Chapter 20
CHAPTER TWENTY
“See you Monday, Lori. Have a good weekend,” I bid as I walked out of the front of the station.
“You, too Jase,” she called back.
Before I got home to pick up Rainy, Lucas, Cole, and Juni to take them to Barb’s for dinner, I needed to make three calls and only one of those I was looking forward to.
I decided on the easy one first.
Chelsea.
It rang so long, I thought I’d gotten away with leaving a voicemail.
No such luck.
“I know why you’re calling. And it sucks. But I’m happy for you so I’m not mad,” she said, instead of a proper greeting.
The beauty of caller ID.
“Thanks, Chels. You know I’ll write you a check.”
“Oh, I know you will. And just because you’re not going up for auction doesn’t mean you’re getting out of attending.”
I smiled as I started my SUV.
“We’ll be there.”
“Happy for you, Jase,” she said but more heartfelt.
With that, she hung up.
I waited for my phone to connect to my car and made my next call.
“Hey, Jason.”
“Hey, Shay. Sorry again about cutting our conversation short yesterday. Got two big cases and they’re both breaking fast,” I told her. “And thanks again for letting me have the kids tonight.”
“You did me a solid and took them last weekend on short notice. So, no worries.”
I had, that’s why I’d picked them up on Friday after school, instead of my regular Monday switch off.
It had taken awhile, but Shay and I had sorted or shit and we figured out how to effectively co-parent. The last few years had been great, and I hoped like fuck what I had to tell her didn’t screw with what we had worked hard to achieve.
I decided the best course of action was to rip the Band-Aid off.
“I’m back together with Rainy Cross.”
The silence stretched long enough for a knot to form in my stomach. If Shay wanted to turn up the bitch, she could max out attitude like no other woman I knew.
I heard her soft laughter before she said, “I saw her at the hospital the day you were shot. So I figured as much.”
Okay, out of all the responses Shay could give, laughter wasn’t even on the list.
“Right. Rainy told me you were there. Already texted you my gratitude but I say it again, it was cool of you to check on me. What I didn’t get to explain yesterday when I asked to keep the kids tonight is, we’re going to Rainy’s mom’s house for dinner.
We were supposed to go earlier in the week, but Barb had to cancel.
It was tonight or wait another week until the kids were back with me. ”
“Okay,” she whispered.
I didn’t know what that whisper meant. I was with the woman for five years and I couldn’t read her reactions the way I could Rainy’s. Especially over the phone when I couldn’t see if she was giving me a dirty look.
“I don’t know what to do with that, Shay,” I admitted. “You gotta give me something.”
More silence and the knot that had loosened pulled tight again.
“I don’t know what you want me to say. Do I wish you would’ve called me, like I called you before I introduced the kids to Hunter, yes.
But also, I recognize the situations are very different.
You’ve known Rainy longer than you’ve known me.
I know Rainy. It was from high school, but she was sweet and shy and kind then so unless she’s done a one-eighty and turned into a screaming lunatic I already know her, and you didn’t know Hunter at all.
I also know there would be no Colson and Juniper if she hadn’t broken up with you.
And I’m not bringing that up to be a bitch.
It’s just factual. You’ve always loved Rainy.
I came to terms with that a long time ago.
So, really, there’s nothing to say. I knew when I saw her in the hospital this was going to happen.
I knew she’d be meeting the kids. And really, you’re a good dad, you love the kids and I know if Rainy wasn’t Rainy you wouldn’t have brought her around the kids, because you never bring women around the kids. ”
After that speech I didn’t know what to say. This was the Shay I’d met and grown to care for. Those feelings changed after we’d gotten married and she’d allowed jealousy to turn into bitterness, but I owned that. She had a right to be wary. Her husband was in love with someone else.
“I appreciate you being cool about this, Shay.”
“I’m happy for you, Jason. I’m not proud of how I ended us, and I’ll always regret cheating on you because you didn’t deserve that.
It was a bitchy thing for me to do. You’re a good guy, always were, and you’re a great dad.
Not so great a husband to me, but I was a shit wife.
So we’re even on that. But I know you’ll be a really great husband for Rainy because she’s the one you’ve always loved. ”
“Shay—”
“I’m not bringing up old ground, promise. That’s gone. We’re here. We have two really great kids and we’re raising them with love. That’s the only thing that matters.”
She was right. That was the only thing that mattered, our kids were loved and they knew it.
“I didn’t think you were bringing up the past. I wanted to tell you, the same for you—I know you’re gonna be a great wife for Hunter because he loves you the way you deserve to be loved.
He loves our kids and treats them well, and they give that back to him and part of the reason why is because he loves their mom like crazy and they see that.
So, you’re right, we weren’t good together, but we have great kids, we’ve moved on, and now all they get is love and support. ”
I heard her sniff, then clear her throat.
“I would like if possible, to arrange a big family dinner—all of us. Not now, not even soon. Maybe in a month or two.”
Fucking shit, I wasn’t so well-adjusted I wanted to sit down with my ex-wife, her husband, and my woman for dinner. But the kids would love that.
“I’ll talk to Rainy and we’ll make that happen. But you also need to know, Rainy has a son, Lucas.”
“Lucas? Juni’s best friend Lucas?”
“Yes.”
Shay busted out laughing.
“Another Turner-Cross best friends crossover,” Shay sputtered.
“That’s not gonna happen,” I growled. “She already asked if Lucas can still be her best friend if he becomes her brother. I said, yes. However, tonight I’m retracting that.”
Shay laughed.
Which was strange in and of itself because before this conversation I hadn’t heard Shay laugh in a really long time. And the only time I heard it was because she was laughing at one of the kids. It was never aimed at me.
That was twice in one conversation.
“I don’t know why you’re laughing,” I grunted.
“Because you’re funny when you turn all protective, over-the-top dad.”
We’d see how funny she thought it was when we went head-to-head when it came time to discuss when Juni was allowed to date.
Thankfully, that conversation wouldn’t happen for another eight years.
“Right. Good talk. I’m hanging up now.”
“Have fun at dinner. Give my babies my love and I’ll see you tomorrow morning.”
“I will. See you in the morning.”
The call disconnected.
I drove.
But I did it thinking that call went a fuck of a lot better than I thought it would go.
The only downside was I’d agreed to a blended family dinner. The plus side was we were all at a place where a dinner like that was possible.
Now my mother.
And I knew she was going to give me a ration of shit because she already had over text. But she loved me, so she wouldn’t nag me, too much.
I made my call and was surprised when I got my mom’s voicemail, especially after the four texts I’d received earlier in the day for me to call.
“Mom, it’s me. Call me back.”
I disconnected that call and calculated the time I’d have to change my clothes before we had to leave to make it on time to Barb’s. Thankfully, I’d have time to squeeze in a quick shower. Unfortunately, that shower would not include Rainy.
But tomorrow after I dropped off the kids with Shay, Rainy would be dropping Lucas off at Barb’s and we’d finally have a full day and night together—alone.
We’d had two family dinners at my place—Wednesday and yesterday.
Wednesday, Rainy and Lucas came over for pizza at Juni’s invitation.
Rainy had also met Kayla who’d stayed to chat for a bit but left before we ate, even though she was invited to stay.
Yesterday, Rainy picked the kids up from school.
This was at Lucas’s request because he wanted Juni and Cole over to his house.
Which meant I got to live the dream all over again.
This time getting home to Rainy and Cole cooking dinner, while Juni and Lucas played some game called Patchwork at the kitchen table.
Like when I walked in my front door on Monday, Rainy had music playing on low. Unlike at my house, she had candles burning, making the house smell like nutmeg and cinnamon. I’d filed that away to purchase candles the next time I was in a Target so Rainy could light them at my house.
All three dinners we’d shared had been great. I knew we’d hit rough patches with the kids. Juni and Cole bickered and one day those arguments would include Lucas. But we were building a strong foundation, so when the fights happened, they wouldn’t cause damage.
I was pulling into my neighborhood when my phone rang.
Dylan’s name appeared on my dash.
Tuesday after we’d retrieved the video footage from the homeowners that Dylan had given us and viewed the files, Ethan and I were officially removed from anything having to do with Tyler Mercer. I couldn’t investigate the man who was suspected of shooting me and neither could Ethan.
And since Tyler Mercer was in close proximity to Ashley Monroe’s dead body when he shot me, we were yanked from her case as well.
Since there was no official connection between Ashley Monroe and Samantha Williams, Captain Anderson was allowing us to continue to work her case with the condition we share our files with the detectives who had taken over the Mercer and Monroe cases and the caveat that if there was the barest hint or evidence connecting Samantha to Mercer or Ashley, we were going to be immediately removed.