Hudson scowled. “You got Mom pregnant at fifteen. Pot, meet kettle.”
Those words hit hard, but Seth didn’t flinch. “How did not having a father your first sixteen years work out for you, Hudson? You want to repeat that pattern? Want your kid to grow up not knowing his dad? Thinking he’s unwanted?”
Hudson’s face crumpled. “No. It sucked. I wouldn’t want that for my kid. And I’m not ready to be a father.”
“That’s exactly my point. You need to consider the consequences before you act. Think about what could happen, not just what feels good in the moment.”
Hudson nodded miserably. “Okay.”
“We’ll get through this, okay?” Seth clapped a hand on his son’s shoulder, squeezing gently. “I’ll see you for tomorrow morning’s workout. Goodnight, son.”
“’Night,” the kid muttered.
The moment Seth closed the door behind them with a sigh and headed upstairs, the tension left his shoulders. “Thanks for helping.”
Beck clapped him on the back. “You handled that really well, Daddy.”
Seth snorted, but there was warmth in his chest at the words. “Apparently I’m Daddy whether I’m ready for it or not.”
“You got this,” Beck insisted.
With Beck and Heavenly’s help? “Yeah.”
As he reached their bedroom, Seth felt something shift inside him. Tonight had been a wake-up call—not just about Hudson, but about himself. He’d almost lost his son before he’d really had a chance to be his father. He knew what it felt like to lose a child forever. Tristan’s death had nearly destroyed him. This would have been different, sure. Hudson would still be alive, but it would have been another failure as a father.
Thank fuck Hudson had chosen to stay. Chosen them and this family they were building. If Seth could be the father his son needed, despite all the risks and potential for heartbreak…then maybe he could handle being a father to the children he and Beck would have with Heavenly.
Maybe.
In the quiet hush of the Airbus, Seth glanced down at Hudson sleeping in the seat beside him. His son had been out cold for the better part of an hour, his head propped awkwardly against the headrest as they cruised somewhere over Colorado. The kid had been dragging ass since the four-thirty wake-up call for their seven a.m. flight, grumbling about missing both sleep and his upcoming football game. Now, with sleep smoothing his perpetual teenage scowl, Hudson looked younger than his sixteen years.
Behind them, Seth heard the low murmur of Beck’s and Heavenly’s voices. He’d sat them together so they could steal a few hours together before his family forced them to pretend they were merely friends.
Fuck. He was asking a lot of the people he loved. His guilt for this subterfuge wouldn’t let up, and the ways this trip could go sideways felt endless.
Unfortunately, the situation he’d wedged Beck and Heavenly into wasn’t the only thing Seth felt bad about. Hudson’s reckless threesome with Casen and Brielle ten days ago was proof that his influence on the kid wasn’t all positive.
He glanced at Hudson again. Since that night, he’d been trying to connect with his son beyond laying down rules and delivering consequences. Hudson needed to know he mattered. Belonged. That he was family—and always would be.
Beck seemed to understand, bless him… The morning after Hudson’s impulsive ménage, the surgeon had joined Seth’s usual morning workout with Hudson. At first, the mood in the gym had been tense. Talk had been stilted. Gradually, begrudging monosyllables had become conversation. Then banter, followed more recently by jokes and laughter. What had started as father-son bonding time had evolved into something richer—two father figures working with their son, forging something stronger.
That developing connection had been evident last weekend when Hudson had played in his very first football game for his new high school. Hudson had scored the game-winning touchdown, and his eyes had lit up when he’d noticed Seth, Beck, and Heavenly in the stands cheering wildly. At the kid’s answering grin, Seth’s heart had melted.
After the game, Hudson wheedled and groused that he needed to celebrate the win with his teammates. Seth reminded him that he was grounded, but rather than taking him home, they had stopped at a burger joint so the four of them could enjoy a victory dinner together.
“Congrats!” Seth toasted his son with a milkshake. “When you scored, I wanted to run out onto the field and high-five you.”
Hudson clinked with his fizzy soda. “Yeah?”
Beck nodded, swallowing a bite of his burger. “Same. You’re damn good.”
“He’s right. I enjoyed watching you play.” Heavenly smiled, dipping a fry in ketchup.
“So…you’re proud of me?”
Hudson’s question felt like a kick in the gut. If his son wasn’t sure how he felt, he needed to make it clear. “Damn right I am.”
Hudson’s answering grin had felt like progress.
