“The letter?” I asked as I looked over at him.
“Yep. He asked that I not read it until I found out I was going to be a father. I guess that means I have to read it now.”
“You haven’t read it yet?” I asked as I watched the pain fill his eyes. I hadn’t seen that in his eyes for some time now, and it gutted me to see it there again. I glanced down at the letter in my hands. Shit. What in the world did his father write to him?
“Nope, I can’t bring myself to read it, Reed. I can’t. I need you to read it to me.”
I snapped my head over at him and dropped my mouth open. “Huh? You want me to read it to you? Layton…I’m not sure…”
Layton stood up and downed his beer. “I’m well on my way to getting drunk, Reed. I was short with Whitley this morning, and I ended up walking out after a fight. I have been in this damn barn ever since. I had Lucky bring me a couple of twelve packs of beer. I can’t do this alone. I can’t read it.”
When I saw the tears filling his eyes, I jumped up and walked over to him. “Layton, you’re married to the woman you’re going to spend the rest of your life with. You’re going to be a father, and you and I both know that you will be a damn good dad. Nothing in this letter will change any of that. Do you understand that?”
He slowly nodded his head and gave me a weak smile. “This is why you’re my best friend. I need you to do it though. I need to know what he wanted to say to me and why he felt like he had to wait until I was going to be a father.”
I turned and sat back down on the bench as I began to open the letter. I took a deep breath and looked up at Layton. “You ready?”
He nodded. “Yeah.”
I cleared my throat and began to read the words Layton’s father had written down on paper.
I looked up at Layton and had to catch my breath. He was leaning against a stall…crying. I quickly wiped away the tear slowly making its way down my face. I waited a few minutes before I said anything.
“Layton? You okay?” I asked as I stood up.
He looked at me and slowly smiled as he nodded his head. “Yeah, I’m more than okay. That’s all I ever wanted, Reed. I only wanted him to say he was sorry and that he loved us.” He looked down and kicked the dirt. “That’s all I ever wanted,” he whispered again.
I walked up to him, grabbed him, and pulled him in for a hug. “I love you like a brother, Layton. I’m always here for you.”
“I know, Reed. Thank you for always being there for me. It means more to me than you know. You know I love you like a brother, too.”
“Am I interrupting some bonding time here with you two pussies?” Kevin said from behind us.
After slapping each other’s backs harder than we needed to, Layton and I stepped back and shook hands as we smiled at each other.
“Fuck off, Kevin,” I said as I handed Layton the letter.
He pushed it into his back pocket and started laughing. “You want a beer, Kevin?” Layton asked as he reached into the cooler and pulled one out.
“Hell yeah, I do. So, what’s going on? I got your text, Layton, saying you had something to tell me. I rushed over, but I’m not so sure I want to know what it is after walking in on the two of you…sharing a moment.” He rolled his eyes and then let out a chuckle.
I laughed as I sat down on the bench and downed my beer. I glanced up, and the smile on Layton’s face had me smiling. I knew exactly what he was going to tell Kevin—Whitley was pregnant.
“I’ve got some good news, dude, bu
t you can’t tell Whit that I told you,” Layton said.
I started laughing. He’s worse than a girl.
“Oh, hell no. I don’t want that girl getting mad at me. You just keep your secret to yourself until the girl says you can spill the beans on whatever it is.”
Layton shrugged his shoulders and sat down next to me. “Okay, but Reed knows.”
Kevin was about to take a drink of his beer but stopped right at his lips. “Reed knows the secret you’re not supposed to be telling?”
I nodded my head and laughed. “Yep, I sure do. It’s a good one, too.”
Kevin dropped his head back and let out a sigh before looking back at Layton. “Shit. I promise not to tell Whitley you told me. What’s the damn secret?”