Page 71 of Renewal After Dark

“It’s okay.” Tiffany’s eyes and face were red and puffy from crying. “Ash wanted to come to see everyone, and we’re following her lead.”

“I’m glad you came. What can I do for you this week?”

“I’m going to keep the store closed for a few more days. Sorry for the delay in getting you started.”

“Don’t be. Do whatever you need to right now.”

“Thank you for understanding. Strangest thing I’ve ever been through, that’s for sure.”

“I can only imagine.”

“I was thinking about what you told me last week about Jax’s father. I promised to call Dan for you.”

“Oh please, Tiffany. Don’t worry about that now.”

“I am worried about it. Dan has gone to Maine with his wife, Kara. I’m not sure how long they’ll be gone. He was the one I wanted to talk to about your situation. I texted him about it and to tell him about Jim. He told me that Jared James’s attorney sister Kendall is on the island, and you might be able to talk to her.”

“There’s Jared right there,” Duke said. “I bet that’s his sister with him.”

“I’ll find out,” Tiffany said.

She was gone before McKenzie could tell her again not to worry about her problems when she had more than enough of her own to contend with.

“It helps her,” Duke said. “To focus on your thing rather than hers.”

“What’re you, a mind reader now, too?”

Grinning, he shrugged. “I figured that’s what you were thinking.”

“You figured right. I told her about his dad saying he’d had a vasectomy so Jax couldn’t have been his, even though he knew full well I hadn’t been with anyone else.”

“Is it okay to say I can’t stand that guy?”

“More than okay. Tiffany said his bullshit doesn’t excuse him from his obligation to care for Jax, and she wanted me to talk to her friend Dan about it.”

“She’s right. You should talk to someone about it. Dan’s a great lawyer, but I’m sure Kendall is, too.”

“I’m afraid of stirring that hornet’s nest.”

“Don’t be. You haven’t done anything wrong. I hate when people don’t care for their kids, who never asked to be born.”

“I’m sorry if that strikes a nerve.”

“One of those things I try not to think about.”

She gazed up at him, wishing she could take away all the hurt he’d experienced in his life, which was a truly overwhelming thought to have about someone she hadn’t known all that long. “I understand.”

“Talk to the lawyer. You and Jax deserve the best of everything. Why should you have to struggle while he pretends he wasn’t there when that little guy came to be?”

“Thank you for the support.”

“Of course.”

“So wait… You said that’s Jared James, as in Jared James the billionaire?”

“The one and only. Nicest guy you’ll ever meet. We love him around here.”

“Wow, music stars and billionaires.”

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