“I’m on the fence. It’s one of those things that I won’t know for sure until I try it, but then don’t want to get everyone’s hopes up. I hadn’t realized how much they were all taking on. They’ve never said a word.”
“Why not hire someone?”
“I asked that too. My mother said they were holding it for me.”
“Ouch. Did that put the guilt on you?”
“A touch, but she didn’t mean it that way. I’m sure there was always the hope I’d come home. But the truth is, I think they didn’t realize how much there was to it. Gabe has a newborn so he’s trying to cut back some. His wife is Elise Kennedy, so she works for her family business. Jocelyn is in a serious relationship and Chance has a two-year-old. He’s a fireman andwhen he’s working nights, she has Maverick. He also owns a pub, so again, working a lot.”
“Chance Drummond?” she asked. “It’s not a common name. That’s who Jocelyn is dating?”
“You remember him?” he asked.
“I hadn’t. I mean, I did. He was kind of a wild card in school. I remember him getting in trouble a lot. I took Archer to his pub two months ago and noticed Chance behind the bar. I hadn’t realized it was him and then did what everyone else does, looked the place up online and realized it. I didn’t know he was a fireman either. How did the two of them end up together?”
She hadn’t thought Jocelyn would be the type to talk to Chance in school, but maybe she was wrong or even being judgmental.
“I guess she saw him there when she was picking up food. Jocelyn always got along with everyone. She remembered him and they got talking. I’m guilty of assuming things about him that aren’t true. He’s a good guy. Makes my sister happy and that is all I care about.”
Aww. Talk about super sweet.
Checkmark there for Jayce.
Not that she hadn’t known it before about him, but it was nice to see that quality was still going strong.
As if he hadn’t already shown her by chatting with her son at the park, then playing with him, and offering to watch him. Even all day Saturday while they hung out, ate dinner, and watched a movie.
He’d been there five hours and left at nine to Archer’s whining that he didn’t want to go to bed.
Would she have liked if Jayce had stayed after she’d put Archer to bed so they could have talked more?
Yep, she would have.
But her son wasn’t going to bed if Jayce was still there and Jayce was keen enough to be aware of it and volunteered to leave.
“Can we talk about something else?” Archer asked from the back seat. “This is boring.”
“That’s rude, Archer,” she said, turning. “You know better.”
Jayce smirked. “What do you want to talk about?”
“What we are going to do next week. Do you know?”
“I’ve got a long list of things to do,” he said. “If I tell you, then it’s not a surprise. But why don’t you tell me what you’d like to do.”
“Sweet,” Archer said doing a fist pump. “Video games.”
“Not all day every day,” she said. “You need to get some fresh air. Jayce, that is something we will talk about. There is a limit on screen time.”
“Aww, Mom.”
“No arguing and I expect you both to honor it.”
“I have to, Archer. I don’t want to upset your mother.”
“She’s tough,” Archer said. “I’ve seen it.”
“I remember,” he said. “And I’ve got plenty planned outside and away from screens.”
