over and told her to pick a prize. Hayden picked the biggest panda the guy had and high-fived Jace as thanks.
“That girl’s got my card now.” He chuckled.
Hayden knew an easy target. “You’re going to be winning me things all night,” she said excitedly.
Jace just smiled indulgently as Will and Walker clamored to see the panda. “I don’t mind winning things.”
The look in his eyes told me he meant it. My heart skipped a beat.
Sure enough, for the rest of the evening, Jace had all three kids playing and winning games, even if Jace had to help out.
By the time the sun set, Hayden was worn out. We got a funnel cake and sat down at a picnic table, and she laid her head on her hands and went to sleep.
Hayden was extremely tall for her age, and I wasn’t overly tall for mine. The result was that the child was darn near as tall as me already. I only had about a foot on her. I tried to pick her up, but Jace laughed at me. “I’ve got her,” he whispered.
He scooped her up in his arms and I gathered up Will and Walker. They looked exhausted as well. “All three are going to sleep like the dead,” I said as we walked to the car. Jace helped Hayden inside and strapped her in. I stood by and she mumbled something in her sleep that I didn’t catch but Jace froze before he replied to her, then shut the door.
He cupped my face, so I looked up at him. “Thank you for allowing us to tag along with you today.”
I trembled when his thumb caressed my cheek. “No big deal. I enjoyed it.”
He glanced at the kids, who hopefully weren’t watching, and pressed the lightest of kisses to my lips. “Text me when you get home,” he whispered.
I nodded and got in, waving as we pulled away. On my drive home, I felt this pull in my chest that I couldn’t explain but something inside made me want to just roll with it. It all felt right.
12
Jace
I drove the kids straight to Wayne’s. He got out of his truck as I pulled in. “Thank you so much,” he called. Will and Walker took off into his place as he and I got their booster seats transferred to his truck. “I don’t know how to thank you. With them on spring break, Wendy needed someone to watch them. We’ve got it lined up for my other jobs but this one was totally last minute.”
“Hey, you’ve had my back plenty of times. And they were easy. We went to the coast for a bit.”
Walker opened the door. “Uncle Wayne, you coming in?”
“You two go brush your teeth. Your mom’s working late so you’re staying here.”
Walker’s face lit up. “Yay! I love staying here.”
“Good. Now you and Will go brush your teeth and wash up.”
He slammed the door and Wayne sat on the porch steps. “What’s wrong? Were the kids too much?”
I should’ve known he’d see I had a lot on my mind. “No, not at all. They were great.” I sat beside him. “Hayden fell asleep toward the end and I carried her to the car. When I put her in, she whispered that she wished her dad were as fun as me.”
“Well, that’s good, right?” Wayne asked. “She’ll be on team Jace.”
I shrugged. “Yeah, I guess. But I know what it’s like to have your old man walk out. I sensed her pain.”
“That’s why you’re going to be such a good stepdad,” he said.
“Well, that’d be the best-case scenario. I told her I hoped I could be a good friend to her and her mom. She mumbled yeah with a small smile before she fell back to sleep.”
“That was a good response.” Wayne sighed and looked out at the forest.
“The thought that I might let them down terrifies me.”
Wayne slapped my arm. “Jace. You’re a good man. I think you forget that sometimes. You’re not your father. You’re not even a reflection of him. Don’t sell yourself short.”
He kept telling me more things that encouraged me like that. By the time I got up to go home, I felt a lot better and thanked him several times. “See? You paid me back for the babysitting with some therapy.”
Wayne snorted. “I’m a chef, not a therapist.”
I intended on having a lazy Tuesday, but then I got a text from Porter asking if I had time to meet with him.
I’d been avoiding