5. Jenner

Chapter 5

Jenner

I touched down in Indianapolis with a plan—a plan to win my wife back and give her what she wanted more than anything.

Agreeing to help her with the adoption process was only step one. But I had a few tricks up my sleeve that would tip the scales in my favor.

We had a history. We'd once had incredible chemistry. And I was banking on the fact that maybe, somewhere deep down, she still loved me as much as I loved her.

Our marriage hadn't ended because we'd fallen out of love with each other. Our bond had been severed by a circumstance neither one of us could control.

I had so many regrets about how I'd handled our divorce. I'd let her go because I didn't want to cause her any more pain. I had done enough of that for a lifetime in not being able to give her a baby. I should have fought for us.

This was a do-over, our second chance.

And I had no intention of letting Evie walk out of my life ever again.

The driver dropped me off at my house, and I unlocked the front door and let myself in.

Evie's car was still out front, so I knew she was somewhere inside, but I couldn't see her from where I stood in the entryway, latching the door behind me. It was still light outside, even though it was well into the evening, and I wondered if she'd eaten yet. If we were going to hash out the details of this very risky farce, I couldn't do so on an empty stomach.

Leaving my suitcase in the foyer, I searched the first floor before heading upstairs. The first thing I noticed was that the door to what had once been planned as the nursery was ajar.

Beyond Evie painting the room a light yellow, we hadn't done much with the space, electing to wait until it was needed before outfitting it further. The longer it remained vacant, the more it hurt Evie to step inside, and eventually, the door was left permanently closed. To see it cracked open now was like a pull I couldn't explain; my feet moved of their own volition until I reached it and pushed it wide open.

My heart threatened to burst out of my chest at what I found inside.

No longer an empty room, it contained a white crib, dresser, and changing table. Gray artwork featuring moons, stars, and clouds hung on the walls in contrast to the yellow paint and white furniture. Curtains even hung on the window along the far wall, with a padded rocking chair sitting before it.

It was like getting a peek into a past that never came to fruition—the one we should have had if things had been different.

This was Evie's dream, contained in a single room. All that was missing was a child to love.

A door unlatching sounded across the hallway, accompanied by a soft, feminine gasp.

I spun around to find Evie, dressed down in cotton shorts and a tank top. Her shorter blonde hair was pulled into a messy bun at the top of her head.

Swallowing around the lump forming in my throat, I said, "You finished the nursery."

Her violet gaze dropped to the floor. "Yeah."

"It's beautiful," I whispered.

Eyes snapping up, they searched mine. "Really?"

God, I would have given anything to reach out and touch her. I wanted to hold her close and tell her I would make everything all right for her again, that we would fill that room with a baby, and she would become a mother like she always dreamed.

I was more determined than ever to make that a reality for her—for us.

"Really," I confirmed.

"I—" Evie paused, chewing her lip. "I thought it would be helpful to have Stella add pictures to our file." Immediately, she backtracked, "But if I've overstepped, I can—"

"No," I cut her off. "It was a good idea." Peeking behind me, I asked, "You did all this yourself?"

Even without looking, I could sense her moving closer.

Her voice was quiet in her reply. "I've made my peace with doing it all alone."

Fuck, is she trying to rip my heart out?

Four years ago, I'd offered to go down this path with her, but she'd turned me down flat.

I could accept that she had been hurting in that moment—the pain overwhelming at the realization that we'd failed again after putting her body through hell in our countless attempts—but was it really better the way she was pursuing it now? Without a partner's support, fighting an uphill battle with small-minded agencies who were unwilling to give her a chance on her own?

Sighing, I turned to face her. "But you can't."

Evie shook her head. "I guess not. Lord knows, I've tried."

"Have you eaten?"

My sudden change in subject had her blinking in surprise. "Um, no. Wasn't sure when you'd be home."

I cocked an eyebrow. "You were waiting for me?"

Her round cheeks pinkened. "You're letting me stay here until I get things sorted. Figured the least I could do was make you a meal."

Evie was an exceptional cook, something that fell by the wayside in our final years of marriage when she struggled with depression over our situation. I was glad to see she'd found pieces of herself again, even if she wasn't all the way back to the sassy girl I'd once known.

"Maybe tomorrow?" I hedged, praying she wouldn't bolt when I laid out my terms. "Tonight, I was thinking we could order takeout and talk."

She ducked her head. "Sure. Sounds good."

Cartons of Chinese food littered the kitchen island, where we sat on stools, using chopsticks to eat directly out of them. This had always been our thing, going back to college when we didn't have flatware in our dorm rooms. And we'd kept doing it once we had a place of our own and no shortage of forks. We viewed it as nostalgic, a reminder of how far we'd come, keeping us grounded when the number in our bank account grew so large it was difficult to wrap our minds around.

Taking a sip from her glass of water, Evie swallowed before asking, "So, where were you this weekend?"

This was good. We could ease into the heavy stuff after we caught up for a bit.

"Minnesota. A young teammate of mine, Braxton, got married."

A knowing smile touched her lips. "Ah. I forgot the off-season for hockey is wedding season for the players."

She wasn't wrong. None of us had time to get married during the grind of the season, and with playoffs, you never knew if your team would be done in April or June, so most players got married in either July or August. There were the occasional early September nuptials, but it was a rarity since you weren't afforded much time for a honeymoon with training camps kicking off mid-month.

"It turned into a double celebration, actually. Maddox proposed to his girlfriend, who happens to be the bride's best friend."

Violet eyes grew large as Evie's mouth dropped open. "Maddox is getting married?"

"Would seem so."

"Wow," she breathed out. "And you said he's the coach now?"

I nodded. "He got hurt a few years back. It was bad enough that he couldn't play anymore. So, management offered him the coaching job last summer. He's half decent at it." Huffing out a laugh, I added, "When he doesn't let his temper get in the way."

"That sounds about right. Maddox always was a hothead. Glad to see that hasn't changed when it feels like everything else has."

"Why don't you tell me what you're up to these days?"

Evie blew out a heavy breath. "Well, before this whole thing"—she waved a hand around—"I was just biding time, I guess. My life hasn't been too exciting these past few years. I've been living with my parents—who, don't get me wrong, are amazing, but I'm a thirty-one-year-old woman—working odd shifts at the bank, and being the subject of town gossip."

My fist clenched around my chopstick, and I heard the faintest crack from the thin bamboo. As if hearing how she'd been living since leaving wasn't enough, learning that the community she called home saw fit to talk about her behind her back sent me over the edge. It was too much.

Before I could make a remark about small-town folk having small minds—knowing how well that would be received by the woman who was very proud of where she came from—Evie added, "Probably didn't help that Tucker came back home too."

That piece of information piqued my curiosity.

I liked Evie's brother—he was a good guy—but I couldn't say the same for his wife, and my imagination couldn't conjure a scenario where she'd be willing to move to Rust Canyon, Oklahoma, permanently.

"Tucker's back? How does Brooke feel about that?"

An unladylike snort flew from Evie's nose. "Hell, if any of us care. They've been divorced for years."

I stared at her in shock—not over the news of Tucker's divorce but that he'd finally seen Brooke for who she was. The moment I'd laid eyes on her, I knew she was no better than a puck bunny sinking her claws into a guy with tons of promise. I'd never said anything because Evie's brother seemed happy enough, and it wasn't my place to put my nose into someone else's marriage. But I could only imagine that the woman took him to the cleaners when they called it quits.

Evie took my silence as a sign to continue. "I'm sure you can imagine the talk around town. ‘The Grant siblings left for the big city and came home disgraced, their marriages in shambles.' And the murmuring about how it could've all been avoided if we'd married someone from inside the community."

The idea of never having met or married Evie settled like a rock in my gut. Our relationship might have ended in heartbreak, but my life would have been missing something without her even if I never knew she existed—I was sure of it.

"Is he still practicing?"

She took another bite of lo mein, humming with a full mouth to indicate the affirmative. After chewing and swallowing, she explained, "He's got his own family medicine practice in town."

"Good for him." I couldn't hide how impressed I was. Most would see giving up a high-paying medical career in a big city as taking a step down, but Tucker had a kind heart. He loved helping people. I had a feeling running his own practice was more fulfilling than the hustle and bustle of a busy hospital.

Evie twisted her hands. "Look, Jenner, as much as I enjoy catching up, I don't exactly have time to spare."

Right. She came here for a reason. The finished nursery upstairs was proof of that.

Pushing my food away, I leaned my elbows onto the marble island. "All right, Evie. Tell me how you see this working out."

Her chest expanded with the force of her deep breath. "Okay. I've had some time to think while you were gone, and I've come to the conclusion that it's going to be a touch trickier than I initially imagined."

"Yeah, no kidding."

"You were right about the social worker making more visits. That's why I furnished the nursery. She'll want to see that we have a place set up for a baby should a birth mom choose us."

I raised an eyebrow. "So, the room's just for show?"

Evie twisted her lips. "I suppose. I'll look into getting a place in town. At least until the adoption clears, then I'll go back to Oklahoma."

"To live with your parents," I supplied, the knife twisting in my heart at the thought of her leaving again.

"Right." She nodded. "I'll have help, and the baby will grow up loved by its uncle and grandparents, surrounded by the support of the community that helped raise me."

I tapped my fingertips against the countertop in thought. "How long does the process usually take?"

Evie's head tilted back and forth. "Depends. Bringing a baby home isn't the end of it. Finalization of an adoption can take anywhere from six months to a year. But that doesn't take into account the time it takes for a mom to choose me—"

"Choose us ," I corrected. She needed to remember that she'd hitched my star to her wagon about to drive off the cliff and into the canyon below.

"Right. Who knows how long it'll take to be chosen, and that's only the initial step. She would have the opportunity to interview us along with other couples, and as Stella mentioned, there's always the possibility she could back out. There is no guarantee this will pan out the first time we try it."

I mulled it over, rolling it around in my mind a few times. "So, we are looking at a couple of years?"

Evie deflated before my eyes. She was finally realizing how insane this plan sounded and how much she was asking of me.

"Since my name is on all the paperwork, I'm assuming that once the adoption is finalized, I will be listed on the birth certificate as the child's father?"

"I—uh." Evie was at a loss for words. I guess putting together baby furniture had occupied her mind this weekend instead of examining the intricacies of this situation.

Closing my eyes, I let out a heavy breath. "Okay, here's how this is going to work."

"Jenner, I'm sorry. This is asking too much. I shouldn't have come. This was a mistake."

The sound of the stool scraping against the ceramic tile had my eyes snapping open and my hand snaking out to snag her wrist before she could escape.

Whipping around, halfway to standing, she stared at me in shock.

"Sit down, Evie. We're not done talking about this."

That fire sparkled in the depths of her pale purple eyes, and sass filtered into her voice. "Oh, I know you're not fixin' to tell me what to do."

There she is.

I couldn't stop my lips from twitching, but I tamped down my joy at seeing her personality shine through after so long. I could celebrate my girl coming back to me, slowly but surely—both physically and emotionally—once we got this mess sorted.

"Will you please sit down, Evie? I want to help you."

Her jaw dropped. "You do?"

"Yes, but I have some stipulations."

Evie eased her plump ass back onto the stool. "Okay . . ."

Buckle up because it's about to get real.

"For starters, you'll stay here. There's no point in spending extra money renting out a place here in Indy. I have plenty of space for you and a baby when that time comes."

She stared at me in disbelief. "Really? That would be amazing! I can't thank you enou—"

Her words died when I held up my hand. "I wasn't done yet. Let me lay it all out before you agree to what I'm asking in return for my help."

Big eyes blinked up at me, but she nodded.

"If my name is on the birth certificate, I intend to be involved."

"What does that mean?"

"It means that if we present as a couple to some woman willing to hand over her baby, then we will both be that child's parents."

Evie's eyebrows drew down, and a wrinkle formed between them. "How do you expect that to work?"

"Come on, Evie. Do you really think I'll just hang out while you spend months caring for a baby all alone under my roof? Back away with my hands up and say, ‘Not my problem?' If so, you don't know me at all. What I'm saying is that should we bring a baby home with the intent to legally adopt it with my name listed as the child's father, then I will be that child's father. In every way that matters."

"Jenner." She huffed out a sigh. "That doesn't work. I'm going to leave as soon as the legalities are settled."

Time to go for broke.

"That brings me to my last condition."

"Can't wait to hear this," Evie grumbled.

"I refuse to lie to an adoption agency or a birth mother. If they believe us to be married, then we will be married."

"I don't understand."

Reaching into my pocket, I pulled out our rings—she'd sent hers back by certified mail once our divorce was finalized—and laid them onto the island between us. Evie's eyes grew comically large at the sight of them.

"Accepting my help means you agree to get re-married."

That was all it took for Evie to jump off the stool and back away. She paced the length of the kitchen, and I could literally see the gears turning in her mind.

Finally, she paused her restless motion and yelled, "Are you out of your damn mind, Jenner Knight?"

Probably, but let's not pull at that thread.

I shrugged, plucking her engagement ring from the island and holding it up. "Those are my terms, Evie. Take 'em or leave 'em." Flashing her with my most charming grin, I asked, "So, what do you say? Will you marry me? Again?"

Both hands flew up to cover her face, and a muffled "Oh my God" sounded from behind them.

It didn't exactly sound like a yes, but we both knew she was shit out of luck if she didn't take my offer. And I wasn't na?ve enough to believe there was anything to keep her from filing for divorce again after she got what she wanted out of the bargain. It would be up to me to make it too difficult for her to leave again.

From the sounds of it, I had plenty of time to convince her to stay. The gloves would come off once she got a peek at Daddy Jenner. I was gonna rock the hell out of fatherhood after walking through fire to get there. She wouldn't be able to resist me.

"It's still your plan, Evie. Only with a twist," I offered when she remained silent, hiding behind her hands.

A frustrated scream sounded, and for a moment, I thought I'd blown it. She was going to say, "Fuck off," and leave.

But instead, she lowered her hands and said, "You have a deal."

"Excuse me?" I knew her back was against a wall, but there had been a moment of doubt.

Hands on her hips, Evie narrowed her eyes. "Don't make me repeat myself. Not when you've got me bent over a barrel."

I bit back a smirk. She may have shown up and knocked my world off kilter, but I was going to come out of this on the other side as a winner.

Evie would, too, even if she didn't realize it yet.