Jenn continued to stare at me, the disappointment radiating from her.
I refused to feel bad. While my track record when it came to adulting was not perfect, Vincentwas.
So I shook my head and sipped my coffee. Normally I spewed every thought that came to me. My brain moved faster than my lips, and I overshared and overexplained.
But I didn’t have a clue how to describe this situation. “It’s… complicated. But I’m all in.”
Josh gave me a solemn nod.
“I was just at the hospital,” I said, throwing a thumb over my shoulder. “I’m gonna shower and go back before my shift tonight.” With a sigh, I turned toward the stairs, but I turned back again quickly, digging my phone out of my pocket. “Wanna see pictures?”
“Yes,” Jess screamed, her voice echoing off the exposed beams above us. “Text them to me right now.”
Jenn scrolled through the photos silently, but her expression softened a fraction.
The back door banged open, startling all of us, and Gabe strode in. He had on his usual dress shirt with rolled-up sleeves and carried a battered leather bag.
“Crisis meetings,” he said, nodding at Josh.
My brother turned back to the espresso machine and silently made our cousin his own cup.
Gabe squeezed Jenn’s shoulder and ran a hand through his hair. “All right, family. Facts only. We’ve got to get ahead of this.”
Gabe Harding was our first cousin as well as the mayor of Maplewood. He’d grown up on the farm next to ours, and we’d all been raised together. Already a successful lawyer, he’d run for mayor a few years ago and had been overseeing the town since.
Josh had bought his parents’ farm a while back, and shortly after, Uncle Ed and Aunt Suzie moved to Florida to enjoy retirement.
“Jas has a son.” Jenn pushed the phone toward Gabe.
He studied the photo, then gave me a genuine smile. “Congrats,” he said. “But did I miss something?”
My hackles rose, but before I could set him straight, Josh jumped in.
“It’s complicated.”
“The mother is Evie Marino,” Jenn added.
“And baby Vincent is the cutest,” Jess added from the phone.
“Are you in a relationship with the mother?” Gabe picked up his coffee and carefully brought it to his lips.
“Um,” I hedged. “No. It was a surprise. For both of us, actually.”
He set his mug down and pinched the bridge of his nose. “I mean it, congrats. Babies are great.”
My stomach sank. I could feel the “but” coming.
“But now I have to be the guy everybody loves to hate. We need to protect you, the farm, and the baby. Step one.” He held up a finger. “Paternity testing. Step two.” He added a second finger. “Establish custody paperwork and a parenting plan. Step three.” Yup. Third finger. “No statements about the baby to anyone.”
My spine went rigid. “No.”
He blinked at me. “To which step?”
“All of them.” Heat rose up under my collar, anger surging inside me.
I understood his instincts, but there was no way Vincent didn’t belong to me.
“I’m not swabbing my kid like he’s evidence,” I gritted out. “I’m not starting fatherhood with a lab slip.”
