Jay didn’t feel better, exactly, but his head was clearer after the interactions. He walked, looking in windows, and stopped before one of the new shops in Lyntacky, a gift shop that had most things, from smelly soaps to mugs with cute slogans on them. But it was the set of booties, hat, and cardigan in yellow that caught his attention.
Is my child a boy or a girl? Will I be a good parent? How long does a child sleep in a crib?
Questions ran through his head, one after the other. He needed to talk to the parents he knew. Write down some questions they could answer, and then he’d feel better—more prepared.
But right now, he turned from the window. Pizza, Jay thought. Now he’d mentioned it, he actually wanted some for hisdinner. He could call in to see if Ryder was still in the cafe while he waited.
After placing his order, he headed to the cafe, but a voice stopped him.
“Haddon!”
Jay turned to find Blue’s brothers behind him.
Both looked angry, and he couldn’t fault them. If he had a sister, he’d feel like that if she was in Blue’s situation. Hell, he’d wanted to go after JD alongside Zoe’s brothers when all that business between him and her had gone down.
He wondered if they were going to want a fight, because while he could look after himself, he was one to their two, and though he was their height, Finch had some size on him.
The rock star and the army boy. An odd combo, but there was no doubting they were brothers as they drew closer.
“Ordering pizza for the family?” Jay asked for some reason, when what he should’ve said was “Look, let’s talk this through.”
“My sister is having a baby and you’re the father.”
“I know that, Finch.”
“Well, what are you doing about it?” Lynx demanded. “What are your intentions?”
“Whatever we do, will be our decision,” Jay said calmly, because he knew these two, and they were usually rational, even as he knew this situation was making them the opposite.
“She’s scared.” The words exploded out of Finch’s mouth.
“Not only that, but she keeps telling us to back off and?—”
“Maybe you should listen to her,” Jay cut Lynx off before he thought better of it.
“You don’t have a sister do you, Haddon?” Finch demanded.
Jay shook his head. He’d always wanted one though.
“You want to move heaven and earth when they’re hurting, to make their pain stop.”
“I didn’t hurt her,” Jay said. “We are both responsible for what happened in New York.”
The growl was low in Lynx’s throat.
“You think I wanted this?” Jay said as his anger climbed. “Think I planned to have a child with your sister?”
“What’s wrong with my sister?” Finch demanded.
Irrational, he thought again. “Fuck off,” Jay snapped. He was done talking.
“Go fuck yourself, Haddon,” Lynx said and swung at him.
Jay had excellent reflexes, but he hadn’t expected things to escalate that fast. He took the punch on the jaw, and it had him seeing stars. It also lit the fuse that had been smoldering for days. Jay launched himself at Lynx, and they both went down.
“Leave some for me,” he heard Finch say, and then the sound of running feet told him the cavalry was coming.
“You two fuckers better not have hurt him, or you’ll be facing me and my brothers!”
