Chance Encounter - Jerry Cole Page 0,57

worried about someone trying to take Ava away?” Hayden asked as I shrugged one shoulder.

“I’d hate to see the truth come out that way,” I said as Hayden frowned.

“I doubt anyone knew about her, even if he did have a family. He signed his rights away. The adoption is final.” The girls went all the way with it, though they kept Vivian’s last name as one of the middle names with their names following that. It was complicated, but they didn’t know what name they’d take in marriage at the time. Anything could be changed down the line, though they’d never take her mother’s name away.

“I just want them never to know about him. Becca hated him, and he pulled too much shit toward the end.” I sighed, considering the possibility. “Everyone hated him.”

“He was an asshole, but his kid is beautiful. She’s so happy.” Hayden smiled. “Not like him at all.”

“She has a loving family,” I said, hugging him to me. “They’ll never know.”

“I learned in an article. What if they ever get curious?” Hayden brought up a new point as ice washed through my veins.

“If they haven’t yet, they won’t. They haven’t even asked about Ryan.” I hoped that I was right.

We snuggled together to sleep, and I smiled as he kissed my hair.

It was announced weeks later that the baby was a boy at Sunday dinner. Amy was beaming while Jackson looked proud. Everyone hugged them and cried again, talking about baby showers and the nursery.

Amy looked good with a small bump that she complained about. She wore loose clothes even though Jackson told her she was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen. She had a natural girl next door look and never looked bad, but pregnancy did weird things to women. She made a few trips back home with Jackson over the last several weeks, spending time with family and friends.

We talked about doing something before it was too far into Fall. We decided on a coastal trip for a long weekend, for the seven of us. Gram declined since she had plans with a friend. I rented a house with five bedrooms and three bathrooms for us, excited about the large deck that overlooked the beach. With the right weather, we could grill outside and enjoy some sun. I knew the girls hoped for that so Ava could see the ocean, but you could never tell where we lived.

We left Friday in August with the sun in the sky. Since it was a short trip, we just took our cars, and I planned to get the keys before anyone else arrived. We decided on Fort Worden since it was in such a gorgeous area. We could spend time on the beach as well as in Port Townsend.

We got out of our car on the ferry, standing at the railing to look over the water. Our destination could be seen, and I grinned as Hayden leaned against me. He’d never been here before, and I couldn’t wait to show him how beautiful it was. When we pulled off of the boat, I took a turn to the right to get to the office where the keys to the house were. The agent handed them to us with a smile, and I drove quickly to see a two-story house in a soft blue nestled several feet away from the beach,

“This is gorgeous,” he said as we parked in the driveway. We got out with our bags, unlocking the door to set them down just inside of the foyer. We surveyed the spacious, open kitchen and living room. There were two bedrooms downstairs and three upstairs. They were all large and roughly the same size, so we picked one of the upstairs ones and placed our bags inside. The bedroom windows all had views of the ocean, making the house wider than longer.

“I could get used to this,” I said, looking through the glass slider doors at the blue water and long stretch of sand.

“Me, too. Ava is going to lose her shit,” Hayden said, grinning.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Hayden

Everyone else arrived about forty-five minutes after us. We helped them with their bags, smiling as they exclaimed how gorgeous the house was. The girls picked the downstairs bedroom for them and Ava with hopes she shouldn’t run up and down the stairs all day. Jackson and Amy picked one of the upstairs ones, and we all unpacked quickly.

It was still early, so we walked on the beach for a while.