“Her brothers are going to pay you a visit, bud. You know that, right?” Dan added.
“I do.”
“Those two may have been raised with peace, love, and understanding, but we both know how mean they can be when crossed.”
“Just like us,” Brody said, taking the coffee his mother handed him and sipping it.
“We’ll deal with all of it,” Leah said. “I know what it’s like to be the subject of gossip in this town, and while as a kid I hated it, with age, I understood that most of it was well-meaning worry.”
Dan leaned in to kiss the top of his girl’s head.
Did Jay want that closeness with Blue Jay? He doubted she wanted it with him.
“Blue’s tough,” Leah said. “She doesn’t suffer fools, and she has lived in New York alone for years. But, though she may appear as if she doesn’t need anyone, she does. You remember that, Jay.”
No one added anything to that, and they all sat drinking their coffee in silence.
“We have plenty of baby stuff, so there’s that,” Brody said when the silence had gone on too long.
“Really, bro? That’s what you felt needed saying right then?” Dan asked.
Brody shrugged. “Having a kid is expensive.”
“He’s rich. You haven’t worked that out yet? The man’s been doing secret stuff at a high government level for years.”
After Dan finished talking, Leah looked from him to Jay and back again. “I thought he was into real estate and investing,” she said.
“He’s in national security, but he could also be a spy and we’d never know,” Brody explained.
“Not a spy. Thanks, Robyn.” Jay took the plate with a wedge of carrot cake on it.
“Why does he get first plate?” Dan groused.
“Because he’s had a shock,” she said.
“There’s plenty of cake to go around,” Callum said, bringing more to the table.
“We got you, bud. This is going to work out okay,” Dan said, reaching over to squeeze his shoulder. “You’re not alone, remember, and Blue is a good person.”
He knew that and also that her family would support her, but what he didn’t know was how they were going to parent this child together when Blue lived in New York and he lived here.
Chapter 15
Blue had come home from Jay’s and headed outside to her parents’ gardens. She’d then walked with the dogs, trying to make sense of the mess her life was in.
Picking herbs, she crushed them in her hands, the air filling with their spicy scent.
New York was her home. Could she go back there now?
Her phone vibrated in her pocket. Blue pulled it out and looked at the screen. She didn’t recognize the number.
After unlocking her phone, she read the message that had just come through.
It’s me, Jay. Have you told your parents yet? Need me to come with you?
How did you get my number?
Jay Haddon
