Jax wanted to push back and insist they talk about Ryleigh not moving anywhere that wasn’t here, but knew if she did, they would fight and neither of them wanted that. Plus she had promised herself to be supportive, which was turning out to be harder than she’d expected.
“I am, but I’m not sure of the date. Marcus is still figuring out exactly when the wall’s going to come down. Then he has to put in the supports before it can all be put back up. So sometime after that. Maybe late July.” She sipped her latte. “Thinking of making a few entries?”
“Maybe.”
Diary Days were a series of dates over a week or so when people were encouraged to come in and add to their diaries or start a new one. They generally happened in July and January.
“Is Harris taking the kids to a baseball park this summer?” Ryleigh asked.
“Yes, to Chicago to see the Cubs. Xander can’t wait but Gentry is less sure she wants to go. I told her she needed to suck it up. If she doesn’t have a good time, we’ll talk this fall about her skipping next year.”
“She’s going to be thirteen soon. She wants different things than she used to,” Ryleigh said.
“Yet she’s still wildly excited to go to Disneyland with the folks in August.”
Her sister laughed. “I’d be wildly excited to go to Disneyland with them as well. Oh, have you told Mom and Taft about Harris and the engagement?”
Jax slumped in her seat. “No. I thought about it, but then I didn’t know what to say. The whole situation makes Harris look like a creep and they’re already mad at him for the divorce.”
“They’ve made peace,” Ryleigh told her. “He’s their grandchildren’s father. They have to get along with him.”
“Yes, but they’re not fans anymore. I guess I’m hoping the engagement thing will blow over before they get here, but if it doesn’t, I’ll tell them before they fly out. I have no idea what they’re going to say.”
“Makes sense, but I wouldn’t count on a breakup anytime soon. Shawna is beyond excited. She’s flashing her ring everychance she gets and just yesterday she mentioned how she was setting up their wedding website.”
Jax winced. “This is so awful. I’m worried about the kids, but I also can’t help feeling bad for Shawna.”
“You’re sure Harris just proposed to get sex?”
“He practically admitted it. Ugh. I just don’t know what to do.”
“You do your best to help the kids through whatever happens and ignore the rest.”
“That’s really good advice,” Jax said. “And yet I find myself needing to, well, I don’t know what.”
“That’s scary. Are you thinking of telling Shawna your suspicions?”
“God, no!”
“Good. Then what do you want to do?”
Jax managed a faint smile. “I have no idea. I keep telling myself it’s not my rock.”
“It’s not.”
“So I should let it go.”
“Yes. A thousand times yes.”
“It’s like watching a train wreck in slow motion. I can see the disaster that’s coming but I can’t stop it.”
“No, but you can get out of the way.”
Ryleigh eyed the pet carrier in the back seat of Jax’s SUV. “You’re making a massive mistake. I don’t have enough words to tell you how bad an idea this is.”
“It’s going to be great.”
“It’s going to be a bloodbath.” She paused. “Possibly a literal one.”
