Page 24 of Jasper

He smiles, shoulders relaxing. "Sounds good to me."

CHAPTER TWENTY

Jasper

"Why are you being such a dick?" I grunt as I press the weights above my head.

"Because you act like you have a corncob stuck up your ass this morning." Barrett fires back, standing with his arms crossed, not spotting me like he should be. "You're in a piss poor mood."

I roll my eyes and heave the bar up onto the stand. "I'm not in a piss poor mood. I just didn't sleep well last night." All because I didn't make a move on my wife. I had fully planned on it, but when we'd gotten home, I was annoyed at having been forced into an evening with my grandfather.

Something about fucking her after being with him tainted the plans I had. Daisy had looked disappointed when I hadn't touched her. Part of me felt like an ass, the other part knew it was the right decision to make, even if it wasn't the easy one.

"How was last night?" he asks as we switch places.

Nolan comes over, along with Abel. "What happened last night?" Abel asks, before taking a huge gulp from his water bottle. The plastic crinkles and it's louder than it should be in the gym.

"My grandfather requested mine and Daisy's presence at his house last night for a dinner. We went. End of story."

Nolan shakes his head. "Ah, ah, ah. I had a couple of friends who were there last night. They said something about you parading your wife around in front of old Tom's face. Word had it he was almost red as a fuckin' stop sign. So don't act like all you did was go. You made a statement, and I'm fuckin' proud of you."

I've never been especially close to Nolan. He's a part of our group, but he and I haven't been as good of friends as I have with the other guys. Hearing that, though? It puts a warmth in my stomach. "Thanks. I appreciate it. He can make all the demands he wants to. Doesn't mean I have to follow them to the letter. The quicker he learns that the better off we all will be."

"What about the whole baby thing?" Abel asks. "Have you gotten started on that yet?"

"Well, if everyone didn't know about it yet, they do now." I groan. "Thanks for that."

Weston whistles between his teeth, and Boone, who's joined us today, raises an eyebrow. Neither of them knew about those stipulations, and now I'm going to have to tell them. "Let me catch everyone up because that one has a big fucking mouth,” I say, flipping a middle finger at Abel. “There are things we have to accomplish in order to get my grandfather to continue with the Hamilton Foundation. A couple were getting married and having a child. I got the marriage, now we've got to produce the child."

"That's fucked up." Nolan scratches at the back of his neck. "I'm sorry. I might give you shit, but this is unhinged."

"It is what it is. If I want to keep my parents' legacy alive, it's what I have to do." I don't want to have to explain to them how much that means to me.

"Is there anything we can do?" Boone asks. "That would help you?"

"I mean I'm the one who's going to have to create the child, old man. Can't ask you to do that for me." I smirk, chuckling slightly as Boone flips me off.

"You know what I mean, shit head."

The offer causes my throat to tighten. If there's one man who has done his best to make up for the fact that I lost my father at such a young age, it's been Boone. I've been beyond blessed. "I do. Maybe a family dinner? I haven't always been the man that Daisy deserves..."

"Daisy?" he interrupts. "College Daisy?"

"Yeah," Abel answers for me. "College Daisy. He's got himself int a sit-u-ation."

"You need to shut your mouth." I point over at him. "Nobody asked for your opinion."

Boone waves off his son, strolls over, and puts his arm around my neck. "Let's take a walk."

A warmth settles in my stomach. This is one of the first times I feel like I'm going to have a father son talk with anyone. I react the way I normally do, with slight anger to protect my feelings. "If you're going to tell me I'm wrong, don't bother."

"I'm not." He takes us to where there's a table set up on the outside of the workout area, and we have a seat. "What I want to make sure is that someone has checked on you, that they're making sure you're okay."

I do what I always do and deflect. "No one has to make sure I'm okay. I always am."

"No, you're not." He smiles softly. "You're not okay half the time you say you are. I understand why you act like you are, but you're safe with us. You can be vulnerable, that's what we're here for. Now don't lie to me, how are you?"

I roll the question around in my mind, not sure if I should be honest, or if I should say what I think he wants to hear. Then I realize this is Boone; he's never judged me - even when it would've been easier to do so. "I'm surviving, but it's hard. I never expected to share my life with someone. Losing my parents hurt."

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