Page 85 of Acceptance

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Page 85 of Acceptance

“You got a problem with the name,Kent?”

“It’s just not the coolest of names, but it works for him.”

She snorts. “Well, I guess I gave him two uncool names because he’s Nolan Kent Short.”

His eyes snap up to lock with hers. “Wait, seriously?”

“You were kind of instrumental in his delivery. Seemed fitting, but now I’m kind of second-guessing it.”

“Thank you, Gracie.”

And he means it. No one has ever done anything remotely this thoughtful for him. No wonder he feels a connection to Nolan.

“You look pretty good with a kid in your arms.”

“Um, it’s kind of hard not to when you’re holding a kid this fucking cute.”

“Yeah, I think I like him.”

Chuckling, he glances between mother and son. “I hope so, but if you ever change your mind, I can take him off your hands. I think we’ve bonded. Plus, I think he’d be a chick magnet.”

“You want to use my kid to attract women to sleep with?”

“Not just that. I honestly haven’t been able to stop thinking about him since he popped out of your coo-coo ca-choo.”

“My what?” she asks, snorting as she laughs. “You didn’t just name my vagina.”

He shrugs. “It’s not like I named it Betty.”

“You are lucky you’re holding my kid, otherwise I’d hit you for that.”

He opens his mouth to banter back when Gavin calls out his sister’s name.

“In here,” she calls, and Nolan barely stirs. “Yeah, he’s a sleeper. At least for now.”

Gavin steps into the room and looks frazzled. “Hey, Mom and Dad aren’t here, right?”

“Uh, no. Why?” Gracie asks.

Sighing, he begins to pace as he runs a hand over his face. “Dad’s going to kill me.”

“Hailey’s pregnant!” she gasps.

Kent’s eyes widen as he rocks slightly to keep the baby sleeping in his arms. There is no way Gavin’s making it out of a conversation with his pops if he’s knocked up Colt’s daughter.

“No, she’s not.”

“Thank God,” she says, her hand resting on her chest as she sits in the rocking chair next to the crib. “You almost gave me a heart attack.”

“Emme is.”

Frowning, Kent looks between the siblings as Gracie’s jaw drops. “Who’s Emme?”

“The girl I was fucking while missing Hailey. I wrapped my shit every time, I swear, and she said she was on birth control. Who knows if that’s even true, but—”

“It might not be yours,” Gracie says. “You did say she was really into sex. You might not have been the only guy she was riding.”

He pales. “We had two paternity tests done. The kid’s mine.”