Love? Surely not.
But he could feel it inside him. This awakening of emotion that he’d never thought he’d feel with a woman. And Blue was carrying his child which added another layer to the intensity of what he was feeling.
Jay fought the urge to slide his hand down her body to rest it on the soft curve of her stomach.
She smelled good. There was always a scent lingering in the air when Blue was near—subtle, sweet, and all hers.
He lay there with her body inches from his with thoughts rolling through his head. Jay didn’t know what it all meant. Didn’t know what the future held.
There was his sister, who Blue was urging him to do something about, and he hadn’t. There was a baby to consider, and the fact that its mother hadn’t committed to staying here in Lyntacky.
He didn’t want her to raise his child somewhere else. The realization hit him hard. He needed her to stay here in Lyntacky with him. Jay just wasn’t sure how to convince her that was best for her.
As his body was reacting predictably to having a beautiful naked woman inches away from it, he eased out of bed. He grabbed yesterday’s shorts, then headed out of his bedroom and softly closed the door behind him.
After pulling on the shorts, he made his way to the bathroom to wash his face and brush his teeth.
Jay then headed downstairs.
He put the coffee on and waited as the black gold spurted into a mug. Taking that and his phone, he headed out the front door to sit on the step and watch the sun rise.
What he loved about this place was the peace. When he left Lyntacky, he usually stepped into the chaos of a big city with lots of noise. Not here, however.
“Morning, Jay!”
“Ah, what the hell are you two doing?”
Red and Dee Heckler were passing the end of his driveway in exercise gear. Jay could say, hand on heart, never in his lifetime had he witnessed Dee dressed in anything that wasn’t suggestive. Today she had her chest covered—a chest that most of the population of Lyntacky was well acquainted with.
“Getting fit,” Dee said.
He noted she was still wearing makeup, and her lashes, even from where he was sitting, were a mile long.
“D-Dr. said I had to,” Red wheezed.
Into view, then, came their kids, all on bikes.
“The sun hasn’t risen fully yet. You dragged your kids out of their beds to run?” Jay protested on their behalf.
“They wake up before us,” Dee called. “You want to join us?”
Not in this lifetime or the next.“I’m good, thanks, Dee,” Jay said.
Red shot him a look that suggested he’d much rather be sitting beside Jay than speed walking, but he was doing as he was told.
Jay watched the Hecklers until they’d disappeared and then shook his head.Wait until I tell Dan about this one.
Next to pass by was Ally, the eldest of the next generation of Dukes, and one of Brody and Phoebe’s kids. She saw him and waved, then turned her bike into his driveway.
“What are you doing awake, Ally? I thought teenagers were grumpy in the mornings and didn’t wake up until midday.”
She’d always been a kid that wore color. Not only that, she had an unusual fashion sense, and Jay was glad to see age hadn’t changed that.
Today’s outfit was brown shorts and a purple-and-white polka-dot shirt. On her feet were sneakers and on her head a purple helmet with white daisies all over it.
“I’m working at the cafe today,” she said, stopping, still straddling her bike.
“Nice? You saving for anything in particular?” Jay loved this kid. He was in her life from the start, and she’d been his introduction to parenting—not that he’d done much, but he’d watched while her father and uncles had.
