Baylor sits up, the remnants of a chuckle still on his lips. “Let’s see. I bought a five-thousand dollar stroller that the kid hated to sit in. He preferred traveling in one of those body carrier things so he could be close to us.”
My forehead furrows. “I haven’t bought one of those yet. Can you send me the link?”
He laughs and bumps me with his shoulder. “Sure thing. Just remember that babies don’t need much when they’re little. Just diapers,food, and love.”
“I purchased enough diapers to get the twins through age twelve,” I mutter, feeling a little silly.
“Hopefully, you’ll have them potty-trained by then,” he remarks dryly. “I’m sure Juliette has some of the same fears as you since we grew up without a mom. How much did she tell you about that?”
“She told me Delphine left for a long time when you were little, and your fathers shared custody. Then your mother came back and had the younger kids with Emmett.” I remember Juliette changing the subject then. “The story kind of ended there.”
Baylor’s lips tighten into a thin line. “But it didn’t. Ourmother,” he kind of spits the title, “left again when Jordie was a baby.”
I shake my head in disgust. “How can anyone leave their baby?”
Baylor lifts his voice a couple octaves into what I assume approximates his birth mother’s. “Oh you know, places to go, people to see.” He snorts, and his voice returns to normal. “Jordie was an infant and didn’t know the difference, but Xander cried a lot over her, especially when she’d send little presents from wherever she was. Like a constant reminder that his mom wasn’t there.”
My stomach aches for them. “I’m sorry, man. I know that had to be hard.”
“I was fine, but it pissed me off for the other kids.”
I wasn’t sure about him being fine if the tight clench of his jaw told the story. “Did she ever come back?”
Baylor shakes his head. “She called one day and said she was coming home, for good this time, but Jules and I didn’t believe her. We talked about it and then sat our fathers down and told them we didn’t want her to come back. In fact, we didn’t want anything from her because feeling abandoned every time she caught a whim was worse than not having a mother at all. We didn’t want postcards or birthday gifts because each one represented the fact that she’d rather be somewhere else than with us.”
“What did they say?”
“They said they would handle it. Dad filed for divorce immediately because, while I think he’ll always love Delphine in some way, he loved his kids more. The presents and cards stopped, and we never heard from her again. I don’t know if she actually stopped sending them or if our fathers just returned to sender.”
“I’m glad they listened to you and supported you.”
He nods. “Me too. The point of all that was to remind you Juliette didn’t grow up with a mother in her life. Do you think that means she doesn’t know how to be a mom?” His eyes are piercing, and I meet his gaze.
“She’s going to be an amazing mother,” I say quietly. “Point taken. Our past doesn’t have to determine our future.”
“Couldn’t have said it better myself.” He stands and pulls me to my feet, keeping my hand in his like we’re sharing a handshake. “We covered a fucking lot there. We good?”
“Except for one more thing,” I say, and Baylor looks at me curiously. “Will you be my best man at the wedding?”
A myriad of emotions pass over his face, finally landing on a happy smile. “Fuck yeah, I will. Bring it in, bro.”
He pulls me in, and we hug. Until the door to the locker room bursts open. Baylor and I turn to see Holly and Juliette rocket into the room like they’re executing a raid. Holly jumps into a defensive stance with karate hands and yells, “Hi-yahhhh!”
Juliette enters with a can of sparkly pepper spray held out in front of her. “Break it up,” she barks in an authoritative tone that leaves no room for disagreement. “Right n—”
They both freeze when they see Baylor and I standing shoulder to shoulder. Their heads turn slowly toward each other, back to us, and then back to each other.
“There’s no blood,” Holly says from the side of her mouth.
“And no one is throwing hands,” Juliette returns in the same manner. She lowers the pepper spray to her side and addresses us. “You’re not fighting.”
Baylor clears his throat, obviously attempting to swallow his amusement at these two nuts who came to save us from killing each other. “No, we used our big boy words and talked it out.”
Holly drops her karate hands, still appearing skeptical as she focuses on me. “Does he knoweverything?” she asks pointedly.
I loop an arm over Baylor’s shoulders. “He knows I’m madly in love with his sister and that I’m the father of her babies.”
“Oh.” Holly looks to Juliette for direction, but my girl simply shrugs. “Well, carry on then.”
