Total pages in book: 89
Estimated words: 86537 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 433(@200wpm)___ 346(@250wpm)___ 288(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 86537 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 433(@200wpm)___ 346(@250wpm)___ 288(@300wpm)
By the time he’d tapped the hood of my car, I was out a hundred bucks yet somehow felt as if I’d met a new friend. Weird. That shit would never have happened in Detroit.
Fast forward almost a decade later, and I counted Reg as one of my best friends. We’d gone from casual acquaintances to buddies who’d navigated milestones, good and bad—like his divorce and foray into single parenthood, my new business and dealing with the fallout from my past.
The ex-lovers part was a bump in the road and probably a mistake, but it was nice to think we’d finally gotten through it.
“What time were you going to fire up the barbecue?” I asked, taking a pull of my beer.
Reg glanced at his watch. “Twenty minutes. Coop and Silas should be here soon. Hank and Denny might be late, and Troy—is he coming, or is he out with the Elmwood med student again?”
“I think he’ll be here.”
“Great. So…you’re early.” He flashed a wry smile. “What’s up? And don’t say nothing—you’re practically vibrating over there. I think I know what it is and if I’m right, I’m happy for you. I don’t know the guy at all, but Cooper does and he—”
“Whoa. What are you talking about?”
Reg rolled his eyes and flopped onto the bench opposite me. “You and Thor, the lumberjack. I know.”
My jaw dropped. “That’s not it, and how—how do you know what you think you know…? Which you don’t know, just so you know.”
“Wow.” He snickered. “This is kind of fun. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you turn that many shades of pink in less than ten seconds.”
“Ha. Ha. You’re wrong and—”
“I’m a cop, Dex. It’s my job to know what’s going on in this town. Make that all four towns in the Four Forest area. I swear I haven’t been spying on you, but patrol cars sweep the streets to make sure all is well, and…your SUV has been spotted in the dead of night in the lumberjack’s driveway and his has been spotted—well…usually across from and diagonally parked on your street. Muldoon mentioned something about him parking his bike in your garage, too. But before you get on a righteous soapbox about an infringement of privacy etcetera, etcetera, the officers who reported the info to me aren’t the type to blast it through town. And neither am I. Your secret is safe.” He cocked his head curiously. “Is it a secret?”
Shit. I should have known.
“I guess not,” I huffed irritably.
“Hey, what’s the big deal? You and me…we’re fine.”
“I know, I know. Yes, I like Viggo and we’re…yeah. But that isn’t my news.”
Reg lifted a brow. “Oh?”
I closed my eyes for a beat and took another drink. “Remember the surrogate I told you about?”
“The Swedish artist?”
“Her name is Freya. She’s pregnant…due at the beginning of December.”
“Congratulations!” Reg whooped. “You’re gonna be a dad!”
“Yeah. I am.”
He jumped up, pulled me to my feet, and hugged me. “I’m happy for you, Dex. Very happy.”
“Thanks, I’m…thrilled.”
“You should be. Tell me everything.”
I gave Reg a basic rundown of events and apologized for not letting him know sooner. “I just had to be sure this was real.”
“I get it. Are you sharing this news widely?”
“Well, I figured I’d start by telling the guys tonight. And I’ll let Janey and the crew at the donut shop know.”
Reg snorted. “And Janey will tell Layla, and everyone in town will know by tomorrow.”
“I think I’m okay with that.”
“Good.” He perched on the table. “Does your lumberjack know?”
I wrinkled my nose. “He’s—we’re not…it’s just sex, Reg. Great sex, but just sex.”
“Got it. Well…?”
“Yeah, Viggo knows. We met through Freya.”
“Ah! That makes sense.”
“I don’t know about that, but…it’s good. We understand each other. Neither of us is interested in anything serious. The baby is my only focus, and once he or she is here…that’s it for me.”
“Life doesn’t end when you have kids, Dex,” Reg said soberly.
“I know, but I also know that I can’t do anything by halves.”
“Hmm. What about your family? Does your mom know?”
“Not yet.” I didn’t want to talk about my mother or anything that might dim my joy. Not today.
“Well, you know you can count on me for anything. I still remember how to hold a baby and wrap ’em up like a burrito. Hell, I can even change a diaper in a pinch.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.” I laughed. “Thank you.”
“Sure thing. And just so you know, I’m going full cop mode on the Swede. If the guy’s got any skeletons, I’m gonna know them.”
“No, you’re not. You’re going to let me have fun with a nice guy for a couple of months in peace. That’s all this is—fun. Don’t make it into something it’s not. And don’t say anything to anyone else. I’d rather they think it’s a mutual friend connection. Got it?”