Chase’s POV:
I was awoken the next morning by the sound of a newborn screaming. Rolling to my side to bury my face in the cushions, I grabbed the pillow and tried my damnedest to drown out the sound that was only making my head feel like Tommy Lee was gearing up to play ‘Hot for Teacher’. I groaned in agony when the screaming somehow seemed to grow even louder. I felt something hard hit me in the back, causing me to roll over and give whomever had just thrown something at me a death glare. 

As I did, I saw BG sitting in the recliner sipping from a mug that I knew would hold his favorite Black Rifle brew, a mischievous smirk on his face. The stuff tasted like 3-day-old road kill but worked wonders for a hangover. Not that BG needed it for that. But I damn sure need it. Or a bullet. Something had to give. 

“Better get used to that.” said B motioning to the back of the house where the nursery was. “Except multiply that by two.”

“Are they torturing the baby or something? My fucking god.” I said, easing myself into a sitting position. As I did, I could feel the lingering alcohol in my system making my head feel a little fuzzy, almost as if I was still drunk. Sad thing was, I’d only drank beer last night. This was usually the type of thing I felt when I tied a good one on with my buddy Jack Daniels. 

“Nope,” said BG. “Just giving him a bath.”

“In ice water from the sounds of it.” I groaned. “What time is it?”

“8:30.” said BG.

“Fuckin’ A, man.” I said. “I’m going to need some of that tar you call coffee to deal with this shit. Who the hell gets up this early?”

“You have much to learn, young grasshopper.” said BG in a fake Chinese accent. “You do realize that babies wake up all throughout the night right? It's not until they are older that they get on a schedule. Hell, Bray has just got where she sleeps all night and she's 2.” 

“Are you shitting me?” I asked. 

“I wouldn't shit ya. You're my favorite turd.” BG said with a chuckle. “But seriously man. 8:30 is late for a child that young. Odds are, Hannah and Kod have been up a few times throughout the night. Late night feedings were the worst. I was never more glad to have stopped drinking than I was the first time I had to get up with Barrett at 2am after having only been asleep for 30 minutes.”

“What the hell am I going to do B?” I said, scrubbing my face with my hands. By some sort of miracle the baby had finally stopped crying. “What the hell was I thinking?”

“To be really honest Chase, you weren’t thinking,” said B. “But there's no changing it now. What's done is done. Only thing left to do now is to man up and do the right thing as far as Jo and the kids are concerned.”

“Which is?” I said, partly knowing what he was going to say but needing to hear the words from someone else. 

“Come on brother.” said BG exasperatedly. “You can't be that dense. I’m talking about you marrying the girl. You love her don't you?”

“Hell yeah.” I said.

“You can see yourself growing old with her right?” asked BG. 

“Can't picture it with anyone else. You know that.” I said.

“Then give her some time to process, then tell her how you feel. Be very clear about what you feel and have been feeling all these years. Tell her what you want and do so in a fashion that makes it where she cant say no. I’m not saying go all caveman on her but sometimes that's what has to be done” said B standing from the recliner.

“What makes you so sure that she would say yes?” I asked just as Brantley was about to pass through the archway that led to the kitchen. 

“Because I know Jo.” said Brantley. “She loves you too, man. She’s just been lying to herself about how deep those feelings run.” 

“And the boyfriend?” I asked.

“Worried about a little competition?” smirked Brantley before slipping into the kitchen. 

Falling back onto the couch cushions, I thought about what he said. While it wasnt 1950 anymore, marrying Jo would kill two birds with one stone. It would give me the one thing that I wanted more than anything as of late -her being my wife-, and it would allow me to do the right thing by her since she was carrying my children. God that felt weird to say. Knowing that it was going to take more than just and I’m-sorry-for-fucking-up-your-life-but-will-you-be-my-wife, I started to contemplate the things that I needed to say and do. First on the list was buying a ring. 

“BG!” I yelled as I made my way to the kitchen. “What do you have planned today?”  

Amber’s POV:
When Brantley and Chase had left last night, Brantley had given me a heads up that Jo was going to need some girl time today. When I’d asked why and what he knew, he told me that it would be best to hear it all from Jo and that she could explain everything better. Brantley’s comment and the lack of Jo’s nightly calls to the kids told me everything that I needed to know about what today was going to hold. Shopping, good food, lots of girl time, and most likely lots of tears was in order. But first, I needed to make a call to see if Becky and Mama wanted to tag team the kids today.

Grabbing my phone, I dialed up Becky first to make sure that she didn't have any plans. Of course she didn't, but then again I was pretty sure that when it came to the kids, she would have canceled a dinner party with Donald Trump if it meant that she got to spend the day with Barrett and Bray. Mama was much the same, quickly agreeing to meet me at Becky’s house in a couple hours. 

Since that was settled, I headed into the kitchen to really get my day started. I’ve always liked to cook but it seemed that this pregnancy was making me want to cook so much more. Good thing I had that personal trainer because if I didn’t, there is no doubt in my mind that I wouldn't be as big as the house by the time I dropped this little bundle of joy given the amount of chocolate chip pancakes that I could eat in one setting. Which is what I was in the middle of fixing for the fourth day in a row. I seriously couldn’t get enough of them. And the kids weren't complaining. They looked at it as dessert for breakfast. I had just flipped the last pancake from the heaping batter when I heard the front door swing open. Looking up, I saw Jojo walk in, looking as if she hadn't been asleep all night. Based on the redness of her eyes and the puffiness I saw there it was obvious that she had spent hours crying. The question was, had she been crying over Chase or was her hormones just getting the best of her yet again.

“Grab a seat. Breakfast is almost ready.” I said, instead of addressing the elephant in the room. I knew Jo. When she was ready to talk, she would. 

 “You're going to turn into a chocolate chip pancake Ambie.” she said with a chuckle when she saw the heaping stack of perfectly cooked pancakes stacked on the plate on the counter.

“And you're going to turn into those damn strawberry shortcake ice cream bars.” I tossed over my shoulder. “Mama said she saw you in the store with 6 boxes of them in your buggy the other day.” 

“At least I’m getting dairy.” she sassed back. 

“Yeah, yeah.” I replied, waving the spatula I was holding in the air. 

Before either of us could say anything else, Barrett and Bray came running into the kitchen, both of them screaming ‘Jojo’ at the top of their lungs. There was one thing for sure, those two loved Jojo with everything in them. Brantley liked to joke that they loved her more than him from time to time. Which we all knew was a load of bull. Those two kids adored their father more than they adored their toys. Which was saying a lot since I was beginning to feel like a drug smuggler smuggling broken toys out of their rooms on clean up days. They didn't want to get rid of anything. Especially if it had been given to them by one of the band guys or PJ. 

“Breakfast is almost ready yall!” I yelled in order to be heard over the noise in the kitchen. 

I watched as Barrett and Bray walked over to the little kids table I had set up in the corner of the kitchen. Just like it always did, it warmed my heart that Barrett pulled Bray’s chair out for her to sit in and then do his best to scoot it closer to the table. Even at three, Barrett had better manners than most people that were my age.

“I thought you were kidding when you told me he did that.” said Jojo, pulling me from my thoughts. 

“Does it everytime we sit down to eat.” I said proudly as I put a pancake on each of their plates. I slid one to Jojo for her to cut up while I did the other. “He’s going to be such a little gentleman when he grows up.”

“Pfft. You forget who his daddy is.” said Amber. I could hear the smile in her voice.

“Oh he’s a gentleman when he wants to be.” I said looking up at her and winking so that she caught my drift. 

“Oh lord. Please do go into detail. I can't handle it.” she muttered. 

“He’s more of a gentleman than Chase.” I said.

“Now that, I won't argue one da-dang bit.” Jojosaid, catching her almost curse word before it left my lips. She already owed the swear jar enough to pay for the four wheeler Barrett wanted for his birthday. And Barrett reminded her of it every time she slipped up.

“I was kidding Jojo.” I said as I grabbed one of the kids plates from her. 

“I wasn't. You don't know just how ungentlemanly he is.” she added, meeting my eyes. I saw simmering rage and hurt mixed in the green depths, making me want to kill him without even knowing the reason why. “But before the day is over, I’m pretty sure you will want to have his head on a platter just as much as I do.”

“Well in that case, you better eat up. I got to carry the kids to Becky’s and then you and I are going to spend the rest of the day doing all the girly things.” I said, turning to carry the kids their plates.

Jo’s POV:
After dropping the kids off with Brantley’s mama, Amber and I had headed into Athens to spend the day getting pampered. First on the list was mani’s and pedi’s. We were sitting side by side in the massage chairs as the two ladies worked on our feet when Amber asked me what I’d meant at breakfast about Chase not being a gentleman. 

“Buckle up because I promise you what I’m about to tell you is something straight off a Hollywood script.” I said, not even bother to lift my head from the chair. With my eyes closed, I started telling the story. 

“I don't have to tell you just how Chase felt about my decision to get pregnant by a sperm donor. Just like I don't have to tell you how trashed he was the night of the party at your house. I know being drunk makes you do some stupid things, but my god Ambie. Chase did the most idioic thing I think I have ever heard someone do. According to him, he couldn't stand the thought of me having a baby by someone that wasn't him. And before you can say anything, I know that it's because he's in love with me. And while I might have admitted that I have feelings for him, what he did might just be too much to forgive.” I said. 

“Well what did he do, Jojo?” said Amber. 

“According to him, that idiot hijacked my pregnancy. And I mean that literally.” I said. “He dumped the specimen cups down the drain and filled them with his own sample. All four cups.”

“He did what?!” yelled Amber, causing me to turn my head so that I was looking at her. She was sitting up in her seat now, glaring at me. I’m pretty sure that if Chase was anywhere near her right now, she would have done her best to kill him with her bare hands. “Jojo, you have got to be joking right now.”

“I wish I was.” I said with a sign. 

“I’m going to kill him and then I’m going to kill B.” she seethed.

“What's Brantley got to do with this? Not like he held the cups for him.” I said, shaking my head to get the mental picture that popped into it out. 

“Because he knew about it last night and didn't tell me.” she said, almost yelling. 

“To be fair Ambie, it wasn't his story to tell.” I said.

“Might not have been but he tells me everything else that idiot does, whether I want to hear it or not.” said Amber. 

“I know.” I muttered. 

“So, where do you two go from here? Just yesterday you were saying that you had feelings for him and that night changed things for you.” said Amber. “And where does that leave you and Jarrett?”

“Jarrett walked out last night when I told him about Chase’s accusations. He asked me if I loved Chase and I was honest with him, telling me that part of me did but the other part of me was screaming that Chase was merely friend material, not the type to settle down.” I said. “And as far as Chase and I and where we go from here, that's the million dollar question, Ambie. I mean if he’s telling the truth about what he did, we're going to be in one another's lives for the rest of ours because of the kids. But if he’s lying and this is some play to try and get with me, then it's going to be the end of our already shattered friendship.” 

“What do you want?” she asked. 

“I want my kids to know who their father is. I want them to have a good relationship with him.” I said. 

“Not what I meant Jojo,” said Amber. “What do you want to happen with you and Chase. Does this change how you feel about him?” 

“I thought it would.” I said. “It's weird though. I should be freaking out. I should want to kill him and castrate him, but I just want to talk to him. Oh, I’m mad as hell at him, but not as mad as I should be.”

“You know why don't you?” Amber asked.

“I’m sure you're getting ready to tell me,” I said snarkily.

“Dang right I am.” she replied. “You Are upset because he went behind your back and took matters into his own hands. But you're not wanting to kill him because deep down, maybe in a part of your subconscious that you hadn't wanted to address until now, you wanted the same thing that he wanted; for him to be the father.”

Amber’s words rendered me speechless. Was she right? Had I wanted this this all along?