The Best Man's Baby(31)

“Look, that’s all I got. I don’t spend my evenings with my wife gossiping about you and your latest woman.”

“She’s not my latest woman. She’s it. Remember? I asked her to marry me?”

Quinn nodded. “Oh, right. So she finally said yes?”

Jake exhaled roughly. “No. But I’m not done yet.”

Quinn rolled back on his heels. “Ah, so you going to use a little of the Manning charm on her?”

He gave him a level look. “Jake charm. Not Manning charm. It’s not a shared asset.”

“Pfft. Good luck with that. So you have feelings for her?”

Jake squeezed his eyes shut. He needed to end this torture, and he didn’t even know what to say because he didn’t have it figured out for himself. He thought most of his feelings were about wanting Claire. Then he spent more time with her and other feelings happened. Like at the doctor’s office today. He looked over at his brother, who was standing there with his eyebrows lifted and a smug smirk on his face. “I don’t want to be part of this gossip circle, so don’t go running home to Holly talking about me. But, yeah, of course I have feelings.”

Quinn nodded slowly, darting his eyes in the other direction. His brother was a horrible liar. He was going straight home to tell his wife.

Jake let out an extra-dramatic breath. He pulled out the pry bar and sat on the ground. He was going to kill himself if he tried to have this conversation and work at the same time. “Let me ask your opinion on something.”

“Shoot.”

“You know that old property on Winding River Road?”

“The old Victorian house on the river?”

Jake nodded. “I’m thinking of buying it. I went in to see it with a Realtor and it needs a lot of work. Like I’ll probably have to gut it, take it back to the studs, but it’s an amazing property.”

He could tell Quinn was trying to hide his shock. “I had no idea you were thinking about buying a house.”

Jake shrugged. “I want to do this right. Start a real family.”

“Go for it. Do you need help with a mortgage or anything?”

“Nope. Thanks for the offer. I’ve got money,” he said. His brothers probably thought he was broke. Truth was, since he lived above the construction office, in Quinn’s old place, his expenses were low. He didn’t have lavish tastes, and Manning Construction was doing so well, all his money had gone straight to the bank.

“Okay. Well, if something comes up and you need anything, just let me know. And uh, how’s the baby?”

“Fine. And I’m raising that baby, with her. Regardless of what she thinks. Regardless of what any of you think. I’d never run from my own kid. I know you guys think I’m this screwup, but I know what a child needs, and it’s love and acceptance.” Jake coughed. He couldn’t believe he’d just said that. It looked like he was going to have to prop up Quinn’s jaw with the pry bar.

“For what it’s worth, I think you’ll make a good father,” Quinn said, looking at him.

Jake looked away for a second as unexpected emotion hit him.

“I know you and Dad had your issues, but he tried his best, and for what it’s worth, I know they’d be proud of you.”

Jake ground his back teeth together. Quinn didn’t have a clue, not a damn clue. It was that skewed perception of their childhood that had made him want to sever ties with all of them at one point. Telling his brothers the truth wasn’t an option. He could barely have a serious conversation about his life now, let alone the past, and he had no guarantees what their reaction would be. But that didn’t mean he was going to sit here and reminisce about a father who hated him.

“Thanks,” Jake said, rising. “I’m going to head over to the condo. I’ll see ya later.” He walked out the door, shrugging off the weight of that conversation. He’d rather think about Claire.

…





“This is so not fair,” Claire grumbled under her breath, her eyes glued to the front door of the Italian restaurant. She poured herself a glass of San Pellegrino, thinking how a glass of merlot would have numbed some of the pain this lunch date was about to inflict. She was waiting, rather impatiently, for her mother to arrive. She had thought it wise to make her little announcement in a public venue. Her mother was not the type to create a scene. Ideally, she would have liked to wait until her father was back home to make this announcement, but because of the burger-stabbing, she was left with no choice. It would be devastating for her mother to hear about her pregnancy from someone else.

She fiddled with the paper label on the bottle. Since Jake had returned to Red River, her entire life had become a circus. Her stomach clenched painfully as she spotted her mother’s beige Buick glide into an empty spot near the front door. She waved and forced herself to plaster on a smile as her mother approached. After all, she had to look like the blissful mother-to-be.