Chapter 21
Rohan let everything Jalen said to him sink in.
He was shocked that there was a possibility that this man was the father of four of them.
They didn’t speak about her mother, but from what he could tell, there was no love lost between the two of them.
He also knew, just from context clues, that the older woman had been quite promiscuous.
So, her being with the same man for any extended period seemed to have Jalen baffled.
He could only imagine how much of a shock it had been for Jalen to find out that this man could be four of their fathers.
A part of him wanted him to be. Because, from what Jalen had told him, he sounded like a decent man.
However, he didn’t voice that because he didn’t know exactly how she felt about it.
He honestly could never comprehend her feelings on the matter completely because he wasn’t the one going through it, but he could listen and be empathetic.
He placed his hand in her hair, scratched her scalp gently, and she looked up at him.
He could see the indecisiveness in her eyes, and he knew she was fighting with herself about what to do.
Vega, as Jalen had told him, was the other man’s name; he had asked her not to tell Landon that he wasn’t her father, and she was torn between doing as he requested and telling Landon that there was a possibility he wasn’t.
“I don’t know what I’m going to do,” she told him with a sigh.
Rohan leaned down and kissed her softly. “I know that this is a hard decision and you want to do what’s best for all of your siblings.” He had no doubt about that because everything that she did was with them and their well-being in mind.
“I do. I just…I don’t know this time. Will keeping it from them and waiting to find out hurt more than help? What do you think I should do?”
He thought of the best way to answer her.
He didn’t want to interject himself into the situation because what he would do might not be the best solution for all of them.
He didn’t trust that he could think in the same way that Jalen would.
There were more than likely factors that he didn’t know about, and therefore wouldn’t consider.
However, she had asked him. So, he would be honest with her.
“I think telling them will prepare them for either outcome. Whether or not he turns out to be their father. As long as you set the expectation that it could go either way. I believe they’re mature enough to handle it if he isn’t, as long as they’ve been made aware.”
“I just don’t want to see the disappointment in their eyes if he isn’t.”
“I understand that, baby. Hiding it from them won’t help. It’s only going to upset them if you have to tell them he is their father, and you knew there was a possibility and you kept it from them.”
“You’re right, and then I’ll have to deal with the twins’ questions. I just don’t know if I’m ready to do that right this second,” Jalen countered.
“You don’t have to do it right this second. He said he would be in town for a few weeks. Take a couple of days to get your thoughts together and figure out how you want to break the news.”
Jalen leaned up, and Rohan leaned back down, meeting her in the kiss she wanted. “Thank you for handling my slight freak-out.”
“You don’t have to thank me.”
“So, how was Trent’s meeting with his boss? That was yesterday, right?”
“Yeah, it was. Trent said it went really well. Apparently, Kieran liked the way he was running the company and gave him a lot of leeway to make some changes he wanted to after Trent presented them to him.”
“And you said Trent was worried about him being a hardass.”
“Well, his worry wasn’t misplaced. He definitely used to be. Probably still is, but I suppose marriage has gotten him to relax a bit,” Rohan said.
Jalen hummed her acknowledgement and turned her attention to the movie they had long ago ignored in favor of her telling him about her meet-up with Vega. He wasn’t really sure of anything that had actually happened in the movie. However, it didn’t seem that she minded.
Once they were finished with that movie, she looked at the time on her phone before she settled her head back in his lap. She’d been at his place for a little over two hours, and he knew she had a habit of checking her phone when she felt like she’d been gone from her sisters too long.
“Do you need to go?” he asked.
“No. We can watch another movie. Kodi’s there with the girls, and she’s doing someone’s hair. So, it’ll take her another couple of hours at least.”
“Are you sure?”
She turned to look at him. “I’m sure. I can stay for a little while longer. I don’t want you to feel like I came over here just to dump my problems onto you and run off.”
“One, we’re in a relationship. So, if you can’t dump your problems on me, then we don’t need to be in one. Two, I know you have other priorities, Jalen. I won’t be upset or fault you for needing to take care of them.”
“I just…I don’t want you to think that you aren’t a priority.”
Rohan scoffed. “We’ve had a conversation about you not treating me like the little boys you dated in the past.”
“I know. Let’s watch another movie.”
He nodded, handing her the remote from beside him and allowing her to choose before he went back to absently scratching at her scalp.
It was going on ten o’clock that night, and Rohan found himself on his laptop.
He was doing some Christmas shopping. Last-minute at that, since it was a little over two weeks away, but he’d always done that.
He had already gone through and picked out gifts for his mother, brother, niece, and Jalen.
He was now looking for something for Kodi.
If he were being honest with himself, he wasn’t sure what to get her.
He’d never had to buy a gift for a teenage girl.
At least not since he was a teenager, and of all of Jalen’s sisters, aside from her enjoying doing hair, he didn’t really know her hobbies.
He in no way was going to try to buy her things she’d need in order to do other people’s hair because he would not have the faintest clue where to start.
He knew he was going to get Landon some canvases and a canvas-size sketchbook.
It would go well with the pencil set Jalen was going to get her.
He also knew that he was going to get Mikal some comic books.
Rohan knew she’d started reading the New 52 and was sure that Jalen had told him she’d bought Mikal the first six, so he planned on getting her at least the next ten.
The twins were fairly easy as well because while they may have shared a face, the things that kept them entertained were completely different. Jalen had told him they liked the same movies, but while Nathan preferred to make crafts, Omari liked to write to kill time.
So, that just left him completely stumped in terms of Kodi. He knew he could get her a gift card, but he felt that was impersonal. Especially considering he’d put thought into his other gifts. He was doing his damnedest to put thought into hers as well.
Deciding that he’d add the other things he was going to get to his cart first and come back to find something for Kodi, he did that instead. Maybe giving his brain a brief break from thinking about it would allow something to come to him easily when he circled back.
However, when he made it back around to Kodi, he still had no clue. So, he decided he’d ask Jalen tomorrow before she went to work. He knew that she and her sisters were having lunch with his mother tomorrow afternoon, so he wouldn’t encroach on that time.
Closing his laptop, he set it aside and went into his bedroom.
With tomorrow being Sunday, he didn’t have any major plans and figured he’d do some things around the house.
Maybe actually put up his Christmas tree and a few decorations.
Not that he had to have them; however, he knew Alynn enjoyed seeing them when she came over.
Since they had done Thanksgiving at his house, they were doing Christmas at his mother’s. He would ask Jalen tomorrow if she and her sisters wanted to join them. Though he had no problem going to them and splitting his time. Especially if that made her more comfortable.
Rohan turned on the shower, waiting for it to heat as he pulled off his clothes and placed them in the hamper.
Once he finished showering, he moisturized and pulled on a pair of boxers, then slid into bed. Turning the television on, he flipped through channels until he came to something he didn’t mind falling asleep to, settling in for the night.
????????????
Jalen walked into Bite N Play behind her sisters.
They were meeting Vivian for lunch, and the older woman had chosen a place that the kids wouldn’t get bored at.
For that, she was thankful because she knew the twins well enough to know that once they finished eating, if there wasn’t something else for them to do, they were ready to leave.
Vivian was standing at the front waiting for them, and when they stepped in, she pulled them all into a hug. Jalen was just about to ask if she’d brought Alynn with her when the little girl bounded up to them from the game section.
“I’ve already gotten us a table; I just wanted to wait for you all to get here,” the older woman informed.
Jalen nodded, and they waited for Alynn to hug and greet everyone before going to the table. Jalen could see the four younger girls squirming in their seats, wanting to go play. She refrained from laughing at them.
“Once we have drinks, and you’ve picked your food, you can play until it comes,” Jalen told her three younger sisters, but all four girls responded with a, “Yes ma’am.”
Once they had their drinks. They placed their food orders, and no sooner had the waitress walked off and Jalen had handed Kodi some money to get them all tokens, than the four younger girls were out of their seats.
“Wait!” Kodi called, halting them in place before they got too far away.