not,” I say firmly. “You’re doing great.”

  Cash lets out a bitter laugh. “I have, what, ten months of good behavior behind me? Compared to a lifetime of being a mess.”

  “You weren’t a mess—”

  “Yes.” His voice is flat. “I was. I probably still am, honestly. Do people really change that much?”

  “Hey.” I don’t like the despondent note in his voice. “You totally changed, Cash. You figured out what kind of life you wanted and then you figured out how to get it. Everything you did to improve for Sam—it’s great, man. I’m really proud of you.”

  “Yeah, I improved so much,” he mutters, eyes on the waves. “And then I knocked her up.”

  “Shit happens.”

  Cash lets out that same bitter laugh. “This isn’t just some shit. It’s a baby.” He shakes his head. “What in the hell am I going to do?”

  I put a hand on his shoulder. “You’re going to take care of it,” I say. “And take care of Sam. You’re going to do whatever you have to do, Cash. And you’re going to do a great job.”

  Finally Cash looks over at me and my stomach twists at the look on his face. My brother looks terrified and I wonder if he was able to take in a word I just said.

  “Just breathe, Cash. This is something we can handle. You’ll have a lot of help.”

  He rubs his hands over his face. “I should probably get back,” he mutters. “I don’t like the thought of her being up there without me. I keep thinking it’s all going to hit her, you know? And she’ll freak out or something.”

  “She might freak out at some point,” I agree. “And that would be okay. You guys are going to have to process this.”

  Cash sighs. “I guess so.” Then he closes his eyes. “She wasn’t this upset with Wyatt, you know.”

  “How do you—”

  “She told me. When we were first dating.” His voice is flat. “She was only nineteen and her husband was about to deploy and all she felt was thrilled.” He shakes his head and I can see the pain clear in his eyes. “She’s so much older now, and she won’t have to worry about money at all but…but…she’s acting like she can’t even deal with thinking about it.”

  “Cash.” My stomach knots. “That doesn’t mean anything, man. She’s just freaked out. Like you said—stuff is complicated.”

  “Or maybe she just can’t stand the thought of having my kid.”

  “All right, you need to get out of your head,” I say, standing and pulling on his arm. “You and Sam are going to talk and figure this all out. Until then, you can’t drive yourself crazy like this.”

  “What am I supposed to do instead?” Cash asks, throwing his hands up.

  “Come back to the party. Eat some food. Talk to your friends. Rose is probably here by now. And in a little while we can get out some guitars and jam.”

  “Yeah?” Cash asks, looking a little hopeful. I get it—when one of my brothers is freaking out, the best thing we can do is play for a bit.

  “Definitely,” I say, slapping a hand on his shoulder, wishing I felt as confident as I sound. “Come on.”

  * * *

  “You’re going to tell me, right?” Paige asks, once we’ve climbed into my car a few hours later.

  “Tell you what?”

  She gives me an exasperated look. “Whatever was going on back there!”

  I shouldn’t be surprised. Paige is nothing if not perceptive. “It’s not a big deal,” I begin, knowing Cash probably won’t like us discussing it.

  “Bull,” Paige says. “There was obviously something going on. Something big.”

  I chuckle at the fervor in her voice. “And how do you know that?”

  “There was a vibe,” she says firmly. “I could feel it.”

  “Has anyone ever told you you’re a little nuts?”

  She waves her hands. “All the time. Now talk.”

  I chew on my lip, thinking. I’m probably fighting a losing battle. I basically tell Paige everything, and this is a pretty big damn deal. “You can’t tell anyone,” I say. “Not even Karen.”

  “Daisy?”

  “Especially not Daisy.”

  “Wow.” She lets out a breath. “This must be big if Daisy doesn’t know.”

  I nod. “You promise?”

  She holds out her pinky. “I swear.”

  I hook my pinky through hers and we shake on it. “Sam is pregnant.”

  I brace myself for what I’m sure will be her squeal of delight and I’m surprised when she doesn’t make a noise. “Paige? Did you hear me?”

  “I heard you,” she whispers. “I’m processing.”

  “Yeah, well, so
are they. Cash said Sam wouldn’t even talk about it. She insisted they have the party anyway even though they just found out.”

  “Wow.” She finally looks over at me, her eyes wide. “I mean…wow.”

  “Right?”

  She takes a deep breath. “Is Cash scared?”

  I wince. “Understatement, babe.”

  She frowns. “He’s going to doubt himself, a lot. We’ll have to be really supportive, build him up. I know he can do this. Look at how great he is Wyatt! And he loves Rose like crazy. But he won’t see it that way. He’ll just be hard on himself.”

  I glance away from the road for a minute to watch her. Her forehead is scrunched up, her eyes fierce. God, I love her, I think. Love how she knows my brother so well. How she cares so damn much.

  “You’re right,” I say, reaching for her hand. “You’re completely right.”

  She blows out her breath. “Okay. Well, we can do this. We can help him. It will be fine.” She shakes her head. “You know, I thought Sam looked tired. And kind of pale, too. I should have guessed something was up.”

  A little thread of worry knots itself in my chest. Tired. And pale.

  I glance back at Paige, taking in the faint dark circles that have been under her eyes lately. “Paige—” I begin, my voice croaky. “You’re not…you don’t think you could be…”

  She bursts out laughing. “Oh my God, your face. No, Reed. I’m not pregnant. I made you stop and get me tampons last week, remember?”

  “Oh.” I release a breath, feeling stupid. “Right.”

  But I’m still having a hard time shaking that worry from my chest. “But you have been really tired lately. And you’re pale. I thought you were just worried about things with my brothers and stuff.” It’s still so hard to say Dad’s name, even to Paige. I take a breath, wanting to focus. “But it’s been going on for a while.”

  She sighs. “It’s just this stupid sinus infection. It keeps coming back! And it wipes me out.”

  “I want you to go back to the doctor this week.”

  “What are they going to tell me that they haven’t already? I tried antibiotics, and it went away for a while. And then I got a cold, and I was back to feeling crappy.”

  Nothing she’s saying makes me feel better. “Obviously the guy you’ve been seeing is a hack—”

  She laughs. “He’s not. He’s very good, actually.”

  “Well I want you to try someone else. Have a full blood work-up done. You shouldn’t be feeling like this for so long.”

  She doesn’t respond for a long moment. “That might not be a bad idea.” She squeezes my hand. “I’m sure I’m fine. I probably need more iron or something. That’s common with vegetarians.” She sighs. “Not that I’m strict with that lately. Especially when I hang out with your brothers. Why does red meat have to smell so good?”

  “I want you to eat a burger when we get home,” I say. “You were just eating that soy crap at the barbecue.”

  “I’m not eating a burger.”

  “Paige.”

  “Reed.”

  I clench my jaw. “Fine. Some spinach, then. That’s got iron, right?”

  She laughs, pulling my hand to her mouth to kiss my knuckles. “You’re very cute, you know that?”

  “I just want you to feel good.”

  “I know. I’ll make a spinach salad when we get home. But I’m okay, I really am.”

  I try to hang onto that thought as we make our way to our house in the hills. But the little knot of worry won’t seem to go away. Especially not when Paige falls asleep against the window after just a few minutes, her breathing heavy and even in the suddenly silent car.

  Will

  Really, Will. This is starting to look desperate.”

  I look up to see Ruby leaning against my booth, arms crossed as she looks down at me. Her voice is stern, but I can make out the twinkling in her eye, the slight upward tug of the corner of her lip.

  “It’s not my fault you serve excellent burgers,” I tell her, gesturing down at my plate.

  “Uh huh,” she says, eyes glued to mine. “I’m so sure that’s the reason you’re here. Again. For the fourth time this week.”

  I laugh. “What can I say? I like the company.”

  She shakes her head, but she’s definitely smiling now, and I feel a small surge of triumph. It feels good to make her smile. “You need another beer?”

  “No, I’m good for now. I’m actually meeting someone in a few minutes.”

  Her eyebrows rise. “Trying to make me jealous?”

  “Could I make you jealous?”

  She opens her mouth, surely to say something else snappy and flirty that I’ll like hearing way too much, but then her eyes widen the slightest bit as she looks over my shoulder. “Oh,” she says, taking a step back. “I guess he’s here.”

  I turn in my seat to see Levi a few feet away. “You’re early,” I mutter, annoyed.

  Ruby laughs. “I’ll be around later,” she murmurs, leaning closer for a moment before letting her fingers trail across my shoulder as she moves away. “You need a drink, kid?”

  “Uh—a beer, I guess?” Levi says, his gaze shooting between me and Ruby, obviously bewildered by whatever he’s walked into.

  “Budweiser is fine,” I assure her as she makes her way to the bar.

  Levi slides into the booth, his wide eyes directed on me now. “Who is that?”

  “She owns this place,” I say. “I’ve been coming here a bit lately.” Levi’s eyebrows practically fly into his hairline. “Because it’s so close to my condo,” I clarify, but Levi’s stretching his neck out of the booth, presumably to get a better look at Ruby.

  “You gonna sit there gawking, or can we get to work?” I ask, trying to put the usual bite into my voice. It’s hard to sound gruff, though, after the way Ruby just touched me. And I get the feeling, when Levi turns his attention back to me, that the kid can tell. I scowl. “Just tell me how it’s going.”

  Levi nods, shrugging out of his jacket. “They toured the arena today. They’re all pretty pumped about it.”

  “It’s a good venue,” I agree.

  “Then we had a quick rehearsal, just kind of going over a draft of a set list, getting their feet wet.”

  “How’d they sound?”

  “Rusty. But they’ll be fine. They have time.”

  I nod, hating this. Hating that I have to get this information from Levi. The boys haven’t specifically banned me from their rehearsals, but I have a pretty good feeling that I won’t exactly be welcomed with open arms.

  “You should call them,” Levi says, as if reading my mind.

  “They don’t want to hear from me.”

  Levi shrugs. “It’s been a while. How do you know unless you try?”

  Ruby returns with Levi’s beer. “Here you go, hon.” She looks back and forth between us. “This one of your kids?”

  Levi’s face goes red. “Oh, no, I’m, uh, not—”

  “Levi is family,” I say firmly. “Nothing works right when he’s not around.”

  “Then it’s nice to meet you, Levi,” Ruby says, reaching down to shake his hand. “I’m Ruby. Unfortunately, no one in this place seems to work at all when I’m not around so I better get back there and crack the whip. See you.”

  Levi’s face is still a little red, but he’s grinning when Ruby leaves. “Okay, what’s going on there?”

  “Shut up, kid,” I mutter, taking the last bite of my burger so I won’t have to talk. Levi is smirking, still sneaking peeks out the booth at Ruby.

  “They all settled now?” I ask, wanting to get Levi back on topic.

  “What?” Levi drags his attention back to me. “Oh, yeah. Cash and Dalt moved into their rentals. Lennon is spending most of his time with Haylee, but Intrigue will be on the road soon.” Levi pauses. “I’m thinking it’s a good thing for him, that they’re here together. With her leaving and all.”

  I’m afraid to ask the question. “How does he seem?�
��

  Levi looks up. “You know, he actually seems pretty good to me. Better than the rest of them, to tell you the truth.”

  I narrow my eyes at him. “What’s wrong with the rest of them?”

  “Nothing,” he says quickly.

  “Levi.”

  He holds out his hands. “I don’t know. Cash just seems a little off. He’s not talking about it but…he doesn’t seem like himself.”

  “Maybe because Sam isn’t here?”

  Levi scrunches up his face in thought. “She was down this past weekend and he was still acting weird.” He shrugs. “Anyhow. I think Daltrey is annoyed about leaving Tennessee. You know how he felt about that house. And Reed—”

  Levi cuts off, looking uncomfortable.

  “Reed is pissed,” I say.

  “He’ll get over it.”

  I snort. “We’ll see.”

  We’re quiet for a moment, drinking our beer. “Thank you for keeping me in the loop, kid. I appreciate it.”

  Levi shifts in his seat. “They will get over it. And I still think you should call.”

  “Maybe I will.”

  Levi’s gaze flicks to where Ruby is serving a nearby booth and his lips tug up again. “You’re really not going to tell me about her?”

  “There’s nothing to tell.”

  “Oh, come on,” Levi says, grinning now. “You were flirting. I’ve never seen you flirt. Who is she? What’s her deal?”

  “Her deal is get the hell out of here,” I mutter. “Leave me alone.”

  Levi chuckles. “Oh my God, you have it bad.”

  “Listen, kid—”

  “No, this is hilarious, Will. You should see your face. You look exactly like your boys, you know. And it’s just as easy for me to read your expression as it is to read theirs.”

  “I said get the hell out of here,” I grumble, but I’m not actually all that annoyed. It’s almost nice to have someone rag on me. At least Levi seems to be able to stand the sight of me.

  “See you around, Will,” Levi says, laughing as he grabs his jacket and stands. “I’ll leave you to finish your beer…and whatever else you were doing.”

  “Punk,” I mutter as the kid walks away, still chuckling. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Ruby at the far side of the bar, laughing with the woman she’s serving. She’s too far away for me to hear the laugh, but I know exactly what it sounds like—that raspy, full-throated laugh she uses when she’s really amused by something. It’s different from the softer, tinkling little laugh that I’ve come to associate with her teasing.