“Responsible adults?” Jay asked.
She nodded. “I mean, for the most part.”
“We weren’t that night, but I think yes, we are.”
She sighed, and it came from the soles of her feet.
“I’ll tell you one thing, Blue. This baby will know and love both its parents, and it will live a happy life,” he vowed.
“Agreed.”
“So where do we go from here?” he asked.
“I don’t know. I need some time to work that through.” She got to her feet.
“Blue, I need you to understand that I am not running away from you or my responsibilities, and I expect both of us to be honest with each other going forward,” Jay said, standing too.
She nodded. “I want that. Can we talk again soon? I just need time to tell my family and friends because you are right, they need to know.”
He nodded. “Me too. But, Blue?—”
She turned on her way to the door.
“Don’t leave town without telling me. We’re in this together now, okay?”
She nodded but didn’t speak again, and then the door was closing softly behind her, and Jay’s world would never be the same.
Chapter 14
I’m going to be a father.The words had rattled around inside his head all night. It was now the following day, and he still couldn’t grasp them.
Jay had gotten out his laptop in the early-morning hours and made notes. Things he needed to work through, plans that needed to be made for the future. Then he’d researched, which was what he always did if a speed bump was thrown into his path—hell of a speed bump.
Looking around his kitchen usually gave him a feeling of comfort. Today he felt only panic.
“I don’t know how to be a parent.” The words seemed loud in the silence. He’d actually thought seriously about not being a father after the crappy role models he’d had growing up.
He searched “learning how to be a parent” for information, but it didn’t calm him. In fact, it had terrified him.
After making a coffee, he sat on a stool and forced himself to check emails. Life had to continue, even with what now hung over him.
He found the DNA results.
“If you’re going to be a father, you have to face things,” he muttered but didn’t click on the attachment. Instead, he shut down his laptop and regained his feet.
Minutes later, he was moving to the door, grabbing his keys from where he’d left them on the side table, which Zoe had told him added a touch of class to the entranceway. Pulling out of his driveway, he started along the street.
He’d told Blue they couldn’t keep this a secret, and she’d agreed to that. Because soon everyone would know she was pregnant, and he’d told her she wasn’t facing that alone. Jay wanted people to know who the father was and knew that he’d have to talk to her family soon.
Heading out of town in a direction he could drive with his eyes closed, he decided his people should be told before anyone else.
When child services had decided his mother wasn’t fit to look after him, Jay had been sent to live with his aunt, who lived in Lyntacky. Moving from a large city to here had been a shock, as had the woman who resented pretty much everything about him. His aunt hadn’t mistreated him like his mother, but she hadn’t wanted him either. She’d provided the necessities, but nothing more.
Though with Lyntacky had come the Dukes, and he’d be forever grateful for that. He owed them the truth before someone else gave it to them.
Heading down the road some locals called Duke Drive, he passed Sheriff Dans’s house and stopped at the next one. He parked next to Dan’s cruiser and Robyn Duke’s—the matriarch of this family—sedan. Turning off the engine, he sat and stared at the house. This had been his first taste of what a home felt like.
Large, noisy, and filled with love and food.
