Scowling, Rico took a sip of beer that he didn’t want and willed the icy brew to cool off the fires within. It didn’t help any. “How’s Melinda feeling?”
“Oh, nice change of subject. Very subtle.” Sean snorted and leaned one hip on the patio railing. His gaze still focused on his wife through the wide bay window, he sighed. “She’s nesting. I swear, Rico, the more nervous I get, the more serene she gets.”
“Probably in self-defense,” Rico mused. “Watching you go crazy with worry, she can either go with you or…”
“Yeah.” Sean scraped one hand over his face. “Okay, yeah, I am going a little nuts. But damn, Rico. I’m about to be a father. That’s just scary as hell.”
“It must be.” For one incredibly brief instant, Rico’s mind dredged up an image of Teresa, pregnant with his child. Then that image shattered and he mentally swept up the shards and disposed of them.
“I mean,” Sean was saying, “what the hell do I know about being a father? What if I mess it up?”
“You won’t.”
“Yeah? My dad wasn’t the best role model in the world.”
True. Sean’s father, Ben King, had many sons and had never married any of their mothers. He had done his best by his children, but he hadn’t always been around for them. Rico could understand Sean’s doubts even as he knew that Sean would never let down his children or his wife.
“You’re better than that.”
“I’d like to think so,” Sean admitted, then he gave a shaky laugh. “But the God’s truth is, this is…huge. My kids will be looking to me for answers, about life and the world and—” He shook his head and took a long pull of his beer. “Okay, freaking out a little, I guess.”
“It’s understandable.” Rico slapped his cousin on the back. “But some of your brothers are fathers. Surely they can give you some tips.”
Sean laughed a little and shook his head. “Yeah, if you listen to Lucas, his Danny is ready for college and the kid’s just about to turn three. And as for Rafe, his and Katie’s daughter, Becca, is only a few months old. He’s still as confused as I feel.”
Chuckling in spite of everything, Rico reminded him, “In the last few years, how many of our brothers and cousins have begun multiplying? Think about it, Sean. If they can handle being fathers, so can you.”
“How do I know they’re doing it right?” Sighing, he admitted, “Nope, there’s no hope for this kid. I’m all he’s got and I don’t know what the hell I’m doing.”
All joking aside, Sean really did look as though he was worried about this, so Rico took pity on his cousin.
“You will love your son, Sean. That’s all he really needs from you.”
“Well, that much I can do for sure,” Sean said with a nervous grin. Shaking his head again, he admitted, “You know, nothing in my life has ever made me so happy and at the same time scared me boneless as the idea of my son being born.”
“I think,” Rico told him, “that is how it is supposed to be.” He used his beer to point at the kitchen window. “Besides, look at your lovely wife. Does she look worried? No. Because she has you. And because she knows that the two of you are making a family.”