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Charli grimaced as she shook her head. “Never had any interest in that.”
“One could say that you deal with as many bodily fluids as an elementary teacher as I do as a nurse,” Janessa said with a laugh. “Maybe more, actually.”
“True, but I’m still not interested in being a nurse or doctor. Plus, I really struggled with science.”
“Only Gareth and I are currently working in the medical field,” Janessa said. “Jay has a degree in business. We have a sister in hotel management, working at the resort north of town. Another brother is a wanderer. During the winter, he works as a ski instructor. The rest of the time, he leaves Serenity behind and… wanders.”
“You have quite an assortment of careers in the family.” Misha would have thought that with a family clinic, more of the kids would have followed in their parents’ footsteps. It certainly would have meant they wouldn’t have had to go outside to hire someone. It was to her benefit, though, so she was thankful they didn’t have someone from their family to fill the vacancy.
The doorbell went, and Layla abandoned the salad to run out of the kitchen. Charli tapped something on her phone, then returned to the bread she’d been transferring from a tray to a basket.
A moment later, Layla reappeared, being carried by Jay. She had an arm hooked around his neck as she chatted with him. He interacted with her in a way that indicated he was used to spending time with her.
The sight warmed Misha’s heart. Too often, Black men were painted as bad or absent fathers, and while she had certainly seen evidence of that, there were plenty who loved their children and were very active in their lives.
Her own dad hadn’t been great, especially to her. Not that he’d hurt her physically. It was just that he’d definitely favored his sons. One indication of that was him insisting that he be the one to name the boys but leaving that to her mom when Misha had been born. He’d definitely taken more pride in his sons than he ever had in Misha.
The man had also been away in prison for extended periods of time during her life, which meant she hadn’t known him very well. Davontae had known him better, but that was because their dad had spent a lot more time with him.
Of all the decisions Davontae had made, one that pained Misha and her mom a lot was his choice to not be a better dad to his three children. As a result, the mothers of those childrenhad banned Misha and her mom from seeing the kids. Raden had been thrilled at the news that his girlfriend was pregnant, though their mom hadn’t been super happy since they were young and unmarried.
Gareth showed up a few minutes later, greeting Aria with a hug and a kiss. The pair were clearly close, and Misha wondered how long they’d been dating.
“Are Mom and the teens joining us?” Gareth asked.
“No,” Charli said. “Skylar asked Mom if she could take her into Coeur d’Alene to go shopping, and Cole is hanging with his friends.”
“Kayleigh’s tied up at the hotel,” Janessa added.
“All the more for us,” Jay said as he greeted Charli with a one arm hug since he still held Layla.
He was a tall man with close-cropped hair, and he looked like he spent a lot of time in the gym. It was a physique she saw plenty of in the neighborhood where she worked, though Jay lacked the hard edge that a lot of those guys had. In that, he reminded her a bit of Raden.
Where Davontae had been aggressive from a very young age, Raden had been more laid-back. There had been plenty of talk from Davontae about toughening him up, but every time he dared voice those words, he’d received a blistering lecture from their mom.
“Why don’t we sit down?” Charli suggested. “I just have to pull the lasagna out of the oven.”
Jay set Layla down on the chair she indicated, then when Layla asked him to sit beside her, he did just that. Gareth sat at the end of the table, to Jay’s right, while Aria sat across from Jay.At Janessa’s insistence, Misha sat between her and Aria. Charli was at the end, opposite Gareth.
Misha was a bit surprised when Charli and Layla together said a prayer of thanks for the food, also praying for the safety of their father/grandfather in Haiti. The faith this family had would definitely be one more thing her mother would appreciate.
After all that had happened, her mom’s faith had only seemed to deepen. Misha, however, had struggled a bit more with everything—especially Raden’s death. Still, the fact that the Halversons appeared to also be a family of faith was just one more point in favor of her taking the job.
“Are you missing basketball season, Jay?” Aria asked.
“Definitely.”
“No surprise there,” Gareth said with a laugh. “You have lived and breathed it for most of your life. I’m not sure what you’d do if you were banned from it.”
“Coach would never ban me,” Jay said with a scoff.
“Are you going to continue to coach even though Cole’s done at the school?” Aria asked.
“I plan to.” Jay shrugged. “Though I suppose things can change at the high school. There have been rumblings aboutencouragingCoach to retire, so if they bring in someone new, they might not want me around like Coach did.”
“Do theywantto lose?” Janessa asked. “Because that’s a given if both youandCole are gone from the team. You two are the best.”
Jay gave his sister an affectionate smile. “Depends on who they bring in next, and who tries out for the team next year.”
