Brand New Dad (Gay Romance) - Trina Solet - E-Book

Brand New Dad (Gay Romance) E-Book

Trina Solet

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Beschreibung

Austin doesn't know he's a father until a baby is suddenly handed over to him. He's shocked and not in any position to take care of a baby, but there is no one else.
Austin has had a hard life, and he doesn't want the same thing for his baby boy. He's determined to give him a good life.
Miller just happens to have a house that's too big for him and is in need of a few repairs. Austin and Miller strike a deal and a new living arrangement is born. But could there ever be more between them?
Since Austin is straight, Miller doesn't think he stands a chance with him. Plus a tragedy from his childhood still shrouds his life in terror. Can he help falling with love with a man who's hot, loving, and makes him feel safe?

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Brand New Dad (Gay Romance) By Trina Solet

Copyright © 2021 by Trina Solet

All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the author except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

This is a work of fiction. All names, characters, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, locales or actual events is entirely coincidental.

All sexual activity takes place between persons eighteen years of age or older.

This novel contains material intended for mature readers.

Cover image is only for illustrative purposes. Any person depicted is a model.

Brand New Dad

Gay Romance

Trina Solet

Chapter 1

Austin was just getting off work and pulling into rush hour traffic when he got a text from Ben, his cousin and roommate. "Since when do you have a baby?" Ben was asking. Then another one. "We're gonna need to talk."

In the middle of driving home, Austin didn't bother replying. He knew those texts couldn't be for him, and he left it to Ben to figure out his own screw up.

By the time he got off the elevator of his apartment building, Austin forgot all about those weird texts. He was ready to have some food and crash on the couch. Then he heard a baby crying. Remembering the texts from Ben, he stopped. Couldn't be.

With every step closer to the apartment he shared with his cousin, the sounds of a baby crying got louder. No. The crying couldn't be coming from inside there.

Austin opened the door and saw a crying baby and a middle-aged woman who was walking the baby back and forth across the living room. Ben was there too, perched on the arm of the couch and glaring at her.

As soon as Austin was through the door, Ben's glare turned to him and he started ranting. Austin couldn't make heads or tails of what he was saying. Ben mentioned Diana, Austin's ex, and said some curse words that made the middle-aged lady scold him.

"We don't talk like that in front of a child."

"That's the nanny," Ben told Austin.

The woman gave her name as Martina, and Austin hoped she might be able to give a better explanation for what was going on than Ben. "I'm Austin Clark. Can you tell me what's going on? Who's this kid?"

"This is Jeremiah. Diana said to bring him to you," Martina said. "You have to take care of baby Jeremiah now."

Austin looked from her to the crying baby. "Me? I don't think so."

"There is no one else. I finish today. My job is over," she said. "Mr. Westinger allowed me to just deliver Jeremiah to you. That's all. 'Just drop him off,' he said. But I have all the baby's things so you'll be fine."

Austin was shaking his head before she even finished, but she tried to hand the baby over to him anyway. Austin was still trying to make sense of all this. He knew Alan Westinger was Diana's new boyfriend, a wealthy tech investor. That meant this was supposed to be his kid.

"Go over this again for me," Austin told Martina as he glanced around at the baby stuff that was all over Ben's apartment. There was some kind of rocking contraption and what looked like maybe a baby car seat.

Martina huffed and tried again. "Mr. Westinger got fooled by that Diana then she ran off with some rich, old man, very rich, very old. She left Jeremiah with his father. But then Mr. Westinger found out he wasn't the father. It was when Mr. Westinger and I took the baby for a checkup. Mr. Westinger happened to look at his chart and saw that the baby's blood type was all wrong. It was type O and that meant Jeremiah couldn't be his because Mr. Westinger is type AB. And here we are."

"I still don't know why?" Austin said.

"Mr. Westinger said the baby had to be out of there, out of his house. He was going to call child services and say that Diana abandoned him so I texted and called her and called her and finally she answered. Diana told me to bring him here. That you were the real father."

"She did?" Austin was stunned. He looked at the crying baby, at his dark blond hair and big blue eyes that looked so unhappy right now. Could this kid be his? Austin's heart was racing. He didn't know what to think or feel. "Where is she and when is she coming back?"

"Off with that rich, old man. I don't know his name or where they went, but she packed a lot of bathing suits," Martina said. "I don't know when she's coming back."

"Unbelievable." Overwhelmed, still not knowing what the truth was, Austin wanted to have it out with Diana in person, but that didn't look likely. He took out his phone and dialed her. No answer. He texted her and got no reply. He sent a series of angry texts so she'd know he was serious. But she should have already known that.

If this baby was his, why didn't she call him to tell him that? It had to be another lie.

While he was trying to get in touch with her and fuming, Martina was telling him she had to leave and that he had to take care of the baby now.

"I don't know that this baby is mine. I'm not taking responsibility for him," Austin told her.

"You have to. There's no one else. I can't. I'm fired. Mr. Westinger won't do it, and that Diana has no family. You know she was a foster child."

"I know. I know." Diana had it rough but that didn't excuse whatever this mess was.

"Call child services, dude. Let them take the kid," Ben told him.

Austin thought about it, but what if this kid turned out to be his. How would he feel then?

"I have to go now," Martina said and again tried to give him the crying baby. Austin backed away and she gave up.

She was now putting the crying infant in the rocker. When she set him down, he only cried harder. Austin couldn't handle it.

He went over and told her, "OK, I'll hold him." Austin took the baby from her.

"He's only a little fussy. He isn't a bad baby," Martina assured him as the baby continued to cry.

"Sure," Austin said, but he was distracted by how the baby felt as he held him. He was soft, light but also heavy. Austin wasn't sure how to hold him, but the baby just curled against him and cried and drooled.

"Is he hungry," Austin asked.

Martina looked at her phone. "Feed him a bottle in half an hour. I put it in the fridge, and his schedule for everything is printed over there." She pointed at some papers next to a stack of baby supplies on top of the kitchen table.

"I had to lug all that stuff up here, man," Ben complained. "This is not cool."

"I'll sort it out," Austin said, but he was actually panicking as he watched Martina get her purse and walk out the door.

She was gone and Ben was demanding answers. "How are you going to sort this mess out? I'm not living with a baby, you know. No way. You either get rid of this baby or you'll need to move."

"What?" Austin turned to him. He knew Ben was incredibly self-centered, but did he expect him to move out right now?

Ben pointed at the baby. "You hearing this?"

The baby was still crying so Austin decided to try the bottle now. He got it from the fridge, saw on the printed instructions that he wasn't supposed to warm it or anything.

When he offered it to the baby, he actually started eating and quieted. Austin was relieved to see how well he ate and also that there were two other bottles in the fridge.

He sat down on the couch and kept the bottle steady. "I think I should call a lawyer."

"And pay the lawyer's bill with what?" Ben asked. "You can barely scrape together your measly share of the rent."

"Cousin Casey graduated law school. I think she has her license. Call her for me. Put her on speaker," Austin told him.

"I'm not your secretary."

"My hands are full," Austin said and Ben called her.

While waiting for Casey to come by, Austin watched the baby fall asleep as he held him. The printed instructions said to let him burp. Austin did that a little while ago and that made the baby spit up and had Ben screaming that babies were gross.

Now Austin was sitting, holding a sleeping baby. He was in shock, clinging to the hope that it wasn't true, that Diana was just desperate for someone to take care of the kid and she lied.

That still left the problem of what to do with this kid and the pressure from Ben wasn't helping. Right now Ben was quiet at least, hovering, but keeping a safe distance.

"So is this kid yours or what?" Ben asked while eyeing the baby like it was an alien or something.

"It might be," Austin admitted. He had already figured out when he might have fathered this kid. "There was this one time after we broke up. Diana invited me to go out with her. She bitched about that Westinger guy till I told her I didn't want to hear about him. We did a lot of drinking, then you know, things happen."

"You mean a baby happened. Dude, right now you're a walking safe sex ad," Ben told him.

Austin couldn't argue with him. He had heard that Diana had a kid, but he never considered it might be his. Diana must have known, or suspected.

If he was the father, how was he going to manage? He was already stretched so thin paying off debts and trying so hard not to fall behind. He took all the overtime he could get. How was he going to get anything done with this baby to take care of?

If Austin thought he felt overwhelmed already, that turned out to be nothing. When Casey arrived, she gaped at the baby, kicked Ben out of his own apartment, and then Austin was buried in legal issues and decisions.

To Austin it all boiled down to getting a paternity test done and knowing if this kid was his. That was the main thing. He would figure out what to do with the baby once that was settled.

Casey arranged for the test, and now it was all Austin could think about. The legal stuff was just meaningless noise until he found out if he was a father or not.

It helped a lot to have Casey leading him through this mess Diana created. "I can't thank you enough," Austin said as he walked her to the door.

"You just hang in there, but let go of me," she told him and Austin realized he was holding on to her arm.

"Uh sorry, I guess I don't want to be left alone as the only one responsible for this kid," he admitted.

"I guess Ben doesn't count," Casey said. "Sorry, but there's no one else for now. Just do your best. OK? I'll talk to you soon."

The door closed after her and left Austin lost in thought, then his thoughts turned dark. He did panic just then, but it wasn't just because of the baby and the responsibility.

The feeling went further than that, back to the days when every time he watched his mother leave their apartment, he wondered how long she would be gone or if she would come back at all or get arrested again and be taken away from him.

As a little boy, alone and afraid, he waited, tried to let the TV distract him. He would sit on the floor hugging his knees, listening for her key in the door.

But that wasn't him now. He was the adult and this baby was the one who had a reason to be scared, left alone with a guy who didn't know how to take care of him.

Of course, being a baby, Jeremiah didn't know he should be scared, and that was a good thing. He was sleeping peacefully, oblivious to the guy losing his shit. Austin just had to get a grip.

Watching the baby's angelic face helped. The baby was OK. That's what mattered. All Austin had to do was not screw up too bad.

Chapter 2

With the baby to take care of, the next few days were hectic and exhausting and the whole time Ben didn't stop complaining. He acted like he expected Austin to just ditch the kid.

"I can't believe you're changing this kid's diapers before you even know he's yours," Ben said when he got back from work and saw that Austin was changing Jeremiah again.

"I'm not handing him over to strangers." To keep Jeremiah with him, Austin had taken a few days off work, but he would have to scramble for babysitting help once he started back at Artistic Ironworks where he did welding.

He needed that job especially if he ended up with a kid to support. That made him think about Diana and what she wanted. It wasn't a simple life of nine to five, and watching every dollar. She had a hunger for something else. A hunger that went back to her childhood.

"You know I met Diana when I was in foster care," he said as he looked over his shoulder at Ben, who was sulking as he played a video game to get some of his aggression out.

"I know, when aunt Molly went AWOL and my dad didn't want to pick up the slack," Ben said. "I take after my old man, you know. I don't want to take care of anyone else's kid either."

Austin's mother would disappear or have to do a little time when she got caught shoplifting or wrote one too many bad checks. Uncle Chuck, Ben's dad, didn't want another troublemaking kid on his hands, and Casey and her parents lived in Denmark back then.

Those were bad days for Austin, but eventually he would go back to live with his mom and for a while things would be OK. It wasn't like that for Diana. Her mother had died and no one knew where her father was.

"I'm pretty sure Diana is like she is because she got shuttled around different foster care homes," Austin told him. "Never had anything of her own, never had the nice things the other girls had."

With the controller in his hand, Ben pointed at the baby. "Look what she did. Why you making excuses for the bitch?"

"Don't call her names in front of the baby," Austin snapped at him.

"Dude, I don't get you. But if you end up getting stuck with this kid, you can't expect to live here. This is strictly a bachelor pad where I bring hot chicks and sleep off hangovers."

Austin didn't say anything to that. So far he hadn't solved his living situation, and until he got the results of the DNA test, he was in a holding pattern.

Ben went to get dinner and Austin gave the baby his bottle. He was washing the baby's bottle while glancing toward the rocker that he set up in the living room. He kept it there during the day but put most everything else baby related in his room. He figured the fewer reminders Ben saw, the longer he would let them stay.

Despite that Ben had been ranting about the baby more all the time. Austin hated for the baby to hear that even if he couldn't understand.

The baby was looking sleepy, so Austin was about to move the rocker to his room so he could sleep in peace. That's when Casey texted that she was dropping by. She had been checking in regularly, and soon she was knocking lightly on the front door.

By the sound of it, Ben was out there too. From the other side of the front door, Austin could hear Ben bitching to her about how the baby cried all the time. Austin was glad the baby was asleep now.

"He doesn't cry all the time," Austin said as he opened the door to them.

Coming in, Casey looked at the sleeping baby then Austin carried him and his rocker into his bedroom.

"Did you really lug a bunch of boxes and furniture up four flights of stairs by yourself in exchange for babysitting?" Casey asked when he got back.

"No, I carried it down for this girl, Sandy, who lives down the block. But at least she moved into a place with an elevator. She's nice and she has a five year old who's crazy about Jeremiah. In exchange for the moving help, Sandy agreed to babysit, but she can only do afternoons or weekends because she works."

"I like the sound of this," Ben said. "Forget everything bad I ever said about baby mamas. Marry that Sandy and move in with her."

"I guess I shouldn't be surprised he's been badmouthing baby mamas?" Casey said.

"And babies," Austin reminded her.

"If this kid turns out to be yours, you'll need somewhere more baby friendly to live. You can't have a baby exposed to Ben's negativity," she said.

"I know but I can't afford any place I'd want to take the baby to live. And if he isn't mine then..." Austin just shrugged. He didn't want to think about what would happen to the baby then.

"I might have a more baby friendly living situation for you," Casey said. "Might."

Austin narrowed his eyes. "One I can afford?"

"Maybe. It would be a roommate situation. Let me check into it."

"You think there's a roomie who won't mind a screaming baby?" Ben said.

"Babies cry. It's what they do," she told him while she did some texting. That went on for a while, but then she put away her phone. "Come on. We're meeting him for coffee."

"We're meeting who?" Austin asked.

"The guy with the house, the one who might have a place for you," Casey said and looked ready to go right that minute.

"But I don't know if I have to move yet," Austin pointed out.

"No dragging your feet," Ben told him. "I can't take the baby noises and the baby smells."

Austin looked from him to Casey. "OK. But I need to bring Jeremiah."

"That's fine. The baby should check out the place too."

"As long as he doesn't scream his head off and scare off your roomie," Ben said.

Austin was thinking that the baby would make a better impression than he would. His beat up old Ford explorer wasn't going to impress anybody, and neither would his money situation.

"I don't suppose you heard from Diana or you would have told me," Casey said as Austin gathered the baby's things that he needed to bring along.

"Nothing. And I had some of her friends try to reach her too."

"I can't believe her," she said then she watched Austin take the carrier off the rocker. "The baby didn't wake up."

"He's a good sleeper," Austin said and smiled proudly. He didn't know why. Especially since this kid might not be his. But he couldn't help feeling like that. Feelings of that kind just came to him sometimes, swelling up in him and filling his heart. At those times, he felt like he was already a father.

Chapter 3

 

Miller had met Casey when he went to see a lawyer to find out what he could do to keep his grandmother's house when his aunt and uncle threatened to contest her will. Casey was there for a job interview, and they started talking and then went to lunch together.

Afterward they struck up a friendship. Miller told her about his plan to maybe rent out rooms in the house or maybe get a roommate or two. He hadn't actually decided to rent out rooms, but Casey already had two potential roommates for him, her cousin and his baby.

Her text said that her cousin, Austin Clark, was a good guy, that he was financially responsible, but he had taken on a lot of his mother's bills before she died.

Miller had to admit that made a good impression on him, but he didn't know if he could really share his space with a stranger. Having a little extra money would mean that he could fix up a few things in the old house though.

Once he met this Austin, Miller would have a better idea if he was someone he could live with. He wasn't sure he could ever live with anyone. He didn't find it easy to trust even the people he knew, and lately that mistrust had gotten in the way of any relationships he might have had.

A few promising dates went nowhere when he refused to go to the other men's places or to bring them home. That's why it seemed almost impossible that he could live with Casey's cousin either.

If it wasn't for her reassurances, he wouldn't even consider it. But if he did manage a living arrangement like this, it might mean that he could take a relationship past a first date or two.

That gave him an extra reason to make this work. One was money. Once his aunt and uncle gave up on trying to take the house away from him, he needed money to get it in shape. The other reason was training himself to let people in, share his home with someone, so next time he had a chance with a great guy, he wouldn't make excuses and then go home alone.

 

Casey had texted only a little while ago and Miller was already waiting at Coffler's Coffee, fiddling with a sugar packet though he liked his coffee with only a little cream. There was no denying that he was nervous and that made him worry that he would make a bad impression and blow this.

Before he knew it, he saw Casey entering the coffee shop in the company of a hunk who had a carrier with a baby in it. The hunk was well muscled with dirty blond hair and a beard. When he went over to meet them and got close, Miller could see that he had gray eyes, and he had to tell himself not to stare and make it obvious how attractive he found this man.

Casey introduced them. "This is a friend of mine, Miller Knowles. My cousin, Austin Clark, and the sleeping baby is Jeremiah."

"Jeremiah? Such a big name for a little baby," Miller said keeping his voice down so he wouldn't wake the baby.

"You have two last names, Miller," Casey told him pointedly.

"I wasn't criticizing," Miller said and looked at Austin to see if he offended him.

But it turned out that Austin agreed with him. "It is a big name."

"You don't call him Jerry?" Miller asked.

Austin just made a face and shook his head. He then looked down at the sleeping baby and said, "He doesn't look anything like a Jerry."

Casey leaned over like she was double-checking if the baby was a Jerry or not, but Miller was trying not to stare at Austin. It wasn't only because he was incredibly hot. Miller was trying to figure him out.

With the beard and muscles, Austin was the kind of guy that should have intimidated him. But Miller actually found that Austin had a comforting presence. Maybe it was because of the sleeping baby and the giraffe themed diaper bag Austin carried over his shoulder.

They took a booth and Austin set the bag and the baby carrier next to him. They ordered coffee and Austin had two bagels.

"I didn't have lunch," he said as he ate like he was starving.

"That's because he was busy taking care of the baby," Casey said. "Austin is super hard working. Tell him about the furniture." But Austin was busy eating so she told him herself.

Hearing about how Austin was carrying all this furniture by himself, Miller couldn't help picturing his feats of strength, his muscles straining under the load, sweat glistening. He needed to stop that and focus on the real Austin in front of him, but that was a pretty sweet sight too.

The whole time, Austin kept one hand on the carrier and glanced at the baby constantly, the picture of a protective, new father. When the baby woke up, Austin picked him up right away.

Feeling cranky, the baby made unhappy noises though Austin made soothing sounds to him in his deep voice. Miller couldn't imagine why Jeremiah didn't stop fussing.

Austin stood up with him giving Miller another good look at his impressive physique.

"What's wrong with him?" Miller asked. Hearing the baby cry, he had this urge to do whatever it took to calm him.

"He just woke up. He probably needs a shot of caffeine," Casey said. "I get like that before my first cup."

"He does wake up cranky a lot," Austin said. "I bet he doesn't like all the changes, the unfamiliar faces."

From what Casey told him, Miller knew that the baby's mother, Austin's ex, had left Jeremiah with him only recently. That meant Austin was new to taking care of a baby, but Miller wouldn't have known it. Maybe he was a natural. Miller would be a disaster if he tried to take care of anyone but himself.

"So do you think you can put up with this kind of thing?" Austin asked him while he rocked with the baby in his arms.

"I think so. I admit I wasn't expecting a baby roommate, but I don't mind," Miller told him.

"Wait until he keeps you up half the night with his crying," Austin said but the baby had quieted and he sat back down.

"Sounds like you want to talk me out of this," Miller said and wondered if Austin didn't want to live in his house. He was straight from what Casey told him. Austin might have a problem with living with a gay guy.

"No, just warning you," Austin said. "My current roommate has a major problem with Jeremiah, and he's my cousin."

"Even if the baby cries, I don't think it will bother me too much. The house is pretty big."

"How big are we talking?" Austin wanted to know.

Casey cut in. "You don't need to hear about it. You can go and see it. It's just down the street." She pointed the way to the house.

"We can go and you can have a look," Miller told him.

Finishing their coffees, they walked down Gilder Street and reached the house quicker than Austin expected. "So it's right there?"

"As you see, it's the last house in the residential area before the commercial area starts," Miller said as Austin eyed the brick wall separating the side yard from TnT Mattress Emporium next door. Across the street was a house that had been gutted, but it didn't look like anyone was currently doing any work remodeling it. At least Miller hadn't seen any. "Is this kind of neighborhood going to be a problem for you?"

Austin shook his head. "I don't think so. There are stores and places to eat right there. That's convenient."

 

They went from the sidewalk up the cracked walkway to the front door and then Miller let them into the foyer. Casey got a phone call and she stayed outside to talk.

"The house is old and everything in it is old," Miller said. He hadn't changed much in it, and he was worried it wouldn't make a good impression.

"It's nice and big. This is like a mansion," Austin said as his eyes traveled up the staircase to the second floor.

"It was a mansion once, now it's just an old house," Miller said.

"It's kind of cool. Check out those cool windows," Austin said as he pointed out the dark wood window casings to the baby.

"You like it here?" Miller asked the baby. The baby made a smacking sound and Austin smiled.

"I'd say that means yes."

"Or maybe he's hungry?" Miller asked.

"Could be. It is amazing how often he needs to eat."

"If you want to feed him, you could make yourself comfortable in the living room." Miller pointed out the first room to the right of the entrance. At least the furniture in there was comfortable even if it wasn't new.

"I think I will," Austin said and he sat down on the sofa. He had trouble getting the baby's bottle while holding the baby.

"Can I help?" Miller offered.

"Thanks. I'm not exactly a pro at this."

To get the bottle, Miller had to lean close to Austin, and he was afraid to breathe the whole time. If Austin decided to live there, Miller would have to be comfortable being around him. That wasn't easy when Austin was so attractive and physically imposing. His tenderness toward the baby made him seem more approachable though.

The little guy ate pretty fast and then Austin walked him around a little bit and looked around at the same time.

"If you moved in, you would be able to use the downstairs rooms and two rooms upstairs," Miller told him.

"I only need one," Austin said.

"So you want to keep the baby with you. OK." Miller looked at the baby as he leaned his little face on Austin's shoulder and blinked, his tiny hand opening and closing around nothing. "Must be nice being a dad, and Jeremiah is such a cute baby."

Austin had a funny reaction to that and he didn't say anything. He couldn't be disagreeing about the baby being cute.

"It's kind of complicated. I'm not sure I am his dad," Austin said. "I'm waiting for the DNA test results."

"Oh. OK. Sorry," Miller said and he looked from Austin to the baby. The baby was so small, it was hard to tell if he looked like anybody. He had blue eyes not gray like Austin's but his hair was a similar darker blond.

Then Miller had to wonder about what Austin was doing. "So you're taking care of this baby without knowing if you're the father?"

"Even if he isn't mine, he is my friend's kid," Austin said.

"That's your ex, right?" Miller said though he felt like he was prying.