Page 54 of Dr. Brandt

“The family fortune would’ve been long gone if Avery came within ten feet of a swear jar, and we all know it,” Jim said.

“God knows it’s hard enough for the rest of us to keep our colorful language to ourselves, but for Avery, it’s impossible. She’s the only one who gets away with it,” Ash laughed. “Which is baloney if you ask me because Mom gets to be the heavy when the bombs start dropping.”

I grinned at Ash. She wasn’t wrong, and it did suck to be the bad guy all the time. But at least I wasn’t the only one dealing with this. Sometimes I felt like such a prude, and that is precisely how I’d started this trip, by making demands of Cam about cussing.

The worse part was that I swore in front of Jackson semi-regularly, so it wasn’t like my son’s innocence was being violated. What a stupid point for me to try to make. It seemed evident that I’d been trying to flex my control in the situation because I felt so out of control in my life. Why else would I choose to die on such a dumb hill?

The aquarium was a stellar idea. We all blended in like the tourists we most certainly were. The kids held onto their parents’ hands as we passed by massive tanks of endless, exotic fish. Rows of children on school field trips were being ushered around, stopping to gasp at the occasional shark that swam by. The soothing sounds in the background and the dark, cool rooms in this two-story aquarium were almost hypnotic.

Everyone split up into groups, and Cam, Jacks, and I stuck together. I eventually wandered upstairs and sat on a bench in front of a huge tank, leaned forward on my knees, and watched a sea turtle swim with slow strides, pulling each leg through the enormous tank’s backlit water.

“Relaxing, isn’t it?” Ash said, slipping in next to me on the bench.

I sat up and smiled at her. “I could take a nap here,” I joked.

“No shit,” she said with a smile. “So, Cam told us a little bit about your history together. I hope you’ll forgive him for that.”

“Oh, I don’t mind,” I said. “I suppose I’m surprised he would mention that his ex-girlfriend was in town.”

She laughed. “Well, I think he was more or less preparing the guys. I mean, Jacks looks just like him, and all those ding dongs would have had something to say about it.”

I grinned, “It’s probably a good thing he told them because I haven’t told Jacks that Cameron is his father yet, and I’d hate for him to find out that way.”

“Oh, really?” Ash said. “Are you concerned he’ll be upset by that?”

“You know, it’s not like I’ve been keeping it a secret for his whole life. I would’ve gladly spilled those beans ages ago. It’s just that he’s never really asked, and I never felt the need to push it on him. It makes the situation now a little unintentionally sticky, I’ll admit.” I never anticipated we’d be in this position; having to reveal that Jackson’s biological father was also the man trying to remove half his brain seemed a bit like a soap opera, but here we were. “I figured he’d get curious about it one day, but until then, he was perfectly happy to accept my ex-fiancé as his father.”

“Fiancé?”

I shook my head, realizing how strange that bit of information must’ve sounded to a woman I’d just met. “Yeah, we broke up last week.”

“God, I’m so sorry,” Ash said, covering her heart.

“Don’t be. Ending that was one of my better judgment calls. It wasn’t the healthiest relationship, and it was better to part ways, especially before Jacks goes through this surgery.”

She smiled, “Well, I’m here if you need anything. I know we just met, but I went through a similar situation when I moved to LA after my dad had a heart attack.”

“Oh, wow,” I said. “So, you came down here with no friends too?”

“No friends and my dad’s doctor ended up being a previous one-night stand,” she said with an eyebrow arch, then she shook her head and laughed and brought her attention back to the massive two-story aquarium we faced. “I was a fish out of water, and my only quote-unquote friends were a couple of evil bitches I worked for at an art gallery. And, as these stories go, those chicks happened to have a thing for my dad’s surgeon,” she ran her palms over her jeans, “Dr. Jacob Mitchell.”

“Ah,” I smiled. “Well, Cam and I are just friends. There’ll be no relationships other than that for us. There’s just no way I’ll go down that road again.”

“I understand that,” she nodded in understanding, “and who knows where everything goes. But I want you to know that you have a friend here no matter what. I'm here if you just want some time for yourself or someone to get massages or pedicures with. Hell, I’ll even pack peanut butter and jelly sandwiches if you want to go to the beach for a picnic,” she chuckled. “I truly understand the stress and heartache of processing medical issues while living in a foreign place. I did all of that and then decided to date Jacob to add to the stress.” She nudged my arm with her elbow. “I’m glad you’re here. We’re going to make sure you’re okay.”

“Thanks, Ash,” I said sincerely. “You have no idea how much I appreciate it.”

“No problem at all. And last I saw, Jake and John were with Cameron and Jacks in the exhibit where you pet the manta rays. I’m going to head back if you want to join me?”

“Sounds great.”

I enjoyed being around Cameron’s friends. They were warm and inviting, and we had a great time goofing around. Sadly, all the fun came to a screeching halt when Jackson had a seizure while we ate lunch at a beautiful restaurant overlooking the bay.

“Will he be okay?” Avery asked, trying not to show her shock and fear.

“Yeah. He’s got two neurologists barking orders at the restaurant staff, so he’s in good hands.” Collin and Cam were working in tandem to take care of my son. “He’ll be fine, but we’ll have to head to the house because these episodes drain all his energy, and he’s going to need to sleep.”

“Cam, why don’t we sit him up over here?” Collin said before he looked at me as I approached with a glass of water. “You good, Mom?”

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