“I’m sure once that time comes, the transition will be fine. You’ll be excited enough.
“I guess.” I wipe away the tears that almost fall. Dad sees them though and he doesn’t hesitate. He gets up out of his chair and sits right next to me, wrapping his arm around me for a hug.
“You’re going to be fine. You have a while until you should even be worrying about that anyway.” He chuckles.
If he only knew.
* * *
Once I get out of the shower, my phone is going off like crazy. It’s Wesley sending me videos, typing “Your kids” under most of them, per usual
The first one is a brother and sister, probably no older than seven or eight, standing and singing on a porch. The girl’s got some serious sass and the brother is strumming a toy guitar in nothing but a diaper, a cowboy hat, and boots, stomping on the floor.
I find myself smiling, and I text back right away.
Me: “More like our kids.”
Chapter 25
Wesley
I’ve been to lunch and dinner at the Jennings’ house before, but this is the first time I’ve ever been this nervous.
I don’t know what the reaction will be to the news of Addison and me, and I don’t exactly know how we’re even going to bring it up. Part of me wishes we would’ve just told our families on our own, instead of as a joint effort.
We were going to do it last week, but then Ella had the baby, and there was enough going on with that. We didn’t want to take the spotlight or anything.
When Addison opens the front door, she’s in the same thing she wore to church—a gray sweater and light-blue jeans. She had boots on but it looks like she traded them for purple fuzzy socks.
“Welcome to the chaos.” She smiles.
As I slip out of my boots, I hear a crying baby in the background. I haven’t met Cora yet, but that won’t be the case for much longer.
“You seem nervous,” she says. I glare at her. She laughs and nudges my shoulder. “Relax.”
Following her into the kitchen, I see Maureen at the oven,and Jesse and Mason at the counter lining cupcake trays.
“How are you, Wes?” Maureen gives me a hug.
“Good, thanks for having me,” I say, but suddenly wish I wouldn’t have. They technically didn’t invite me. Addison told them I was coming a few days ago.
Cody comes around the corner with an empty pitcher. “Hey, what’s up.” He nods at me, stopping at the sink to refill.
“Not much.”
He looks back at me. “So, you came empty-handed?”
“Cody,” Maureen scolds, but he laughs and so do I. I know he’s just being Cody and giving me a hard time. If he didn’t, I’d think he didn’t like me.
We all sit down at the table. I’m next to Addison and Mason, across from Cody, with Leonard and Jesse at the heads. Maureen and Ella are along the other side.
Leonard starts the prayer. I can sense Addison’s nerves by the way her leg bounces up and down beside mine. I stealthily reach my hand over, setting it on her thigh. Her hand settles on top of mine and she holds onto my fingers.
It’s a short-lived thing, but I think it helped; her leg isn’t shaking anymore.
The conversations flow naturally as the food gets passed around. The pork tenderloin coupled with the smell of mashed potatoes and gravy makes my stomach growl. I didn’t eat a lot for breakfast. Maureen usually makes a big meal and I wanted to save room.
“So. How is life going for the new parents?” Mason asks, looking at Jesse and then Ella. They look down at Cora sleeping in some sort of baby seat next to the table.
