Book 25 Resilience After Dark #10
“Mr. Jace was working pretty good before, but if you come up with something else, I’ll answer to whatever you want to call me, except for Poopy Head. I won’t answer to that.”
Kyle cracks up laughing and takes off, screaming for his brother to hurry up before they get in trouble for being late. “Mr. Jace says we should call him Poopy Head!”
Jace watches him go, amazed at how the boys can touch him so deeply. “I did not say that!”
Somehow, he gets them out the door with ten minutes to spare. “Have a great day.”
“Later,” Jackson says as he gets out first, with Kyle right behind him.
As he edges the truck forward, Jace makes sure they’re inside before he pulls away. “Phew. Did it.”
“You did great,” Cindy says.
“They made it easy on me.”
Jace drops Cindy off at home before he joins his meeting already in progress.
Before she gets out of the truck, she says, “My mom texted to invite us to a family dinner tomorrow night.”
“She invited me, too?”
“Yep, and when I told her you’re taking care of the boys, she invited them as well.”
“That would be fun. I switched shifts with one of the other bartenders who wanted tonight off, so I’m off then. Tell her thanks for including us.”
At the meeting, he shares his worries that things are going so well, and this is when it usually falls apart for him.
“That’s how it used to be,” Quinn says, “when you were using and making stupid decisions in the quest for more drugs. You’re not going to mess this up because you know how much is at stake with Cindy and the boys.”
Hearing someone as accomplished as Dr. Quinn James say those things about him makes Jace feel ten feet tall. “Thanks for that. Means a lot.”
“It’s the truth, Jace,” Mallory says. “You’re a totally different person from who you were the night you lost your brother. You’ve got this amazing second chance to be in the lives of your sons. I can’t see how anything could get in the way of that.”
He leaves the meeting feeling pumped and uplifted by the words his friends had shared. He might’ve been a loser once upon a time, but not anymore.
Those days are over.
Tuesday, before his meeting with Mac about the plumbing job, Jace brings lunch to Cindy at the salon. She is amazed by their relationship.
“So am I. I’m amazed and thrilled and every other word I can think of.
When I came here, earlier in the summer, I had one goal in mind—get to know my sons.
It’s been so much more than that.” He takes her hand and links their fingers.
“Not only do I have a beautiful, sweet, sexy new girlfriend, but I’ve made some of the best friends I’ve ever had in my life through my AA group, at the gym and the bar.
I’ve made an unlikely friend of the man who’s raising my sons and his wife.
And there’s this job opportunity with Mac.
” He shakes his head. “It’s just incredible. All of it.”
“You’re incredible, and people see that. They respond to your genuine desire to start over and live a productive life. And for what it’s worth, you’re amazing with the boys. I was already falling hard for you but seeing you with them really sealed the deal.”
“That means a lot to me. I want to be good with them and to them.”
“They see that, and they like you, or they wouldn’t tease you the way they do.”
“They are pretty ruthless,” he says with a laugh. “I hate that Carolina got hurt, but to have this chance to step up for them… It means so much to me.”
“I know, and you’re doing a great job.”
He kisses her right there in the window, where anyone walking by might see them.
Cindy can’t find the wherewithal to care if someone sees them.
“In case you were wondering,” he says, leaning his forehead against hers, “you’re not the only one who’s falling pretty hard.”
“No?”
“Not at all.” He runs his fingers through her hair. “I haven’t felt this good in, well, ever. I loved Lisa. I truly did, but my life was a mess the entire time we were together. I never got a chance to be this person with her.”
“I’m sorry for her that she didn’t get a chance to know this guy, because he’s very special.”
“I’m glad you think so.”
Jace meets with Mac at the old alpaca farm where they’re planning to create a new wedding venue.
Mac needs a plumber, asks about Jace’s experience and offers him a full-time job.
He will acquire all the needed tools and offers assistance in getting Jace licensed.
“Thank you again, Mac. You’re changing my life with this opportunity. ”
“And you’re saving mine. I’ve been needing a plumber for years.”
Jace drives home, feeling stunned by the turn of events.
He’s landed a full-time job that will pay the kind of money he needs to really get his life together.
He can’t wait to text Darrell, his probation officer, with an update about the latest developments.
Soon, he’d pick up his sons from school and spend the evening with them and Cindy and her family.
If life has ever been better than this, he can’t recall a time.
Jace stops at the cemetery on the way home.
He apologizes to Lisa, telling her the boys are doing well with Seamus and Carolina.
He thanks her for raising them so well and promises to stop by and tell her how things are going.
On his way out, he checks in with Dan Torrington, who’s handling Lisa’s estate.
He asks about Lisa’s family and learns they were estranged from Lisa and want to keep it that way.
When Jace pulls into the driveway after picking up the boys from school, a woman named Justine Danvers from the Department of Children, Youth & Families steps out of the car.
She had an appointment regarding the finalization of the guardianship of the boys.
Jace tells her about Carolina’s accident and surgery.
He asks her to call Seamus to reschedule.
After she leaves, Jace texts Seamus, who’s very upset to have forgotten the appointment.
He calls Ms. Danvers and apologizes. They reschedule, but Ms. Danvers tells him she has to report that the boys were left in the care of Jace, a convicted felon on parole.
She gives him a day to find someone who is not on parole to stay with the children before she reports it to her supervisors.
Seamus calls Joe and asks him to come home to care for the boys.
Cindy, Jace and the boys go to dinner at Sarah and Charlie’s home. “Holy crap,” Jace says as they pull into the driveway at Sarah and Charlie’s. “This is your mother’s house?”
“Yep. Charlie got a big payout from the state for wrongful imprisonment and told her to pick her dream house.”
“Wow, I wish the state owed me that kind of money.”
“Looks like everyone else is already here,” Cindy says as she takes in all the cars.
“Remember your manners, boys,” Jace says as they get out of the truck to follow Cindy inside.
She introduces him to her mother, Sarah, who hugs him. “I’m so delighted to meet you, Jace. Cindy has told me so much about you.”
“And you’re still delighted to meet me?” Jace asks, making her laugh.
She rests her hand on his arm as if they’re old friends. “We don’t hold the past against people in this house, especially not when we see them making a real effort to turn things around.”
“Thank you, ma’am. That means a lot to me. These are my sons, Jackson and Kyle. Say hello to Mrs. Grandchamp, boys.” He realizes that’s the first time he’s ever introduced them as his sons to anyone.
As they say hello to Sarah, they partially hide behind him. He hasn’t seen their shy side before and finds it endearing.
“I think you know my husband, Charlie.”
“I do.” Jace shakes hands with Charlie Grandchamp, who looks like a totally different person from the hardened man Jace had known inside. “Good to see you again.”
“You as well. The view is much better from here.”
“You must have the best view on the entire island.”
“It’s not bad,” Charlie says with his trademark gruffness. “How’ve you been making out since your release?”
“Pretty well, all things considered. Coming here was a good move.”
“It was for me, too. I’m glad it’s working out for you.” He glances at Cindy, who’s talking to her sisters. “We love her very much.”
“I think I might, too.”
“Is that right?”
“Yeah. She’s the calmness in the storm.” He glances at the other man. “That’s weird, right?”
“No, it’s sweet, and I get what you mean. Her mother is the same for me. I’m sure you’ve heard about Cindy’s father and his bullshit.”
“I have.”
“She has a new father now, and he won’t be happy with anyone who messes with her, especially someone who’s been inside. Do we understand each other?”
“We do, and you have nothing to worry about. I promise.”
“What are you saying to him, Charlie?” Cindy asks as she comes over to them and winds her hands around Jace’s arm in a possessive move that thrills him.
Charlie gives her a pointed look. “I’m saying dad things to him.”
“Oh. Well, I suppose that’s okay, if you didn’t threaten to beat him up or anything.”
“Only if he hurts you, sweetheart, and then I absolutely will beat him up.”
Cindy’s smile lights up her pretty face as her eyes fill with tears. “That’s very sweet of you, Charlie. Thank you.”
Cindy introduces Jace to her grandparents.
They enjoy a delicious dinner, and after dinner, Adele takes Jace by the arm and walks him outside to get to know each other better.
After chatting for a little bit, she welcomes him to their family, which Jace tells Cindy means a lot to him because it’s been a long time since he had a family.