Chapter Two
Jude
One by one, I watch Wes, Remy, and Flynn move all the kids into the corner of the room at the Carlyle Hotel that’s dedicated to the men of Ty’s wedding party.
Wes is carrying his baby, Wes Jr., and Ty’s little baby, Emily.
Remy has his baby, Carmen, and his toddler, Izzy.
Flynn has both of his wild toddlers, Roman and Ryder.
And Lexi is pulling up the rear with my little man, Hawk, and a bag full of what I’m assuming is snacks, drinks, and whatever else is needed to keep the toddlers of the group busy.
It’s been decided by the women that the men will watch the kids before the wedding so they can help Rachel get ready and drink to their hearts’ content. So, here we are, on Ty’s wedding day, trying to juggle getting ready and watching four babies and three toddlers.
Whoever decided that we needed to bring Lex along for the ride was a fucking genius.
It’s a team effort to get the currently sleeping babies settled into two Pack ’n Plays that are already set up in the designated kids’ area, but it’s not long before the babies are good to go and Lexi is busy keeping Flynn’s twins and Izzy entertained.
“Am I at a wedding or a day care?” Uncle Brad teases, and I just laugh. It’s unorthodox and chaotic, but it’s fucking fun too.
“I think it’s both, Uncle B.”
“Man, when you Winslow boys finally decide to settle down, you don’t waste any damn time, do ya?” he questions on a chuckle. “One day, we only had Lexi, and now, we’ve got more kids than I can count.”
He’s not wrong. It feels like overnight, my mother went from one grandkid to eight.
“That’s how it goes with Winslows,” Ty chimes in. “We go big, or we go home.”
“And trust me, these fucks never go home,” Remy adds on a funny note.
“Winslow Daddy Day Care,” Uncle Brad muses as he heads over to the food table to grab a sandwich. “Never thought I’d see the day.”
While all the kids remain calm, the men in the room divide and conquer their priorities, some focused on eating and drinking at the food table and some finishing getting ready.
The room is filled with all the important men of Ty’s life—Nathaniel, Rachel’s father, Howard, and Uncle Brad, and the groomsmen of the wedding party, which include Flynn, Remy, Wes, and me.
Even though Ty has told everyone that we’re all his best men, I know better. I’m the true best man of this wedding party. I mean, c’mon, like he’d choose Rem or Flynn. My only true competition was Howard, but there’s no way he’s managed to one-up me in the few short years he’s been with our mom. Plus, he needs to ride shotgun to his main squeeze Wendy Winslow during the ceremony.
“Damn, I’m good-looking,” Ty says, grinning at himself in the mirror as he adjusts his bow tie.
Obviously, I know he’s second place to how fucking handsome, downright stunning , I looked when Soph and I got married, but in the name of today being all about him and my soon-to-be sister-in-law Rachel, I don’t make him face the truth.
“Today is the big day, bro,” I tell him and clap a hand to his back, and when I see our reflections in the mirror, I sadly note that I’m still the better-looking Winslow brother. It’s out of my control, though. I can’t help it. I can only try to fade away into the background during the ceremony and reception, in the hope that I won’t take too much of the attention away from him.
“Thank fuck for that.” Ty smirks and adjusts the lapels of his tuxedo.
“You nervous?” I ask him, and he looks at me like I’ve grown two heads.
“Nervous to marry Rachel? Ha. Not a chance.”
“That’s good news,” Nathaniel Rose—aka Rachel’s father and one of Ty’s mentors—comments from the other side of the room where he stands with Uncle Brad and Howard. “Because if you mess this up, I’ll kill you.”
Ty laughs. “I think you’ve gotten grumpy in your old age, Nate. But I get it. And I promise you, I’ll spend the rest of my life kissing the ground Rachel walks on.”
Nate just grins. “That’s the spirit.”
When Howard, Uncle Brad, and Nathaniel walk over to help Ty pin his boutonniere on, and Wes, Remy, and Flynn are busy with their own boutonnieres, I head over to the other side of the room where my niece Lexi is currently keeping all the kids occupied.
The babies are still sleeping, and the toddlers are riveted by whatever their eldest cousin is doing.
So far, so good.
I steal an extra glance at my little man Hawk. He’s still sleeping on his back, resting beside his cousin Emily. And damn, I can’t deny, he’s a dapper little dude, dressed head-to-toe in a black baby tux, and his light-brown hair is styled in a tiny mohawk. He came to impress today. Hell, even his little Converse sneakers show he’s the coolest baby in this room.
No offense to my nephew Wes Jr. or my nieces Carmen and Emily, but Hawk is the baby who is stealing the show today. Like father, like son, I guess.
“You good, Lexi?” I ask, and she looks up from her spot on the floor, where she is keeping Izzy, Roman, and Ryder—the toddlers of the group—occupied with some kind of game that includes them guessing which ball she puts under a cup.
“Yep,” she tells me just as Roman shouts, “More! More, Lex!”
“More, Lex! More!” Izzy giggles and claps her hands, and Ryder fucks the whole thing up by standing up and kicking down the cups with one fat toddler foot.
“No, no, Ryder,” Lex tells him, but the little lunatic just grins and sits back down.
If there is one kid to keep as many eyes on as possible, it’s Flynn’s son Ryder. At a little over two years old, he’s pretty much a lunatic. Cute as hell, but wild as hell . The kid is the definition of zero fucks given.
I move my attention back to the babies, all four of them still sleeping.
And Sophie was worried we couldn’t handle this shit. Ha . I’d say we’ve got it covered.
I even pull my phone out of my pocket to let her know just that, snapping a picture of the whole beautiful scene.
Me: I told you we could handle it, babe.
Sophie: Actually, it looks like LEXI is handling it.
I smirk.
Me: Same difference. The Winslow Daddy Day Care knows how to handle shit, even if that means bringing in reinforcements that can occupy the toddlers. You boozing it up over there?
Sophie: I am, in fact, enjoying a nice glass of champagne.
“Hey, Uncle Jude, can you keep an eye on the toddlers?” Lexi asks me, and I look away from my phone to see her standing up from her spot on the floor.
“Uh…yeah…sure. No problem,” I tell her, stealing a quick glance at all the kids again, and when I note that the toddlers are currently playing with Lego and the babies are still sleeping, I go back to my conversation with Soph.
Honestly, I’m practically vibrating over the excitement that includes my woman being a little buzzed up tonight. For one, after being pregnant and then handling the newborn phase of our baby Hawk’s little life, she deserves it. And two, well, my sexy lady tends to get wild and crazy whenever she has a little alcohol in her system. I love when Sophie gets wild and crazy because it usually ends with my cock inside her perfect cunt.
Me: I can’t be sure, babe, but once our little man is asleep, I feel like tonight is going to be a three-badge kind of night.
Sophie: You’re crazy, but also, COUNT ME IN.
Fuck, I love her.
I’m grinning like a real bastard as I slide my phone back into my pocket, but when I look up to check on the kids again, I see that Ryder and Roman and Izzy are no longer sitting on the floor.
What the hell? Where’d they go?
Quickly, I scan the room and spot the three little monsters over by the food area where sandwiches and drinks were set out by Julie, Ty and Rachel’s wedding planner and one of Sophie’s best friends.
When Ryder pulls a metal tray off the table, a loud bang! echoes in the room and startles all four of the previously sleeping babies.
It’s a domino effect of crying—first, Emily, then Carmen, then Wes Jr., and then my little man Hawk.
Shit.
Flynn heads over to the table to get control of the toddlers, and Rem, Ty, Wes, and I head over to the babies, picking up our own kids to try to calm them down.
Hawk is easy to please with a pacifier in his mouth, but when I look back up, I realize the three-on-one situation that Flynn is dealing with isn’t panning out so well.
He has Roman, but Izzy and Ryder have now moved on to one of the windows, and Ryder is just tugging on a long curtain like the Incredible Hulk.
“Oh, for fuck’s sake, Flynn. Remy!” Ty exclaims on a whisper-yell as he tries to calm his baby Emily down with bouncing movements and pats to her back. “Your kids are tearing this place to shreds! Do you have any idea the things I had to promise to get the Carlyle to agree to another one of our weddings here?”
Roman has now managed to get away from Flynn and has joined the toddler crew.
And Roman, Ryder, and Izzy, the three people in this room who can create the most chaos are, in fact, creating the most fucking chaos.
Hawk is crying again, his pacifier out of his mouth, and I hold him close to my chest as I try to get the three terrors away from the curtains they’re currently attempting to tear down from the ceiling.
Izzy squeals and Roman screeches and fucking Ryder, the lunatic, keeps ahold of the edges of the curtain and runs away from me like he’s Usain Bolt. The kid is too damn fast, and my hands are already too full with my little buddy, and before I know it, the curtain rod is pulling from the wall and heading straight for the floor.
Flynn and Remy are there, tugging a giggling Iz and Roman out of the way of disaster, but Ryder is a man on a mission to destroy this place.
“Ry!” Flynn shouts toward his maniac spawn. “No! You know the rules!”
“Actually, Flynn, I don’t think Ryder gives a shit about rules,” Ty interjects with a giant grin on his face and his arms full of his little girl Emily and Remy’s little girl Carmen.
“No! No! No! No!” Ryder shouts at the top of his lungs while he’s in the process of tangling himself in the curtain.
Flynn leaves Roman in Remy’s hold to grab Ryder and stop the madness.
Though, Ryder just laughs and laughs, like getting in trouble is his favorite goddamn thing.
“Flynn, my man,” Uncle Brad chimes in. “I’m already praying for you when Ryder reaches his teenage years.”
“Yeah, me too,” Howard chimes in. “Honestly, Wendy and I light a candle for you every time we go to church.”
Flynn just sighs, but when he looks at the crazy two-year-old that is now in his arms, he can’t hold back his grin when Ryder says, “Loves you, Dada! Loves you, Dada!”
Izzy and Roman join him, and before I know it, “Loves you, Dada!” becomes some kind of weird, trippy experience where the three of them start walking around to all the men in the room and hugging us while chanting those very words.
“What is happening? Is this a cult?” Ty questions. “Do they think we’re all their dads?”
I look over at him with wide eyes. “Not going to lie, Rem’s and Flynn’s kids are making me feel like I’m on drugs. Though, right now, I’m just thankful the babies have calmed back down.”
“Dude.” Ty nods. “Same.”
Once the toddlers get bored with their confusing game, they move on to sitting on the floor again and stuffing goldfish crackers into their mouths once Ryder takes it upon himself to raid the bag Lexi carried in.
“Whose idea was it to leave all these kids in our care, anyway?” Ty questions, and I’m personally starting to wonder the same thing. Fucking hell. Maybe Sophie was right to be a little worried.
Four babies and three toddlers feels like a recipe for disaster. Especially when said events involve Ty and Rachel saying “I do.”
“Where did Lexi go?” Ty asks, and Wes is quick to respond.
“Lex had to go meet her boyfriend Connor at the front.”
“What the hell? She’s still with that little con artist?” Remy questions, and Wes just laughs.
“Dude. You gotta let it go.”
“No, I won’t let it go.” Rem shakes his head. “I’ve seen the look in his eyes. He’s trouble.”
“The kid has glasses and carries a Rubik’s Cube around with him all the time. He’s the opposite of trouble, my man,” I respond with a grin and adjust Hawk’s pacifier in his mouth. “Plus, his name is Connor. There is absolutely nothing dangerous about that name.”
“So, if Connor isn’t the name of a kid you should be worried about, what exactly does a name like Hawk instill?” Rem quirks a questioning eyebrow at me, and I just grin like the proud papa I am.
“Hawk is a strong, badass name. The ladies will flock to him, and I’m sure the parents will be worried. As they should.”
“Hawk,” Ty says through a snort. “I still can’t believe Sophie let you name your kid after a bird.”
“Have you ever seen a hawk, bro? They’re huge. Cool as shit. I fudging wish my name was Hawk.” I shrug. “Plus, Soph lost a bet. And well, you know how I am about bets. You always gotta pay up, especially when the dues are owed to moi .”
Truthfully, Sophie wanted to name our baby Benjamin. Which, nothing against the Benjis of the world, but I needed my son to have the kind of name that would give him a backbone. A real foundation for the strong man I know he’ll grow up to be.
“Ca-caw! Ca-caw! Is that how I’m supposed to get my nephew’s attention?” Ty teases, and I flip him off behind Hawk’s back.
Obviously, he’s just jealous that my kid has such a badass name.
Despite the earlier chaos, the room has finally settled down, and the babies are calm enough to put back in the Pack ’n Plays.
That is, until Izzy realizes her favorite cousin is nowhere to be found.
“Lexi!” Izzy shouts, looking around the room. “Where Lexi!”
It’s not long before Roman and Ryder join in, and we’re back to the chanting.
“Lexi! Lexi! Lexi!”
Hawk starts crying again, and right on cue, the rest of the baby squad joins in.
First, Carmen.
Then, Emily.
And finally, Wes Jr.
“Can someone go get Lexi?” Ty questions, but Wes is already on the move with Wes Jr. in tow.
And I’m thankful as hell when my niece’s face appears in the doorway, her little boyfriend Connor following dutifully behind her.
I look across the room and note that Rem is basically giving the thirteen-year-old kid the stink eye, and I can’t not laugh.
“What’s so funny?” Ty asks over our crying kids.
“Rem.”
He looks across the room, and when he sees what I see, the smile on his face shows he agrees with me. “When Iz and Carmen are teenagers, our big brother is going to have a head full of fucking gray hair.”
I grin. “From your lips to God’s ears.”
A few minutes later, and after Lexi and Connor have managed to wrangle the toddlers back to the cup game and the babies have all settled down again, Julie the wedding planner steps into the room and lets us know it’s showtime.
“It’s time to head out and line up for the ceremony!” she announces and looks at Ty. “Are you ready to get married?”
And he smiles like a man who has been ready to get married since the moment Rachel turned his life upside down for the better. “I’ve been ready, Jules. Let’s do this.”
Instantly, I know what I have to do.
“I think it’s time for one last toast, before we see Ty off to his fate of holy matrimony!” I exclaim as I hand each man in the room the closest thing I can find to a drink—fucking juice boxes.
Uncle Brad stares down at the tiny Mott’s Apple Juice in his hand and scrunches up his nose. “This might be the weirdest wedding I’ve ever been to, and it hasn’t even started.”
“Pretend it’s a beer, Uncle B,” Remy tells him, and he scoffs.
“Yeah, okay.”
I ignore his dissent and proceed on to the toast. “Cheers to Ty and Rachel. May the life ahead of them be filled with love, happiness, and the kind of sex that lets Ty last longer than his usual ten seconds!”
Ty flips me the bird.
But everyone else laughs and downs their juice boxes in the manliest fashion possible, with the tiny fucking straws being the only way to drink them.
“Let’s do this!” Ty shouts as he crushes his empty juice box in his hand. “I’m ready to marry my woman!”
Looks like it’s showtime.