Page 29 of My Three Hometown Hard Hats

“Look at those two guys over there. They love her so much, they would go to war for her. She might not be their blood, but they don’t treat her any different.”

He closes his eyes, sucking in a deep breath. I swallow heavily, feeling wetness building in my own eyes.

“Take it from someone who grew up only having one parent in their life. I’m not going to say I’ve never wondered about my dad, but he was never here. My mom has always been more than enough of a parent for Grayson and I both.

“And Evelyn has the best dad in the whole world. She isn’t missing anything, Austin. Stop beating yourself up for something that isn’t your fault. Evelyn has experienced more love in five years than some people do in their entire lives.”

“Fuck me,” he grumbles, wiping his eyes.

His arm wraps around my back, pulling me into his chest. His chin rests against the top of his head as he processes what I just said.

“You’re a lot more emotional than I remember,” I say, trying to lighten the mood.

His chest vibrates against my cheek. “Have a kid. It happens.”

Looking over at Evelyn, my heart aches with the desire to be a bigger part of her life. I know she has a lot of important people already, but I want to be one of them, too.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Conrad

Evelyn is already half-asleepas the truck bounces up the dirt driveway to the house.

“I’ll be right back. The babysitter is already here,” Austin says, quietly climbing from the truck. He unbuckles Evelyn and carries her into the house.

Brooks leans over from the front seat, looking at Hadley, who’s sitting beside me in the back. “You ready to go out tonight?”

“I haven’t been to Benny’s Tavern in years. It should be fun.”

I slide my hand over, resting it on her bare thigh, just below the hem of her denim shorts. “There’s a band playing tonight. It’ll be packed.”

“It’s always packed in there on this weekend,” she says, placing her hand over mine.

Austin climbs back in the truck. “Jacey’s going to have an easy night babysitting. She’s already in bed,” he says, backing out of the driveway and heading back into town.

He looks in the rearview mirror at Hadley. “Do you want to go home and change or anything?”

“Are you saying I look bad?” she asks, staring right back at him.

“Uh… no. I’m definitely not saying that.”

Brooks pipes up from beside him. “What he means to say is you look hot as fuck as always, but he’s trying to be a gentleman in case you do want to change or grab anything.”

She glances down at her cut-offs and black tank top. “Do you mind stopping by my mom’s house? I’ll be fast. I promise.”

“Of course, angel,” Austin says.

I don’t even think he realizes the nickname he slipped in there, but Hadley does. She stutters in a breath as soon as the word falls from his mouth.

I don’t know what happened at the park earlier, but something has shifted between them.

All I know is that when we walked back over to join them, Austin had his chin resting on the top of her head, and even though deep emotions were written all over his face, he seemed lighter. Like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders.

The truck pulls to a stop in front of the house. She’s crawling over me and jogging into her house before I can react.

Even though there are a ton of things the three of us should talk about, including one very important one, we all remain silent.

Brooks’ head smacks against the window. “My dick is going to die a slow painful death tonight,” he groans.