Two weeks after Rainy's kidnapping

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“Wow, this place looks fake,” Juni said from the backseat.

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She wasn’t wrong.

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The neighborhood was picture perfect.

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Actually, according to the sign we’d passed, Yellow Bluff was a community, and Juni was right, the beautiful homes and well-manicured yards looked straight out of a movie.

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“You went to summer camp here?” Colson asked from the third row of Jase’s SUV.

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“Not here, but just down the road,” I answered.

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“Good ole Pamona Lake,” Jase muttered. “We had some good times there.”

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Before I could get deep into the memories of just how good the times had been at Pamona Lake, Colson asked, “What was that, Dad?”

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“Nothing, bud.”

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Since Jase was already holding my hand, I gave it a squeeze.

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“Your mom didn’t think they were good times,” I whispered.

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Jase took his eyes off the road to smile at me. “I had to pay her back the five hundred dollars,” he reminded me.

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“You shouldn’t have been trespassing.” I shrugged.

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“Baby, you called me and told me to come down.” He chuckled.

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That was factual. On the third night of sleepaway camp I’d called Jase and told him that some of the other girls had invited their boyfriends for a midnight swim in the lake and asked him to come to Midway. And back then, in my teenage girl idiocy, I hadn’t thought of the consequences of what would happen if the boys got caught.

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And those consequences had been dire.

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“Good thing you were a minor. It’d suck if that arrest was on your—”

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“You were arrested, Daddy?” Juni shouted.

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Oopsie.

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“Thanks for that,” Jase muttered under his breath then louder for Juni. “No, baby, I wasn’t arrested.”

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“But Rainy said you were. And she’d know since she was your best friend.”

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I could feel Jase giving me the side-eye even though I’d turned around to look at Juni.

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“He wasn’t really arrested, honey, I was just teasing your Daddy.”

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“Are you lying?”

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Sorta.

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But not really.

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“My mom doesn’t lie,” Lucas defended me from his place next to Colson.

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“We’re here, so finish up on that tablet and remember it’s put up all weekend,” I told my son. “And, no, Juni, I’m not lying.”

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“I did get in trouble, though,” Jase surprised me by saying.

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“Why’d you get into trouble?”

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I glanced over at Jase wondering how much he was going to tell his daughter about sneaking out of his mom’s house, driving forty minutes away, trespassing onto private property, and swimming in a lake that was expressly not for swimming. Then getting busted by the camp counselors who called the police, ticketing all the boys with trespassing and curfew violations. Us girls didn’t get away unscathed, but our punishment was basically a slap on the wrist.

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Thankfully, we’d been caught after the making out was over and swimming had commenced or there might’ve been indecent exposure tacked onto the charges.

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“I got in trouble for swimming in the lake. It’s private property and no one’s allowed in the lake without permission. I didn’t obey the rules. So, I got in trouble.”

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“That’s stupid,” Colson grumbled. “Lakes are lakes. Everyone should be able to swim in them.”

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I transferred my gaze back to the boys. Their tablets were nowhere in sight, and they were both looking out the windows.

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Lucas was nodding his agreement to Colson’s assessment. Then he verbally agreed, “Totally stupid.”

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“Not when the lake is on private property,” Jase asserted. “The owner of the land gets to make the rules. I ignored that rule and was punished accordingly.”

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“Was Granny J mad?” Juni asked.

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Janis had been pissed—furious actually. At Jase and at me. It was the only time I’d ever seen Jase’s mom truly mad. Thankfully, as angry as she was, she hadn’t turned her anger into dislike and had forgiven me for my part in Jase getting into trouble. Obviously, she’d forgiven Jase, too, but only after he’d paid her back for the fine.

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“She was disappointed,” Jase told his daughter.

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“I don’t like it when you’re disappointed in me,” Juni whispered. “It hurts my feelings when I know I did bad.”

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That was sweet Juniper in a nutshell. She wasn’t a wilting flower or people pleaser. At ten, she had no problem speaking her mind, especially when it came to telling the boys how life in our new blended family was going to go. She’d gone as far as making a list of rules and taping them to the refrigerator. Rule number one was Lucas was her best friend, and Colson was not going to steal him. Rule number two was the boys weren’t allowed to make her watch boy stuff on TV. The whole list was cute and funny and bossy.

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However, she was extremely attuned to emotions and sensitive to what the people she cared about were thinking and feeling.

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For a few days after I’d been released from the hospital Juni had been freaked out. Mainly because Jase was feeling big things—anger I’d been taken, residual fear, guilt he hadn’t looked deeper into Julian. But seriously, who could’ve predicted Julian would lose his mind and kidnap me? Making passes at me while Zoe was alive, being an all-around asshole, sending me flowers, and asking me out after Zoe died was creepy behavior. Not full-on, around-the-bend, psychotic, stalker, kidnapping maniac behavior. Yet, Jase blamed himself, no matter how many times I’d explained this to him. He felt he should’ve seen the escalation. I disagreed. According to Jase, Ethan was on my side and agreed with me. Even if Jase had asked his friend Dylan to look deeper into Julian, my attack still would’ve come as a shock.

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Out of the kids, Juni felt the deepest, therefore, she had the hardest time. That wasn’t to say Colson hadn’t been freaked out, he just showed his concern differently and was quicker to get back to himself. Surprisingly, Lucas had processed what happened to me and his fear much differently than Juni and Colson. Whatever Jase had said to him during that initial call had settled him. But more than that, it bonded him to Jase in a way that was both beautiful and unshakable. My son believed Jase could do anything. Firmly believed that. I don’t know if it was because Lucas had never had a man in his life, never had the support of a male role model, or if it was purely Jase’s innate ability to make people feel at ease.

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Twenty-one years ago, Jase had worked his magic on a shy, unsure girl and made her feel seen then deeply loved, so it wasn’t surprising he’d done the same with Lucas.

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I always thought my son was well adjusted, smart, outgoing, funny, and loving. But watching him blossom and come into himself with Jase in his life was a sight to behold. Lucas was the same but more—he stood just a little taller, there was no uncertainty in his demeanor, the teasing banter that had always been a part of our lives came quicker, and now included Jase, Juni, and Colson—that was Jase’s doing. But also, Colson and Juni. He looked up to Colson, and once he’d found out he was a couple of months older than Juni, he’d easily and happily fallen into the role as Juni’s big brother.

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I had never doubted that Jase loved his daughter and was a good dad. But him recognizing Juni was struggling with what had happened to me was in part because of his reaction and her clinging to his emotions. He made the effort to hide them from her.

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Which in turn had settled her.

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Now, it was the beginning of Jase’s week with the kids, and we were taking them on a much-needed weekend getaway to Midway.

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“I’m never disappointed in you, Juni,” Jase told his daughter.

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“You were disappointed when I got a fifty percent on my spelling test,” Juni reminded her dad sheepishly.

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I bit back a smile and turned to face forward.

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The farther Jase drove into the community, the more charming it became. Old oaks now mingled with palm trees. The juxtaposition was out of this world. Each home was unique in architecture, color, and landscaping. Yellow Bluff was as far away from cookie cutter as you could get. Yet, all the homes complemented each other beautifully.

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“You’re right, honey, I was disappointed. Not because you failed, because you didn’t study for your test.”

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“Well, now that Lucas lives with us, I’ll get one-hundred-percents on all my tests. That means, I’ll get ice cream, too.”

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“What about me, do I get ice cream if I ace my tests?” Colson asked.

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Before Jase could put in his two cents and possibly deny Colson’s request, I answered, “Of course.”

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“Cool.”

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“We’re here,” Jase announced as he rolled to a stop in front of the cutest little white cottage.

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“Yippy!” Juni cried.

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The sound of the little girl’s unbridled joy had my lips once again tugging up into a smile.

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This was exactly what we needed.

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Us.

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The five of us together.

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No mothers calling to check in. No crazy, homicidal lunatics. No trauma.

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Just this—a beautiful cottage, in a beautiful community, next to a beautiful marina and views of the Intracoastal from the front porch.

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Two full days of relaxation.

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***

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“Yo! Boys,” Jase bellowed from beside me. “Don’t even think about it.”

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I looked up from swatting a swarm of mosquitoes that had decided it was dinner time away from my arm and saw Colson and Lucas on the end of a short dock looking down at the murky water.

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“Think about what, Daddy?”

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I glanced over at Juni who had stayed close to us, her long brown ponytail adorably lopsided, her hands full of what she called pretty rocks and smiled at her.

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“Jumping into the water.”

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Her face scrunched up, again, adorably.

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“Why would they want to jump into the yucky water?” she asked.

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“Because they’re boys,” I told her.

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Her attention came to me. “I don’t get it.”

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“One day you will,” I assured. “You and me see yucky water. The boys see fun.”

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“I think diamond art is fun. After dinner will you help me finish my goldfish? Ally and Meghan are done with theirs.”

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Ally and Meghan were her two friends who had started this obsession. Now the three of them bought the same designs—their latest with a fish tank full of goldfish.

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“Of course.”

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“Can we go now? The skeeters are biting.”

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As if on cue, one landed on my neck.

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“Boys! Let’s go,” Jase called out.

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“My mom’s going to change her last name when she marries Hunter,” Juni said apropos of nothing.

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I hid my surprise at her out-of-the-blue comment and replied leadingly, “Okay.”

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“When you and Daddy get married, you’ll be a Turner,” she went on.

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I still didn’t know where this was going, so my reply was the same, “Okay.”

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“Will Lucas be a Turner, too?”

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Oh shit.

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“If he wants to be,” Jase fielded her question.

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Which was good because I didn’t know how to answer that, but even if I did the expression on my son’s face had me stunned inert.

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I couldn’t read what I was seeing. There was confusion mixed with surprise. But also, it looked like there was some hope mingling. It was the hope part that had my heart clenching. A reminder I’d done my best to make sure Lucas wouldn’t feel the sting of not having a dad. Mom and Zoe had helped with that. But try as I might, I knew better. I knew there was nothing I could do that would fully erase what I knew wasn’t a sting but a gaping hole.

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“Why wouldn’t he want to be?” Juni pushed.

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“Juniper—”

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Juni interrupted her dad and turned to Lucas. “You want to be a Turner, don’t you?”

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Lucas wasn’t looking at Juni. He was staring at Jase.

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And the look on my boy’s face had my heart splintering. Gone were the confusion and surprise. All that was left was blinding hope.

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No, yearning.

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I took in a fortifying breath that burned my lungs, preparing to guide the conversation but before I could think of what to say, Jase dropped into a squat in front of Lucas.

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“A last name doesn’t make a family,” Jase educated Lucas. “You having Cross as a last name doesn’t mean you’re not part of our family, yeah?”

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Lucas nodded, then asked, “But I could be a Turner?”

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“If that’s what you want, absolutely.”

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I did some heavy breathing to stop the tears from forming when my son nodded again.

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“Does that mean you’ll be my dad?”

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Okay.

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No.

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Now I was breathing heavy to stop the tears.

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Jase took a moment to study Lucas. I knew he wasn’t contemplating his answer, he was contemplating how to answer.

“Hear me, Lucas, you’re my son and it doesn’t matter to me if you have my last name or you keep Cross. Saying that, you being my son is my choice. Me being your dad is your choice. Do you get the difference?”

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I glanced at Colson who was standing close to Lucas watching his dad closely. Which meant I missed Lucas’s reaction to Jase’s question.

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I didn’t miss Jase’s answer and hearing Jase impart fatherly wisdom on my son—a boy who’d never had a father—stitched together something inside of me I didn’t know needed mending.

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“It means if you need time, it’s yours to take. There’s no rush. No time limit.” Jase stopped to lift his hand and hooked Lucas around the back of the neck. “We’re already a family, Lucas. Me being your dad happens on your time.”

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“And what if I want that now?” Lucas whispered.

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“Then it’s yours now,” Jase returned.

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The heavy breathing had been working, but just barely. I lost the battle to keep my tears at bay when Lucas’s eyes flared and his shoulders relaxed.

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He wanted this, and he wanted it badly. Not only to be part of a family, but he wanted Jase to be his dad.

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Lucas’s gaze shifted to me. I gave him a wobbly smile and nodded, not trusting my voice to give him more than that.

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“Is that alright, Mom? Can I change my last name, too?”

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“Of course,” I croaked out.

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“Yay! Lucas is gonna be a Turner. Does that mean he’s adopting, Daddy?” Juni chirped.

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“Kids don’t adopt parents,” Colson put in. “Parents adopt kids.”

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“That’s dumb. Kids should adopt parents, like Lucas did. He said he wants Daddy to be his dad. Mallorie’s adopted. Last year she had a big party when Miss Wendy and Mr. Steve became her forever mom and dad. Way bigger than a birthday party. Can we have a big party for Lucas and Daddy?”

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“Yeah, we should totally have a big party,” Colson agreed. “That’d be cool. We could do it at the Commons that way we can go fishing, too.”

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I saw Jase tense at the mention of Bryant Commons Park. Of course, Colson didn’t know that not long ago his dad found a dead body there, and that was where he’d been shot. I didn’t think Jase would be taking the kids there anytime soon. However, in a morbid, roundabout way, what had happened in the woods of that park had been the beginning of us—our second chance. That wasn’t to say we wouldn’t’ve eventually found our way back to each other—I know we would’ve.

Jase and I had always been destined for this—to be a family, however that came to be.

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Never in my teenage dreams did I think it would happen like this, but life had a funny way of working out the way it was supposed to.

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Instead of dwelling, I was grateful. If we’d stayed together, I wouldn’t have Lucas. There’d be no Juni and Colson. And I couldn’t imagine our lives without them. If we’d stayed together, I might not have had Zoe the way I had her. We might’ve just been friends for that season of our lives before I moved home to Georgia after college. But Zoe wasn’t just a friend, she was my sister, and I wouldn’t give up the time I’d shared with her for anything.

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So in the end, all the heartache our separation had caused had been the path we’d needed to take.

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And right then with Jase kneeling before my son, giving a fatherless boy the most precious gift a man can give, it was worth all the pain. It was worth all the nights I’d cried myself to sleep. It was worth the years of guilt I’d felt.

It was worth everything.

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Life would now be the way it was always supposed to be—with the added bonus of Lucas, Juni, and Colson.

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So, yes, life worked out exactly how it was meant to be.

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