Total pages in book: 188
Estimated words: 182255 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 911(@200wpm)___ 729(@250wpm)___ 608(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 182255 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 911(@200wpm)___ 729(@250wpm)___ 608(@300wpm)
Seth’s heart hurt for her. She’d been a single mom for so long, and she was unprepared to handle a testosterone-laden man-child. “I’ll be in New York next month. My mom is finally getting remarried, and I’ll…probably bring Hudson with me to meet my family. You could visit with him then.”
“Really? If you could bring him out, that would be great. I…can’t tell you how much I appreciate all this.”
He could hear the gratitude in her voice. “We’ll get the details figured out. I’ll be in touch.”
“Thank you for…everything.”
“Of course.” Seth hung up.
What the hell had he just agreed to? This morning he’d been struggling with the idea of becoming a father to a hypothetical baby he might have with Beck and Heavenly. Fast forward a few hours, and he had a teenage son who needed him—right now. Seth had just volunteered to parent the defiant kid…whether he was ready or not.
Shit.
Heaving a sigh, Seth trekked back inside and tried to gather his words. He had to break the news to Beck and Heavenly. He had no idea how they’d take it…
How would Hudson? Probably with more attitude and pushback. That didn’t bother Seth; he could handle that. But he had to prove to Hudson that he’d be there as a father. Even if this arrangement was temporary, blood was forever.
“All right,” he addressed his son. “Your mom and I agree—you can stay here for a while. But there are conditions.”
Seth caught Beck’s eye over Hudson’s head. Beck gave him the slightest nod. Heavenly was already looking at him with that soft, understanding expression. Somehow, they were on the same page without even a word. Thank fuck.
Hudson bristled. “I never said I wanted to stay.”
“If you don’t, hey. No sweat. I’ll put you on a plane back to Connecticut tomorrow.”
Hudson growled, shoulders stiffening. “I fucking hate Cromwell.”
“Well, here or there are your only two choices. What’s it going to be?”
“Jesus, you’re way more of a hard-ass than Ted.”
“I’m not your stepdad. He might treat you with kid gloves. I won’t. Tell me what you want.”
“Fuck.” Hudson rolled his eyes. “Fine. I’m staying.”
“Good. I don’t know the situation at home, but here you have rules. You’ll talk to your mother at least once a week. That’s nonnegotiable. And if you’re staying, you’ll be going back to school. Also nonnegotiable. So is respect. You either knock that chip off your shoulder, or I’ll do it for you.”
“I’ll help,” Beck quipped.
Seth tried to repress a smile. “And you’ll be especially respectful of Heavenly, or we’ll have a major problem.”
“Fuck, I’ve known you for thirty minutes, and already you’re a buzzkill?”
“I’m not your bestie; I’m your father. And watch your mouth. You either fall in line, or you’re going home.”
Hudson groaned like Seth was torturing him, but they spent the next hour negotiating—curfew, chores, acceptable behavior, and expectations. Hudson pushed back, clearly unused to boundaries, but Seth held firm.
Finally, Hudson threw himself back against his chair with a dramatic sigh. “Okay. Whatever. Geez. At least going to school will be better than hanging around and watching Beck and Heavenly pretend they don’t want to fuck each other constantly.”
The room went dead silent.
Seth glanced Beck’s way, then turned his stare on Heavenly. “They do, and I’m glad you noticed. Now we don’t have to hide anything. Beck and I are both engaged to Heavenly. That a problem for you?”
Hudson gave him a long look, then pointed between him and Beck. “You two gay?”
“Would it bother you if we were?”
“No.”
Seth didn’t believe Hudson, but he figured there was no sense in yanking the kid’s chain. His life had just been uprooted, too. “We’re not gay.”
“We don’t…what’s that phrase?” Beck put in. “Cross swords.”
“Ever.” Seth nodded.
“So you two…share her?” He tossed his head in Heavenly’s direction. “Well, at least I know where I got my kinky streak.”
Great. Another problem to contend with. Seth tried to keep the oh-fuck off his face. “Have you shared a girl?”
“No.” Hudson grinned. “But I’m damn good with rope.”
Holy shit. His teenage son apparently took after him in more ways than one.
Heavenly gaped. “You’re only sixteen!”
Hudson’s grin widened. “What can I say? I’m adventurous.”
Beck clapped Seth on the back with a grin. “Well, like father, like son.”
Seth dropped his head into his hands, then glared up at Beck. “You’re not helping.”
That just made Beck laugh.
He and Heavenly were being understanding, but Seth knew they must be asking themselves the same obvious questions he was. How was this going to change their dynamic? Their plans? Their future?
Seth had no fucking idea. All he knew was that his carefully constructed life had just been blown apart, and he was going to have to figure out how to put the pieces back together.
Seth looked at his son—christ, that was going to take some getting used to—and felt the weight of sixteen missing years pressing down on him. But dwelling on what he couldn’t change wouldn’t help either of them move forward.