Chapter 4

CHAPTER FOUR

JACOB

“ I think I’m sung out, JoJo.”

My little girl, adorable in her one piece pajamas with the Revenge logo repeating over and over, sighed as she snuggled into my lap. “Are you sure?” A yawn escaped from her and Mary smiled at me over her braids that she insisted be piled on top of her head. “I promise, I’m not tired. And I know you love Elsa and Anna. And Olaf,” she yawned, “likes warm hugs. Just like me.”

“And me, JoJo. But, tomorrow is a big day. Turkey and stuffing and-”

“Pie,” she whispered as her eyes fluttered, then shut. Eyelashes on her cheeks. Soft snores and a snuggle up a second later, I stood. Holding my little girl in my arms, I trudged up the stairs that led to her bedroom. She didn’t stir as I laid her on her bed, then covered her with the thick pin blanket. I tucked the Revenge stuffy I gave her the first time we met in person. Even in her sleep, she snuggled it, and my heart fucking melted.

As I shut the door, I realized that after tomorrow, my entire life was going to change in ways I’d never known.

“Are you sure you don’t want to come with us tomorrow?”

I nodded. Mary folded the blanket and put it on the back of the couch.”I want you and Hal to be able to do the things with her while she’s here. I don’t want to take that away. Or get in the way of those memories.”

“Oh, Jacob. You deserve to have those moments, too. Family, remember?” She came over and took my hands in hers. “Hillary didn’t mean to take those years away, and I loved her, but she was wrong even if she thought she did it for the right reasons.”

I squeezed her hands. “I know. But, Josie is going to need those memories when she’s sad or can’t hug you. Fuck, Mary, I don’t know how the hell I’m going to do this by myself.” She let my hands go, and I sank down onto the couch, taking the moment in. And feeling so thankful for Mary and Hal when they could’ve just thrown the letter Hillary wrote but never sent in the trash.

“The offer still stands, Jacob. Always.”

“And I appreciate it. You’re already staying with us this weekend and bringing her to my game. But, I can’t expect either of you to come and move to Seattle while I figure things out. And we’ll be back for Christmas. Then I’ll find a nanny who can stay with her when I’m at practice. The team is helping me find someone until I figure out…everything.” I sat back. “You’ve been so wonderful, letting her come and get her room ready. Taking her shopping-”

“With your credit card, Jacob. It wasn’t that much of a sacrifice.”

I chuckled. “I don’t want to mess this up. She’s been through so much already, and what if she’s better off with you-”

“No. Stop. She’ll always have us. But, you are her father. You could’ve walked away when we contacted you. Never met her, and let her live without a father she never knew, and needs. Jacob, you are going to be a great father. No, you are a fantastic father. Now that little ears are gone, what’s this I hear about you dating Sloan?”

Mary studied my face, and for a second I thought she could see straight through me. But then she smiled. “Her sister and sister-in-law were Hillary’s best friends in school. They’ve become the crazy aunts to Josie since she came to live with us.”

Oh. Shit.

I didn’t even think about the connection Sloan had to Josie. I shrugged trying to appear nonchalant. “It’s only been a few weeks. Still new. But, then we found out we were both coming to Archer. Crazy, right?”

She snorted and folded up the blanket Josie had been snuggled up in. “Jacob, I don’t believe in coincidences. ’Tis the season. Maybe you deserve a Christmas Miracle. Now, get some sleep. And you can drive that fancy truck of Hal’s over to her parent’s house for a little while. I’m sure Ethan and his dad will love having you there.” Her eyes lit up with mischief, her mouth twitching as she suppressed a smile.

“Why do I have the feeling there’s more you’re not telling me, Mary?”

In the chair in the corner, Hal snored away, just as he did the moment we started streaming Josie’s favorite, Tangled. He shifted, snoring louder before he settled back into the chair, still fast asleep. “Just be glad Hal is a Seattle fan now.”

“Are you sure you don’t want to ice skate with us? Or get cider after, then we have turkey, Daddy?” Josie stared at me. The same color eyes I saw in the mirror every morning, wide and searching my face as if she wanted to make sure I was okay. Kneeling in front of her as I helped her into her snowsuit, she obediently put one leg, then the other in, arms, and let me zip her up.

Fuck. Every time JoJo called me Daddy , I melted and fell for her more than I already had.

“You,” I said and bopped her nose, “go with Pappy and Nana so I can get a few things done and then we will eat alllll the turkey. Or maybe, you will because I have a game tomorrow.”

“And we all get to see you play after the plane ride,” she grinned. “And I get to wear your number again.”

“Yep, my girl wearing my number. But, today, you get Pappy time. He’s really looking forward to it. You know how he gets, JoJo.”

She nodded and giggled. “And you might steal his cookie, which would make him really grumpy.” She wrapped her arms around my neck. Hal did his best to not laugh as she squeezed tight. “I love your hugs, Daddy.”

“Same, JoJo. Same.”

I watched them drive off in Hal’s new SUV, which I refused to take, opting instead to take Mary’s smaller one. Sloan’s family lived further up in the hills, and though the snow had been on the ground for a few days, Mary made me promise to be careful.

Her grandparents owned a few cabins they rented out to tourists, mainly in the warmer months, a few times when it got colder, but their property was bigger than Mary and Hal’s, and further from town. A few acres with those tiny cabins people rented for the weekend or a few days to get away from life. Wooded, and not quite mountainside, but close.

The GPS guided me, the voice much calmer than I would’ve been if I’d been without it, as it directed me to what it claimed was my destination. It looked more like a long winding road up, and probably down, that went on for longer than any driveway I’d ever been on until a gorgeous cedar sided house appeared with cars and SUVs parked in front. White lights already adorned the outside, draped along the eaves of the roof and dotting trees. Red bows here and there, and green wreaths on doors and windows.

Very Hallmark and far more perfect and Christmas than I’d expected for a Thanksgiving family get-together. I parked and grabbed the bottle of wine Mary had given me just before they left, insisting it was Sloan’s mother’s favorites.

Fake boyfriend mode activated, I went up the front steps, onto the wrap around porch and raised my hand to knock on the door. But before my knuckles made contact, Sloan yanked open the door and shut it behind her, her breath visible and eyes wide.

“You came,” she said. Her hands rubbed her arms, crossed over her chest and gave me a pretty fantastic view of her cleavage visible in the v-neck of the cream sweater she wore.

“I said I was,” I responded as I held up the bottle. “And Mary happened to have this on hand for your mom. Why don’t we go inside, where it’s not freezing and you won’t turn into a popsicle?”

She bounced on her toes, encased in knee-high brown boots, dark blue jeans that made her legs look even longer and as she glanced over her shoulder, made her ass look just as good as I remembered. When she turned back she moved closer and lowered her voice. “There’s a few things you should know. Annie already told them all about you, and Ethan is not very happy that you play for Seattle. My sister Hannah is the one with the perfect husband, and yes she’s pregnant with baby number two. I told them we met by chance at a bar one night and bonded over movies but that I didn’t know who you were until we’d been on a few dates. And we aren’t serious but you were coming to town and we decided to fly out together but hadn’t really planned on spending the day together. Tessa is my overly flirtatious cousin who might try to grab your ass.”

“So, still in the feel out phase, then.”

Her brows drew together. An adorable and far too enticing look. Nose wrinkled, she asked, “Feel out phase?”

“When you feel out how the other person fits. Their habits, quirks…”

“Flaws?” she asked with a look that told me volumes about how Jon must’ve treated her. Suddenly I wished I’d broken his hand when I shook it.

“No, flaws aren’t something you see right away. And if you’re with the right person, they’re not flaws, they're who you are. We’re in the good stage and haven’t started showing our bad yet. Feeling out. Inside.” I spun her around as best as I could with only one free hand.

“And I should tell you, they’re loud and obnoxious and will probably grill you.”

“Got it.”

Her hand reached for the door knob, then she paused and spun again, back against it and bit her lip. “You don’t have to kiss me again.”

“What?”

“I’m sorry if I violated your space or whatever.” Her cheeks flushed an adorable shade of pink, and I had to remind my dick that this was all fake. Even if it was the best fucking kiss I’d had in years. Maybe ever.

“Sloan, you never have to apologize to me. And,” I leaned in close so I could whisper in her ear. “You have my permission to kiss me anytime if you want or need to.”

She shivered, and when I pulled back, those gorgeous tempting lips were practically begging for my attention but I didn’t want to scare her off. And it probably wasn’t the best idea to make out with my fake very new girlfriend. At least, with no one watching.

“I can?”

I nodded. “Especially if it takes the heat off you. Though, you should know, I think the way you stood up to Jon was pretty badass. The guy is a complete idiot and you’re better off without him.”

“You should also know he cheated on me and stole my idea, and then I kneed him in the balls which was why I was fired.” She looked at me like she had just revealed her secret identity and I was going to announce to the world that Batman was in fact Bruce Wayne.

“No shit.”

She winced. “Yeah. Not my best moment and yet another thing to stress over in there.” A thumb hooked toward the door as her head dropped.

I put my finger under her chin and forced her to look at me as I said, “That’s fucking badass Sloan. Now I don’t feel so bad about wanting to break his hand earlier.”

She bit her lip, fighting a smile. Then, giggled.

Not now, dick. Keep it on the fake boyfriend vibe. Let’s not get creepy.

“You did?”

I smirked. “I did. But, I held back. Knowing you kneed him makes up for the loss. Remind me to never piss you off.”

She laughed, eyes sparkling and opened her mouth when the door at her back swung open.

“Oh, hey you two! Nice to see you again, Jacob! Why don’t you come in and meet the rest of the family,” Annie said, eyes darting back and forth between us with a grin as big as the damn sky on her face. “I tried to keep Ethan under control, but he’s still not loving this whole thing. Personally, I am having the time of my life over it.”

“Annie, nice to see you, too.” I took Sloan by the waist and forced her to go inside. “Sloan, why don’t you introduce me to the rest of your family so they can hate me and the team I play for somewhere warmer?”

“Yet no less hostile,” Annie muttered then ushered us inside the house.

A cacophony of noise greeted us, and Sloan shot me an apologetic look as Annie held out her hand for my jacket. I shrugged out of it, one arm at a time, shifting the wine from one hand to another, until my fake girlfriend took it with a smile and a shake of her head. Then her head tilted to one side as confusion wrinkled her brow. “How do you know Mary and Hal?”

Not sure how to answer, I hesitated, and just as I was about to tell her something close to the truth, Ethan came over with a woman who looked so much like Sloan that I knew this had to be her mother.

“Finally decided to show up, Hale?” Annie nudged her husband hard in the stomach. Ethan grunted and rubbed the spot, then held his hands up when she shot him a death glare. “Fine. But I have no control over Dad or anyone else’s behavior, love of my life.”

Annie’s face split into a grin. “That’s my good boy.”

Their mom waved her hands, shooing them away. “Ethan, take Sloan’s date’s coat and hang it up while Annie makes sure you don’t cause anymore problems.”

“Mom, he’s not my-”

I cut Sloan off before she tried to make herself any smaller in the room. “It’s so good to finally meet you, Mrs. Michaels-”

“Call me mom, Jacob, please.” Laughter from another room drifted in the air, along with Christmas music coming from somewhere further inside. Sloan’s mom put her hand on my arm with a smile. Christmas was in full-effect over every square inch of the house so far, even though it was only Thanksgiving. A tree in the foyer reached for the vaulted ceiling, twinkling white lights and red and white ornaments adorning almost every branch.

“I hear this,” I motioned with the wine, “is one of your favorites,” I said, because I didn’t know how I felt about calling her ‘mom’ when I was only fake dating her youngest daughter. I handed her the bottle, and she took it with a smile.

How old was Sloan?

Pretty sure I wasn’t that much older than her, but still. Maybe 26? 25?

“Mary told you, I am assuming. She always keeps an extra bottle on hand for our lunches.”

And that just complicated things even more.

“She did,” I confirmed as we walked into a large open kitchen that overlooked a large open space with a floor to ceiling rock fireplace, a wall of windows, couches and chairs alongside a long table, and all of Sloan’s family still talking but definitely checking us out.

“My oldest and hers were best friends with Annie in high school, so we’ve stayed touch. Sloan was four years younger, but she hung around sometimes with them. Where do you live, Jacob? Sloan hasn’t told us much about you, other than what Ethan spilled this morning. And ignore her older brother and probably her father. The hockey thing gets intense.”

So, 25 then. Seven years wasn’t…too crazy, right?

Sloan groaned. “Mom, can we not scare off the brand new guy with the expectations until at least after dinner?”

As Sloan and her mom continued to go back and forth, both smiling as her mom teased her the way my mom would’ve. She reminded me of Mary, albeit with a little more meddle in her tone. I eyed the room, from where Ethan stood in the corner glaring at me until Annie elbowed him again. Next to him was a man I assumed had to be Sloan’s father. In the kitchen, an older woman was putting out trays of food on the large oversized island as a man helped her, smiling and laughing as a little one darted around chasing a large fluffy cat.

“Henry, take Chessy to the couch so Grandma can get the turkey out,” the older man said with a fond smile. “Before she yells at us,” he added in a loud whisper behind his hand.

“K, Grandpa.”

“Yells at you, huh?”

Sloan’s grandpa grinned. “You know I love it when you do, Peggy.”

“Ignore them. They’re worse than Annie and Ethan. Though, I think Grandma taught Annie her left hook,” Sloan murmured.

All that kept running through my mind as she leaned in closer to me was how damn good she smelled. And how right she felt by my side. My lips twitched. “Did she teach you how to knee that douchebag in the balls?”

A brilliant smile spread across her face. “Maybe she did.” Perfect white teeth raked her bottom lip as she glanced over at a pregnant blonde talking to the little boy torturing the poor cat from earlier. “You ready to dive into the fray?”

“Baby, I was born ready.”