gloves and reached for a cooler. “Want a beer?”
“Sure.” Josh accepted the brew, flipped top off the bottle, and leaned his hip into a sawhorse. “So when did you buy this house and why are you beating up on it?”
Kevin took a sip of the beer and glanced down at his hands. “I closed about six months ago. I know it’s a wreck, but it’s got great bones. I had to have it.”
“Okay, but you still didn’t tell me what’s crawled up your ass.”
Kevin took another pull on his beer. “Harper.”
“Got it. Your sisters have been talking about nothing else since yesterday. You had to do Harper and you had to get her pregnant? Didn’t we learn about protection in health class?” Josh leaned against one of the old cabinets waiting for details.
“It happens. What makes the whole thing suck is that she didn’t tell me. I would have wanted to know. I’m not the guy who doesn’t take responsibility for things, especially when one of those things is my kid.”
“You met Anna the other night?” Kevin nodded and Josh rubbed his palm along his jaw. “How did that go?”
“How do you think it went? I found out I have a kid. A daughter. I still don’t know what to think.”
“She is a cutie.”
“She’s gorgeous.” He rocked the sledgehammer back and forth on the floor. “But shit, man. I’m not supposed to have a kid.”
“But you do.”
“You guys didn’t tell me she’d had a baby.” Kevin was more than a little pissed at his family for not telling him that, although he wasn’t sure why. He felt like it was something he should have been told about.
“Kev, we didn’t even know you two even liked each other. Why the hell would we mention it? I mean you and the Harpy, man . . .”
Feeling the hair on his neck stand when Josh used the insulting term to refer to Harper, he snapped at his friend. “Don’t call her that.”
Josh stopped and looked over to see Kevin pick up the sledgehammer with one hand and swing it against the wall. The old plaster collapsed and Kevin threw the hammer over his shoulder ready to take another, more violent swipe. “Kev, step away from the wall and tell me what’s on your mind, okay?”
“The baby is mine. Harper had my baby and didn’t tell me.
Fuck.
”
Josh really felt for his friend. It was hard to watch someone who always had his shit together be at a loss for what to do. Josh remembered talking to Kevin very briefly after Kevin’s father died. This had the same feel. Kevin was lost. “What did she say about it? About why she didn’t tell you?”
“Yeah. She invited me for dinner to do just that. Apparently, she was going to tell me, but then I signed with San Diego and she saw us going nowhere . . .”
Josh nodded and took a pull on his beer. He didn’t say anything because he figured if he did Kevin might aim that sledgehammer at him.
“Are you going to say anything or just stand there like a block of wood?”
“Kev, what do you want me to say? I didn’t even know you two had been together. I mean, when did it happen?”
Kevin hesitated, looking around the room trying to avoid the answer. “At your wedding.”
Josh took a step closer. “You mean after the wedding.”
“No, I mean
at
the wedding. We went to the wine cellar and . . . well. We made a baby, obviously.”
“Holy shit. Caroline is going to flip out.”
“Don’t tell her the details. This whole situation is a mess. I don’t want the details out there.”
Josh grinned. “Ah, come on. It’s a great story.”
“Not really.” Kevin would never forget their time in the wine cellar; he’d never been with a woman who made him so hot, but he wasn’t going to let the story become fodder to be told at Thanksgiving for the next twenty years.
“So what made Harper tell you? She wants support, what?”
“No,” Kevin said. “That’s what kind of flipped me out. She doesn’t want anything. I think she told me because I live here now and she knew she
“Sure.” Josh accepted the brew, flipped top off the bottle, and leaned his hip into a sawhorse. “So when did you buy this house and why are you beating up on it?”
Kevin took a sip of the beer and glanced down at his hands. “I closed about six months ago. I know it’s a wreck, but it’s got great bones. I had to have it.”
“Okay, but you still didn’t tell me what’s crawled up your ass.”
Kevin took another pull on his beer. “Harper.”
“Got it. Your sisters have been talking about nothing else since yesterday. You had to do Harper and you had to get her pregnant? Didn’t we learn about protection in health class?” Josh leaned against one of the old cabinets waiting for details.
“It happens. What makes the whole thing suck is that she didn’t tell me. I would have wanted to know. I’m not the guy who doesn’t take responsibility for things, especially when one of those things is my kid.”
“You met Anna the other night?” Kevin nodded and Josh rubbed his palm along his jaw. “How did that go?”
“How do you think it went? I found out I have a kid. A daughter. I still don’t know what to think.”
“She is a cutie.”
“She’s gorgeous.” He rocked the sledgehammer back and forth on the floor. “But shit, man. I’m not supposed to have a kid.”
“But you do.”
“You guys didn’t tell me she’d had a baby.” Kevin was more than a little pissed at his family for not telling him that, although he wasn’t sure why. He felt like it was something he should have been told about.
“Kev, we didn’t even know you two even liked each other. Why the hell would we mention it? I mean you and the Harpy, man . . .”
Feeling the hair on his neck stand when Josh used the insulting term to refer to Harper, he snapped at his friend. “Don’t call her that.”
Josh stopped and looked over to see Kevin pick up the sledgehammer with one hand and swing it against the wall. The old plaster collapsed and Kevin threw the hammer over his shoulder ready to take another, more violent swipe. “Kev, step away from the wall and tell me what’s on your mind, okay?”
“The baby is mine. Harper had my baby and didn’t tell me.
Fuck.
”
Josh really felt for his friend. It was hard to watch someone who always had his shit together be at a loss for what to do. Josh remembered talking to Kevin very briefly after Kevin’s father died. This had the same feel. Kevin was lost. “What did she say about it? About why she didn’t tell you?”
“Yeah. She invited me for dinner to do just that. Apparently, she was going to tell me, but then I signed with San Diego and she saw us going nowhere . . .”
Josh nodded and took a pull on his beer. He didn’t say anything because he figured if he did Kevin might aim that sledgehammer at him.
“Are you going to say anything or just stand there like a block of wood?”
“Kev, what do you want me to say? I didn’t even know you two had been together. I mean, when did it happen?”
Kevin hesitated, looking around the room trying to avoid the answer. “At your wedding.”
Josh took a step closer. “You mean after the wedding.”
“No, I mean
at
the wedding. We went to the wine cellar and . . . well. We made a baby, obviously.”
“Holy shit. Caroline is going to flip out.”
“Don’t tell her the details. This whole situation is a mess. I don’t want the details out there.”
Josh grinned. “Ah, come on. It’s a great story.”
“Not really.” Kevin would never forget their time in the wine cellar; he’d never been with a woman who made him so hot, but he wasn’t going to let the story become fodder to be told at Thanksgiving for the next twenty years.
“So what made Harper tell you? She wants support, what?”
“No,” Kevin said. “That’s what kind of flipped me out. She doesn’t want anything. I think she told me because I live here now and she knew she
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