Jess glanced over her shoulder. Kayne. He'd come!
“Kayne, Kayne! Out, out, oowt!” Gracie all but howled.
Kayne shook his head and laughed. “Hold on a minute, you little imp.” His body pressed against Jess’s as he leaned in and addressed the children. “Good morning, kids.”
“About last night. I'm sorry,” his voice whispered in her ear.
Jess's heart stalled for several beats before taking off at a gallop, making it impossible to do anything but nod. What was he sorry for?
***
Kayne wanted to say more, but he couldn’t find the words. How did he admit he was lost, confused, and, quite frankly, totally fucked-up in the head? His gut clenched at the thought of giving them the power to destroy what little there was left of him, or worse, him having the ability to hurt them. He'd spent a sleepless night staring at that fucking gun. But every damned time he reached for it, images bombarded him. Not the faces of his dead wife and children, but of Jessica and hers. He’d already gotten too deep.
He'd reasoned that if he cared about them he'd stay the hell away, but as the morning wore on, as he watched the clock slowly creep forward, he couldn't help but remember how it had felt to be with Jess and the kids yesterday. He’d felt alive for the first time in years. Selfish bastard that he was, he couldn’t find the will to stay away.
Now here he was. As pissed as he was at a God who’d let innocent children be murdered by their mother, a church was the last place he ever dreamed he’d be stepping foot into.
He wasn’t sure how Jess felt, but the kids were happy to see him. After taking Gracie from Jess, he walked around and unbuckled Isabelle while Jess gathered her purse and the diaper bag.
“Morning 'Sabella.” He nuzzled her neck until she giggled.
“You look very pretty Madelina.” He said her name with a Romanian accent, befitting its origin. “But this guy?” Kayne ruffled Ash's hair. “I don't know where you found this one.”
“Under a rock.” Ash laughed. “That's what Jarred used to tell everyone. That he was out hiking one day and found us.” Ash’s smile died, and he looked uncertainly at his mother.
It hadn't escaped Kayne’s notice that when the kids did mention their father they called him Jarred. “Well, I know I'm sure glad he found you.” Kayne ruffled Ash's hair again.
***
Jess's chest clinched at the sight of her son's uncertainty. Apparently she'd made a horrible mistake in not talking more about Jarred with her children. But other than Isabelle, who they’d adopted as an infant, he'd spent so little time with them. Ash had been so young, and Maddy had lived with them for such a short time before Jarred died, it seemed better—easier—to let them forget.
She smiled at Ash. “He knew you were ours the moment he saw you.”
What was one more lie to protect her children’s innocence? She and Jarred had fought tooth and nail about bringing Ash home. He felt she should be happy with Isabelle. But Jess wanted a big family, and so she’d stood her ground. Jarred had reluctantly agreed. Very reluctantly. Not long after, they were red-foldered to be Maddy’s parents. Jarred hadn’t said anything when she came to live with them. He’d simply proceeded to ignore all but Isabelle. Which had broken Jess’s heart, time and again.
As they walked through the door, Kayne leaned in and whispered, “Think the roof will hold?”
Jess shook her head, but couldn't help the giggle that escaped. She noticed Del standing in the vestibule, wearing his uniform. She glanced at Kayne. “Aren't you supposed to be working today?”
“No, Sunday and Monday are my normal days off. I've been picking up overtime.”
He didn't say it, but it hit Jess—while all her bills disappeared with Jarred’s death, Kayne’s had not when Oksana died. In fact, he would have accrued more debt by paying to bury a wife and children. She shuddered at the thought.
Del didn't seem surprised to see them together. He walked up and shook Kayne's hand, a huge smile on his face. “Welcome, son, glad to see you here.”
“Thanks.” Kayne looked uncomfortable.
When Jess realized Del was studying the two of them thoughtfully, she felt her own face heat in embarrassment.
“Interesting game last night.” Del smiled a Cheshire Cat smile. “Went over to the fire house to watch it on the big screen with Joe. We're sitting there and Joe says, ‘Hey, that looks like Jess.’ The camera's panning the area right behind the benches at center ice. Of course, I was sure he was wrong. I knew you'd have told us if you were going to a playoff game, if for no other reason than to rub it in.”
Oh crap. Jess was pretty sure she did not want to hear the rest of this.
Her reaction must have shown on her face, because Del chuckled and winked. “A little later, they showed the area again, and sure enough, there y'all are, watching the game.”
Jess hurried to explain. “I called in a favor. It was last minute, and Kayne and I already had plans to take the kids to the Valley.”
“That's what Joe said. Said he'd run into Kayne yesterday. Kayne took the day off to babysit the kids while you worked.” Del looked far too pleased by that fact.
Kayne shrugged. “We were cleaning the Tahoe.”
“Hope you can play nice in the sandbox,” Del said out of the blue. “Here comes trouble.” He nodded toward the front door, his demeanor suddenly all cop.
Jess followed Del's line of vision. A furious-looking Cody stormed through the front doors. Since he was glaring at Kayne, she assumed he was the source of Cody's anger.
“Wonder how Jarred feels about being replaced?” Cody snapped.
“Now, Cody...” Del scolded.
“On national television, with a highway hog?” Jarred hissed, all but getting in Jess’s face. “What the hell happened to not being ready to date?” Cody didn't wait around for a response; he continued inside without looking back.
Jess slowly turned to Del. “What did he mean?”
“The cameras scanned the crowd when the final buzzer sounded. You two seemed quite pleased with the game results.”
Jess felt the color drain from her face.
“Oh, no.” Kayne’s head fell forward, his chin resting on his chest.
Maddy giggled. “They showed Kayne kissing you right there on the big screen.”
Jess felt slightly ill. Not once had she stopped to think about how the kids would feel about her and Kayne being anything more than friends. Would they be happy if she was happy? Or would they feel like she was stealing their friend? And what would happen when he discovered she wasn't good enough for him and walked away? Would he still want anything to do with the kids? Would she want him to?
Jess stopped and took a deep breath. They hadn't taken the relationship any further than friendship. Okay, some really friendly friendship. But they could leave it at that. She couldn't let the kids get attached to someone who wouldn’t stay, and it was painfully clear that after all he’d lost, Kayne was no longer the staying type. If she was saddened by that, she'd just have to get over it.
***
“Kayne?” Maddy leaned around Jessica to hold out the program to him. “I know you're not our dad, but... would you take us to this? I've never gotten to go.”
Kayne read the announcement she was pointing to. The church, in conjunction with two others, was hosting a community wide Daddy-Daughter overnight camping trip in a couple of weeks. His gut reaction was to say no, but when he looked into those soulful eyes brimming with hope, he weakened. Could he do this? Could he let this little girl in and not betray Natalia and Tasha's memory? What would it feel like to step in, even as a surrogate, for one moment in time?
Kayne realized he wanted this, wanted those memories with Maddy and her sisters, regardless of who Gracie may or may not be. Wasn't that really why he was here today?
“I would be honored.” Kayne sent an apologetic look toward Jessica, realizing he should have discussed it with her. She gave a tight nod but said nothing. He was pretty sure he was going to hear about it later. But at the moment they were in church. Since lightning hadn't struck, and the roof hadn't caved in, he figured he could sit back and relax. Enjoy just...being.
Church had started off a little rocky, but now sitting here with Jessica by his side and Isabelle on his lap, it felt strangely comfortable. Jessica didn't know it, but he was quietly playing rock paper scissors with Ash behind her back. Well, at least he hadn't thought she'd noticed, until she leaned in close and told him to knock it off.
Gracie climbed into Kayne’s lap when Isabelle vacated it sometime later. She held something shiny in his face. “Look, mine pretty.”
“Very pretty.” Kayne flashed her an indulgent smile.
Not one to be denied, Gracie planted her little hands on his cheeks and made eye contact. “Mine pretty. Look.”
So Kayne obeyed. And froze. Gracie's “pretty” looked exactly like the necklace he'd given Oksana the day Tasha had been born. He felt the air being sucked out of his lungs. He blinked a couple times to be sure he wasn't imaging it, but the pendant didn't disappear.
Jessica laid a hand on his arm. “Kayne, what's wrong?”
He barely heard her through the roar of blood pulsing through his arteries.
“Where did you get this?” He could hardly hold the pendant, he was shaking so badly.
Jessica hesitated, her eyes giving away her internal debate. Finally she made eye contact. “Gracie was wearing it the night Jarred rescued her.”
“You've known about it all this time, and you didn't say anything?” He knew his voice was too loud, but my God, he'd trusted her. He'd laid his soul out for her, let her see his misery and pain, and all this time she'd fucking known who Gracie was and hadn't said anything?
Del leaned forward and laid a hand on his shoulder. “Kayne, what is going on?”
“This necklace. I gave it to Oksana the day Tasha was born. It disappeared the day Tasha did.”
Jessica shook her head quickly. “No, you must be mistaken.”
Like hell he was.
Oh, God. He was holding Tasha. She was alive, and she was safe, and she was in his arms. He pushed all other thoughts from his mind, and his heart soared in the moment. His sweet baby girl was alive.
Gracie scrunched her brow up. “No cry, a'kay?” Then she hugged him.
“Okay.” But God, he couldn't help it.
“Kayne, look at me.” Jessica’s voice was demanding, but he didn’t want to deal with the anger he felt bubbling just below the surface. He didn't want to take his eyes off Tasha, terrified she'd somehow disappear, that he'd wake up and this moment would have only been a dream.
Del stood up. “Let’s take this outside.”
Kayne knew he was causing a scene, but if anyone else were in his shoes they'd be causing one hell of a scene too.
Jessica tried to take Tasha from him, and he shoved her hand away though not with enough force to hurt. No way in hell was he letting his little girl go. Didn't she have any idea what she'd done to him? How could she have kept Tasha's identity a secret?
“Kayne, hand me my daughter.” Her panicked voice left no room for argument. “Kayne, please, hand her to me, you're scaring me.”
Damn it, he wasn't completely immune to the pleading in her voice or the fear in her eyes, but he couldn’t let Tasha go. He couldn’t.
Del placed a firm grip on his shoulder. “Kayne, hand Jess the baby and walk outside.”
***
Jess wasn't sure what was going on, but she could tell Kayne was losing it. Was it possible that he suffered from PTSD? Something about Gracie's necklace had set him off, and she wasn't sure what to do.
Trace St. Moritz appeared in the aisle. “Hey, what’s going on?”
“We're fine, Trace,” Jess stammered quickly. Whatever was going on with Kayne didn't need to be exacerbated by getting official law enforcement involved. “Everything's fine. Some confusion over Gracie.”
Trace raised an eyebrow, letting Jess know he thought she'd lost her marbles if she expected him to believe that.
Thankfully Kayne—albeit reluctantly—handed Gracie over to Jess and planted his hand beneath her elbow, guiding her out of the sanctuary. While not painful, his grip was nothing like the friendly contact she'd grown accustomed to. In fact, she felt like a prisoner he was escorting to prison.