Jace glances back at me. No longer is he the young, snot-nosed kid; Jace is a man now. A family man. He loves his wife and kids and works his ass off to make them happy. While most hockey players post Instagrams of themselves doing lavish things, my brother is at swim lessons with Jamieson and violin concerts with Ashlyn. I didn’t know how much I would enjoy watching him grow. I’m proud of him. If I’m honest, I’m also a wee bit jealous. “Have you guys decided on a name? Avery and Lucy are getting pissed. They can’t get anything monogrammed without a name.”
I laugh. I know this. They both text Claire daily. “We want to wait to see him first. Though, Claire likes Phillip River.”
He smiles. “After two men who didn’t even raise you two. That says something about them.”
“They’re the best.”
He laughs hard. “Phillip punched you!”
I grin. ?
?I deserved it. I was a jackass.”
“Ooh, J, you said ass.”
I scoff. “So did you.”
“And now you’re both grounded. Great parenting, Jude.”
I shrug, which makes Jamieson giggle.
Jace doesn’t seem to think we’re funny, but he also doesn’t seem very upset. “So, Tristan was good with the move?”
“Yeah,” I say as I open the cabinets. Jamieson shuts them once we thoroughly look through them. “She doesn’t seem very concerned, really. I think she’s trying to ghost the situation. Us. Like, she thinks the baby is payment for all we did for her.”
Jace shrugs. “Can’t blame her. She’s eighteen. She doesn’t want a kid, and not everyone is Avery and me.”
I nod in agreement. They were young when Avery got pregnant with Ashlyn. I was honestly worried they wouldn’t make it, but they did—and then some. I remember apologizing for doubting them a while back. Jace didn’t care, though. He knew he and Avery were it. “I know, but I really would love for her to be in his life. She’s been a blessing.”
“True, but maybe that’s the end of her blessing. Giving you guys this awesome gift, and then she goes and does her. Maybe it’s hard for her.”
I didn’t think of it that way. “I hear you.”
“What does Claire think?”
“She feels the same way I do.”
I open the back door to the large backyard. I can already see a swing set and a hockey goal. I can see our kid, running around and growing right before my eyes. The crazy thing is, I don’t just see him. I see another one. Two little boys, being crazy. Maybe Claire will find a surrogate for us. While I’m just fucking happy we’re getting one kid, I really want two. Maybe even three. Wow, I’m being greedy. Maybe she’ll be open to adoption since we’re adopting this one.
“Good backyard.”
“Yeah.”
“I think you should let it play out,” Jace says then. I look over at him, a little confused. “The whole Tristan thing. If she wants to be involved, let her. If she wants to ghost, let her. She’s young, and it’s a lot at once. With everything she’s been through, she needs time.”
I swallow hard. I didn’t think of it that way, but I know Claire is attached to her. I don’t think she would let Tristan ghost us. Since she was a troubled teen herself, Claire is all about helping kids with backgrounds like hers. She didn’t get pregnant back then, but she sure did make some bad choices before she went to live with her uncle, Phillip. I have no clue how a hockey player raised such an amazing woman, but Phillip gave me the woman I married, and I’ll forever be grateful to him.
“I’ll talk to Claire.”
“I think that’s for the best,” Jace agrees, and then he claps his hands together. “I don’t know about you, but I think this is the best house we’ve looked at.”
I nod in agreement. “Claire loves it ’cause it’s one level.”
“Exactly, and it’s also close to the rink.”
“Yeah, this is where a lot of the guys said to buy.”
“Cool. I think this is a good place to make a home.” I glance over at him as he smacks my back, lovingly. “I am really happy for you guys.”