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“I haven’t seen him in years. I don’t know whether I should still be mad at him for what he did, or shake his hand for putting up with Jen for so long.”
I laughed softly. His words reminded me of the way I’d felt about Jen. Part of me had wanted to slap her for the way she’d treated Radleigh in the past, but another part had wanted to thank her for letting him go so I could find him.
“At this point, I think you just have to shrug off everything that happened and start again from here.”
He nodded. “Yeah. I guess so.” Radleigh sighed, resting his head back on the pillow. “I’ve been thinking about this all afternoon, and… I can’t make any decisions without knowing how you feel.” His eyes fixed on mine. “Jayden’s my son. Now Jen isn’t around, he’s my responsibility. James might want to keep him but… he’s mine. Can we… how would you feel if he lived with us?”
Something resembling hope flashed in his eyes, and I smiled. “I would love it. He’s a sweet kid, and I think he’d like it here.”
“But… he’s Jen’s.”
I shook my head. “He’s yours. Radleigh, when she first came back into our lives with this huge news, I hated her. I hated her for giving you something I didn’t. But I never hated Jayden. I never felt any resentment towards him because none of this is his fault. He’s a little boy. Your little boy. And if you want him to live with us, I have no problem with that. I want him too.”
Radleigh squeezed my hand, his eyes shining with warmth. “Thank you, but if you need more time…”
“I don’t.”
“I’m gonna in be here for a while, Leah. That means you taking care of him and Jessica on your own. That’s a lot to ask.”
“I’m not worried about that. The only thing that concerns me is if he’ll feel weird being around me since we only met once.”
“Maybe he could stay with my parents for a while? He knows them better, and you could maybe just spend some time there with him until he knows you more.”
I nodded thoughtfully. “That could work. Let’s just… wait and see what James says, okay?”
As if on cue, the door to Radleigh’s room opened, and a tall, lean guy with shoulder length blond hair peered through, his face ashen, worry lines creasing around his eyes.
I glanced at Radleigh and he stiffened for a second before blowing out a deep breath. “Hey.”
James Winters stepped into the room, dressed in blue jeans and a slightly rumpled blue polo shirt. I guessed he’d pretty much got off the plane, rushed over to see the kids then made another dash to the hospital with barely a stop in between.
“Hi,” he said, closing the door behind him.
The tension in the room threatened to choke me, but I let go of Radleigh’s hand and stood up, taking a step towards James. “Hi. I’m Leah. It’s nice to meet you.”
James nodded. “You too. Thanks again for everything you’ve done today. I appreciate it.”
He was a good-looking guy, and the more I looked at him, the more I understood the appeal. I mean, he was no Radleigh, but he was definitely the kind of guy who would turn a woman’s head.
“Not at all,” I said. I took another look back at Radleigh then shifted my focus to James again. “I think you guys have a lot to discuss, so I’m gonna give you some time. I’ll just be outside if you need me, okay?”
James nodded his thanks, and I turned to Radleigh once more and mouthed, “I love you.” He smiled and also gave me a nod to let me know he was okay with me leaving for a while. As much as I wanted to support him, they needed to have at least part of their first conversation in years without me being there. Aside from recent events, they’d once had a friendship, and some way, they needed to find some common ground so they could sort out what would happen next.
I went straight to the d
rinks machine to grab a large coffee before taking a seat outside Radleigh’s room to wait. Tiredness kicked in as soon as my ass hit the seat but I kept taking caffeine hits to keep me awake. Being so busy had been the only thing that had kept me from totally losing it at the horror of the last twenty-four hours. Around this time the night before, I’d been the happiest I’d ever been. Things with Radleigh were back on track, and I was having dinner with my girls, about to get ready for the greatest hen party ever. Within hours, that vision of the perfect night with my friends had gone up in smoke, and I’d almost lost the man I loved.
Nope. Don’t do this now. Not here. Hold it together for a little longer. When you go home, then you can collapse. Just one more hurdle to get through.
I waited for an hour, refilling myself with coffee until my blood began to vibrate in my veins, and trying to think about anything that would keep my mind off the horrifying truths of the past twenty-four hours. Eventually, James popped his head around the door and asked me to join them.
I wasn’t sure what I’d walk into, but the atmosphere was substantially less thick, and Radleigh’s shoulders weren’t quite as hunched as they had been when I left, but he did look more tired. Dark circles were starting to appear under his eyes again, and I could tell he was struggling with the pain a little.
James sat in the chair beside the bed, and I sat on the bed next to Radleigh. I placed a kiss on his forehead and took his hand.
“Everything okay?” I asked.
“Yeah,” Radleigh said. “We’re just trying to work out the best thing for Jayden. We thought you might be able to help with that.”
