Eat Crow (Cheap Thrills 6)

“Logan, man, you’ve got to talk to your grandpa about the stupid bullshit him and—” he cut off when he saw the expression on my face. “What’s wrong? Is it Gramps?”

I couldn’t blame him for the assumption, considering the bullshit our grandpas got up to together.

“No, it’s nothing like that.” Then, taking my ballcap off, I ran my hand through my hair. “Have you got a minute? I need some advice.”

Frowning, he nodded slowly. “Sure, let’s go up to the office. Jarrod had to go home to check on Katy, so we’ll have some privacy.”

I should have known that wasn’t going to be the case. See, Townsends were like sharks with blood in the water. The second you needed privacy to talk to one, or you did something stupid, they smelled it in the air, and all started circling.

I could only be grateful that today only one shark was there as we walked up the stairs—Cole.

“S’up?” he called, then stopped when he saw my face. “Ah hell, what did he do this time? Grams kept telling us being mayor would be good for him, and he’d grow up with the responsibility, but I’m thinking it was for her own sake.”

I was facing him on the stairs, so I didn’t see Ren’s expression. Whatever it was, his shoulders slumped immediately, and he blew out a breath, then perked up at something. “Wait, Grams has been a feisty little one recently. Was it her? I knew I should have—”

“Not her, either.”

“Mom?”

“No.”

“Ah, shit. It’s Tom, isn’t it?”

Tipping my head back in frustration, seeing as how there were roughly a thousand Townsends he could go through, I muttered, “Just ask him to join us, will you?”

“Logan needs to talk, Cole. We’re headed into the office if you want to join.”

Sure enough, the nosy bastard walked in behind us into the office, closing the door loudly.

Squatting in front of the small fridge, Ren pulled out a bottle. “Want a beer?”

My reply was instant. “Yes.”

“Jesus,” Cole mumbled. “Want a whiskey?”

“Fuck yes.”

Dropping my face into my hands, I waited until they sat in the other chairs around the small coffee table, hearing the thud of bottles on the wood in front of me.

“There’s one of both.”

Reaching out blindly, I grabbed the small glass my hand hit first and tipped the contents in it back in one. Usually, whiskey wasn’t a favorite of mine, but on this occasion, I needed it.

“Need another?”

Picking up the beer, I shook my head, already feeling the comfort of the burn from the liquor in my stomach. “I’ll stick with this for now.”

There was an awkward silence as the two brothers picked up their bottles and took a mouthful, but patience wasn’t something Cole was known for—which was one of the reasons I’d gone to Ren for this.

“For fuck’s sake, man. Just spit it out before your head explodes.”

“Bexley’s pregnant,” I rasped, my throat dry even though it shouldn’t be.

“That’s great news!” Cole shouted, getting up and picking up the bottle of whiskey. “Celebration time, my dude.”

“Congratulations, fella.” Ren clasped my shoulder and shook it. “The best part of life— Wait, why aren’t you smiling?”

Cole stopped mid-step and frowned at me. “What’s wrong?”