Recipe For Love (2 page)

Jack sipped at his, looking at the booze. This was one fucked-up situation. "You gonna call his mom?"

"Oh, no. That's his job. I'm not the one who knocked someone up. That's one area I don't have to take shit."

He nodded. "Been there, done that. Not doing it again."

One of Dan's eyebrows went up. "You saying it runs in the family?"

"Nope. Saying I've been where the kids are. Saying I hoped Rachel wasn't as stupid as me and her mother."

Dan tilted his head, opened his mouth, and then closed it again. Jack arched an eyebrow, giving Dan a look. He was man enough to admit when he was dumb.

"What are you hoping happens next here?"

"I'm hoping that boy is decent to her and at least holds up to his responsibilities."

"He's a good boy." Dan growled the words at him. "An idiot, but he'll do what he needs to do."

Jack looked at the sorry son of a bitch. "It's not like you'll be raising a baby, man. Back the fuck off."

He hadn't talked to Rache about her options, but he had to prepare for the most long-term issue.

"Don't you come in here with attitude. Those kids did that together and Billy will take his share of the workload, whatever that turns out to be."

"Attitude? Shit, two days ago I was trying to figure out how to fit what little I got out of a three bedroom house into the smallest one bedroom apartment on earth."

One of Dan's eyebrows went up. "You only just split from the evil ex?"

"No. Caroline and I broke up when Rache was a baby." Thank God. Even if he'd had to raise a newborn on his own, alone was better than being with that fucking bitch.

"Then why are you moving only a little of your shit?"

"Because this ex carries a gun." No more policemen. Ever.

"Jesus, sounds like you know how to pick 'em." Dan smiled evilly. "You'll be happy to know your daughter has better taste in partners."

He flipped the guy off. "Like a summer fling counts as a partner."

"If they keep this kid, they have a lot more than a summer fling."

God, his head hurt.

Dan grinned suddenly. "We'll be in-laws, man."

"Don't smile. That means you're in-laws with the crazy bitch monster, too."

Dan chuckled. "Yeah, but she's not my ex."

"Nope. You're a lucky son of a bitch." How long did he need to leave Rache out there?

"I usually think so." Was Dan checking him out?

He took another drink and let the whiskey burn all the way down.

"Have a cupcake. They're magical."

"No shit? I could use a magical cupcake." Or four.

"Help yourself." Dan reached for a pink one with a silver bell on it and put it in front of him.

"Strawberry?"

"Nope. Raspberry."

"Huh." He took a bite, then groaned at the taste. Fucking sweet.

Dan looked smug. "I told you. Magical."

"Yeah. Thanks." He scarfed down the treat, ignoring the nervous tapping of his foot.

Dan looked back toward the door to the shop. "You think she's going to keep it?"

He shrugged, unwilling to talk about something so personal to a total stranger. Personally, he thought so, but he'd support his baby girl, no matter what she decided. Rachel was his girl.

Jack heard a noise behind them, and he and Dan both looked. Rache and Billy stood there. Holding fucking hands.

Jack arched an eyebrow, looked at their hands, then looked at Rache.

Her chin lifted, even as her lips quivered. "Daddy, Billy asked me to marry him. I said yes."

* * * *

Dan looked at Billy and the girl, not quite sure he believed his ears.

Married. They were eighteen years old and they were going to get married and have this baby, and...shit.

Annie was going to have a fit to end all fits, and Billy was going to be lucky to come out of it with his balls still attached.

The poor girl's father sat there, just staring at both kids.

Dan finally cleared his throat. "Married, huh? So you're keeping the baby? You're going to give this a go?"

The girl's eyes never left her father. "Yeah. I mean, Daddy?"

Jack looked at her. "What, baby girl?"

Billy stood a little straighter. "We'd like your blessing, sir."

"I haven't even been introduced to you really, son."

Dan sighed. "Give them a break, Jack, huh?"

"Back off, asshole. I've had a long fucking day."

"Daddy!"

Jack rubbed his forehead. "Right. Sorry."

"You're not the one who's pregnant," Dan pointed out reasonably. This was Rachel and Billy's thing. Sure, Jack had a vested interest and, Dan suspected, would be helping out, but still.

"No? You sure?"

"Daddy, be nice. Sorry, he was up all night."

"S'okay, honey. He's clearly stressing out about being a grandfather."

"We're going home, Rache. I need a nap."

Actually, the man looked like he needed a hug.

"Why don't I take us all out to dinner? That'll give you a chance to get to know Billy a bit better." He knew this wasn't easy for Jack, but the man was going to have to try.

"I... I think we need to go see Mom, Uncle Danny."

"Heh. You're a smart kid, Billy. Brave, too." He gave Billy a wink. The kid was right, but so was he--Annie was going to flip her lid.

"You'll come with us," he told Jack. Annie needed to meet her future in-laws.

"No. No, that's not fair. I wouldn't want to have some stranger standing there looking to see my reaction." Jack's eyes met his. "Hell, I wouldn't want my brother there, to be honest."

Dan had to admit, he wanted to skip out on this particular mother-son talk in the worst way. He looked over at Billy. "Jack's right. You two could take my car. Are you good with that?"

Billy nodded, pale as milk. "I still got a job, huh?"

"You do." He gave his nephew a big hug. "You've got me in your corner, okay? Remember that." Then he stuck his hand out to Rachel. "Welcome to the family."

She was a pretty girl--looked like a tinier, female version of her pocket-sized father, with thick dark hair, huge bottle green eyes, and sharp cheekbones. Her hand was shaking when she took his. God, she was bird-like. He was scared he would hurt her, just taking her hand.

"Thanks," she said.

"It's going to be okay, all right? You'll get through this." He held her hand for a second and then let it drop. "Here, Billy. Take a box of the cupcakes and some brownies to your mom. Maybe it'll help." He winked at Billy again, handing over the box.

"Rache, do you have your phone? I want you to call me, okay? I can pick you up."

"I'll take her home, Mr. Martin."

Jack's fingers curled into a fist, but he nodded.

"Go on. Call me after." He gave Billy's shoulder an encouraging squeeze, then let them walk out of the store.

"Okay, Jack. How about we go down to the bar down the street? There will be booze and food and we can talk."

"I... I don't know." The phone started ringing, and Jack sighed. "Let me deal with the harpy."

He flipped open the phone and started pacing, boots clacking on the floor. "What? No. No. She's going to meet his folks. Yes, she told me. What the fuck do you want me to do? She's an adult, she's smart. Hell, she's a hell of a lot more human than you are."

Dan winced. Man, he was glad he batted for the other team.

He tried not to eavesdrop anymore, but...

"Look. I'm sorry you met me, too, but Rachel is my daughter and I'm not fucking kicking her to the curb for making the same stupid mistake I did. Hopefully she picked someone less psychotic to make a baby with..."

Dan snorted and refused to get pissed off. Jack didn't know Billy. He would, but he didn't yet.

He went out and started closing up the shop for the day, counting the till and putting away the few cupcakes and cookies still in the display case. They'd done well today.

Jack came out, shoulders up around his ears. "Well, that went well." God, the man was pretty. Imminently fuckable. It was a shame he was straight.

"You look like you could use that drink about now."

"Yeah. Hey, your sister's not gonna hurt the kids, is she?"

"Christ on a crutch. Of course she's not." He grabbed the deposit bag and his keys, then made sure the front door was locked before heading to the back.

Jack followed him, his own keys in hand. "What a fucking day."

"Hey, nobody's dead or in hospital, right?" He certainly wasn't a Pollyanna, but the kids were in the predicament they were in and no amount of bitching about it was going to change it. They went out and around to the street. "Where are you parked, man?"

"Across the street." Jack pointed to a mint-condition little Mustang convertible. "She's mine."

Dan whistled. "Nice."

"Yeah. She's a good ride. Come on." Jack headed over to the car, and Dan took the time to admire him. Tight round little ass, lean compact body--the man was fine. He shook his head. There was no use pining over straight men.

"I just need to bank the till." He put the little bank bag into the bank deposit slot, a couple storefronts down from the bakery and then crossed the street to join Jack at his pretty muscle car. The 'Stang was pristine, electric blue, and shining.

"Where did you want to go?"

"There's a nice quiet place with good food and better draught about a half dozen blocks down Maple Street."

"The Grey Goose?" When he nodded, Jack unlocked the car. "I did their POS software."

"No shit? You a software developer, then?" He climbed into the car, admiring the leather seats.

"Yeah. I do a lot of contract work." Jack sighed softly, rubbed the back of his neck and started the car. "God, I hope the insurance policy I've got for Rache covers this shit."

"They're both gonna need to get jobs." Of course Billy already had one. Looked like it was going to have to become permanent.

"Yeah." Jack sped up, clearly knowing the way.

"They'll figure it, man. It's just a lot to take in all at once."

"No shit. Where's his dad?"

Dan snorted. "God only knows, and we like it that way." Wayne had been a total asshole, and Annie was more than better off without him.

"Ah." Jack slid into a parking spot, killed the engine.

"I've been a father to Billy for most of his life." He chuckled. "As much as Annie would let me, anyway. She's a strong and stubborn woman."

"I'm sure I'll meet her soon."

"Yep. Who knows, maybe you two'll hit it off." Dan winced as soon as he said it. Jack was hot, sexy, and it would not be fun to watch his sister with the man.

They headed into the bar, Jack holding the door open for him.

"Maybe. Right now I'm shooting for not being on another woman's hit list."

"I don't know if I can reassure you about that. She's going to be furious, but there's no telling where that fury is going to land." Annie would be a fabulous grandmother, once she got over her kid knocking up his girlfriend at eighteen, but until then, he'd bet she was going to lash out.

Dan was planning on staying out of her way as best he could while still supporting Billy.

Jack shrugged. "I've already gotten the 'you left them unsupervised' and the 'she'd never have done this in Boston' lecture."

Dan snorted again. "Like anyone has control of an eighteen-year-old. Does she lock the girl in a tower in Boston? Or are the boys just that ugly?"

"She's a fire breathing dragon, and Rache likes Texans."

"Well, that's because she has smarts."

"Not according to her mother. Hey, Marco. I need a beer and a shot of Jack." Jack waved and smiled at the bartender.

"You and Chris?"

Jack shook his head. "That's over and done with. I have an apartment alone now."

The bartender winced. "Damn."

"You a regular here? I'm surprised we've never run into each other before." Not that he was here every night or anything, but Jack had to be here for more than just installing software.

"I'm in and out, huh, Marco?"

The big bartender nodded and offered Jack a toothy grin. "You know it."

Dan chuckled. "I'll just have a beer, man. And something salty--you still have those nice potato skins?"

"Yes, sir. Have a seat. You wanted a beer, too, right, Jack?"

Danny sat and watched the two of them chat a little, then thanked Marco when he got his drink.

Jack sucked his beer back, sighed, and shook his head. "What a fucking day."

"I still say it could have been worse." No one had died, and the kids were going to work things out.

"Well, she could be having twins, I guess."

Dan blinked and looked at Jack, then shook his head. "You're a glass is half-empty kind of guy, aren't you?"

Those bright green eyes flashed over at him. "Don't you fucking make judgment on me, man. I've lost my lover, my house, and all my stuff in the last motherfucking week, and my daughter's here with a baby in her belly expecting Daddy to make things better. Back the fuck off."

"Look, I'm sorry about all that--it sounds like the worst week in the world, but don't put that baby in the same category as the rest of it. Sure, it's not an easy thing, but you know when that baby comes there's going to be joy." God, he really was starting to sound like a Pollyanna. It would help the kids, though, if at least one person in their life wasn't bewailing the fact that Rachel was pregnant. Dan figured it was probably the easiest for him to be that person, not being the daddy of either of them.

"Have you ever had a newborn? Ever? Because I guarantee you, when Rache is on day six of no sleep, joy isn't the word we're going to be flinging around. Her mom and I split up when she was a week old, and the bitch didn't come back for five years."

Dan let an eyebrow go up. "Let's hope she gets her mothering instincts from you, then. Or maybe from Billy. He's been known to bring home baby birds and nurse them by hand."

Jack's eyebrow arched. "We can hope. Her mother took her to Boston when she was six and I got her four weeks in the summer and a week at Christmas for the rest of her life."

"How does that happen when her mother abandoned her with you? Was your lawyer a dickhead?"