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“I guess.”
Jay hadn’t been sure about sending him downstairs with the rest of the kids, but Charli had said she’d go with him and Layla to make sure he was okay. He knew that should have been his responsibility as his dad, but since Peyton behaved better for Charli at the moment, they agreed she should go with him.
“Did Layla introduce you to any of her friends?”
“Yeah.”
He rattled off a couple of names, but Jay didn’t recognize them. He hadn’t had a reason to know kids Layla’s age beyond a couple who belonged to people he already knew. That would probably change now, especially once school started.
“I saw a baby too,” he said. “And she walked.”
His mom’s gaze held a question when she looked at Jay. “A baby?”
“Ciara.”
“Oh, nice. And she walked?” A smile grew on his mom’s face. “Is she walking already?”
“Took a couple of steps at church today. She saw Layla and walked toward her.”
“Oh boy,” his mom said with a laugh. “Misha better watch out. That little girl is going to skip right over walking and start running.”
Jay wanted to laugh, but all he could muster up was a smile. “I’m sure Layla will tell you all about it.”
Within a few minutes, the rest of his siblings began to arrive. Sure enough, Layla gave her grandma a much more detailed account of Ciara’s tottering first steps. Peyton stood next to her but didn’t add anything to the story.
They all pitched in to get the table set and then carried dishes of food from the kitchen to the dining room.
“Anyone heard from Wilder recently?” Gareth asked as they passed food around the table after his dad had said a prayer for it.
“Last I heard, he was headed to Singapore with a couple of friends,” his dad said. “And I think he mentioned something about maybe going to Japan after that.”
Jay had never understood how his parents weren’t worried to death about Wilder and his gallivanting around the world.
“I hope he sends some pictures,” Cole said. “I bet he’s seeing some cool places.”
Jay gave his younger brother a sharp look. He’d better not be thinking about following in Wilder’s footsteps. Jay could barely handle the idea of Wilder travelling around the world. He didn’t want to have to worry about Cole, too.
Peyton tugged on his sleeve. “Can I have another bread?”
“Sure.” Jay reached for the basket of rolls and let him pick one. “Do you want me to butter it for you?”
Peyton nodded and held the roll out to him. Happy to have something to do for his son, Jay quickly broke the roll open and slathered some butter on it. He’d already discovered that Peyton loved bread. Whether it was a roll or pizza, he loved any type of bread product.
Jay didn’t eat a lot of bread himself, but he was buying plenty of it for Peyton. It was just one of the many changes to the contents of his pantry.
“Are you going to rent the gym again soon, Jay?” Cole asked, surprising Jay by initiating a conversation with him. Just like with Janessa, relations with Cole had been tense after his sudden disappearance and silence. “Some of the guys want to play.”
“Not sure when that will work out.”
“Bring Peyton along,” Cole told him. “I’m sure Will would come and keep him company.” Cole smiled at Peyton. “Would you like to watch me and your dad play basketball?”
Peyton shrugged. “Sure.”
“See,” Cole said. “There you go.”
Jay couldn’t deny that he was tempted. It had been far too long since he’d last played. As he thought about it, he realized that the last time he’d played, Misha had been there to watch him.
If only she could be there again to see him play. He’d loved being able to look up into the stands and see her clapping and cheering for him.
