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“I can’t, Jay. Please. I just can’t.”
Jay still thought she was making a terrible decision, but it was becoming very clear that Amberlyn wasn’t going to change her mind. Peyton was his now, and she was prepared to walk away without a backward glance. The best thing he could do was help Peyton make the best of a terrible situation and give him a stable and loving home.
“If you ever marry someone who wants to adopt Peyton, I’ll relinquish my rights.”
Misha’s smiling face came to mind, and he was struck by the differences in how she and Amberlyn dealt with the children in their lives. While Amberlyn wasn’t willing to fight for her son, Misha had stepped up and taken in her brother’s child. It was just one of many things he admired about her.
Knowing there was nothing more to say to her, Jay got to his feet and went to call the lawyers back. Within the hour, he was on his way to the rental where Will and Peyton waited.
Peyton had been staying with him and Will in a small short-term rental for the past week. When he’d left Serenity for Idaho Falls, he hadn’t anticipated that Will would follow him. But thankfully, the guy was off work now that school was out, so he’d insisted on coming with him. He’d been a huge help, taking care of Peyton while Jay attended countless meetings.
There was no joy in Jay’s heart, even though Peyton was now legally his. He was grateful for the opportunity to get to know his son, but he didn’t like the circumstances. And he still wasn’t sure how to deal with the tsunami that was going to hit his life when he got back to Serenity with Peyton.
He’d relied on Will to let his family know he was okay because he didn’t want to talk with anyone. They’d all have endless questions that he wasn’t ready to answer just yet.
He’d held out hope that maybe Amberlyn would change her mind at the last minute and not want her son out of her life. The hit to his life, in that case, would have been mainly financial, and Peyton wouldn’t be facing the trauma that lay ahead once it sank in that his mom was out of his life.
But with Amberlyn digging in her heels, Jay had resigned himself to what was to come with his family. His main goal in that regard had been to have everything settled with Peyton before he got back. It was why he’d left Serenity the way he had. He knew he couldn’t keep juggling everything there while trying to work.
And while he hated to admit that Misha was right to call for a break between them, she had been. It hadn’t been fair to her for him to be so distracted without explaining why.
He’d tried not to think too much about her because every time he did, his heart just ached. He had a feeling that the temporary break she’d requested was going to end up being a permanent one. Something told him that he was going to have a hard time juggling a new relationship with trying to help Peyton adjust to his life in Serenity Point.
Each day he’d been gone, Misha had sent him a text with a picture and a brief message to let him know that she missed him. She hadn’t been in any of the pictures, but Ciara had been. The one that morning had been a picture of the baby with food smeared all over her face and in her hair with the captionBananas and oatmeal are the best!
He missed them all immensely, but he knew the Serenity he’d left behind would change once he returned home.
Peyton greeted him with an earnest expression when Jay walked through the door. “Can we have pizza for supper?”
“Did Will put you up to that?”
Peyton looked at Will, who then looked at Jay and shrugged, an innocent expression on his face.
“Fine. But did you know that Will likes pineapple on his pizza?”
“Pineapple on pizza?” Peyton wrinkled his nose. “I don’t know about that.”
“It’s gross,” Jay told him. “Really, really gross.”
“So why do people like it?”
“Because they’re crazy,” Jay said.
“We’re notcrazy,” Will protested. “We just have refined taste.”
“Can I try a piece?” Peyton asked. “Maybe I have ‘fined taste too.”
“Sure. We’ll get a whole pizza with pineapple on it, and you can try some.”
“I’ll place the order,” Will offered.
“Can I trust you to get me just a plain pepperoni? No pineapple?”
“Maybe?”
Jay shook his head. “I’m going to get changed.”
He went to the room he’d been staying in and changed into a pair of basketball shorts and a T-shirt. Once he’d hung up the slacks and button-down shirt he’d worn for the meeting, Jay sat on his bed and took a minute to just breathe.
