He circled around the twins and strode toward The Destiny, wanting to put space between them and the twins before more questions came up. Though he was certain the twins would be asking everyone they saw who this Blake kid was.
Blake jogged to catch up with him and stopped just as they got to the gangway.“Jesse, do you not want anyone to know—you know—to know I’m your kid?”
Jesse’s heart clenched. He’d messed this one up.“No, not at all. It’s just…”How to explain it?
“It’s okay, you know. I can just be some kid you’re showing around. You don’t have to tell people.”Blake looked down and scuffed his shoe.
Jesse reached out and took hold of Blake’s shoulders.“No, I would like the whole world to know. I just want to talk to the lawyer and see if we can get some legal things settled. I don’t want anyone stirring up trouble. And those Jenkins twins? Lovely ladies, but they like to…ah…gossip. A lot. And I just want to see where we stand legally before people start interfering.”
Blake nodded.“Makes sense. And Jesse?”
“Yes?”
“I appreciate you helping me get emancipated. And letting me stay with you.”
“It’s the least I can do.”And to tell the truth, he didn’t want the boy to become emancipated…he wanted him to legally become his son. But whatever happened legally in all this mess, he was never going to lose contact with Blake. He was going to be in his life in whatever way he could. And with that thought firmly planted in his mind, he led his son onto The Destiny, determined to give him the best birthday possible.
Chapter 21
Jesse met with the lawyer early the next morning. She’d wanted to meet with him alone first, look through what paperwork he had from Blake, and find out everything he knew about the situation. Which wasn’t much. She was going to take the paperwork and look into some details, and then she wanted to meet with Blake once she’d done that. He walked out of her office frustrated. At this point, he had no clue what would happen next. What could happen legally. The lawyer encouraged him to try and contact Blake’s aunt again. She also said if she could track down what lawyer had handled the paperwork when Christina died, she would try to contact that firm, too.
He swung back by his cottage to pick up Blake, and they headed to Sea Glass Cafe for a late breakfast. Blake asked a million questions about the lawyer visit, but unfortunately, Jesse didn’t have any good answers for him.
“But I swear, I’m doing everything I can. We will work this out. I promise.”
Blake looked skeptical. And who could blame him? He’d had a rough couple of years. But Jesse was determined that Blake’s tough time was ending now.
They walked into the cafe and sat down, and Emily came over to their table.“Hey, you must be Blake. I’m Livy’s daughter, Emily. So we’re related in some kind of complicated way. Good to meet you.”
“Nice to meet you,”Blake said.
Emily slipped into the chair next to Blake.“So, you’ve been meeting the whole family, huh?”
“I think so…”He turned to Jesse.“Are there more?”
“There’s Donna and Evelyn’s mother, Patricia. But on my side of the family? I’ve got nothing for you, kid. I was an only child and my parents are gone.”
“Oh, wait until you meet Grandmother Patricia. She’s…interesting. And if you get the feeling she doesn’t like you, don’t worry about it. She doesn’t really like anyone.”Emily grinned.
“We’re going to have breakfast, want to join us?”Jesse asked.
“Sure, I’ve got time.”
They ordered breakfast with waffles, eggs, and bacon. Emily kept up a constant chatter about the cafe, Parker’s, and the upcoming Harbor Festival.
“The festival is kind of neat. Lots of booths. Lots of food. Crafts. Art. And music. They usually have really great music.”
“Sounds like fun.”
“It’s coming up next week. You should come.”
“I’m not sure how long I’ll be here.”Blake shrugged and looked at Jesse.
“You can be here as long as you want, I hope. We just need to work out the legal logistics.”He hoped he wasn’t promising what he couldn’t deliver.
Emily stood after they finished their meal.“Hey, I was going to go to the beach this afternoon. Wanna come? I love going shelling, and the weather is perfect today.”
Blake looked at him.“Can I?”
