Harmless(94)

"He needs you in his life, Seg. You're good for him."

That was exactly what Seg had thought. It'd been his reason for coming to Roan tonight.

Only now, as he glanced over at Roan, he wondered whether or not the opposite was true. If he wasn't in Roan's life, they wouldn't be here. Milly probably wouldn't be having the baby early. Roan wouldn't be dealing with his father's shit.

Ultimately, Roan would likely be happy.

Which meant only one thing.

Seg had to make a choice.

His happiness.

Or Roan's.

He wished like hell that wasn't a no-brainer.





Thirty

MIRANDA LYNN BALLARD WAS BORN at 3:07 a.m.

The precious little girl came screaming into this world with a head full of dark hair, weighing in at a whopping eight pounds, six ounces, with a set of lungs that could rival an opera singer.

At least according to her father.

Roan had been right there with the rest of them when the proud dad joined them in the waiting room to give them the good news. Possibly for the very first time, they witnessed Gannon break down in tears.

Of course, Hudson, the proud uncle, informed them all-via sign language-that he had dibs on teaching Miranda to fix a boat. AJ didn't protest, but Roan was fairly certain AJ was hanging on by a thin thread himself. Had Gannon not been the one to fall apart, AJ would have.

"Time to call it a night," Cam informed them all, putting a strong hand on Gannon's back. "Momma and baby are in good hands with AJ, so we'll be back bright and early to visit." 

Roan wasn't about to argue. He was dead on his feet and it was time to get Liam in his bed. As it was, Liam had fallen asleep on Seg's shoulder more than an hour ago, and the man refused to let the kid go.

"You about ready?" Roan asked Seg when the others started filtering out into the hallway.

"I am." Seg met his gaze, held it briefly. "Do you want me to take you and Liam home? Or back to the marina to get your truck?"

The man was giving him an out, Roan knew.

"I didn't take my truck," Roan told him. "I drove Gannon's. So yes, you can take us to my house."

"Okay."

The guy wasn't much for talking, obviously. "It's late. You want to stay?"

Seg didn't answer, and Roan didn't push. He would wait until they got back to the house before he broached the subject again.

The drive from the hospital to Roan's house was quiet. Liam snoozed in his car seat while Seg focused on the road. Roan had no choice but to stare out the window, which he did when he wasn't sneaking glances at Seg.

He wasn't sure whether they'd made any progress tonight or not. He'd run to the marina with the intention of thinking, and that seemed to be the last thing he'd done. Not about what he'd set out to think about anyway. While at the hospital, Roan had spent more time watching Seg with Liam than anything else.

"Looks like the reporters called it a night," Seg noted when he pulled into Roan's driveway.

"They'll learn soon enough that I'm not a hot topic," Roan said, turning to look at Seg, who hadn't turned off the SUV. "What are you thinking about?"

Seg shrugged, his attention on the garage door in front of them. "I don't know how this plays out, Roan."

The man sounded tortured and it slashed at Roan's heart. "I don't either."

"The last thing I want is to be a burden on you. You've got your hands full with Liam and now dealing with your father. The only thing I've wanted since the very first day I met you was to have a little bit of your time. Then I got it and I wanted a little more. Now I want everything. And I'm not sure that's fair to you."

Roan's chest constricted. It sure sounded as though Seg was going to walk away. As much as Roan had pretended to want that, he didn't. Not at all.

Reaching over, Roan turned Seg's face so he was forced to look at him. "Don't give up on me yet."

Seg's eyes were sad. "I could never give up on you. But I'm not above walking away if it makes things easier for you."

"That won't make it easier," Roan said, searching Seg's eyes, needing him to know that this was what he wanted. Sure, he was confused and he had a ton of shit to work out, but he wanted Seg in his life.

Not that he'd been good at expressing that. His constant flip-flopping was probably making Seg dizzy.

"Are you sure?"

Swallowing hard, Roan leaned closer. "I've never been more sure about anything in my life. I just need time to work it out in my head."

Seg nodded, as though that was all he needed to hear.

"Stay the night with me. We can go back to the hospital in the morning to see the baby."

Seg shook his head, and Roan's stomach plummeted. "We're heading out on the road in a few hours."

Roan glanced at the clock. It was already 5:45 a.m. It looked like the day was already underway. He looked at Seg. "For how long?"