His brothers managed to get Landon diapered and in his pajamas without incident.
Dalton held Landon while the kid sucked down his bottle. Once he’d tucked the tyke in bed, Dalton and Tell asked if they could have Landon the following Saturday night. For the last of the McKay wild men to give up their weekend plans proved his brothers intended to be part of Landon’s life.
Maybe it was a little selfish, but his first thought was that he’d have Jessie all to himself for a night.
Jessie was washing dishes two days later when Keely barged into her house, demanding, “What the hell? Luke had a kid? I hate when nobody tells me this kind of shit.”
“Yes. Keely. Please. Why don’t you come in?”
“Shoulda locked the door if you wanted to keep me out. As soon as I heard I had to come over here and see—”
“About adding Luke’s illegitimate love child to your roster of nieces and nephews?”
“No. And wow, snippy much, Jess? I came to see if you’re okay.”
“I’m fine.”
Keely snorted. “Yeah, and you’re acting like it, lashing out at me for checking on your mental well being.”
Jessie blew out a breath. “Sorry. The shock hasn’t been easy, but I’m coming to terms with it.”
Which it, Jess? Luke’s infidelity? Or Landon’s presence?
Aren’t they one in the same?
“Have you?” Keely demanded. “Have you really?”
“Some days, yes. Other days I wonder what the hell I’m doing and who in the universe I pissed off to have to deal with this.”
“I cannot freakin’ believe Brandt expected you to help him. I cannot freakin’ believe you said yes.”
Keely paced to the kitchen and back. “Actually, I can believe you said yes.”
Did Keely think she was a doormat? Only one way to find out. “Why can you believe it?”
“Because you’re sweet, thoughtful, kind and generous.” Keely pinned her with a look. “Damn near annoyingly perfect in that nauseating girl-next-door way, to be honest, but I like you anyway, cuz.”
“Gee, thanks.”
“But mostly, you said yes because Landon is as innocent in this whole situation as you are.”
Keely’s insight always surprised her. “You want a beer while I’m spilling the gory details of lost innocence?”
“No.” Keely flopped on the couch. “I’ve got a late patient tonight so I have to head back to the clinic.”
“How was the honeymoon?”
“Amazing.”
“How’s Jack?”
Keely smirked. “Amazing.”
Jessie launched into recent events. Before she finished, Landon cried from his crib. “I’ll be right back.”
Landon had woken in a somber mood—not all cute smiles and sweet snuggles. Not knowing how he’d behave continued to be a struggle, so she hoped for the best and returned to the living room with Landon in her arms.
He shrank back as he spied Keely.
Keely’s eyes sparked tears. “Omigod. It’s like he’s a clone of Luke.”
“Those McKay genes are powerful stuff.” Jessie grabbed Landon’s cup from the fridge and a handful of animal crackers. He stayed on her lap with a wary eye on Keely.
“So you really do seem fine with all of this.”
“I have my days where I’d like to leave town with no forwarding address, believe me. But I agreed to do it so it seems pointless to complain. Plus, I know it’s temporary.”
“Is it a possibility?” Keely kicked her boots up on the coffee table. “That it might become permanent?”
“Not for me. Maybe for Brandt.”
“Were does Brandt fall in all of this?”
“He hasn’t just passed the responsibility of taking care of Landon off on me.”
“Jess. That’s not what I meant. I meant personally. Brandt is living with you. You’re together all the time, taking care of a child. I hope you’re working out some of your past issues?”
“If you mean working them out between the sheets, then yes,” she said in a rush.
“And?”
“And…it’s intense. But, again, that’s because this is a temporary situation.”
Keely gave her a calculated look. Like she was ready to call bullshit.
“What?”
“Why can’t this be the start of something that will be intense for years to come?”
Jessie couldn’t answer that to anyone’s satisfaction, so she sidestepped the question. She brushed crumbs off Landon’s shirt. “You dated Jack’s brother for awhile, right?”
“Yes.”
“So you and Jack haven’t had any fights or discussions about the time you were with Justin?”
She sighed. “We’ve had huge fights, which means no rational discussion. We don’t talk about the sexual aspect of it. Jack knows more about what happened between Justin and me only because Justin told him, I never would have. But my relationship with Justin happened a few years before Jack and I stopped hating each other long enough to really look at each other.”
“But you weren’t the source of fights between them?”
“No.” Realization dawned in Keely’s eyes. “Damn. You were, weren’t you? The source of fights between Luke and Brandt.”
“I’ve never told anyone this, Keely, but I overheard them. I wanted to die of embarrassment. My husband didn’t love me enough to stay faithful and he made sure my brother-in-law knew it.”
“Oh, Jess.”
“So I’m in a different situation. It’s complicated enough between me and Brandt without adding him—” she pointed at Landon, “—into the mix.”
“Maybe Landon’s the glue that will allow you and Brandt to be together.”
Or maybe he’s the wedge that will drive us apart.
“Look, it’s no secret that you and Brandt spent a lot of time together after Luke died. Everyone thought—”
“That I’d just slip from one McKay bed to another without any problem whatsoever? God. Has everyone been listening to Casper talk about me?”
Keely’s boots hit the carpet. “See? That’s your problem. You automatically assume everyone thinks the worst of you. Casper is the exception, not the rule. What I started to say was we all hoped you’d both find happiness in what’d been a bad situation.”