Page 41 of Broken Boss Daddy

Jess didn’t have any siblings. That I was sure of. So, the only explanation was that it could’ve been her mother.Good genes run through the family it seems, I briefly thought.

Standing in the middle of the parking lot and staring—creepily most likely—at a woman who didn’t know who I was, I seriously debated whether I should say something to her. Maybe she could help shed some light on the mess Jessica and I created.

However, she turned and spotted me before I could decide. Her eyes immediately widened as if she recognized me. Unsure how she would know who I was, I just froze.

Then she changed her direction and started walking toward me, a ghost of a smile on her face.

“If I’m not mistaken, you must be Grant Adams,” she said, extending her hand for me to shake.

“How—” I cleared my throat and hesitantly shook her hand. “How did you know?”

At my curiosity, she laughed and said, “My daughter tells me everything. Plus, she’s shown me pictures of you from when you two first met. I’m Dawn Flynn, Jessica’s mother.”

Understanding dawned on me, and I didn’t know if I should’ve felt embarrassed by Jess showing those pictures or not.

“It’s nice to meet you,” I said, stuffing my hands in my pockets.

“Likewise.” Dawn gave me a curious once over. “Jess said that she finally told you about Abby.”

All I could do was nod my head.

Dawn took in my appearance. “I see it now.”

“See what?”

“Just how much Abby looks like you. Jess always said Abby had more of you in her than she did of her mother. Now I see she was right.”

Her words sent a pang right through my chest and struck my heart. If I was alone, I’d probably crumble to the floor in pain and disbelief. But I wasn’t.

Unable to look Dawn in the eyes for fear that she might’ve seen the turmoil in mine, I looked at anything but her. “I didn’t know.”

“No,” she said with something that resembled pity. “I suppose you wouldn’t.” She paused. “Would you like to take a walk around the parking lot?”

For some reason, I really wanted to. “Yeah.”

Dawn gave me a gentle smile, and I fell into step with her. We walked a few steps in silence before Dawn spoke again.

“Has Jess spoken about the time when she found out she was pregnant?”

I shook my head. “Let’s just say our conversations haven’t gotten very far lately.”

“That’s understandable. Learning that you have a secret child is life changing. I’ll admit, you’re handling it better than I thought you would… I hope.”

Dawn gave me a sideways look. My words to Jess earlier came back to me, and I felt like the shittiest person on the planet. “Honestly, I’m not.” I admitted to her.

“Mm.” A few more seconds went by in silence. “I remember the day I found Jess puking into the toilet. A mother’s instinct is never wrong, and I knew what the cause was.”

“How did you feel about it?” I asked, lamely.What else was I supposed to say?

“I didn’t freak out if that’s what you’re asking. I’m a woman too, and knew that my daughter was old enough to decide for herself. Would I have preferred her to be married before falling pregnant? Of course, what parent doesn’t? But that didn’t change the fact that my baby was going to have a baby.”

“Fair enough.” We rounded a bush with bright pink flowers.

“So, I picked my daughter up and held her in my arms as we waited for the confirmation of what we already knew to be true. When those two blue lines came out as positive, Jess didn’t cry. Nope, not my girl.”

That caught my attention. “What did she do?”

Damn smiled, obviously replaying that moment in her head. “She turned to me, fear and anxiety in her eyes and said,Life is a bag of shitballs.”

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