Page 18 of Challenging Jayce

His words shocked her. "How can you be so callous about this? A house isn't just a building. It's ahome. A place to represent who you are." The words were out of her mouth before she could stop them and she immediately wanted to take them back.

"Trust me, I know. My bitch of an ex-wife made that very clear when she left. I appreciate all your help, but I think it's time you leave."

He didn't even bother to sugarcoat his dismissal of her. She understood but it still stung.

"I'm happy to help anytime."

With those parting words, she stood up from the bed, slipped on her shoes, and walked straight out the door.

The worst part? A small sliver of her heart had hoped he would call her back, but he never did.

CHAPTER11

Jayce regrettedhis outburst as soon as the hotel room door slammed shut.

How many times had his friends yelled at him for hanging on to the past? Too many to count. So much so that they had finally stopped ragging on him. They didn’t bother to question his apartment when they settled down in Seattle. At this point, they were used to his grumpy ass constantly torturing himself because of Jasmine's words.

Fifteen years later and he was still holding on to the hurt like it happened yesterday. He needed to stop. If he wanted to have any kind of future with his son, he needed to be a better person and that started with apologizing to Kennedy.

He rushed out of the hotel room and headed straight for the elevator. When the doors didn't immediately open after hitting the button three times like an impatient toddler, he opted for the stairwell. He deserved the extra pain the stairwell forced on him after what he said to Kennedy.

The hurt in her eyes when he snapped at her was a knife to the organ that he didn't know still worked. Sure, it pumped blood throughout his body, that was its main function after all, but to care about someone? To have feelings? His heart hadn't known that purpose in a very long time.

He burst through the stairwell door and straight into the lobby causing several side and concerned glances. He probably looked like a deranged psychopath on the run. He gave them a smile to calm their nerves, but based on the way they stepped back, he missed the mark. With his luck they would call the police. He needed to get to the parking lot before that could happen.

Jayce took off across the short lobby in a sprint. If the other guests thought he was deranged, then who was he to prove them wrong? If he stopped to really think about what was happening in his life, there was a good chance he was actually crazy.

He just found out he had a son, and the woman who was bringing his heart back to life was the sister of the man who raised his son. If that didn't qualify for a little insanity, then he didn't know what would.

It didn't take him long to find Kennedy. She was sitting in a parking spot not far from the main entrance. Her car was running but her forehead was leaning against the steering wheel. He didn't mean to scare her, but she jumped when he rapped his knuckle against the driver’s side glass.

It was then that he saw the tears in her eyes and he wanted to kick his own ass all over again. Tears were his kryptonite. Jasmine used to wield them like a weapon against him and he thought he had hardened himself against the offensive droplets.

Apparently not. At least, not when it came to this woman.

Jayce yanked the door open and squatted down so that he was looking up at her. Just the way it should be.

"I'm sorry I'm such a jerk."

She tried to brush away the tears, to hide her feelings from him, but he stopped her movements. If anyone was going to relieve her of those, it would be him. He owed her that much at least.

"I'm sorry I called you callous."

He ran his thumb along the apple of her cheek. "You don't need to apologize. You did nothing wrong. People have been calling me callous for years. It doesn't bother me because I know it's true."

She didn't look like she understood, so he continued. "It was you talking about what a home should be and how it represented a person that set me off. My ex-wife only cared about her image, as I'm sure you know. She would constantly throw it in my face that I didn't care about providing her with nice things or that I didn't give enough of a shit what kind of house we lived in. I grew up dirt poor. I was happy to have a house that wasn't falling apart, but that was never good enough for her. I know I need to have someplace good for Michael to come to, that's why I'm doing this, but no, I don't care what the inside looks like, as long as it's better than what I have now."

He didn't know if that helped his cause or not, but it was the truth. If there was one thing he was insistent on, it was that people didn't lie to him, and he didn't lie to others.

It was several moments before she spoke. "I can only imagine how badly Jasmine screwed with you but I'm not her. I don't give a shit about materialistic things. Hell, I live with my brother because it was easier to help him then it was to keep my own space. Plus, it pissed Jasmine off and I was all about that."

That made his lips turn up a bit. He wouldn't call it a smile but he was working on it. "Really not a fan, huh?"

She closed her eyes and dropped her head back on the seat with a groan. "Not at all. I don't know how Shaun put up with her for so long." Her eyes popped back open. "I know you don't like my brother, but I promise, this isn't his fault."

"I know it's not. No one understands Jasmine's manipulations better than I do. I'm glad I'm getting the chance now to make up for all the things I missed out on. I don't want to ruin it by holding on to a grudge."

If his friends could hear him, they wouldn't believe the words he just uttered. Bitterness was practically his modus operandi.

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