13. Jimmy
jimmy
. . .
L eave it to Harrison to change the dynamic of our lives. I don’t blame my mate for doing what his missus wants, to be honest I’d move heaven and earth to give Jenna everything she wanted, but a baby is another story. For whatever reason, we couldn’t have a second child. We tried a lot, which honestly is the best part, but there were a few miscarriages, a lot of tests, and a load of doctors saying there’s nothing wrong with either of us. Their answer was IVF, which basically means they take my swimmers in a cup and do what they have to do with them. But for Jenna, those drugs would’ve taken a toll on her both emotionally and physically. Even so, I would’ve held her hand, held her hair back when she was throwing up and given her the jabs. In the end, she decided not to go through with it. Jenna has always told me she’s happy with our life, just the three of us, but watching her tonight, I know she’s not being completely truthful with me.
My mates and I are hanging out in the kitchen with a clear view of the ladies as they go completely gaga over the newest member of our family. The house Josie rented for us is massive and is an open plan, which I’m not a fan of because I like walls. Walls mean I can hang our gold and platinum records, as well as our awards. They mean I can show off all the women in my life by displaying their photos, artwork, and the kindergarten finger painting Eden did for me. It’s of our tour bus, with her standing in front, holding my hand. At least, that’s what she told me when she gave it to me before we left on tour years ago. Still, this house rivals anything I’ve seen. Jenna kept saying there was a hot tub, but that’s an understatement. There’s an indoor pool with a grotto and a way to go outside and enjoy the freshly falling snow with your missus. It’s romantic as hell, but more importantly, each of the bedrooms are far away from each other, so when the mood strikes, and, let’s be honest, it’s going to strike, we’ll all have privacy.
Eden, Betty Paige, and Mack walk into the kitchen. They’re raiding the fridge and talking with each other, not caring that their fathers are all within hearing distance of them. I eye them for a minute, amused by the fact that Mack is here. He’s my focus right now and how he moves around Paige. Liam must be shitting his pants right about now.
“I don’t get it,” I say as soon as the kids leave. “Aren’t you worried about Mack and Paige?”
Liam pales and tips the can of beer he has in his hand. It’s from a local brewer called 14 th Star Brewing Co. and was recommended by the bartender at the lodge. He hooked me on their beer, Valor, and I went out earlier today and bought as much as I could of all their products. What I really like about them, aside from the taste, is that two friends who served in the war started the company after one came up with the idea on the battlefield.
“What’s that?” Liam asks, even though I suspect he knows what I’m talking about.
“Mack.” Harrison clears his throat and looks at Liam while I lean forward. “Spill.”
Liam groans, takes a long drink from the can, and sets it back down onto the table. “You know, sometimes I wish I had put my foot down and told Ashford to take a hike. But I know deep down, if I had, I would’ve lost Noah. And likely Josie because we would’ve fought about Nick and Noah being in each other’s lives. Had Sam . . .” Liam trails off. The bane of our lives, well mostly Liam and Harrison’s, was Sam, our former manager. I never really gave her the time of day, other than needing a job from her. She mostly stayed out of my life and only meddled when Chelsea and I broke up. Even though Sam died years ago, it seems my mates are still dealing with her bullshit. Liam stands and goes to the fridge. He comes back with six more beers and hands two to each of us. We all open them at the same time and take a drink.
“The other night, I’m at the water tower, doing my thing.”
“You mean you had your own pity party?” Harrison asks. He’s smiling, but Liam isn’t. We all know Liam wishes we still lived in Beaumont with him and have begged him to move back to Los Angeles. Harrison and I get it. His life is there, but he’s built himself a nice life in L.A. too, and I know Katelyn and Jenna would be ecstatic to have Josie there.
“Yeah, something like that,” Liam says. “Anyway, Ashford shows up. Earlier, Paige had asked us if Mack could come with us on this trip. I was adamant the kid stays home with his parents but conceded that he could come the day after Christmas and stay with us until we went back. When Ashford showed up, I thought he was there to discuss Mack and Paige.” Liam takes another sip and pauses before finishing. “Nick and Aubrey are getting divorced, and she’s taking Amelie to South Africa to live. Mack is staying in Beaumont.”
“Whoa,” Harrison says.
Liam nods. “I wasn’t expecting him to ask me to keep his son over the holidays.”
“Why did you?” I ask.
“Because of Noah. I know for some it might be hard to justify why I’d let some hormonal teen stay in my house, especially when my daughter has a massive crush on him, but the truth is, Noah would want me to. He thinks of Nick as a father, and I can’t change that, which means he thinks of Mack as a brother. I’m not going to let Mack suffer because his parents have hit a rough patch. Noah would never forgive me.”
“I’m not sure I’d be able to do it. Let some bloke sleep in a room next to my daughter, especially one she has eyes for,” I say.
Liam smirks. “I don’t think I’ve slept since Mack arrived at the house the other night. He’s broken though. He knows what’s going on with his parents. His sister is leaving. He’s going to need some constant in his life, and I think Josie and I can provide that for the time being. It’ll be a good thing for Mack when Noah arrives.”
“Aren’t you afraid of what might happen?” I nod toward the room where everyone is, not knowing if the kids are in there or not.
Liam shakes his head slowly. “No, I’m not. Mack knows not to disrespect my rules.”
“You’re very trusting, my friend.” Harrison squeezes Liam’s shoulder.
“So are you,” Liam laughs. “Lest I remind you about my son and your daughter.”
Harrison stands and picks up his full can of beer. He points at Liam with his other hand. “True love, man. True love,” he says with a pretend sob.
Liam and I follow Harrison into the other room. The ladies are still in awe over Ollie, which I get. Thankfully, Jenna’s arms are empty. I’d hate to take time away from her and the baby. “Wanna head to the pool?” Jenna nods and reaches for my hand to help her up.
“Where are you going?” Katelyn asks.
“To the pool? You should come with us,” I say.
“You know, you guys haven’t even seen the house. Come on, let me show you around before I take the kids to pick up the pizzas,” Josie says as she stands.
Liam puts his beer down on the coffee table and tells Harrison he and Mack will get their things from the cars so everyone can tour the house. “Mack,” he yells, and within seconds the boy appears.
“Yes, sir?”
“Do you want to help me get the Jameses’ luggage from their cars while Josie shows them around the house?”
I notice that Liam asks Mack to help and doesn’t tell him he has to. To me, Liam is showing Mack the respect he’s demanding in return.
“Of course,” Mack says straight away. There isn’t any hesitation in his answer. In fact, he’s already putting his coat on.
“I’ll help,” I add, even though I’d rather get half-naked with my wife. Helping to unload the cars is the right thing to do though. After I get bundled up because it’s bloody well freezing outside, we head out. I’m grateful for snowblowers, deep shovels, and plows for clearing as much of the snow away as possible. Those tools make it so much easier to walk around, although you still have to watch for ice. I already slipped on some earlier and about fell flat on my arse. Jenna laughed and said my arms looked like windmills. I found none of it funny.
I can easily say this, the Jameses pack way too much stuff. It takes Mack and me two trips to bring everything into the house. After the first load, Liam complained of a broken fingernail or some stupid shit like that and used it as an excuse to seek medical attention. I should’ve known he’d flake out.
“What’s it like to live with Liam?” I ask Mack as we shed our winter gear.
“Well, sir,” he says. “It’s only been a few days.”
“I’m Jimmy. The guys call me JD. You can call me either, I don’t mind, but you don’t have to call me sir. Does Liam make you call him that?”
Mack shakes his head. “No, si . . . JD. He’s told me before I can call him Liam, but my parents want me to call him Mr. Westbury. I think that’s odd though because Noah’s my brother and Liam’s his dad, so I call him sir.”
“You must be excited to see Noah tomorrow?”
Mack nods. “He can’t ski or snowboard though. Quinn said he’d go with me.”
“I’ll go too,” I tell him. “Turns out I quite like snowboarding.”
“It’s fun,” Mack says. He quiets as soon as Betty Paige enters the foyer. There is no mistaking the chemistry between them. If Liam doesn’t keep a watchful eye on these two, he’s going to become a grandpa sooner than he’s expecting. “Hey.” Mack’s voice has completely changed to a soft tone.
“Everyone’s going swimming,” Paige says as she points towards the pool. “Do you want to go?”
Mack doesn’t say anything for a bit but finally nods. It’s hard for me to say, but I think the poor guy looked Paige up and down before he could find the right words to reply. Yep, Liam is in for a world of trouble.
“Paige, give Mack and me a few, and we’ll meet you all at the pool.”
She smiles and walks away. I place my hand on Mack’s shoulder and give him a fair shake. “Don’t even think about it.”
“What?” he asks with wide, startled eyes.
“Her. You. Doing things to make Liam kill you.”
Mack hangs his head. “I’m thankful to be here, but she’s hard to be around sometimes.”
“It’s called hormones. You’ve got to get a control on them because the result of acting on them before you’re ready could end very badly.”
“Yeah, I told Mr. Westbury I’d respect his rules, and I will. She,” he pauses and points. “Makes it very hard.”
I make a mental note to say something to Jenna in the hope she’ll say something to Josie about the temptations of having both these kids living in their house. Maybe Josie will tell Paige she needs to take it down a notch or two before these teens find themselves in a situation they can’t get out of.
With my hand still on his shoulder, I signal for him to follow me. When we get to his room, I leave him there but before I go, I tell him if he needs to talk, I’d be happy to lend an ear and offer some advice. I leave out the part where I’m probably the last bloke he should ask for advice, especially considering I was having sex, drinking, and partying at his age. As a father of a teenager though, I’m pretty sure I can offer words of wisdom. At least, I hope I can.