Page 46 of All It Takes

“All right, this calls for an actual conversation.”

A short while later, we had showered and changed and were in the kitchen at the station. I was relieved Chase wasn’t around. A few more guys were now working out, and some others were watching TV. Even though we didn’t hang out and spend the night here, we had a pretty nice setup.

Blessedly, it was just Rowan and me in the kitchen area at the moment. I got us two bottles of water, and he fetched some chips from the snack area before sitting at the table. After he settled in, he circled his hand in the air. “Okay, spill.”

“Spill what?” Beck approached from the hallway area, snagging his own bottle of water and some chips before sitting and looking at me expectantly.

I groaned as I glanced back and forth between them. “Dude, do you ever not just jump into any conversation?” I couldn’t help but ask.

Unrepentant, Beck shook his head. Rowan cracked a grin, shaking his head slightly as his gaze flicked from Beck to me. “He’s like that. You just gotta get used to it.”

Beck shrugged, offering, “Maybe I’m nosy…” He paused when Rowan snorted, and I rolled my eyes. “I give good advice.” He looked at Rowan. “Wouldn’t you say?”

Rowan eyed him thoughtfully. “Actually, yes.” Pausing, Rowan gestured to me. “Wes thinks he’s in over his head.”

Beck leaned his elbows on the table. “Did you do something stupid?”

I smiled ruefully before taking a swallow of water. Setting the water bottle down, I traced around the base of it with my forefinger as I considered his question. “Yes. I definitely did something stupid. Then I compounded it by doing something more stupid. Maybe none of it would matter, except I’m unexpectedly in charge of a kid.”

Beck’s gaze shifted from teasing to somber. It was sometimes amusing to consider the Beck I knew growing up here. When he was younger, he was always in the middle of something. He was the first kid to take a dare and sort of the class clown, but never an asshole about it. In high school, he’d been a serious flirt. Again, not an asshole, but not the kind of guy anyone expected to be serious. In the years I’d been away, aside from becoming a hotshot firefighter, Beck had fallen in love, gotten married, and had two kids. He was a dedicated family man who loved his wife and his kids with unabashed fierceness. Family life suited him. Oh, he was still a flirt and a tease and always quick with a dare and the aforementioned nosy guy who injected himself into any conversation, but he was always good-natured and solid and loyal as a friend in all aspects.

“You’re a father,” he said. “Even if it doesn’t seem like that.”

I leaned back in my chair, running a hand through my hair and letting my arm drop as the weight of what he said slammed into me. “How can I be a father? Ross’s dad just died. Obviously, I know I’m his guardian, but…” My words trailed off as I looked at my two friends, feeling a little lost about it all.

“That’s not it. I get it, man. Maybe it’s not there emotionally yet, but you’re the guy making the major decisions in this kid’s life.”

Rowan nodded. “True. The emotional part will catch up, but you’re it for this kid. You and Tiffany.”

Beck leaned back in his chair, cocking his head to the side as he studied me. “Something’s going on with you and Tiffany,” he said, without even a little bit of doubt in his question. His words were spoken as a statement, a fact.

Rowan pressed his tongue on the inside of his mouth, a hint of mirth entering his gaze. “Yeah.”

I groaned, muttering, “Fuck.”

“We’re friends,” Rowan said by way of explanation. “He didn’t say much to me about it, just that Hallie mentioned something to him.”

“Did he talk to you?” Beck interjected.

I nodded, letting out a resigned sigh. “Yeah. And that’s why I fucked up. I’m in over my head. I didn’t mean for this to become a thing. I really like Tiffany. Neither one of us planned for this, and it wouldn’t be a big deal except—”

“For Ross,” Beck finished for me. “Last thing that kid needs is for the two new people in charge of his whole universe to get complicated.”

“Fuck.” Rowan let out a low laugh, shaking his head slowly. “I guess the upside is you really like her. How does she feel?”

“I think we’re on the same wavelength, but I’m not sure.”

“Do you love her?” Beck was dead serious, his eyes on mine as he waited for my answer.

My heart thudded in my chest, kicking hard and fast. Beck dropping that word—love—like it was no big deal, yet alsoeverything, felt like a kick straight in my solar plexus.

“Oh, man,” Rowan said as he studied me.

“What?” I looked between them.

“You love her,” Beck said, stating it as fact, his voice level and steady.

“What the hell?” I sputtered. “I think it’s a little soon for that.”

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