Read Begin Again for Free Online Page A

front pocket. Pulling the picture out, he sat heavily on the bed. Dylan wasn’t sure how long he sat there trying to summon up the courage to look at the picture.
    “Stop being a pussy,” he muttered. Turning the picture over in his hand, he immediately felt the tears fill his eyes. It was like looking at his own baby picture. The boy had lots of dark hair, big blue eyes, and a big dimple in each cheek. The boy was sitting up with a stuffed dog clutched in his hands. He wore the biggest smile on his face, and Dylan could just imagine that he was smiling at his momma.
    She was right : there wasn’t any doubt at all that Joey was his son. He had to tell his family and then he had to call Journey so he could meet his boy, his son. Programming her number from the back of the picture into his phone, he put Joey’s picture in his wallet and set it on his dresser. He wasn’t sure how he was going to fix the mess he made, but later when he told his parents, he hoped they had some advice for him about how he could fix it.
    He pulled into his parents’ driveway, parking behind Luke and Bellamy’s Escape. Every Sunday night they all came to their parents’ house for dinner. They were going to watch Stacy and Dustin open their wedding gifts. The couple decided to wait to take a honeymoon. Neither of them wanted to leave Violet for that long, so they decided to wait until she was a little bit older. Joey had to be around the same age as Violet. She and Carrington would have a new cousin to play with.
    Stacy’s parents, Gary and Renée, pulled in right behind him. They were a great couple and quickly became friends with his folks after Stacy and Bellamy met. He watched Gary pull his niece Violet out of the backseat. It was a sight to see—Gary, all big and rugged looking, talking to Violet in a soft singsong voice.
    “Hey , guys, how are you?” Dylan asked as he leaned down to kiss Renée on the cheek.
    “We’re good , sweetheart. We enjoyed our day with this little princess.” She grabbed Violet’s foot and gave it a playful shake. She clapped at her grandma and then reached for Dylan. Sometimes they wondered if it confused her that Dylan and Dustin looked the same, but the kid was smart. She knew who her dad was.
    “Come here , squirt.” He carried her to the house with Gary and Renée following close behind. “Are you my big girl?” he asked, tickling her belly until she was giggling.
    They were greeted by Stacy , who looked beautiful and relaxed. “Look, it’s Mommy.” Violet started smiling and reaching for her. He kissed Stacy’s cheek and handed off the baby. “Sweetheart, you look gorgeous, as usual.”
    H e walked further into the house and was greeted by his niece, Carrington. “Unca Dyl, up up up!”
    “Okay , sugar, up you go.” He picked up his petite little niece into his arms. His sister came up to kiss his cheek. “After dinner tonight I need to talk to y’all.” He only wanted to say what he had to say once.
    “Is everything okay?” His sister wrapped her arms around his waist.
    “I don’t know, twerp. I really don’t.”
    “Well , okay. We’re here for you no matter what it is.” She squeezed him tight then let go.
    After greeting his brother-in-law, dad and mom , he settled with the men on the back deck. Dustin signaled for him to follow him out into the yard. He wanted to just talk to everyone together about Journey, but Dustin was his best friend and they had a bond that could never be broken. They stood in silence under the shade of the large maple tree in their parents’ backyard.
    Dylan pulled his wallet out of his pocket and grabbed Joey’s picture. Handing it to his brother, he waited to hear what his brother had to say.
    He watched him study the picture. His facial expression remained unaffected by what he was seeing. Maybe he had imagined that the boy looked like him. Finally Dustin looked up.
    “How is it even fair that you get to have the first boy?” Leave it to his