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dining room. I was surprised that Kelton and Lizzie had found the place. It was located close to Boston University for Lizzie and Kelton. It was close to Rumors for Kade, and it was a perfect spot for me since I could walk to the gym from there.
    Kody tapped me on the arm. “Well?”
    I reached for the bottle of whiskey that was on the glass coffee table. The Pats scored, and Kelton and Kade high-fived. I poured five shots as Kade and Kelton jabbered about the Pats quarterback. Then Kody muted the TV.
    “You better have a good reason,” Kade said with a growl.
    A sharp pain gripped my stomach. I didn’t need Kade in a bad mood. Not if I was about to tell him I could be a father. I could hear his voice in my head. “What did Dad teach us? Are you a moron?”
    I knocked back a shot. The amber liquid burned on the way down as vomit threatened to shoot up.
    Kade scowled. “Since when do you drink whiskey?”
    I lifted a shoulder as I grabbed another shot. The longer I looked at Kade, the more my courage vanished and the more nausea settled heavily in my stomach. As I shifted my gaze to Kelton, I was reminded of the day he’d found out that he could’ve been a father. Fear had turned my brother whiter than snow. I probably had the same fucking color on my face.
    Kody nudged me. “Slow down.”
    Dillon joined in, drinking his shot.
    Kade raised an eyebrow. “What’s going on? You’re pale.”
    Kelton helped himself to a shot as he watched me.
    My heart beat like a wild boxer who was throwing his fists into my face repeatedly and in quick successions. “I have something to tell you.” I blew out a breath. “When Kody and I were up at the academy, I decided to drive by a friend’s house.” I never talked about Ruby to Kade, only because our mom had been the focal point of our family at the time. Then when I left the academy, I’d put that part of my life behind me. “Anyway, I dated this girl Ruby at the academy.” I snatched the last shot of whiskey.
    “If it’s what you told me,” Kelton said, “Kade won’t kill you. Nothing came of it.”
    I tipped my head to the side and frowned.
    “You said she wasn’t.” Kelton’s eyes went wide. “Dude, talk.”
    Kade sat quietly, his gaze never wavering from mine.
    My pulse pounded in my ears. “Ruby thought she was pregnant, but it turned out she wasn’t. At least that’s what she told me.”
    Kade’s copper eyes formed into slits.
    The room began to spin. I released a breath, then another, willing the bile to go down. My head began to hurt. Sweat coated my entire body as though I’d just finished a workout.
    “Kross? Kross?” Kody’s voice was faint, as though he were a million miles away instead of sitting next to me.
    “Dude?” Dillon’s voice was a little louder.
    I jumped up and over Kody. Kade got up too. Then I began pacing even though my legs were trembling. As I swayed to one side, Kade caught me.
    “Just tell them.” The words rushed out of Kody’s mouth.
    Kade crossed his arms over his chest as I walked over to the window, away from everyone. The emotional turmoil wreaking havoc inside me was on the precipice of exploding, and I didn’t want my brothers near if I lashed out. “I’m a daddy.”
    “What the fuck!” Kade’s voice went up.
    I glanced from the busy street below back to the room. Kade’s eyebrows were raised. Dillon and Kelton had their mouths hanging open. Kody picked at a label on his beer bottle.
    “After Kody and I left the academy last week, I wanted to see if I could get in touch with Ruby. So I went to her house. We didn’t find her or her family, but we did speak with Ruby’s neighbor, Tasha. During the start of Ruby’s junior year, Ruby and her mom left town. When they did, Ruby was pregnant, and I’m the father.”
    “Do you believe this neighbor?” Kade asked.
    I bowed my head. “According to Tasha, there was no mistaking that Ruby was pregnant four years ago. So that much is true. As far as me being