He seemed to shrink a little as she spoke, curling in on himself. “It’s me,” he agreed. “I’m the bad guy here. I get that. But she’s talking about having kids. She has the wedding all planned. I’m trapped.”
Jax glared at him. “You’ll get over being trapped pretty quickly. How long do you think it’s going to take her to recover from what you’ve done?”
He flinched. “I don’t want to hurt her.”
“That ship sailed a long time ago. She’s going to be devastated.”
“This is you making me feel better?” he asked hotly.
“I’m not interested in you feeling better. And it’s not just Shawna, Harris. It’s our kids.”
He blinked at her. “What do they have to do with anything?”
“You led them on. You let them believe Shawna was going to be part of our family. They’re seeing a future with her, and Gentry is wildly excited about being in the wedding. You’ve played with their lives, too.”
“Oh, God, I didn’t think of the kids.”
“No, you didn’t. You only thought of yourself.” If she hadn’t been so tired, she would have been a lot angrier at him. As it was, he was getting off easy. “When this is over, we’re going to amend the parenting plan. From now on, adult sleepovers require us to be married to the person.”
“I agree. I should have listened when you said no. I was such a fool.”
“You were greedy and only thinking of yourself.”
He seemed to crumple as he wrapped his arms around himself. “What do I do now?”
“You tell Shawna the truth.”
“And you won’t...”
“No!”
She thought he might push back but instead he nodded twice, then stood. “I’m going home. I’ll see you tomorrow at the handoff.” He looked at her. “You won’t say anything to Shawna?”
“Not a word.”
“Got it. Night, Jax.”
“Night.”
She followed him down the stairs and went to join her kids, who were sprawled out on beanbag chairs, watching the movie. Nameless cat was curled up on a pillow and Ramon swayed back and forth on his perch, occasionally shouting out encouragement to the villain.
She pulled a third beanbag chair between the other two, then sat down within arm’s reach of her children. Tonight she needed everyone to stay close. There’d been enough trauma lately. She was due for a break and she intended to enjoy every second of this one.
Chapter Twenty-One
Ryleigh stood with her students in the center of the room. All the desks had been pushed against the wall and they’d formed a circle—each of them staring at the clock.
“Ten,” Ryleigh said loudly.
“Nine!” every student yelled back.
“Eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, ONE!”
There was a moment of silence, then the bell rang, signaling the end of the school year. A few of her students raced out the door without saying goodbye, but most of them lingered, a few looking stricken.
“It’s okay,” she promised when two girls raced over and hugged her. “I’ll be right here next...” She pressed her lips together when she realized she was making a promise she didn’t know if she could keep.
“I’ll be here all summer,” she amended with a smile. “Remember? I’m working at the bookstore. You can come see me there.”
