“You’re having my baby?” I say, my chest feeling so full it might crack open. “Holy shit. My boys got the job done.” She looks at me shocked now. “What? We had sex six times a day. How did you not think you were going to end up pregnant?”
“You wanted me pregnant?” she asks, and I shrug but then smile.
“Do you not want to be pregnant by me?” I ask, suddenly getting scared that she doesn’t want this.
“Of course I do, but I didn’t expect to get knocked up month one,” she tells me and then puts her hand on her stomach. “We've made a baby.”
“We did,” I say, smiling.
“Baby McIntyre,” she says, and I look at her.
I walk to her and kiss her lips. “I have to do something,” I say. “One last thing. I was going to do this at a later date, but I need to do it now.”
“Are you going to tell me what it is?” she asks and I nod.
“As soon as I get back.” I kiss her lips. “Lie down and don’t move.”
“What?” she says to me.
“You have to rest, and you need to get medical leave. I’m going to see about maybe getting a wheelchair and stuff so you don’t have to stand. Or I can just ask Grandma to move in here and help out until the baby is born,” I say, grabbing my keys, and she just looks at me. “I’ll be back.”
“Can you bring back normal Ethan when you do that?” she tells me, and I run back in and kiss her.
I get in the truck and rush over to my father’s house. I’m about to ring the doorbell when it opens, and Travis comes out, and he smells like he’s in heat. “What the fuck is that smell?”
“It’s Abercrombie,” he says, puffing out his chest. “It’s what the guys wear.”
“To attract bugs maybe. Jesus,” I say, fanning the air away from my nose. “Is Dad here?”
“Yeah, he’s inside with Mom. They were making out.” He grimaces. “So gross.”
I walk inside, and sure enough, he has her in his arms, and he’s talking in her ear. “Hey,” I say, and Kallie looks up and smiles at me. “I …” I say, pointing at the hall. “Travis let me in.”
“Stop that shit,” Kallie says. “And the next time you use the bell, I’m going to Taser you.”
“Isn’t that illegal?” I ask, my eyebrows shooting up.
“I know someone,” she says, and my father laughs at her.
“What’s up? You look frazzled.” He looks at me and grabs the beer that’s on the counter and brings it to his lips.
“Can I speak with you?” I ask and then look at Kallie. “Kind of man things.”
“Oh, good God.” She puts her hands up. “I don’t even want to know. The last time you said that, you put condoms on all my bananas.”
“I was practicing,” I say as she walks away. “I got an A in that class.”
“Yet, you failed biology!” she shouts back.
“That was gross. They wanted me to cut open a frog, Kallie. You know I don’t like those things!” I shout at her retreating back and look at my father, who tries not to laugh. “I hate frogs.”
“I know, trust me, I know,” he says. “So what’s up?”
“Emily is pregnant.” I come right out and say it, and I swear I can’t help but smile so big I think my face is going to crack. “She’s having my baby.”
“Holy shit,” my father says and comes over to me and hugs me, slapping my back. “My boy is going to be a father,” he says, wiping his own tear away. “I knew this day would come.” He slaps my chest. “My boy, a father.” He puts his hand in front of his mouth. “God, I hope you have a girl. She’s going to be so beautiful, and you are going to hate it. You know, with boys, you have to worry about one penis; with girls, it’s all the other penises you have to worry about. Especially with Emily’s looks, you're fucked.”
“Nah,” I tell him. “It’s a boy. I feel it in my bones.”
“I felt you were a boy, too,” he says. “We used to fight over finding out, and your mother never wanted to know. She wanted it to be a surprise, but I felt it.”
“I want your name,” I tell him. My heart speeds up, my palms get all fucking sweaty, and I feel sick in the pit of my stomach. “I want my kids to have your name. I want them to be McIntyres. I know that changing it was a slap in the face, and there is nothing I can say that will justify that. I know I need to earn that name,” I tell him. “I know this, and I promise you that I’ll earn your name back,” I say, wiping my tears. “But I can’t have my kids have any other name than McIntyre. I want them to be McIntyres.”
“Son,” he says softly. “I don’t give a shit what is written on any fucking paper.” He walks to me. “In here.” He points at my heart. “It’s McIntyre.” I nod, and he takes me in his arms.
“Thank you,” I say, “for not making this harder than it should be.”
“You’ll be a dad before you know it, and then you’ll get it,” he says, squeezing my shoulder. “You want them safe, you want them healthy, and you want them happy. The rest is just icing on the cake.”
“I have to get back to Emily. I just left her there,” I say, and he rolls his lips. “I needed to make sure this was okay before anything. She’s going to have my name, too.”
“I can’t wait,” he tells me. “I’d be honored.”
“I told her she isn’t allowed to move, and she looked like she was going to stab me,” I tell my father, and this time, he laughs. “I also mentioned that she
