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Nick looked up from his iPad when he heard Brian’s key turn in the lock. He hurriedly logged out of his email account and turned off the tablet as his friend slumped into the room.

“How’d it go?”

“My only son is embarrassed to be seen with me.”

Brian flopped down onto the couch with such force that Nick moved slightly in his seat. A mixture of Old Spice and Polo Black invaded his nostrils as Brian readjusted himself.

“I can’t say that I blame him.” Nick joked, but he quickly adopted a more serious tone as he took in the look on Brian’s face. “Why do you think that he’s embarrassed to be seen with you?”

“He didn’t want me to accompany him to his class. He told the principal that he didn’t want the other kids to see me.” Brian moaned. “He just left me standing there in the office like an idiot.”

“I’m sure Baylee isn’t embarrassed to be seen with you.” Nick tried his best to sound reassuring. “It’s just a phase. When I was his age, the last person that I wanted to be seen with was my mom. He just wants to look cool.”

“But, I’m not his mom!” Brian protested. “I’m his dad! Dads are the epitome of cool.”

“You are aware that AJ, Kevin, and Howie are also fathers.” Nick shot back. “Are you saying that all three of them are the epit-epit - whatever you just said - of cool?”

“AJ’s pretty cool.” Brian muttered. “I bet that Baylee would have let AJ walk him to class.”

Nick rolled his eyes. “You’re blowing things out of proportion. Put yourself in Baylee’s position. Would you want to show up on your first day at a new school with your daddy in tow?”

Brian shrugged. He pulled absently at a stray thread that was coming out of the seam of one of the throw pillows. “He’s been giving me a hard time lately.”

“He’s almost eleven.” Nick pointed out. “Things are probably going to get worse before they get better. From what I can remember, I was a little shit when I was his age.”

“Yeah, but your parents were always fight...” Brian stopped himself midsentence. “Shit.”

Nick grimaced as he watched Brian finally make the connection between his divorce and Baylee’s behaviour. It wasn’t as though the divorce was the sole reason for Baylee’s poor attitude, but it was definitely a contributing factor. Pre-teen angst was to blame for the other seventy-five percent.

“So, it IS my fault that he hates me.”

“Bri, Baylee doesn’t hate you.” Nick stated. “I think he’s just trying to figure stuff out for himself. This whole situation is a big adjustment for him too.”

“You sound like Kayla.” Brian muttered. “She was also adamant that Baylee doesn’t hate me.” He paused. “I think you’re both nuts.”

“Oh yeah?” Nick struggled to appear nonchalant. “I forgot that Kayla was meeting you at the school this morning.”

Brian stopped pulling at the thread and turned to give Nick his full attention. “No you didn’t.”

“I didn’t what?” Nick played dumb, but he refused to look Brian in the eye. The older man was definitely on to him.

“You didn’t forget that Kayla was coming.” Brian sighed. “Please don’t sleep with her.”

“Who said anything about sleeping with her?” Nick challenged. “Get your mind out of the gutter.”

“Admit it. You’ve had a thing for our new copper-haired friend since the minute you laid eyes on her.” Brian had known Nick for a long time and he knew that he was right.

“Since when is she our friend?” Nick fought back. “And her hair is the colour of cinnamon, not copper.”

“You know what I mean.” Brian rolled his eyes.

“She is pretty fuckable.” Nick grinned; his eyes squinting in amusement. “Did you see her in those jeans yesterday?”

“Nick, I’m serious.” Brian cautioned. “I’m begging you not to sleep with her until she’s finished with my case. There’s a lot riding on this.”

“There could also be a lot riding on me.” Nick let out a wicked laugh and watched in triumph as Brian unsuccessfully attempted to hide his smile.

“She’s not even your type.” Brian contested.

“I didn’t know that I had a type.” Nick countered.

Brian looked at his friend as if he had lost his mind. “Of course you have a type! You know, perfectly toned, slim, over-the-top pretty.”

“You’re one to talk. Mr. I-only-like-gorgeous-well-endowed-blondes.” Nick shot back.

“That’s not true!” Brian argued. “I totally think that someone like Kayla is attractive. I like the whole girl-next-door thing that she has going on.”

Nick’s eyes widened as he listened to Brian’s argument. “It sounds like you want to fuck her more than I do.”

“I don’t want to fu-sleep with her.” Brian sounded worn out. “She’s all yours ... once she’s done with my file.”

“I promise.” Nick forced a serious expression onto his face and placed his hand over his heart. “I will refrain from sleeping with Kayla until after your situation with C.P.S. is resolved.”

Brian smirked. “Have you even considered the fact that she might not be interested? I found out today that she has a daughter. There could very well be a man in her life.”

“She has a kid?” Nick faltered. “Do you know how old it-she is?”

“She’s still a baby.” Brian answered. “Just less than fourteen months.”

“That’s nice.” Nick fell quiet.

The subject of kids was still a source of pain; it was the reason that he and Lauren had chosen to go their separate ways. Actually, it was the reason why he had decided that Lauren was no longer the right woman for him. For the longest time, Nick had held firm on his belief that he had no desire to be a father. However, his mindset had begun to change as he had finally allowed himself to come to terms with his childhood and his own parents. He had always assumed that he was unfit to be a father simply because his own father had been such a lacklustre parent. Lauren had shared his views on not wanting to have children, and the two of them had always imagined a perfectly happy existence; just the two of them and their dog, Nacho.

When Nick had finally summoned the courage to tell Lauren that he was open to the idea of having a baby, she had legitimately freaked out. There had been a marathon session of shouting and crying, culminating with more than a few broken picture frames and Nick walking out the door. It had been one of the hardest decisions that he had ever made to leave Lauren behind, but he knew that he had made the right choice.

“Nick?” Brian’s voice had taken on a concerned tone. “Are you alright?”

“I broke it off with Lauren because she doesn’t want a baby ... ever.” Nick felt an immediate sense of relief as the explanation toppled out of his mouth. This was the first time that he had ever spoken the words aloud.

“Ahhh.” Brian hesitated. “I can see how that wouldn’t have worked out.”

This is why Nick loved Brian; anyone else would have launched into a series of questions about why he had all of a sudden changed his views on parenting. Brian, on the other hand, could easily decipher all of the messy, hidden details that were buried in his words.

“I’ve decided that I want to be a dad; maybe not right now, but one day.” Nick rambled on. “Is that selfish?”

“There’s nothing selfish about wanting to be a dad.” Brian affirmed. “I think you’ll make a great father.”

A slow smile crept onto Nick’s face. “Now all I need to do is find a girlfriend, propose, get married, and knock her up. I would also prefer to get all of this sorted out before I become an old man.”

Brian laughed; his full-out, southern chuckle that had permeated the background of Nick’s life for the past twenty years. “Does this mean that you’re going to leave Kayla alone? It sounds like you don’t have any time to waste.”

“I still think she’s hot.” Nick chuckled. “I wouldn’t mind getting to know her a bit.”

“As long as you remember our agreement, you can get to know her all you want.” Brian laughed. “You may want to find out if she has a boyfriend first though.”

“Noted.” Nick grinned. “It’s a good thing that Kev is letting me stay at his place. I would have no chance if I still lived in Tennessee.”

“I’m not sure if you have a chance now.” Brian pointed out. “Didn’t you say that Kayla is a fan? Maybe you’re not her favourite.”

“We still haven’t confirmed that she’s a fan.” Nick argued. “But it doesn’t matter, because I’m everyone’s favourite.”

Brian rolled his eyes for the second time in the last twenty minutes. His phone began to ring and he stretched to pull it off of the coffee table. “You’re lucky that my phone is ringing.” He informed Nick. “I was going to come at you with a wicked comeback.”

“You’re a douche.” Nick made a face at Brian as his friend answered the call and brought the phone to his ear.

“Hello?”

Nick watched as Brian’s face turned from playful to serious in less than five seconds.

“Yes, I’m fine, Peggy. How are you?”

Nick scowled at the phone as soon as he heard Brian mention the plump woman’s name. He couldn’t believe that Brian was being subjected to all of this scrutiny. His friend was easily the best dad that a kid could ask for; he was attentive, supportive, and loving. What more did these people want?

“I did put my mother down as the emergency contact.” Brian continued. “I don’t understand why that needs to happen. I thought that Leighanne was only contesting MY behaviour and MY parenting skills.”

Brian stood up from the couch and began wandering aimlessly around the room. He closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose with his free hand.

“Well, I haven’t even spoken to my parents about any of this yet. Can we set it up for the day after tomorrow?”

After a few more curt exchanges, Brian disconnected the call and reopened his eyes. He gave Nick a helpless look as he rubbed the screen of his iPhone against his jeans. “Apparently it’s not enough for them to turn my life upside down. Now, they need to inspect my parents and their home.”

“Why?” Nick knew that his question hadn’t come across as overly sympathetic, but he was so dumbfounded that it was the best he could do.

“I listed my mom as the emergency contact on Baylee’s school form.” Brian moaned. “Peggy has just informed me that they need to check out my parents for the same reason that they need to pull all of that background information about you and the rest of the guys; because there’s a chance that Baylee could end up spending an extended amount of time with them.”

“I can only imagine how Harold and Jackie are going to feel about all of this.” Nick muttered. “You better call them now, before you lose your nerve.”