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Heat flushes my cheeks, and I glance down at my lap just in time to see my phone light up with a text message. At first, I think it’s going to be Pete either saying he changed his mind or bailing (the latter is probably more wishful thinking than anything else) but it’s Seth.
I just received a text from my buddy, Braeden Langford. He’s the chief of police up in Believe. He and his wife, Sam, are coming to town Thursday through Sunday and staying at the Serendipity Inn. He has some information about Jade that he’d like to discuss with you and I in person. I told him I’d ask you when you’re available and we can set something up. How did the meeting with Pete go? Do you need me to recruit Alice to recruit the mailman to do something under the radar?
I can’t help but laugh at his last question, even as a whole new set of nerves start tangoing in my abdomen.Jade. His friend has information about my sister, and he wants to discuss it in person.
Apparently the Universe decided this week is going to be full of patience, possible answers, and probably a little too much ice cream.
Chapter Forty-One
Seth
I’m not sure if I should feel guilty that Ella and Eli interact with their father more like an uncle than a dad compared to how they interact with me, but I don’t.
I still don’t have a whole lot of respect for Pete because of how he does things, but when Jenna told me he’d agreed to her conditions, I did my best to put my dislike for him in the closet. I certainly didn’t lock it in there and you can bet I’ve watched him closer than a hawk since Pete and Sierra got to Jenna’s two hours ago, but I think I’ve done a decent job of being cordial. Sierra avoids look or speaking to me directly at all costs, which makes it easy on that front, and Pete has spent the time being shown around the house and backyard and playing Go Fish.
Would I sit down and have a friendly chat about the weather and gas prices with Pete? Absolutely not. I barely have those conversations with the people in my life I fully trust. I’ve said it before—small talk is a waste of time.
Iwillrespect that he’s only looked at his phone twice so far, and he’s been surprisingly interactive with his children. Honestly, he’s been more attentive to them than they’ve been to him if I think about it. But if he has any intentions of being in Ella and Eli’s lives moving forward, it has to start somewhere. My gut tells me there’s still something as a hidden motive for this surprise visit and my gut is rarely, if ever, wrong. But I’m hoping this is one of those rare times, because as pitifully as he’s handled things in the past, I won’t stop a man from trying to do better moving forward.
When the kids start yawning every few minutes, Jenna interrupts the game of Go Fish taking place in the middle of the living room floor. I had to take a phone call for work outside when they started this last round and Jenna excused herself to get the kids’ pajamas and toothbrushes ready upstairs, giving Pete and Sierra a moment alone with the kids. It was a lot more trust than I would’ve extended if I was in her position, but I’m not about to say that. She knows Pete far better than I currently or ever care to know him.
“I’m almost gonna win, though,” Ella says, and the whine in her voice proves she’s getting tired. But the way she bats her dark lashes up at her mother affects me all the way over on the sofa, and I know Jenna’s helpless to do anything but concede to them finishing the game. Basically, where the Williams girls—Sierra firmlyexcluded—are concerned, I’m a total softie. “Just five more minutes? Please, Mommy?”
Jenna sighs heavily but she nods. “Only five more, got it?”
Ella nods enthusiastically and turns her attention back to the card game. I feel inclined to point out that Eli is not sitting on Pete’s lap while they play, nor has he made any effort to do so throughout the evening. He was only one the last time he saw his father, so Pete is more or less a stranger to him, which makes it perfectly normal for Eli to be so hesitant. Especially because Eli is a cautious little boy to start with.
He spent the first thirty minutes of this visit in Jenna’s arms and has been glued to his sister’s side the rest of the time. At one point he held his arms out to me and started to get tears in his eyes, so I did a couple rounds of Five Fives with him, fully aware that Pete and Sierra were watching the entire time. By the time we were done, he was giggling, and I did the right thing by encouraging him to play Go Fish rather than keeping him in my arms like I really wanted to.
I don’t know when I suddenly became the highly protective parent of children that aren’t mine, but apparently, I did.
Even Ella, who’s normally outgoing and even outspoken, has been reserved tonight. I didn’t know how she would react to seeing Pete, even though Jenna explained it calmly to both kids after we had supper, because I know how much Ella has wanted her father over the past few years. She still has the picture from their daddy-daughter date on her dresser, so she has more recollection of Pete than Eli, even if it’s not full memories.
But she didn’t run to him or exclaimDaddy!like part of me was anticipating when Pete and Sierra stepped through the front door. In fact, she was hugging my leg as she stood between Jenna and me. She didn’t say much of anything until Pete asked if she wanted to show him around. Only then did she give him a hesitant nod. And considering she’s usually jabbering about her day before I make it out of my car door when I come over, that was a noticeable difference.
Over the past two hours, I’ve only heard her say the bare minimum. She mainly pointed at things during the house tour and spent her time studying Pete. The only the reason there was any conversation at all, honestly, is because Jenna encouraged Ella to tell her father what she enjoyed doing and about her favorite toys and different things as topics came up. Otherwise, this evening would’ve been filled with even more awkward silence than there’s already been.
As soon as the five minutes are up, Jenna suggests for Ella to take her brother upstairs and help him change into his pajamas so they can get ready for bed. Ella does as asked, only casting one look over her shoulder as she and Eli walk hand in hand towards the staircase. Once the kids are out of sight, Jenna tilts her head towards the back porch. Pete takes the hint and eases to his feet, sliding his hands into the pockets of his black slacks. Sierra bows out of the conversation by saying she needs to take a phone call and disappears down the hall towards the front door.
“Would you like to put the kids to bed?” Jenna asks once we’re outside, her gaze on Pete as she slides her hand into mine.
Pete glances back through the glass door we left cracked open, then back to Jenna. “No. I think it’s time for us to leave.”
“Are you planning to be a constant in the kids’ lives or…?” Jenna’s question hangs in the sticky evening air for a moment before she continues. “Or why did you just decide to show up now? I feel like those are fair questions.”
I keep my gaze trained on Pete, half expecting him to snap a response like he did last night. A part of me hopes for that, I guess, because I’m not sure what to make of the Pete who glances down at his fancy leather dress shoes, blows out a breath, and looks back up to meet Jenna’s gaze.
“My father was involved in a serious car accident a month ago,” he says slowly, his tone even but without its usual condemnation. “He’s alive, but they don’t know how long it’ll be before…” He clears his throat. “The likelihood of him surviving is extremely low. And seeing how it’s affected my mother—that’s who Sierra is talking to on the phone right now—I needed to see Ella and Eli. I wanted them to know that I do care about them, even if I’ve done a crappy job of showing it.”
I swallow because I wasn’t expecting to have any similarities to Pete. But we do, because I know what it’s like to have a father figure in a car accident that changes everything. Elias wasn’t my father and we butted heads more than we got along, but he wasn’t a bad man. I know how drastically our family dynamics shifted following Elias’s death last year, though, and I can only imagine how things will change for a family like Pete’s. Elias and Meredith had plenty of monetary wealth, and Meredith is still well-off, but we’re not in Kansas City. That’s a whole different playing field for politics and power.
“I’m sorry, Pete,” Jenna says softly. “I know you and Jasper have always been close.”
Pete looks away and, if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes I wouldn’t believe it, wipes quickly under his eyes. He takes a deep breath before turning back to look at us, but he can only try so hard to suppress his emotions. Red rims his eyes and lines I hadn’t noticed before crease the corners of his eyes and mouth. For the first time since he showed up twenty-four hours ago, I realize his cockiness was, much like Colin’s, a way to hide how he was really feeling. It’s no excuse for the behavior, of course, but it’s understandable on a twisted level of thinking.
“I don’t want to mess up what you’ve got going here, Jenna. I really don’t,” he continues, having recovered from his emotions. “You’ve done a wonderful job with them. I don’t want to be the one who throws everything off.”
“Pete, if you would like to be in their lives, we can make it work.” Jenna’s extending an olive branch. She still has a guard up because I can see it in her eyes and hear it in her cautious wording, but she’s trying to find some middle ground for them to meet on. “The original agreement we had from court was—”
