No one had a perfect relationship and it was crazy for him to think he would with Farrah.
They’d talked for almost two hours and worked it out. Were they both still raw and maybe a bit hurt? Yeah. That was normal. But by the next morning all was well.
And when Archer returned days later, he’d kept a smile on his face as he listened to how much fun the kid had with his father, trying to control the frustration over knowing it wasn’t genuine on Tucker’s part.
Farrah was right—as much as he hated to admit it—that speaking up and making a stink wasn’t going to change the outcome. Biting your tongue might hurt your mouth, but it could save pain to those around you. That was worth more in the end.
“What are you doing tonight?” Archer asked. “Can Liam and I come too?”
He laughed. “I don’t know what we are doing other than getting dinner, and no, you can’t come because once we drop you off, you’re locked on campus for the week. A prison to conditioning, body control, and coordination. Which one of you is going to trip on your laces first?”
Archer was giggling loudly. “Not me. I never trip.”
“Don’t be so sure,” he said. “You boys are going to work hard. Harder than you’d ever played before. Hours of shooting,dribbling, passing, defense. That and much more. I remember it still and falling into my bunk exhausted.”
“We’re staying in bunk beds?” Liam asked. “I want to be on top. We are together, right?”
“You are,” Farrah said. “We made sure of it. I’m not sure if it’s bunk beds or two twins in a room. You’re staying in dorms, so my guess is it’s two separate beds. And don’t expect nice rooms like you’ve got at home. You might be in a basement.”
“No fair,” Archer said. “No one told us that. That stinks.”
Jayce laughed. “You’re not going there for comfort. And when you’re in college, you don’t spend much time in your room either. There are a lot of other places to move around.”
“How is the food going to be?” Archer asked. “Will I get pizza and burgers?”
Farrah turned to look at him and wiggled her eyebrows. “I’m not sure what you’re going to get, but don’t expect it to be like home or a restaurant. You won’t starve and you’ll have choices. Remember about the peanuts. Look and ask though they are aware. You’ve got to have a special band on your wrist.”
“Only me?”
“Yes. It shows you’ve got the allergy so the staff know and those in the kitchen are aware, though I was told that no meals have peanuts in them other than peanut butter sandwiches as an alternative or snack. They are clearly labeled, wrapped up and prepared at a different station.”
“I’ll be fine,” Archer said.
“I know you will be,” she said, turning her head to look at her son.
In just four months of being part of their lives, Jayce had gotten a crash course in parenting. The worry that never shut off, the joys that came out of nowhere, the frustrations that tested every ounce of patience, and the headaches that somehow stillmade him smile. Not to mention the earplugs he’d have to start buying.
It opened his eyes to everything he’d once taken for granted, everything he’d unknowingly put his own parents through. And instead of scaring him off, it lit something inside him.
He wanted more. He wanted it for himself.
The midnight wake-up calls. The tiny, wobbling steps across the floor. The firsts and the failures, the scraped knees and the small victories.
He didn’t want to swoop in halfway through a story, he wanted to be there from the very first page.
To nurture, to guide, to protect. To give and receive the kind of unconditional love he was only just now realizing was the truest thing he’d ever felt.
“Have fun, but stay out of trouble,” he said.
“Did you get in trouble at camp when you went?” Archer asked.
“Nope. But I had a lot of fun and that’s what it’s about.”
Archer and Liam went back to talking to each other the rest of the ride, letting him and Farrah listen and keep their laughter at bay from the things the two boys were talking about.
When they pulled onto UNC, he followed the signs to where they had to park, got out and gathered the kids’ luggage and bags, and walked with them to the registration.
“Stay close to us,” she said. “And stick together the whole time, do you hear me?”
