Hart to Heart

Part 4

When we walked into the backyard just an hour later, the party was already in full swing. You would think after spending a couple of weeks with each other for the wedding, we'd all be sick of each other. But there was nothing the Bryants and Harts loved more than a good family celebration.

Vanessa had outdone herself with decorating the back yard, and Deuce was already in full-on grill mode, complete with hot dogs, hamburgers, and brisket. It just wasn't a Texas barbecue without the brisket.

But maybe my favorite part was the twin cakes sitting side by side. They were homemade cakes and nothing fancy. What made them perfect was that Vanessa had carefully written "Welcome to the family, Jaxon" on one, and "Welcome to the family, Jason" on the other.

She nailed it. There was no separation between our families anymore. Not that there had been before. But now it was legal. And that meant the world to me.

"Hey! How'd it go?" Deuce called out over his shoulder as he cooked.

"It was great!" Jaxon said before taking off after Emma to the playscape to the left of the yard.

Deuce chuckled. "Does that kid ever calm down?"

"Never," I admitted, taking two beers out of the fridge and handing him one. "It went well, though. Didn't take nearly as long as I thought it would. I guess the hard parts were all done before the actual hearing."

"Yeah, I can't imagine them bringing a kid into the courtroom, only to say, 'Sorry, it ain't happening today,'" he said. "Did the judge approve the name stuff?"

"Yep," I said, taking a swig of my beer. "She didn't even ask about it. Just signed the paperwork and moved along."

"I'm really impressed you suggested using Bryant as his middle name," he said while flipping the burgers. "With the way that fucker cheated on Addison without even caring about her feelings, I'm not sure I would have had the stomach to honor him in any way."

"I really thought about it," I said. "But when it comes down to it, nothing about the adoption was about Addison. It was all about Jaxon. And even if I wanna kick Austin's ass for hurting Addison the way he did, I have a lot of respect for how he was as a father."

"You're a good man, Hart. Not a lot of people would see it that way." He looked around the back yard like he was searching for something. "Where's Adam, anyway?"

"Probably writing up the press release as we speak," I said, taking a swig of my beer.

"You sure he's not still avoiding Samantha?"

I chuckled. "From what I understand, he finally laid it on the line and she took it really well." I shrugged. "Go figure. He'll be here soon. You know he wouldn't miss beer, brisket, and cake for anything."

We spent the afternoon relaxing on the patio, just hanging out and being a family. At one point, the kids decided to swim, which meant Deuce had to get in with baby Trace. Which meant I had to get in with Deuce. It was one thing to toss Jaxon around the pool, but when you added Emma to the mix, I got a pretty serious workout in.

"Jason," Jaxon said a while later, swimming up to me. "I don't feel so good."

"Come here, buddy," I said, pulling him through the water to the steps. "What's not feeling well?"

"My stomach hurts," he said as I felt his forehead.

"You're feeling kind of warm, too. You wanna come sit out with me for a while?"

"Yeah," he said with a sleepy look on his face. "Can I sit on your lap?"

I smiled. This is the part of being a parent I was gonna love. "Sure, buddy. Let's get toweled off."

We made our way over to the patio again, wrapped ourselves up, and settled into one of the overstuffed outdoor chairs.

"Hey babe," I said, interrupting Addison's conversation with Samantha and Lindsay about some latest celebrity gossip. In all actuality, I was giving Addison an out from a conversation she probably wasn't enjoying, and I knew it. "Do we have any children's Tylenol or anything?"

She stood up and walked over with concern in her eyes. "Why? What's wrong?" she asked, eyeing Jaxon, who had already fallen asleep in my arms.

"He seems warm to me and says his stomach is hurting."

"Hmm," she said, feeling his forehead. "Yvette, you took him to the doctor while we were gone, right?"

"I sure did," my mom said as she sat down next to me, hovering over Jaxon, too. "They figured it was probably a virus. Told me to make sure he was drinking enough and getting lots of rest until he felt better."

"He's probably just having a hard time kicking it," I said as Addison went inside for a thermometer and some medicine. "We'll just make another appointment for tomorrow."

"Better make it for later in the day," Deuce said as he sat down across the table from me, his plate piled high with food. "It's almost July. Six am workouts start tomorrow morning, Jay. You've been lazy long enough. Or maybe you haven't been lazy," he said, waggling his eyebrows up and down and grinning like an idiot.

"Really, dude?" I reprimanded. "You're gonna say shit like that in front of my mother?" He just laughed.

"Oh, Jason," Mom jumped in. "I've been around Michael long enough to never be shocked by the things he says."

"See?" he said, giving me a pointed look. "Your mother loves me and my sense of humor."

I just rolled my eyes at him as she continued. "Besides, I expect the both of you to be making the most of your sex lives while you're young. The more testosterone you have in your youth, the faster it wears off when you're older, and you'll be headed to your monthly doctor's appointment for your prescription of Viagra. And everyone knows how much testosterone football players have."

Deuce started choking on his brisket. "Is that true?" he said in between bites with his eyes wide. "Is there any way to stop that?"

"Look it up if you don't believe me," she said with a smile.

"Vanessa!" he bellowed as he leapt up from his chair. "Where's my phone? I need to Google some shit!"

I looked over at my mom who was trying to hide a smile. "Is any of that even true, Ma?"

"Heck if I know," she said with a gleam in her eye. "But at least it got him off the topic of your sex life. I know you're married and all, but there are some things a mother doesn't need to hear about."

I roared with laughter as I watched Deuce have an animated discussion with his wife, and Vanessa rolling her eyes at the ridiculousness of it all.

Yeah. Legal ties or not, this family was solid as a rock. Weird conversations and all.