Epilogue

NATE

I t was a usual Saturday afternoon at Imagination Station with the packs of children shrieking and sprinting all over the damn place.

But this Saturday was different.

Because this Saturday, my son was walking .

“Look at ’im! Look at ’im!” I gestured wildly at my almost one-year-old as he toddled toward me, one unsteady step at a time. Liam, Jude, and Dylan, with Bennet in his arms, watched.

I stayed crouched down on my haunches, hands out and waiting for him. “Yeah, buddy! You got it!” He grinned at me, drool running down his chin. “That’s it!”

With one last step, he threw himself at me, and I caught him, laughing. I held him up, circling around, winning delighted screeches, before facing my friends, puffing out my chest.

“You see him go?” I crowed, proud motherfucking papa. “Gonna be a track star.”

Dylan smirked, his baseball cap pulled low enough that his nine-month-old could grab at it.

“What?” I asked, setting George back on his feet so he could take another few steps, this time holding on to my fingers.

“I just can’t believe it,” Dylan said, his eyes on his son, voice quiet.

I led Frogger toward the bench so we could sit down. “What?”

“You.” Liam stretched out his long legs in front of him. “You went from literally grimacing about being here to being the first one to arrive every time we meet.”

I shrugged, tapping my hand on the bench. “Somebody’s gotta save our seats.”

Next to me, Jude chuckled. “Yeah, you’re the president of the Single Dads’ Club.”

I nodded, proud, but raised my hand when a thought crossed my mind. “We never did take that vote on our new name. Married Dads’ Association.”

“Why do we need a vote?” Dylan asked. “That’s just what it is.”

I frowned at him. “Says who?”

“Says all of us since that’s what we are,” he said, sweeping his hand out.

Technically, Jude wasn’t married, but he was headed that way without question. They only wanted to wait until their new house was built.

After Dylan and my sister were married last summer, Liam and Kennedy had taken a quick weekend trip to elope, while Tabby and I had made it official this past May with a small ceremony at the town hall and a reception at Tabby Cat. Of course.

In the months since the wine bar and bistro had opened, it had earned rave reviews. Collin’s food was top-notch, and he even started working with Brooke to have fresh seasonal produce delivered. A win for everyone.

Tabby had been immediately hired after her graduation, flourishing in her career and as a mother. Though she was a big- time corporate accountant, she still found time to handle my books, and I found time to eat her out for breakfast almost every morning. A win for everyone.

A small group coming through the doors of Imagination caught my eye, and I turned to see a man who I’d become familiar with after the fire. "Hey, Captain," I called out, George still wobbling on his feet beside me. "Didn't expect to see you here."

Captain Stone, the firefighter who I’d spoken with multiple times, met my hand for a shake. “Hey, uh, Nate, right?”

I lifted George up into my arms. “Yeah. Good to see you.”

He swept his gaze over me and my son. “I’m glad to see you’re doing well.”

“Me, too. And thanks again for everything you did.”

He shrugged off my appreciation, and I noticed the gift bag in his hand.

“You here for a party or something?”

He pointed out a boy and girl running around with a few others by the firetruck, ironically. “Those two belong to me. Here for some classmate’s birthday.”

“Nice,” I said, though he obviously didn’t think so. Bringing his wrist up, he checked the time on what appeared to be some kind of fancy military watch.

“I hate these kind of parties. All the…chaos.”

I chuckled. “You’re welcome to hang out with me and my friends.”

He shook his head. “I’m not staying. Their nanny is coming to pick them up. I gotta get to work.”

Nanny? Fancy. Then again, he didn’t wear a wedding ring, so I assumed, with his job, a nanny was probably a necessity.

“Hey, well, have a good one,” I said, and he tipped his chin at me before sticking his fingers in his mouth and whistling. It caught everyone’s attention, including his two kids who immediately ran over. He bent, speaking in a low tone, giving them directions.

I didn’t know much about Captain Stone, but he seemed like the type of guy who didn’t stand for any shit. I watched as he patted his kids’ heads then stood up straight as an arrow and marched back out of the doors.

He was a captain, all right.

“Anybody have big plans this summer?” Liam asked, when I walked back over to the guys.

Jude held out a Tupperware of chocolate chip cookies for us to help ourselves. “Not this summer. It’s tough for us with Brooke’s schedule. I’ve been trying to get her to loosen the reins on being a micromanager.”

All three of my friends slanted their gazes to me.

“What? I’ve already done that. I’m, like, a macromanager now.”

Liam muffled his laugh with a bite of cookie. “That’s not a word.”

“Yes, it is,” I argued, knowing full well it wasn’t. But I couldn’t look bad in front of my kid.

Jude elbowed Liam. “What about your plans?”

“We’re going to Boston for a week,” he said, then craned his neck, cupping his hand around his mouth. “Hey, Finn, you gotta watch what you’re doing.”

A few months ago, Finn had been diagnosed with ADHD, and he’d started some different therapies to try to help. He was still hyperactive but followed directions better now. Finn had often been a topic of conversation during our meetups and on our text threads because the diagnosis process had been stressful for Liam, Kennedy, and Finn’s mother. They’d all been on the same page, but it hadn’t been easy.

Before, I might not have appreciated how often parents stayed up at night, anxious about the decisions they needed to make for their children on a daily basis. But I understood it now.

And I did not envy Liam and the struggles he had to endure with Finn.

The three of us then turned to Dylan, awaiting his answer on their summer plans. He switched Bennet to his other arm. “We’re taking the kids to the beach for a few days. It’s gonna be fucking awful.”

I snickered. “You’re outnumbered now.”

He nodded. Scarlett and Tucker were eight and six, respectively, and Dylan was starting all over again from the beginning. Another one I didn’t envy.

Sebastian slinked over to us, his hair in his eyes, a cell phone in his hand. “Dad, are we leaving soon? My friends are all going to the movies. You said we’d only be here an hour.”

Jude nodded and checked the time. “Yeah, and we’ve been here for, like, twenty-five minutes.”

“Ugh,” Seb grunted. I did feel bad for him. The kid was turning thirteen in a few weeks, and he was being forced to tolerate “imaginative play.” I’d hate it too.

“This is so stupid,” he groaned, and Jude threw his hands out in response.

“I told you, you coulda stayed with Brooke.”

“Or I could just stay home by myself.”

Jude threw his son a flat look. “Last time I did that, you had a girl over.”

I ducked my head, pretending to be very interested in the stain on George’s onesie. Dylan and Liam found some other things to engross themselves too, as Jude lowered his voice, speaking to Seb in a strict tone. Whatever it was had Sebastian stomping back over to the corner.

It had been a big deal. Three weeks ago, Jude had permitted Sebastian to stay home by himself for a few hours while he worked at his store and Brooke ran errands with Amelia. Jude returned home to find Sebastian had a girl over.

They were fully clothed and apparently only sitting next to each other.

But still.

Jude had texted us to talk him off the ledge of locking Seb in his room for the rest of the year. I had shit all advice to give, joking—somewhat—about me being the uncle to buy him condoms.

Jude did not think that was funny.

And I certainly didn’t envy his job of parenting a teenager.

They scared the shit out of me.

Besides, I had my hands full enough with my boy.

“Me and Tabs were thinking about renting a house somewhere for a weekend or something. Somewhere quiet.” I jutted my chin for Frogger. “See how he does with the water.”

“That would be fun,” Jude said, snapping the lid back over the cookies. “If one summer we could all rent a place somewhere. Get a big house and let the kids run wild.”

Dylan nodded. “I’m already not looking forward to staying in a hotel. Three kids plus a Pack ’n Play and all our shit? There won’t be any room to move.”

Liam scratched at his jaw. “If we ever decided to do that, Kennedy would jump at the chance to put it together.”

I shrugged. “Let’s do it. Maybe next summer. I’m sure we’d have to book out that far anyway.”

Liam pulled out his phone, probably texting Kennedy. “On it.”

“You hear that?” I lifted George, pumping his fist up and down. “Me and your uncles are gonna get everybody together at the beach. We’ll eat s’mores and swim and—” I stopped when I noticed Finn in the mailbox.

“O’Neil,” I said, snapping my fingers. “He’s stuck again.”

Liam rolled his head back to his shoulders, eyes closed, and I took a wild guess that he was mentally counting to ten.

Something I’d learned came in handy in those moments of overwhelm.

In the chaos.

In the screaming and crying.

And then he calmly stood up and extricated his son’s head from the mailbox. Like a pro.

I slapped his back when he returned for a job well done.

Never in a million years had I ever thought I’d be here.

In a jungle of kids. With my own wiping his fingers covered in disgusting chewed-up Cheerios all over my T-shirt. Yet here I was.

And I fucking loved it.

There was nothing better than being a dad. Knowing that I was the best father I could be.

Then again, I’d found something that was just as good.

Loving my wife. Making her laugh. And hearing those words.

I love you.

Thank you so much for coming along on this journey with Nate and Tabby!