Page 78 of When Our Stars Aligned

“Aly.” She starts to giggle. “I know you think I’m crazy right now, but I really don’t think this is over.”

“Oh, it’s over all right. You didn’t see how angry he was.” I shake my head, thinking of the twisted look on his face when he told me to get out.

“I don’t think he was angry; I think he was hurt. Think of it from his point of view. He had been burned so badly by his ex, he finally let his guard down, and then his world got turned upside down again. He was probably experiencing some really shitty déjà vu.”

“Why do I feel like you’re taking his side?”

“Because for the first time in years, I got my best friend back.” Jess’s eyes begin to swell. “You don’t realize it, Aly, but all that bullshit with Trent? It changed you. You became like this scared little hermit crab hiding in your shell. I lost my happy, bubbly friend. Then one day, something in your voice changed. You told me the guy across the hall was driving you crazy, but you weren’t mad about it; you were…amused.”

“He wasn’t really driving me crazy.” I smile.

“I know.” Jess returns my smile.

“I’m scared.” I fumble with the drawstring of my hoodie.

“I know that too.”

“Why do I feel so out of control?”

“Because this isn’t in your control. Not everything. Remember what I told you when you were offered the job at the university?”

“Divine intervention,” I reply.

“Exactly! I always felt that there was a bigger reason for the university contacting you. Granted, I figured it had more to do with getting away from Trent, but this? It’s more than anyone could have ever imagined and it’s everything you ever wanted.”

I give Jess a confused look.

“You were never truly happy in Beaute.” Jess begins to count on her fingers. “You needed to get away from Trent, you found your dream job, and you found someone who loves you for you. You can’t control everything that happens, but you can control how you handle it. I think you need to take that return flight, march up to his door, and say, “Jaxon Cornelius Parker, you need to listen to me right now.”

“Cornelius?”

“It was the first name I could think of. Can you believe that was on Brady’s list of potential baby names? Thank God we’re having a girl. Do you even know his middle name?”

“Yeah, it’s Steven. He was named after his grandf—” I freeze mid-word, thinking back to the day I saw Jax sign a receipt as Jaxon S. Parker. I asked him what the S stood for. It was such a quick moment. I never put it together.

“Aly, what’s wrong? Your face just went completely pale.”

“Steven Parker…” A burst of adrenaline flows through me and I begin to pace the floor.

“His grandfather was Steven Parker. He never mentioned his grandmother’s name or his parents’ first names, but…wait! Emmalyn. He always calls his sister Ems.” I stop and slap my forehead. “How could I have been so ignorant? Granted, I didn’t know they lived in Oregon. I just knew it was somewhere out west.” I shake my arms frantically in the direction of where I think is west. “I mean, what are the odds, right?”

“Umm…are you feeling okay?” Jess holds up the call button to the nurse’s station. “I mean, you are in the right place if you’re having a breakdown.”

“Jaxon Parker!” I slap the call button out of Jess’s hand. “Nonno Steven’s other grandchildren were named Jaxon and Emmalyn. Oh my God! Nonna Grace is his gram!”

I watch Jess’s face as she begins to decipher my ramblings. She knows all about my childhood and my fond memories of the Parkers. She even tried to help me find them a time or two. I finally gave up many years ago because I would fall into a funk after our searches came up with nothing. It was like the Parker family just vanished from the face of the Earth.

“Are you sure?” She gasps.

“Like…99.999 percent sure.” Silence falls between us as my best friend and I share a knowing look. “I have to go.”

“I know,” she says with tears in her eyes.

I lean over the hospital bed and give her a squeeze, knowing I need to book my return flight as soon as possible. “I’ll be back for the christening…or maybe even sooner if I’m wrong about everything.”

“I’ll see you for the christening.” She pulls away from our embrace and wipes her eyes.

Pulling out the keys to my rental car, I make a beeline for the parking garage. I contemplate calling Jax, but this conversation needs to happen in person. I just hope he will listen to me.

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