Free My Everything - Seth & Amber by Melanie Shawn

how
well other people knew her store. It seemed so personal to her, but
in reality, between the two of them Haley and Sophie had probably
spent roughly as much time there as she had.
    “Thanks, you guys,” Amber’s voice was a
little shaky, “so much.”
    “Do you have anyone to stay with you?” Seth
asked, his deep voice vibrating in the air.
    Amber’s eyes darted up. Did he want to stay
with her? Was he offering to? Wait. Did he feel some sort of
obligation?
    “I’m fine. They said I don’t have a
concussion,” she explained. Her palms grew moist and her heart
began racing in her chest at the thought of Seth Sloan staying the
night with her.
    “You’re not going to be alone tonight.” His
jaw twitched as he made the statement.
    It was a little irritating that he would say
something like that and not follow it up with ‘So, hey, I can crash
on your couch if you want.’ Even as that thought crossed her mind,
she realized immediately that it was so not his style.
    But it was still annoying.
    “I’ll be fine, Seth.” She spoke the words
through clenched teeth.
    She saw a flash of heat cross his eyes. She
wasn’t 100% sure but she thought his response might have been
caused by her saying his name. That thought made her happy. Really happy.
    She looked at Seth. He, on the other hand,
did not seem so happy.
    Alex jumped in, “Look, she lives in the
adjoining duplex to Jamie and Joey. I was already planning on
spending the night there tonight. I’ll be right next door.”
    “I’m fine. I don’t need a babysitter.” Even
as the words left Amber’s mouth she could hear how childish they
sounded.
    Seth stared at her. She couldn’t tell what he
was thinking or feeling. She had never met anyone who seemed as
singularly unaffected by long silences as Seth Sloan was. Long
pauses had always felt awkward to her, she had always wanted to
fill them and make things more comfortable. But around Seth, she
mainly just wanted to remain quiet so she could wait and see what
he would say next.
    “Fine,” Seth said sharply.
    Then he turned to his brother and
communicated something with his stare. Alex nodded and Seth was out
the door.
    No goodbye. No see ya around. No catch you
later. Just gone.
    Amber’s heart sank. Why would he not even say
goodbye?
    Then she realized that her departures around
him had (historically) been just as abrupt, if not more so. She
hadn’t realized what it felt like to be on the receiving end of
this scenario. It didn’t feel good. Not at all.

Chapter Eight
    Seth walked down the brightly lit hospital hall with purpose. It
was official. He was an uncle. Even though he had known for months
now that he would be, the fact that his niece was here affected him
in ways he hadn’t been expecting.
    When Riley had called a couple of hours ago
and let him know that 6 lb, 21-inch Mya Rachelle Sloan was here and
healthy, Seth had wanted to leave work, drop everything and go see
her. His brother had told him that they needed to clean Mya up and
run some standard tests so it would be a couple hours still before
she was ready for guests.
    As he turned the corner to the waiting area,
he saw his brothers Alex, Bobby, and Jason standing with their
significant others Jamie, Sophie, and Katie. His dad Bob was also
there, smiling from ear to ear.
    They all said their hellos and Seth took a
seat next to his dad. “Hey, Pop, you seen your granddaughter
yet?”
    Seth saw his father’s eyes fill with moisture
as he nodded, his voice tinged with awe, “She’s so beautiful.”
    “She really is,” Katie confirmed happily.
    Jamie, his brother Alex’s new fiancé, added,
“Yep. She’s perfect.”
    Alex pulled his bride-to-be onto his lap,
whispered something in her ear that made her blush, and kissed her.
Seth looked around and felt a warm glow of satisfaction spread
through his chest. All of his brothers seemed happier than he ever
imagined they would be, what with all they had experienced together
in their