5. Will

Chapter Five

WILL

" H ow was your meeting with Roland, Daddy?"

John reached over and clasped his hand around my knee. "Good. Really good. Don't get too excited because I'm not saying I'm leaving my company, but I made him an official offer today."

"Like an offer to be his angel donor?" I asked, excited without the details. Wasn't that his way, though? John taking some of our wealth and using it to help fund new businesses was something he'd been tossing around for awhile. It would fulfill him in a way that his cut-throat job in corporate America never would.

"Yes. And I'm happy to say, he's taken me up on it. We're going to start meeting weekly to formalize his business plan and decide who else he might need to hire."

"I'm confused. I thought this was supposed to be a one-man show. He's going to have employees?"

John smiled. "He is now. It wasn't his original plan, but I've been doing some research on other things people might need a handyman for."

"Like?"

"Roland plans to focus on household projects and repairs, but there are demands for technology and landscaping, as well."

Confused, I tilted my head. "But aren't there companies for that?"

"There are, yes. But Roland wants this company to have an old-time, neighbors helping neighbors feel, and I like the direction he's going. How much more comfortable would someone like Indie's grandma feel hiring smaller, more local? A place to come in and help her with her smaller computer needs, like something as easy as her learning to hit a button or buy a certain power strip? She'd never call a place that's going to charge outrageous money, only to make her feel dumb for not knowing what to do."

"Oh, I like it. Does Kenny know?"

"I'm sure Roland's telling him right now," he said, laughing. "Considering that means telling Indie, as well, I'm sure they're having a lively conversation."

I giggled. "Yeah, people thought you had your hands full with me, but Roland's got me times two with Kenny and Indie in his life."

"That he does, boy. That he does."

My phone chirped, and I pulled it out of my pocket. "Oh, cool, someone's texting in Toby's Crew Group Chat."

John snorted. "Then I'll just turn up this podcast I've been listening to. You'll be lost in that thing for at least the rest of our drive home."

I wanted to disagree, but I really couldn't. We were up to twenty-one of us in this group chat now. Good grief, how it had grown.

Hayden: Well, I have something to tell you guys.

Nigel: I know. I know .

Hayden: Nigel, don't be rude. You're going to lose bestie privileges if you rub it in everyone's face.

Toby: Yeah. And how come he knows and I don't?

Cameron: As much as I wish you all would take me out of this chat, as the only Daddy in here, I find I must be the disciplinarian. Toby. Don't be greedy. Everyone can't be your best friend.

Indie: Burn. Good one, Daddy.

Luca: I second Cameron. I think we should kick him out of here. This is supposed to be for us boys.

Archie: Noooo. He was one of the first people in this chat.

Chip: Maybe we could make a new one.

Dylan: Chip, have you been holding back on us since there's a Daddy in here?

Hayden: Hello. This is about me. I have news.

Me: I'm wiggling in my seat. I can't take it. What's your news, Hayden?

Me: Also, the next time we're all together, we should talk about kicking Cameron out of the chat.

Cameron: I vote on kicking Cameron out of the chat.

Indie: Daddy, hush. I want to hear Hayden's news.

Archie: Me too.

Dylan: Me too.

Julian: I'm here. What's up, Hayden?

Timothy: Me too. Me too. I miss you guys. What's happening over there in the states?

Nigel: Hayden, stop being a drama queen and tell them.

Hayden: Well…

Hayden: Waylan and I have been working on something.

Hayden: Would you like to know what?

Levi: Good grief. I'm glad I just got on. How long are you going to draw this out?

"Oh, for fuck's sake," I mumbled.

"What's wrong, boy?" John asked.

"Hayden is always so dramatic. He says he has something important to tell us, but he's dragging it out. Why can't he just say it?"

"You mean like you would? You two are exactly opposite, yet exactly the same. It kind of blows my and Waylan's minds."

"You and Waylon talk about us?" I asked, scandalized.

"Pay attention to your messages, boy. You're going to miss something important, and I can't hear my podcast."

No, I actually wasn't going to miss a thing. My gaze was boring into my screen waiting for the text bubbles to disappear and become real words. Obviously, everybody was excited because no one else was speaking either.

Hayden: About six months ago, Waylon and I found a surrogate, and she's pregnant.

The screen filled with no way . Congratulations . I'm so happy for you . A baby? Yeah, that one was me. And on and on it went.

"Oh my gosh, Daddy. Waylon and Hayden are having a baby."

John's head whipped toward me, and I pointed out the window. "Eyes on the road, please. You're carrying precious cargo." I pointed a thumb back at myself.

He chuckled but paid attention to his driving. "That's… well. How do you feel about that, boy?" he asked, making a weird face.

"I'm excited for them. This is amazing. We're going to have a baby to play with. Levi's sisters are getting irritated at having so many big brothers, but now we'll all be uncles."

"It doesn't bother you at all?"

Confused, I turned my phone off. I could catch up with all of the messages later. Right now, I felt like there was something happening here that I didn't quite understand. "Is there something you want to tell me, Daddy?" Did John want a child? We'd both agreed years ago that we weren't interested in having more than our family of two, but if he wanted kids… well, I'd adjust.

John stopped at the light and turned toward me. "That's what I've been wanting to ask you."

John

Will and I didn't talk any further until we were home. My poor boy seemed so perplexed. I wondered if I'd gotten this whole thing wrong. But why else would he have been looking at nurseries for a baby then because he wanted one? After grabbing us drinks, I sat down on the couch next to him. "Boy." I took a deep breath. "I've noticed that you've been pulling up websites for designing a child's nursery."

Will tilted his head to the side, obviously still confused at what I was getting at. "So?"

I hated pushing him to share something when he wasn't ready, but I had to know. "Well, is there something you'd like to tell me?"

He shrugged. "Daddy, I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Okay, I'm going to cut to the chase. Are you wanting us to have a child?"

His dark eyes widened in horror. "As in a little, fragile, breakable human? Like what Hayden and Waylan are having?"

I growled low in my throat. "Yes, boy. That's exactly what I mean."

"But, Daddy, I'm your baby." He grabbed his chest like he was in pain. "But…if that's what you?—"

I quickly held my hands up in a stop motion. "No. That's definitely not what I want, but I noticed you kept looking at nurseries and things online, and bringing magazines home and hiding them, so it seemed like you were hiding it from me."

His cheeks flushed instantly. "So you were hiding it from me? But if you don't want us to grow our family, then I don't understand why."

Will held up a finger. "I never said I didn't want us to grow our family."

"Wait. Okay, now I'm confused."

"I think it would be fun to have a kitten. I mean, at one time I was thinking it would be great to have a dog, but first they go through the puppy stage, and then they need to be walked and we don't have a yard, so I'd have to take them out everytime, and what if the weather's bad? No, I'd much rather have a kitten, I think."

This was the thing about Will that many found frustrating. Not only did he tend to ask inappropriate questions or say pearl clutching things in the wrong company, but it only took one comment to throw him off on a tangent. Me? I found it absolutely charming and endearing.

"Boy, I need you to focus. We can come back to buying a live animal later." Much later. The one time I purchased him a fish, he'd been so fascinated with the poor thing that he'd overfed it, and then bawled for days when he woke up one morning to find it floating belly up in the small tank. He'd called himself a murderer for months. "First, let's focus on what made me think you wanted a baby to begin with." If you aren't want a child, what was that about?"

Will's finger made its way to his mouth, and he started chewing on his nail. Oh. I knew he was up in his feels about something when he went after his manicure. I gently pulled his nail from between his teeth and cupped his hand in mine. "Boy," I said with just enough sternness for him to know I expected an answer.

He huffed. "I'm bored, Daddy."

My heart stopped. "What do you mean With me?"

He shook his head vigorously from side to side. "No, of course not. I just… I don't have anything to do all day. I can only redesign our home so many times. At first I though maybe I wanted to look for a new house, but that's not it. I love this place. But I want to do something different, and I've been a little obsessed with the idea of designing a room for a baby."

His whole body wriggled. "I wonder if Hayden will let me help him with his baby nursery. Oh, this is just like how Toby keeps talking about how the Universe prepares you for things. Do you think that's it, Daddy?"

I didn't know if I thought that was true, but it was convenient that our friends were having a baby now. Imagine that, in this whole big crew of Daddies and boys, we'd finally have a little one to spoil.

"Maybe so. Why didn't you tell me?" It was my turn to be confused.

"I don't know." He ran his hand back through his hair. "You've always given me everything I've ever wanted, and it's so much more than I feel like I deserve. So many of my friends struggled in life, but me and Toby always had money even if our parents sucked, but then we had you and Samuel, so how can we complain? But Toby also has his catering business. Food is his passion." He threw his arms up. "And on top of that, he has his yoga and singing bowls and all of that. I'm the only one who's aimless.

"My stomach has been in knots the last year watching you suffer with how much you hated your job. And I want you to quit. But you know that. What you don't know is that if you aren't hosting dinner parties anymore, or we don't have corporate functions to go to, I'll have nothing to do at all."

"Well, I'd like to think if I'm home more you'd consider me a little more than nothing," I said dryly.

He rolled his eyes playfully. "No, I know. But I also know that you need something to sink your teeth into." My eyebrows crawled up toward my hairline and he shook his finger at me. "Something besides my ass, Daddy. Be serious. You won't be able to sit home with me all the time. You'll help Roland or find someone else to help start their business. But what about me?"

"I hear every word you're saying. I just don't understand why you didn't tell me before."

He stood up and dropped onto my lap, wrapping his slim arms around my shoulders. "One, because I didn't want my feelings to deter you from leaving your job. Two, because I feel like this is something I need to figure out on my own. You've given me everything, but even when you're thinking about making a change, you already know what's next. I need to figure out how to fill my days, just like my friends do. Hayden's even more spoiled than me, and he's decided to be a father. Can you imagine? He'll go from a life of leisure to having a little person to care for. He's talked about possibly doing it before, so I know he's ready, which means he's figured out what he wants. I want that. To know what makes my heart sing."

There was not a doubt in my mind that Hayden would be an awesome parent. As spoiled as he was, he had so much love in his heart, and he'd been through so much, that I knew any child of theirs would be adored unconditionally. Will was right, though. I had a pretty clear idea of what he could do—what he should do—and I'd thought about it for years. But I'd give him the space he was asking for. After all, wasn't that what good Daddies do?