7. Kiley #2
I look down at Zander to see he has chocolate covering the entirety of his mouth and chin.
“Zander, this is Jax. He’s the one who gave you that new shirt you’re wearing and your little dark birdie.
” Zander looks down at his shirt and then back up to Jax.
He smiles and cake is stuck to his teeth, looking like he just ate a pile of poo.
Jax compresses his lips to keep from laughing. “It’s nice to meet you, Zander.” He holds out his fist for a fist bump, and Zander obliges.
“Buddy, let’s take a drink of water first before telling Mr. Jax thank you.” I hand Zander a glass of water, giving Jax an embarrassing smile. Zander sucks down the water loudly, letting it spill down his shirt. He puts the glass down and wipes his lips with the back of his hand.
“Thank you, Mr. Jax,” he practically yells and I immediately grab his hand and wipe it with a napkin.
Jax chuckles and I’m grateful to see he’s so amused by Zander. “You’re welcome, buddy. Do you like hockey?”
Zander gives me a questioning look, and I realize he has no idea what hockey even is. “What’s hockey?” he asks, and Jax fake gasps and places his hand over his heart.
“Kiley, your son doesn’t know what hockey is?” He tsks at me and turns to Zander. “It’s only the coolest sport in the whole entire world. Maybe you and your mom can come to a hockey game some time.”
Zander turns and looks up at me. “Can we, Mommy?”
“I have extra tickets for tonight if you want to come,” Jax offers, making me wish Zander wasn’t here for this conversation.
The last thing I want to do tonight is go to a hockey game. “That’s really nice of you to offer, but we can’t tonight.” Zander starts to whine, and I tell him, “Maybe another time, Zander. We’ve had a long day and you’re tired.”
“No, I’m not.” He sits back, crosses his little arms over his chest and gives me the stink eye.
“Thanks for proving my point, kid,” I mumble, embarrassed by my son’s reaction.
Jax laughs and I stare at him because I kind of like the sound of his laughter. I give my head a slight shake because I must be deliriously tired to be thinking these thoughts about a man I usually can’t stand.
“You just let me know and the tickets are yours.” Jax gives Zander a wink, and immediately his frown turns upside down into a smile.
I sigh because what I’m about to say next takes a lot out of my stubborn pride. “I owe you an apology for the things I said to you the last time we saw each other. They were uncalled for and not fair. I know you don’t mooch off my dad. I’m sorry I said so.”
Jax’s eyes brighten, and he gives me a genuine smile. “I really appreciate the apology, Kiley. Thank you.”
I nod. “I also want to thank you for your generous offer of the tickets, the food and the gifts for my son, but you really don’t need to do any of it. Please don’t feel you have to as some form of favor to my dad.”
Jax tilts his head and studies me for a moment. “You have a hard time accepting gifts, don’t you, Kiley?”
I can feel my cheeks heat, and I swallow my embarrassment at being scrutinized. “I do. I just find them unnecessary.”
“Why?”
I shrug my shoulders. “They just make me uncomfortable.”
“Do you ever consider that it might make the one giving the gifts happy?”
Of course I have, but I always question it. “But why does it make you feel happy? Is it because you feel bad about yourself, so buying things for people less fortunate makes you feel better about your own life?”
He frowns. “I don’t feel bad about myself at all. I’m just a guy who is blessed to make a nice living off of doing something I love, and if buying someone’s meal or giving a kid team merchandise brings joy and happiness, why wouldn’t I want to do it?”
Silence fills the air as we stare at each other. I don’t know how to reply, because he’s right and I probably would do the same thing if I were in his shoes. I’m saved from having to respond when a young girl with the same sandy brown hair as Jax approaches our table and loops her arm around his.
“Hey Dad, who’s this?”
“Chloe, remember I told you about a man named Killian who I joke is my Chicago Dad? Well, this is his daughter, Kiley, and her son, Zander.” A foreign feeling enters my chest hearing Jax call my dad his “Chicago Dad.”
Chloe glances between the two of us and says, “Oh, it’s nice to meet you both.”
Chloe Morrow is a beautiful young girl with her dad’s cobalt blue eyes and wide smile. She looks so much like her father that I wonder what her mother looks like.
“It’s nice to meet you as well, Chloe. Are you in town long?” I ask.
“I wish I was here for good.” She gives Jax a sad look, and he pats her hand.
“Only because she hates school so much.”
“It’s not just that, Dad.” Chloe sighs and drops her arm from his.
“What grade are you in? I teach third grade.”
“Really? You’re a teacher?” Chloe is surprised, and I wonder why. “I’m in 8th grade.”
“Middle school is tough but look at the bright side: you’re almost done. I’m sure you will like high school better.”
“I doubt that.”
While Chloe’s attitude toward school is typical, I do wonder if something else is going on.
“You’re prewty.” Zanders says out of the blue before he swiftly hides his face in my armpit.
Chloe’s cheeks turn pink. “Thanks.” She looks up at her dad with an expectant look, and he takes the sign that it’s time to leave.
“We better get going. I have to be at the rink soon.” He puts his arm around Chloe’s shoulders.
“It was good seeing you, Kiley, and nice to meet you, Zander.” He puts out his fist for another fist bump, and after Zander bumps it, he looks at me.
“I really hope one day you’ll consider taking the tickets I’m offering.
Not just for you, but for your son.” He nods his goodbye and turns his daughter around to walk back to their table.
“Good luck tonight and thanks again,” I call out after him. He acknowledges me with a thumbs up and keeps walking.
I watch their retreating backs, and while I have no plans on accepting his ticket offer anytime soon, something inside my chest warms up to the fact that I’ve been wrong: Jax Morrow is a decent human being and seems to really love his daughter.