Page 50 of The Complication with the Best Man

“I’ll tell you what I could do without though,” I say, and Hudson arches a brow in question. “That damned Buzz Wheel app. I finally downloaded the damn thing and looked up the article Harper told me about. What the fuck, man?” I shake my head.

“I hear you. That thing can be annoying as fuck sometimes.” He picks at the label on his beer, not really adding anything else.

“Why the hell would someone think it’s okay to put something like that in there? I mean, she hadn’t even told her parents.”

He claps me on the shoulder. “You knocked up a Bailey, man.” He looks at me as though I’m a fucking idiot for not being able to read between the lines.

“Okay… and?”

Hudson shakes his head before taking a pull from his beer. “I didn’t get it before I moved here either, I guess. The Bailey family is a big deal in Lake Starlight. They own Bailey Lumber, which is the biggest employer around, but more than that, they come with their own lore.”

He goes on to explain to me how Harper’s grandparents died when their nine children were still relatively young and how Harper’s dad and her aunt Savannah dropped everything in their lives to keep the family legacy going. Her aunt took over running Bailey Lumber, and Harper’s dad, Austin, took on the role of raising his siblings.

“Basically, they’re like royalty around here,” Hudson says. “Everyone in town has a vested interest in their happiness.”

“Wonderful.” I guzzle back a few good swallows of my pop. “So what you’re saying is that every single thing I do around here will be under the watchful eye of Buzz Wheel?”

Hudson shrugs. “Just the interesting stuff. Don’t go getting caught in the alley kissing.” He laughs.

I sigh. “It just feels like a lot, along with everything else going on.”

“I promise you’ll get used to it. It might take a bit, but you will. It’s actually not done in a harmful way, but I only see that now that I’ve lived here as long as I have.”

“And what about fatherhood? Will I get used to that too?”

He studies me for a beat. “Honestly, yes. It will take some time. What I can tell you is that when you meet your child, you’ll know right away that you would do anything for them. Anything. If you let that lead you, you’ll be fine.”

Thus far, I haven’t let myself daydream about what it might be like to have a son or daughter. Taking them for walks in a stroller, pushing them on the swing, the first day of school or the last day of school when they graduate. Now that I am thinking about it, a warm feeling fills me and a weight settles on my shoulders. What if I fuck it up?

I have great parents, and I want to be that for my own child.

“How steep is the learning curve?” I ask.

Hudson chuckles and leans back in the chair, calling out to the bartender, “Hey, Van, how steep is the learning curve with a new baby?”

The bartender looks at us and sets down the glass he’s wiping, coming from around the bar and over to our table. He has dark hair and a sleeve of tattoos down his arm. In addition to that, he also has dark bags under his eyes and looks as if he hasn’t slept in a week.

“Who’s asking? You or my wife?”

Hudson laughs and looks at me. “Finn, this is Van. He’s married to Harper’s cousin Brinley.”

“The baby daddy.” He holds out his hand to me. “Good to meet you.”

I want to cringe at the moniker, but I suppose it’s to be expected given that we aren’t in any kind of relationship. “Good to meet you. I take it you have a new baby at home?”

He blows out a breath. “I do. And Ivy is the shit, believe me. I’d die for her, but I would’ve thought my military background prepared me more thoroughly for the lack of sleep and the constantly evolving situation. No such luck though.”

“Awesome.” I frown. I make a mental note to do my own research so that I’m better prepared for what’s to come.

“But it’s worth it. Every damn second of it, believe me. I’d do anything for my little girl,” he says.

Hudson gives me a look like, told you so.

It does make me feel a little better.

“I was just explaining to Finn here what it means that he’s having a baby with a Bailey,” Hudson says to Finn.

Van chuckles. “It should come with a warning label.”

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