“Makes sense to me,” Alex says.

“Same.” Rook nods. “But being married to a woman with three master’s degrees and a PhD, one of them in mammal reproduction, means she can get a little intense about the timing. I took care of her before bed, and she went and set her alarm for three in the morning because that was apparently the optimal time. Which is fine. But Kody was up at five wanting to shoot the puck around and then Aspen was up half an hour later.”

“Kody’s already on the practice schedule.” I don’t bother to hide my grin.

“That kid was born to play hockey,” Bishop agrees. “He’s got a mean slap shot. I gave him a regular puck last week and he nearly broke my damn kneecap with it.”

“That’s why we only give him the soft pucks.” Rook puts one of the pods into the coffee machine. “Normally, I’d just send him back to his room, but the last time I did that he managed to put a hole in the drywall because he used the outdoor pucks instead of the indoor ones.”

“Must have been a hell of a shot,” Alex says with a laugh.

“Right? He nicked the bar and it ricocheted. I thought it was funny, but Kody got upset because the hole was in the Alaska mural and it went right through a bear or a moose. He felt bad, and I had to reassure him that he didn’t actually hurt an animal. Anyway, I’m figuring it’s easier now when we’re already used to the sleep deprivation. So I’m really hoping it doesn’t take another half a decade to knock my wife up again.”

“Half a decade doesn’t seem like much compared to this guy’s quarter of a century.” Bishop thumbs over his shoulder at me, half-hiding his smile behind his beer.

“Couldn’t resist, huh?” I arch a brow.

“You’re gonna have a teenager when you’re sixty. Better hope that kid likes the oldies,” Bishop deadpans.

Alex makes a face. “I never even thought about that.”

“Me either,” Rook says.

“Anyway.” Alex turns back to Rook. “Back to your stressful life having to deal with your wife’s sexual demands. Maybe you should take Lainey away for a weekend or something.”

Rook dumps half a bag of sugar into his coffee. “She’s been talking about this museum in North Dakota she wants to check out. Maybe I should take her there. Lainey’s mom is always happy to watch the baby, but with Kody’s hockey schedule it can be a lot.”

“Kody can come stay with us for the weekend,” Alex offers. “You know he’s always welcome at our place.”

“At least until he’s a teenager,” Bishop adds his two cents. “Then you’ll need to keep him away from your daughter.”

“Oh, come on, they’re kids.” Rook raises a brow.

“Until they’re teenagers and then boom. Hormones.” Bishop motions to his junk.

Rook ignores him and stirs his coffee. “Anyway, hopefully I can plan it for next month. As long as games don’t conflict with the ovulation cycle or whatever.”

“I basically looked at Violet and she was pregnant, so I can’t say I know what you’re going through, but we’re always here if you need to complain about how hard it is to have sex on demand.” He makes a circle motion with his finger, including Bishop and me in the we.

“Uh, no, man, you can’t complain to me about this. If Stevie wants to set an alarm for three in the morning to wake the beast, I’m gonna let her, every damn time.”

Rook slurps his coffee and gives Bishop the evil eye over the rim. “I’m not complaining. I’m just saying, setting an alarm for three in the morning is not the best for a good night’s sleep, especially when we already have a baby who wakes up in the middle of the night for feedings.”

“This is not a conversation I ever thought I’d be having in my kitchen.” I sip my scotch.

“You’re basically a bystander. And man, having to get up at ass o’clock in the morning for diaper changes and feedings at your age is going to suck.” Rook chuckles.

“I’m in my forties, not filing for my old age pension.”

Rook gives me a look. “When was the last time you got less than six hours of sleep?”

“Probably last week.” Although I can’t be sure of that. Hanna goes to bed pretty early these days, and I usually join her, regardless of what time it is.

“Well, enjoy it while it lasts, because once that baby is born, you can kiss those six hours goodbye. I wonder how King is going to deal with it when he and Queenie start having kids? That guy is a solid seven and always has been.”

“He’ll survive. They should probably think about getting a dog, though, as training. Knowing King, he’ll have it crate and night trained in like three weeks. I’ve never met anyone as regimented as he is.” Alex rolls his glass between his hands. “That’d be pretty damn crazy, wouldn’t it? If you and Hanna have a kid and King and Queenie ended up having one, too?”

“They just got married.” I take another gulp of my scotch. Although the thought has definitely crossed my mind, considering the number of times Queenie has talked about wanting to start a family recently. I can’t say it would be the worst thing if she and King decided to start their own family, even if the level of strange is high.

“You’re not even married and you’re having a baby,” Alex points out.

“I’m aware, thanks.” I give him the hairy eyeball.

“You know we all kind of called this a while ago.” Rook takes another slurp of coffee.

“Called what?”

“This thing with you and Hanna. I mean, I’ll be honest, I never really picked up on it, but Lainey sure as hell did.”

“Oh hell no, if anyone called this, it’s me.” Bishop points to his chest and then holds his arms wide. “I’m like a goddamn oracle.”

“What do you mean, you called this? I think we all called Hanna and Jake hooking up.” Alex crosses his arms, like this is suddenly some kind of competition. “Vi kept talking about how it would be so wild, because if you two get married then Queenie and King would be stepsiblings.”

“Yeah, well, I caught these two coming out of a bedroom all cozy, cozy at the wedding, and then again in one of the private rooms at Queenie’s birthday party,” Bishop says. “I thought it was messed up enough that you two were getting all fresh with each other and that you’d make them stepsiblings, but now they’re sharing a half-brother, too. That makes your kid their kid’s uncle. Think about that for a second.” He puts his fingers at both temples and makes the “mind blown” hand gesture.

Silence follows. The kind that’s heavy and a little awkward.

“On the upside, if King and Queenie end up having a kid sooner rather than later, you can raise them together,” Rook says.

Alex rubs his chin. “That would be—”

“Fucked up?” Bishop supplies.

“Kinda cool, really, if you ask me,” Alex comes to my defense. “Age is just a number, man. And kids keep you young. At heart anyway. Look at my dad’s relationship with Robbie. Doesn’t matter that he’s over sixty and loves Led Zeppelin and The Grateful Dead. Robbie treats him like some kind of genius overlord. He loves hanging out with my dad. I actually think he believes his Gram Pot is a wizard, Harry Potter style, you know? Anyway, what I mean is, you can be sixty and still cool to a teenager. And as unconventional as it may be, you’re still young, and lots of people start families in their forties. And you’ll have tons of support. Except maybe for this guy.” Alex thumbs over at Bishop. “I wouldn’t trust him to take care of my goldfish, let alone my kids.”