Page 45 of Can't Take Moore

“Thanks. I can’t believe he’s here.” Baxter shook his head. “He’s so fucking tiny.”

I beamed a watery smile at the new father. “I’m sure he’s perfect. Congratulations.”

“Thanks for keeping this guy company while he waited.” He bumped his elbow against Dean’s. “Maybe I’ll be able to repay the favor someday.”

I wasn't positive what he meant by that comment, but I decided to give him the benefit of the doubt and assume that he was just trying to push his cousin’s buttons. Like usual.

But Dean didn’t take the bait, his expression turning serious. “I hate to bring them up at a moment like this, but you need to know that your parents showed up tonight. In case they don't keep their word and come back before we have another chance to let you know what happened.”

Baxter raked his fingers through his hair and heaved a deep sigh, suddenly looking as tired as I felt. “They did?”

Dean nodded. “Yeah, but only for a second. I heard your dad before they made it to the waiting room.”

“Skylar and I talked about how we wanted to handle them while she was in labor. Again. For about the thousandth time.” He chuckled and shook his head. “She took advantage of my need to distract her from the pain and got me to admit how much I would wish things were different with them.”

With my situation with my mom, I understood where he was coming from. I’d give just about anything for her to stop and think about the damage she was doing to our relationship. Before it was too late.

“Franklin's birth had me thinking about Weston a lot. Seeing him come into this world, I don't know how they've handled my brother's death as well as they have. They’re still the same people, but I’m seeing the situation in a new light. I guess I can at least cut them a little slack. But if they—”

“You don’t have to worry,” Dean rushed to reassure him. “Focus on your wife and new baby. I’ll handle your parents for now.”

“Thanks, cuz.” There was so much relief in Baxter’s voice that I wanted to cry for him. I hated that his parents had dimmed some of the joy he was feeling over the birth of his child. And my resolve to help Dean keep them in line so they didn’t have the chance to ruin this momentous occasion was strengthened.

After he walked away, I asked, “What did Baxter mean about continuing the tradition with the baby’s name?”

Dean grimaced as he explained, “As you know, my grandfather’s name is Franklin. And Baxter’s dad is a junior, passing the name along to the eldest son. Only my aunt Penelope refused to do the same. She gave some weak excuse, but what it boiled down to was that she didn’t like the name and she wasn’t going to use it, no matter how much it would have meant to my grandparents. Baxter isn’t a family name on her side.”

Thinking about how Dean’s grandparents must have felt back then, I cringed. “Oh, wow. Yeah, that’s not cool.”

“So now there’s finally a third generation of Franklin Alan Moore in the family.”

My gaze darted toward where Skylar’s teenage son was surrounded by Baxter’s family as they peered through the glass into the nursery room, waiting for his brother to be brought in to get cleaned up. “It sounds like the perfect name for Simon’s brother.”

“It really does. Kind of like Baxter and Skylar fit together.” Dean beamed a smile at me. “I guess it was meant to be.”

“Hopefully, his parents won’t make a stink about the baby’s name,” I murmured, not wanting anyone else to overhear my concern.

There was a determined gleam in Dean’s eyes. “If they do, I’ll take care of it. I’m not going to let them ruin this for everyone else.”

“Or you could just let me handle them since I’m not as emotionally invested,” I suggested. “And they’re already expecting to hear from me.”

“It’s not gonna happen,” he growled.

“Let me put it this way…if you could be the one to answer anytime my mom calls, would you want to?”

His answer was instantaneous and exactly what I’d expected. “Abso-fucking-lutely.”

“Then let me take care of this for you. It’s not a big deal. Really.” When he looked as though he was considering it, I added, “And I promise that if they give me a hard time about wanting more than Baxter is willing to give, I’ll hand them off to you. Then you can crack some heads together, figuratively speaking.”

“Dammit, princess. How am I supposed to argue when you put it like that?” he begrudgingly agreed.

A couple of hours later, when Dean got his turn with the newest member of his family, I was doubly glad that he’d agreed to let me handle Baxter’s parents. I didn’t want this moment ruined for him either. Not when it was so sweet.

Watching my man hold the tiny newborn in his strong arms as he cuddled baby Franklin against his broad chest, my ovaries felt as though they were about to explode. Suddenly, the passing comments about pregnancies and babies that I had heard tonight didn’t bother me at all. Not when I was picturing Dean cradling our child in his arms instead. I’d never really thought about getting pregnant, but baby fever was apparently contagious…and he’d make a wonderful father.

20

Dean

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