When Donna came to the house to pick her up for lunch, Jessica invited her in and showed her where Kyle was working.
“Hello, son,” she said as she gave Kyle a hug. “Looks like you’re working hard.”
“He certainly is,” Ellen said as she greeted Donna. “And he does a great job.”
Jessica could tell Kyle was embarrassed, yet pleased, by the praise being heaped upon him.
“Thank you, ladies,” he said.
They visited for a few minutes, then Jessica and Donna headed out, leaving Kyle to work.
“It’s nice to take a break,” Donna said as she drove away from Ellen’s house.
“What do you mean?”
“Even though I’m away from the office, I still have work I can do.”
“What do you do again? I’m sorry, I don’t remember.”
“That’s okay. I’m a project manager, so there’s always something to do. But it’s a nice change of pace to work away from the office.”
They talked about their jobs until they reached the restaurant, but once they began eating, Jessica decided to ask the question that had been on her mind. “Tell me about Kyle’s dad.”
“His dad?”
“Yeah. I just get the feeling that being a father is important to him, so I was wondering about his father.”
Donna laughed softly. “Well, which one do you want to know about?”
Her answer caught Jessica off-guard. “What do you mean? I didn’t know he had more than one.”
“Well, there was his birth father, and then there was the man who raised him.”
“Oh.” This information was unexpected. “Does he have any contact with his birth father?”
She frowned as she shook her head. “No. As far as I know, he’s never met the man. He left as soon as he found out I was pregnant.”
“I don’t mean to be personal, but weren’t you married?”
“It’s okay, Jessica. It was a long time ago. But, no, we never married. I was young and in love and made some bad choices, although I’ll never regret having Kyle. But his father wasn’t everything I’d thought he was, so it was probably for the best that he didn’t stick around.”
“But then you found someone else to marry?”
“Yes. Paul Judd was a good man—he even adopted Kyle—but I’m sorry to say that my marriage with him eventually ended. But I believe Kyle still keeps in touch with him.”
A light bulb suddenly went off in Jessica’s mind as she realized why Kyle felt as though he’d be abandoning Avery if he didn’t adopt her. First off, he’d never met his own father. And second, the man his mother had married—and who had adopted him—had stepped in and raised him. It seemed that Kyle was trying to succeed where his own fathers had failed.
A new feeling of empathy for the man she loved flowed over her as she began to view the difficulty of his decision in a new light. He didn’t want to be like either his birth father or his adoptive father—abandoning a child when that child needed a father so much. This new insight made her love Kyle all the more.
“Well, you must have done something right,” Jessica said. “Kyle’s a great guy.”
“Thank you, Jessica.” Donna ate a bite of her salad, then smiled. “Where do you see things going with your relationship, if you don’t mind me asking?”
“I don’t mind.” She paused as she considered her answer. “I think you know how much I loved him when we were engaged years ago.”
Donna nodded.
“What you may not know was how devastated I was when he changed his mind about marrying me.”
“I can imagine how hurt you must have felt, and I’m sorry you had to go through that. I think Kyle just wasn’t ready for marriage then, but he seems to have matured a lot since that time.”
“I think you’re right. On both counts.” Jessica smiled. “In all that time, I never stopped loving him, and he said he feels the same about me.”
“Sounds promising.”
“Yes, except . . .” She hesitated, not sure if she should mention Melanie.
“Except what?”
“Well, he was dating this other woman.”
“Melanie, yes. I’ve met her.”
“Well, I’m not so sure he’s ready to let her go completely. Or her daughter.” She knew she was on delicate ground—she didn’t want to break her promise to Kyle to not mention the adoption, but she wanted to get Donna’s take on Melanie.
“That little girl is sure cute and I know Kyle was crazy about her.” Donna’s voice showed caution, like she didn’t want to offend Jessica. “About both of them.”
Though this wasn’t news, Jessica still felt a jolt of jealousy at Donna’s remark, and couldn’t hold back a frown.
“That’s not to say he doesn’t love you, Jessica, but you should know that he and Melanie were getting pretty serious. At least that was the impression I got from the conversations I had with him a couple of months ago.”
“How serious?” The pitch of her voice went up, and she cleared her throat.
Donna gazed at Jessica. “Are you sure you want to know this?”
No. “Yes.”
“Well, he used the word marriage more than once.”
Sucker-punched. That’s how she felt to know that he’d been one step away from being out of her reach forever. This new information also gave her a new perspective into Melanie’s determination to keep him. Surely she knew how close he was to proposing.
When I showed up, she thought, and he dumped her for me, she must have been livid.
The black roses came to mind, as well as the text, and she wondered if Melanie could be the one behind them. Was she really that vindictive? And if she was, what else was she capable of? How far would she go to keep her man?
She’ll be beyond thrilled when she finds out that I have to leave town to find a job. The thought made Jessica almost want to cancel her interview, but she knew that would be irresponsible. “I didn’t know they were that serious,” she finally said in reply to Donna’s news.
“That was then, Jessica. Things can change.”
Small comfort, she thought. Because that means things could change again. And not in her favor. She smiled at Donna, then nodded, but inside she was worried. More worried than she’d been before lunch.
When Donna dropped her off at Ellen’s after their lunch, she found Kyle still working. “Didn’t you take a break for lunch?”
“I brown-bagged it today, so I’ve eaten.” He stopped what he was doing and came over to her. “How did your lunch go? Did you and my mom have a good talk?”
Outwardly, she smiled, but inside she was anxious. “She told me all of your secrets, so I’d say it went well.”
He laughed. “Uh oh.” Then he became serious. “You didn’t tell her about the adoption, did you?”
“Of course not.”
He smiled. “Thank you.”
Jessica thought about the new revelation about his birth and adoptive fathers, and how that was so obviously impacting his thinking regarding adopting Avery. “I’ve been thinking, Kyle, and you know, no one would believe you were abandoning Avery if you moved on.”
His forehead creased for a moment. “Why do you say that?”
“I just know you’re worried about that.”
“But what will Avery think? When she’s older?”
Her voice softened and she placed a hand on his arm. “Honestly, I don’t think she’ll remember you. She’s so little.”
He chuckled. “I don’t know if that makes me feel better or worse about all of this.”
She smiled. “It’s supposed to make you feel better.”
“I know.”
She leaned toward him and gave him a kiss, then stroked his face. “I love you.”
Her words seemed to lift his mood. “I love you too, Jess.”
She left him to work, and went to see what her aunt was up to, and found her organizing the linen closet.
“How was your lunch with Donna?”
“Enlightening.” She took a neatly folded stack of towels from her aunt and placed them on the shelf.
“What did you learn?”
She told her about Kyle’s father experiences. “That explains so much about his wanting to adopt Avery, don’t you think?”
“Yes,” Ellen said as she threw some items into a small trash can. “I think you’re right.”
“If I can just convince him that not adopting Avery doesn’t mean he’s tossing her aside, maybe he’ll be able to move on.”
“Move on with you, you mean?” Ellen’s eyes twinkled.
Jessica laughed. “Obviously.” She paused. “By the way, I have one job interview lined up next week, so I’ll be leaving on Monday.”
Ellen stopped what she was doing. “Oh, well that’s good, I suppose.” She looked at Jessica with a question on her face. “What about Kyle? Will you come back?”
“If it’s okay with you, I was thinking I would come back on the weekend, assuming I have other interviews that keep me there.”
“You know I would love that.”
“To be honest, I’m a little worried about leaving Kyle in Melanie’s clutches on the weekends.”
“Now, Jessica. If he really loves you, spending a little time with Melanie won’t change that.”
She folded a set of sheets and placed them back in the closet. “I can’t help but wonder if she’s been pushing him into this adoption idea. You know, to get him to marry her.” She frowned. “I guess I’m afraid that if I’m not around, she might convince him to move forward with whatever she has planned.”
“Hmm. I can see how that would be a worry.”
The fact that her aunt agreed didn’t help. “I was hoping you’d say I was being silly.”
Ellen touched her arm. “Maybe you are being silly. But I don’t blame you.”
They worked together until the job was done, then Jessica checked her email and found a second invitation for an interview. She spoke to the contact and arranged the interview for two days after the other one. As much as she would have preferred to have both interviews on the same day, that didn’t work with the interviewer’s schedule, and she had to take what she could get.
In the late afternoon her phone chimed and she checked her texts.
Alex: a detective came and talked to me about you. What’s going on? Is everything okay?
Jessica frowned. Not just because Alex had contacted her—although she wasn’t thrilled about that. But because Detective Barnes had obviously spoken to him about the strange things that had happened to her. She really didn’t want to drag Alex into her world right now, not with all the complications with Kyle. Besides, she didn’t think Alex was the one behind the strange message and the flowers. She was more apt to believe Melanie did those things than Alex.
She set her phone down on the bed, not wanting to get drawn into a conversation with her ex, and focused back on her job search. It was almost like a full-time job in and of itself to research the companies that looked promising, then fill out their online applications. Soon she was immersed in her task and forgot about Alex.
A knock on her door pulled her away from her laptop, and she opened the door to find Kyle standing in the hallway. His handsome smiling face pushed away the mental exhaustion she was feeling.
“Hey,” he said as he reached out and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.
“Hi.”
“How’s the job hunt going?”
“I have another interview next week.”
“Good.” He smiled. “I just came to tell you that I’m leaving for the day. My mom and I are going to spend some time together, but I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?”
She nodded. “Yeah.” At least he’ll be with his mother instead of Melanie.
He moved to stand right in front of her, then leaned toward her and pressed his mouth against hers. She wound her arms around his neck, loving the taste and feel of him.
After a moment he pulled away, his eyes showing how much he enjoyed their kiss. “Maybe you can come with us.”
She laughed. “No. You should spend time with your mom. Just the two of you.”
He smiled. “I know. It was just an idea.” He paused. “My mom is heading back tomorrow, so maybe we can do something tomorrow night.”
“I’d like that.”
“Great. I’ll see you in the morning.”
“Okay.”
He left a moment later.
That night, when Hudson didn’t snuggle up to Jessica, she didn’t think much about it as he sometimes slept in other places. But the next morning when he didn’t come racing into the kitchen to eat his food, she became worried.
“Have you seen Hudson?” she asked her aunt, who sat at the dining room table reading the newspaper.
“Not since yesterday, no.”
Jessica frowned. “Neither have I.” She glanced around, then called out, “Hudson. Here kitty, kitty. Come here, big guy.” She tilted her head to listen for the tell-tale sound of the bell on his collar, but there was nothing. A feeling of foreboding washed over her. He was normally an indoor cat, but she’d let him explore a bit while they were staying at Ellen’s, although she’d been careful to not let him outside unless she was outside with him. “I’m going to see if I can find him.”
She went out back and called for him, making her way around to the front of the house, then walked toward the road that led to the main street. He was nowhere in sight. Hoping that he was just sleeping in the house somewhere, ignoring her, she went back inside and searched all of the places she’d noticed him hanging out since they’d been there.
Not finding him in any of those places, she went back out front to see if he’d somehow appeared. As she began the circuit around the house, she heard Kyle’s truck arriving, and headed over to him once he climbed out.
“Hey, Jess.” He smiled as he walked toward her.
“Hudson’s missing.”
Glancing around the expansive front yard, he said, “He’s probably just chasing some birds or something.”
She shook her head, certain that he was missing. “I haven’t seen him since yesterday. He didn’t even show up for breakfast, which, for him, is unheard of.”
He rubbed her arms. “I’m sure he’ll turn up.”
Though his comment felt patronizing, she let it go, knowing he was just trying to cheer her up. “Well, I’m going to keep looking.”
“Okay.” He smiled. “I’ve got lots to do today, so I’d better get started.”
She nodded. “I know.”
He stroked her face, then leaned in for a kiss. “Let me know if you need me.”
I always need you, she thought, but nodded instead. “Thanks.”
After he went inside, she walked around the house, calling, “Hudson, Hudson, where are you?” But there was no reply, and the gray tabby didn’t appear. Tears pushed their way into her eyes. Her sweet kitty had become her constant companion, and she didn’t know what she would do if something happened to him.
Not knowing what else to do, she brought her laptop out to the front porch to do her job search. That way she would know the moment Hudson came home.