Chapter 19 Patience
Chapter Nineteen
PATIENCE
I knew what was going to happen, and yet I still felt blindsided.
If I didn’t get my emotions together while at work, I might not have a job soon. The thought entered my mind, even though I knew it was ridiculous. Not one of the guys would do that to me. I was good at my job, and I loved working here.
As a teen mother, my priorities changed. My family didn’t have money for college; not that my mother and stepfather would have ever spent a cent on me, even if they did. I never really dreamed of going and wasn’t sure what exactly I would do if I’d gotten the chance.
Then came Griffin.
He was my priority and the brightest light in my world, which had been mostly lonely and sad.
When Chaz noticed me, and all his friends acted as if they were mine, I’d fooled myself into believing it was real.
And as hard as the situation was, I wouldn’t change a second of it because it gave me my son.
The same special little boy who Chaz had no right to after years of denying he was his and taking no part in helping raise him.
Landon had gotten the news of the paternity test, and we all knew what it was going to say, but now that it was official, I was scared.
The gentle lawyer had taken me into his office, sat me down, and talked to me.
It was as if a light had been switched. That gentle guy became fierce, something I’d only seen a few times.
Hope sparked in my chest when I got that glimpse of the hardcore lawyer he must be when his demeanor changed, and he told me that in no way would he allow Chaz or his family to touch a hair on Griffin’s head, let alone get any sort of custody.
Did I dare to believe him?
With him telling me he was going to take care of everything, I left his office trying to hold my head high, but fear was clawing at my chest. I got to the front desk and tried to busy myself with work, but I needed something.
Jett.
I needed to talk to him. To hear his voice. So, I tried calling him a few times but didn’t get an answer. The last couple of weeks had felt different. He wasn’t as distant, a bit more like himself. Jett was the one I always went to when I felt my world spinning out of control.
Why wasn’t he answering? I called Gramps’s house, and he answered right away, a smile in his voice when I told him it was me. I missed being there, but my place at the moment was as close to Jett as I could be.
When Gramps told me that Jett was in the garage playing, my heart fluttered with joy. He needed his music and had been denying himself that release that we both knew had gotten us through hard times.
I’d told Gramps not to bother Jett when he offered to go get him. I couldn’t disturb him when he was doing what he truly needed. Always in tune with all of us kids, Gramps must have sensed something in my tone and wouldn’t let me off the phone until I told him what was wrong.
Unable to not do exactly what the old man said, I let it all spill out. With his encouraging and yet fierce words spoken on my behalf, I let him go and tried once again to dive into work, needing the distraction.
About a half hour later, still plagued with worry and not accomplishing much, the buzzer went off, notifying me that someone was looking to get in. I glanced up, and my heart leaped with joy.
He came.
How did he know exactly what I needed?
When I let Jett through the door, he walked with purpose straight for me and pulled me into his arms. God, it felt so good and right. In his embrace, even when we were just friends, was always my happy place.
Jett would always be my best friend; he was just a lot more now since I had said, I do. It may seem absurd at my age to say that no matter what happened, I was sure I’d never say those words to anyone else again. Many people move on, find new loves and spouses.
Not me.
The things that had transpired in the last few weeks made me believe that Jett might feel the same and never call this whole marriage off. With the ring, the kiss, and the things he said, I prayed we were headed in the right direction.
The forever kind.
He knew me better than anyone, and because of that, after he spoke with the guys, he’d kidnapped me for the remaining part of the day. Placing me in his car, he let me know we’d figure out my vehicle later, and he began to drive.
When his hand reached across the console, coming to rest on my thigh, palm up, I grabbed it, wishing I never had to let go. We drove like that in silence, but the quiet was peaceful. Then we pulled up to the Baskin-Robbins down the street from my work and I swung my gaze to Jett.
“You always did think you could fix me with ice cream,” I said, rolling my eyes.
His eyebrows raised. “It’s worked many times.” Then he sighed. “Look. I know this won’t make all your worries go away and they can’t be fixed with sweets, but I hoped it would make you feel a little better.”
Before I could answer him, there was a knock on my window, startling me.
I whipped my head in that direction to find my son smiling at me as he stood on the sidewalk with Ruby and Autumn.
Seeing the silly faces he made as he yelled, “I scream for ice cream!” had love fluttering inside me and a giggle bursting from my lips.
He could be a goofball, and I loved him beyond words.
I looked back at Jett. “You did this.”
It was more a statement than a question, but his answer came in the form of a soft squeeze of my hand that he still held.
“Let’s get some ice cream before those kids scramble their brains from all that bouncing they’re doing.”
Jett released my hand and opened his door as I turned back toward the trio outside. As he exited the car, I heard him say, “I love that sound, by the way.”
He must have meant my giggle, I thought, and I couldn’t help the tingle of joy that his words made me feel.
I followed suit and got out of the car too. Griffin’s little body slammed into me, his arms wrapping around my legs.
“I want chocolate.” He dropped his arms and stared up at me. “Wait. I changed my mind. I think I’ll have strawberry,” my son said excitedly.
Suddenly, ice cream and I were forgotten when Jett came around the back of the car. Well, the ice cream had been for a nano of a second that was.
“Daddy!” He rushed to Jett and grabbed his hand. “Hurry, I’m starving.”
Jett chuckled as he let Griffin drag him toward the front door to the shop. As they neared me, my husband snagged my hand with his free one. Ruby gave me a sympathetic smile, and I knew she heard the news. Then her gaze glanced at our joined hands, and her smile changed to one of happiness.
The worry still sat heavy in my stomach, making nausea form there, but it was mixed with love. My best friend, my husband—he’d come right away, and he planned this for me. His thumb brushed back and forth over the top of my hand before dropping it to open the door.
We all piled inside, picked out our ice cream, and sat down.
As a family.
This time he took me in on my offer to come in.
We may have done it backward, dessert before dinner, but it had gone a long way to settling the turmoil inside me. Jett had agreed to a Friday night of pizza and a movie with Griffin and me. It was like old times but new too.
In the past, Jett and I had always been completely comfortable around each other.
Some of that was still there as we all sat close watching the movie, but something else fluttered inside of me: the desire that seemed to bounce between us as a couple.
I never felt anything like it, not even when I’d first met Chaz.
Nobody was like Jett, and never would be.
The afternoon and evening had been perfect.
I glanced at my two favorite guys as Jett said goodnight to Griffin.
God, watching their connection brought tears to my eyes—good ones, of course.
They’d always been like this, except for the small blip when Jett wasn’t sure of himself.
He had a way to go, but their bond shone bright again.
Jett kissed the top of Griffin’s head, and the tenderness of the whole scene had emotions bubbling over like a popped top on a champagne bottle.
I loved the attention he gave my son and found myself craving it just like Griffin did.
We’d planned to go out the following weekend, and I couldn’t wait.
Our first date. I felt both extremely nervous, which seemed silly when I had spent so much time with Jett, and also so excited that I could almost burst.
When Jett made his way toward me, Griffin called out, “Night Mommy. Night Daddy.”
Having already gone through our nighttime routine, both Jett and I replied in unison, saying goodnight. It all felt so homey and surreal. Griffin was still so young when Jett left for the military, so he hadn’t gotten these moments with him, but I’d dreamed about it a million times.
Pulling the door closed halfway so I could hear Griffin if he needed me, Jett and I made our way toward the front room.
He stopped, and I almost ran into his back.
The expression on his face when he turned to look at me had my insides twisting.
Was he going to change his mind about our date? About trying with each other?
“I need to talk to you about next weekend,” he said solemnly.
All those giddy feelings I was having about us slowly seeped out of my body as we stared at each other, and my joy deflated like a balloon sucked dry of its helium.
Getting my hopes up had been stupid. Today’s news and now this; my body sagged, and Jett lightly gripped my hips with a frown on his face.
“Hey, I’m sorry we have to postpone—”
“Wait, what?” I grabbed his upper arms, needing to steady myself and touch him too. “You’re not canceling? Like changed your mind about doing it at all?”
Jett released an audible breath, sending a poof of air brushing across my face. “I haven’t changed my mind.” He pulled me close, leaving just an inch between us, and my body tingled.
“You haven’t?” He’d just said that, but my brain wasn’t computing properly being so close to him.
“Not a chance. It’s just that Dusty called me today, and she’s struggling.” His mouth tightened, but he continued. “I offered for her to come here to get away, to meet you and everyone else. I just didn’t realize that she would call right back with plans.”
I was relieved and speechless. Jett was such an amazing man.
His brow pinched in worry. “I couldn’t tell her no. She sounded so—”
Releasing his arm, I laid my fingers over his lips to stop him. “Of course, you couldn’t. I’m not upset. I think it’s a great idea that she's coming.”
The same relief I was feeling flashed across his face, and he visibly relaxed. “How did I get so lucky to have found you?”
“I think that’s the question I should be asking you.”
He was shaking his head. “Nope. It was definitely me that hit the jackpot the day you came into my life.”
A mushy feeling had me almost melting into a puddle of goo, but then desire slammed into me as Jett closed the last of the distance between us and brushed his lips across mine.
The kiss was soft and sweet, but no less earth-shattering than the frantic one we shared a few weeks ago. I’d been waiting for it to happen again, but I’d only been graced with kisses to my cheek or forehead.
I hadn’t forgotten what was coming and what we were up against with Chaz, but Jett had made a shitty day a whole lot better. He was at least really good at taking my mind off things.
Kissing Jett—scratch that—kissing my husband was magical.