Total pages in book: 188
Estimated words: 182255 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 911(@200wpm)___ 729(@250wpm)___ 608(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 182255 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 911(@200wpm)___ 729(@250wpm)___ 608(@300wpm)
Seth nodded. “Danny is a couple of years younger than Matt. He’s married and has a baby girl. Jack and Connor, the twins, are finishing their senior year of college.”
“They’re not that much older than me, huh?”
“They’re not.” And that was a terrifying realization.
“Hey!” Hudson warned. “Watch that doorway. Hostiles incoming.”
“Got it.” They coordinated their attack seamlessly.
Once they’d defeated the squad, Seth grabbed a soda from the fridge and offered his son one.
“How do you think your family will react? You know, to me.”
“Our family will love you. Fair warning though, the Cooper clan is loud and crazy when we get together. And your Grandma Grace will lose her mind. She’s going to be so excited to meet you.”
Hudson actually smiled at that. “Sounds better than spending time at my mom’s place. There it’s all awkward silence. Well, unless Ted is sneering at me about something or the baby’s crying.”
Seth hated the thought of his son feeling like he didn’t have anyone on his side. “We’re busy here, but when we’re all home, there aren’t many awkward silences.”
“And no babies!” Hudson sounded thrilled.
Well, not yet…
The next mission loaded, and they jumped in, covering ground and taking defensive positions.
“What was it like growing up with all those brothers?” Hudson asked. “Being an only child sucked. Well, I thought it did until Emma was born. She’s loud.”
“It was chaotic and fun…and way louder than one baby. Trust me.”
“Yeah? Did you share a room? Fight a lot? Play sports together?”
“Sometimes, yeah. When we were teenagers, we all had our own rooms, and we played on teams together…but none of that stopped the fighting.” He chuckled. “Drove Grandma Grace nuts.”
“Did you all compete with each other, too?”
“Constantly.” Seth switched weapons as they moved to the next objective. “We were always trying to one-up each other. Once, I convinced Matt to jump off our garage roof with a bedsheet as a parachute.”
Hudson looked shocked. “Oh, shit. Did it work?”
“Define ‘work’? After a broken arm and a very pissed-off mother, I’ll say no. We were reckless as hell.” Seth paused the game and looked at Hudson seriously. “But even though I was a teenage jackass, I always loved and respected my mom. You running out on yours without a word? That’s not cool, and that shit won’t be tolerated here.”
Hudson’s jaw tightened, but he nodded. “Yeah. I get it.”
“She was worried about you. You know that, right?” Seth picked off an enemy trying to sneak up on Hudson’s flank.
“I know. Thanks for saving my ass.”
“Happy to.”
“It kinda blows that Mom never told you about me. We could have…I don’t know, talked sooner and stuff.”
“No kinda about it. It totally sucks, but it’s not all her fault.” Seth took advantage of the slight lull in the game. “Your mom tried to contact me once, but when she looked me up, she didn’t say anything because I was married with a baby on the way.”
Hudson frowned. “Where are they now? You divorced?”
“No.” Seth’s hands stilled on the controller. “They were killed in an explosion. Tristan was barely three months old.”
The game continued around them, but Hudson stopped playing entirely. “Oh, shit. I’m sorry. That’s… fuck. That must be why Beck told me to go easy on you. Because you’ve lost people.”
“We all have.” Seth resumed playing, needing the distraction. “Beck’s family is gone except for his younger brother Zach, who you’ll meet soon. Heavenly’s mom abandoned her when she was fifteen, and her dad—whom she was really close to—died earlier this year. We’re all dealing with grief and trying to figure out how to move forward.”
Hudson was quiet for a long moment, focusing intently on the screen. “When my grandma died last year, I cried. I still miss her like crazy. She pretty much raised me, took care of me before and after school every day. We were close.”
“I’m sorry you lost her, but I’m glad you had her,” Seth said, and he meant it. “And I’m glad you’ll have those memories. Thanks for sharing that with me.”
They cleared the next bunker in comfortable silence before Hudson spoke again. “So what’s the deal with you and Beck sharing Heavenly? That’s got to be complicated as hell.”
“At first. About six months ago, we finally worked it out. It took a while, not to mention a lot of head-butting, but…” He smiled. “She put us in our place.”
“So you’re admitting you’re whipped?” Hudson grinned.
“You’ve seen her. Can you blame me?”
“Nope. You did all right. But I’ll bet most people don’t get the threesome thing. What does your family think?”
Seth pulled at the back of his neck. “It’s…complicated.”
His son raised a brow. “In other words, they don’t know.”
The kid just kept proving that he was smart. “They don’t. Grandma Grace is very Catholic. She’ll object the most, so I’m waiting to tell her until after her wedding next month. I don’t want to upset her and ruin it.” Seth speared Hudson with a serious expression. “Until then, I’d appreciate it if you’d keep this on the down-low. My friends here, like River, all know. You’ll meet Raine, Liam, Hammer, and the rest soon.”