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On the way back to my office, I stop by Natasha’s desk and ask her to book me on a flight to Seattle. Within ten minutes, she lets me know that I’m leaving in two hours—just enough time to go home, pack a quick bag, and make it to the airport.
I stare at my phone and still see no new messages from Lauren. First things first. I fly to Seattle and get Jax to agree to move him and Andy out here, and then I come home and get the girl.
I knew there was only one person I wanted for the job when Kelsey said we would need to bring someone new in. Jaxon McAdams, my best friend and right-hand man. Adjusting to not only a new life in Seattle but a new life without Lauren in it, I found comfort in my friendship with Jax.
It was as if all the stars were aligning to have someone there with me for when I lost Lauren and then later lost my dad. I stood beside him as his best man when he and Courtney got married and was there for the birth of my godson, Andy, which turned out to be the best and worst day of Jax’s life. The day his son was brought into this world, his wife left it. Courtney passed away from a brain aneurysm during childbirth.
I look up to Jax, just like I had my father. The strength in that man is astounding after watching him deal with not only becoming a new dad but mourning the loss of his wife. It wasn’t just about him anymore; he had to be strong for Andy too. Leaving Jax and coming home was one of the hardest things I had to do. Not harder than leaving Lauren, but it is up there. I helped raise that little boy, and it’s been hell being away from him.
Being somewhere new, I think it is precisely what he needs, and I hope that I can convince him enough to take the offer—to leave the ghosts behind and start fresh.
The Uber pulls up to Jax’s townhouse just outside of the city. He had moved out of the apartment building about two years ago. I don’t blame him—there were too many memories.
I knock on the door and hear heavy footsteps running, followed by my best friend’s voice yelling at Andy to not run in the house.
The door opens, and I feel so much better. “Uncle Finn!” A four-year-old body plows right into me with enough force that could have knocked me over. I wrap Andy in my arms and lift him.
“Hey, buddy! Oh my goodness, you’ve gotten bigger than I last saw you.” I give him my biggest bear hug before I attempt to set him down, but he refuses to unlink his arms from around my neck. He is just dangling from my body as I cross the threshold into my best friend’s house.
“Daddy! Daddy! Uncle Finn’s here,” he shouts.
“I can see that. Why don’t you let Uncle Finn go so he can breathe?” Jax appears in the hallway.
When Andy finally releases his hands from around my neck, I rub the back of my neck. Phew, that kid is seriously getting heavy.
I step up to Jax and slap his back in a manly hug. “Hey, man, how you doing?”
“It’s going.” He pauses and looks over his shoulder at Andy, who is gathering a handful of toys, no doubt to bring over to show me. “We’re getting by. Miss you around the office and here.” He gestures over to the couch, and I follow. “What about you? Not that I’m complaining seeing your ugly mug, but why do I see your ugly mug?”
Andy stumbles over, dropping toy after toy that he overflowed in his arms. He drops them all at my feet before picking what I assume are his two favorites and climbs up on the couch next to me and snuggles into me.
“Check out dis one, Uncle Finn.” Andy holds up his little blue truck.
“Wow, that’s so cool, buddy. Hey, is it okay if I talk to your dad for a minute? Why don’t you go set up a parking lot with your trucks, and I’ll be right over to play?”
Jax watches me. He knows me too well that planning a random visit during the week is out of character for me. Might as well rip off the Band-Aid. I exhale.
“So, I have a proposition for ya.”
Jax leans over on his elbows, resting on his knees, and clasps his hands. “Okay…”
“Things at work are going really well. We’ve kept up with current jobs, and I even managed to take on a huge project working with a local school that I think can take off and we can partner with other schools. But after discussing it with Kels, I need to bring on someone new to be my VP of the company to help run things, and I can’t think of a better man for the job than you.”
“Holy shit, VP? Dude, I’m just an associate architect. What the fuck do I know about running a company.”
I hold my hand up to stop him from getting inside his head. “You can do this. There is no person I trust more with my business than you. We were a team here; I miss those days, Jax. It was me and you against the world. Think of all we could take over.”
“Wait, you mean like run from here? I’m not sure I’m following you, man. That seems like something that should be done locally.”
“Actually, no. I want you to relocate to Pennsylvania.”
Jax stands and paces back and forth while looking around at his house and down at his son. He grips the back of his neck, concerned. “Finn
, I don’t know. I mean, my life is here.”
“Come on. Andy isn’t in school yet. Lauren and I are there.” What can I say, I’m hopeful of her decision. “My sister and her family are there. My mom is there. There are so many people there to help you out with Andy. I hate being so far away from the two of you. It’s a great job, great benefits, and being the boss man, we can work around your hours so that it doesn’t interfere with Andy. We can even work it out so you can work from home if necessary. This project would become yours.”
I see the wheels turning in his head as he thinks it over. I don’t want to play this card, but I know that it’s weighing heavy on his mind. “I know you want a fresh start. You couldn’t handle the apartment, so you moved, but Court is going to be with you no matter where you are, man. At least this way you have all of us to help you. You can’t do this all on your own. Let me help you, help me. Plus, I didn’t spend all day on a plane just for you to tell me no.”
