“Is she not the cutest baby you ever saw?” he asked, but didn’t bother to wait for a reply as he took off with her back down the hallway. Finn gave chase, much to the baby, and my father’s,delight.
I grimaced in annoyance, but nonetheless followed after them, having no other directiontogo.
“Does she have to go?” Dad complained, pressing his lips to Indiana’s roundedcheeks.
“Yep, it’s her bedtime,” Finn confirmed. “Time to saygoodnight.”
Dad took his time baby talking to Indiana before finally returning her to her father. Still unable to keep his hands off her, he ran his fingers through her soft hair before catching Finn’s eye and musing, “You know, Finn, I’m not sure if I say this often enough, but thank you for having unprotected sex with mydaughter.”
Clearly taken off guard, Finn blinked back his amusement and answered in question form. “You’rewelcome?”
* * *
After seeingoff Finn and Indiana, I was intercepted by my brother from another mother, Mitch. Had it not been for him switching up the wedding party and pairing me with Casey two years ago, I probably wouldn’t be standing here today awaiting my ownnuptials.
“The GreenHornet,huh?”
“Yeah.” Mitch reddened. “I got to the costumetablelast.”
“Really, even behindAnt-Man?”
“Yes, surprisingly, Kyle had one of the firstpicks.”
“Of coursehedid.”
“He scares me a bit, that one,” Mitch said,amused.
I laughed. “You and me both. I mean look at him right now. What the hell’s wrongwithhim?”
We both looked over at our younger brother, who had taken Lassen’s black wig and tied it around his waist to give the appearance of a giant, hairy bush. Mitch and I laughed at his antics. A lot could be said about Kyle’s questionable decision-making, but even with all the accolades I’d earned over the years, there were times I wished I were him, gliding through life in an easy, fun-lovingway.
“Although I have to say…” Mitch broke into my thoughts. “Kenzie seems like a good fit for him. They’re both sort of nutty in a veryfunctionalway.”
“That’s the most accurate description of them I’ve ever heard,” I agreed. “They definitely bringthefun.”
“Speaking of fun, I’m really looking forward to his best man speechtomorrow.”
“Oh, god, don’t remind me. He has one directive… don’tembarrassme.”
“Well.” Mitch gripped my shoulder. “Good luck withthat,man.”
I nodded, adding a pout for a touch ofhumor.
“Anyway, Jake, I just wanted to tell you how happy I am for you and Casey. She’s a great girl. I know you guys will be really happy together, just like Kateandme.”
Finally, someone who wasn’t regaling me with anxiety-inducing pep talks! He and Kate seemed to have an equal, and wuss-free, relationship. Maybe I needed to hang more with manly Mitch just to even out all the other questionable males in my life… although I doubted I could spend enough time with him for any of his awesomeness to rub offonme.
After his wedding, I’d aimed to be more involved in Mitch’s life, but the reality was, I’d only seen him three times since then. It didn’t seem like a lot, but it was three times more than I’d seen him in the ten years before that. It’s not that we didn’t want to get together, but he lived in another state, and, well, life got intheway.
“How’sMax?”
“As cute as ever. He’s at a really fun age now. Talking up a storm. And you’ll be happy to know, my son can actually carry a tune, sort of like hisnamesake.”
I was taken aback by the last piece of information. Mitch and Kate had chosen to name their first son Maxwell Jacob, and although I’d thought it was just a coincidence they’d used my name, Dad claimed it had been deliberate. Mitch, however, had never confirmed it until just now. Why he’d chosen me was a bit of a mystery, as the two of us had never beenclose.
“You want to know why we named him after you, right?” Mitch said, as if readingmymind.
“I’m a little surprised, is all. Don’t get me wrong, I’m honored, but you and I…youknow.”
