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Her shoulders relax. “I’m glad you called me back. My heart has finally decided to calm down. You—”
“Rae?”
Her eyes lift above the screen. “Yeah?”
What happened to her demanding he stop calling her that? She just gave up.
“Jackson is scared to sleep alone and,” Raelynn’s face softens, “he doesn’t want me,” Henry finishes quietly.
“Okay. Bring him in here.” Her eyes fall to mine. “I should go. It’s been a long night and we really need the sleep. Jackson will be exhausted tomorrow as it is. Call me when you can?”
“I will.”
She smiles and says goodbye. I listen to my voicemails before going to bed myself. Two were from the alarm company, alerting me of the alarm going off at my house; I should probably also give them Raelynn’s number. The last one is from Raelynn, her voice trembling with fear as she tells me a group of men broke into the house, they are okay, that Henry was on his way, and the police were there with her, and to please call her back.
How is it that my house was broken into and what wars my mind for attention is the image of Raelynn and Henry hugging?
Brayden: Want to go running with Collin and me?
We have the morning off after the game last night and our late flight in, but apparently, those two want to go for a run. I didn’t even know they ran together. Or that Brayden chose to spend his time with anyone. I always thought I sort of forced him to hang with me and he tolerated it because he liked me decently enough.
I text back that I’m willing and soon meet up with them in front of the hotel. Nothing is said. Brayden looks at me, nods, and takes off in a jog with Collin right behind him. We run in silence. Normally, that would be fine. It would be what I prefer. I dislike it so much today. My thoughts run rampant, swirling and crashing together in my mind.
Did Raelynn ever get closure with Henry?
Does she have any feelings at all for him?
Should she have the chance to make it work with Jackson’s father?
That stupid image of their hug sears into my mind, plastering itself front and center. Henry didn’t concern me before, but now, I wonder what his feelings may be for Raelynn. She could’ve called anyone. Deanna, Sydney, Meredith, or any number of the women, but her only thought was to call Henry.
“What the fuck is the matter with you?”
I look at Brayden. “Nothing. Why?”
“Nothing? You keep huffing. What’s the fucking problem, EJ?” We slow to a stop and he stares at me with his hands on his hips.
&nbs
p; My eyes flick to Collin for a moment and then I lie about the problem. “My house was broken into last night.”
The irritation slides off of Brayden’s face immediately. “Damn. Raelynn and the kids weren’t home, were they?”
I nod. “Seems like they broke in right before they got home and they ran out soon after they came in the door.” I skip over the details with the police and jump to the next important part. “Raelynn called her ex to come over and spend the night so she wouldn’t be alone.”
“So what?” Collin asks. “She was probably scared.”
“He’s jealous,” Brayden tells him with a bit of a laugh.
Collin frowns. “Of Henry? That’s her ex, right?”
“I’m not jealous of Henry,” I snap, but my response comes too late for them to believe me, though it’s true. “I just...” My voice trails off as I try to figure out what I want to say. “We got together before she got on semi-good terms with Henry; what if one or both of them wants to try to make it work as a family for Jackson?”
That’s not an outrageous idea. People stay in relationships all the time because they want to repair and improve it to keep the family together for the children. The family as a single unit is important enough that they want to deal with the bad until they hopefully reach the good. They prefer the usual family unit compared to other versions. What if Raelynn is like that? She hasn’t mentioned it, but that doesn’t necessarily mean anything. Raelynn keeps things to herself sometimes.
“You don’t think she’d tell you?” Collin asks.
“I don’t know.”
