We had opted for an at-home test, which had consisted of mouth swabs for both Ryder and
Jax. Then, both samples were sent to a lab for comparison. I know without a shadow of a doubt that Ryder is Jaxon’s father, yet I’m still nervous about the results. A hundred scenarios run through my head. What if the samples get mixed up? What if they do it wrong? What’s the percentage of the results that are wrong?
There’s also the nagging question of what I should tell Jax about Greg. I don’t want him to know anything, especially not that the man that he grew up with, the man I trusted to be in his life, was just using him all along. That he is the enemy, that he wants his father and the entire pack dead, and that he’s willing to use him to achieve that. How do you explain that to a small, innocent child who only sees the good in people?
I do need to tell him, though. He needs to know that he can’t trust Greg under any circumstances. My mind keeps flashing back to the night the hunters attacked and Jaxon left the house. If he had seen Greg out there, he wouldn’t have hesitated to go to him. He’d have thought he was safe and walked out of this place without a fuss, because he trusts
Greg.
Once Jaxon is tucked up in bed, I decide to broach the subject with Ryder. He’s stretched out on the sofa with his eyes closed, a frown on his face, but the moment I settle beside him, his eyes open and his attention shifts to me. His eyes are soft as he studies me.
“You’ve got that buzz about you,” he says quietly, his arm wrapping around my shoulders and pulling me in. “The one that means you’re thinking too hard. What’s wrong?”
“I’m always thinking too hard.” I huff, twisting the hem of my shirt in my fingers. “It’s about Jax and the whole Greg situation.”
Ryder’s jaw tenses, but he doesn’t interrupt.
“I can’t just… not tell him,” I continue. “He’s too trusting. If Greg showed up at the edge of the woods tomorrow, Jax would run straight into his arms without a second thought, and that terrifies me.”
Ryder’s arm tightens around me. “You’re right. We can’t let that happen.”
“I just don’t know how much to tell him. He’s a little boy. I don’t want to break his heart.”
Ryder presses a kiss to my temple. “Then we figure it out together. Should we discuss this with the others? They might have some ideas about the best way to approach this.”
“Yes, I’d appreciate their input,” I nod.
Ryder goes quiet for a moment, his gaze going distant the way it does when he’s communicating through the mind link.
It takes less than a minute before the others join us. Callen comes from the kitchen with a glass of water. Parker and Remy come in from the back, clearly having been on the porch.
“What’s going on?” Callen asks, his eyes flicking between Ryder and me.
I struggle to swallow, my throat dry, suddenly nervous with all of them watching me. “It’s Jax. We need to talk about what to tell him about Greg, because I have to tell him something.”
The room goes still. Even Parker, who’s usually so calm and unfazed, leans forward with a rare frown.
Remy breaks the silence first. “The truth’s too much. You can’t tell a kid that someone he loved was planning to use him to kill his own father and pack. That will wreck him.”
“Exactly,” I say, relief flooding me that someone else gets it. “But we also can’t pretend that nothing’s wrong. He has to know not to trust Greg.”
“So… what? We give him a watered-down version? That Greg isn’t who we thought he was?” Callen asks.
“Something like that,” Ryder agrees. “He needs a kid-friendly version of the truth. Enough so he understands to stay away, but not enough to scar him.”
Parker runs a hand through his hair. “We could tell him Greg made some bad choices. That he’s not safe to be around right now.”
“Maybe make it like a story?” Remy suggests, surprising me. “Kids understand stories better than hard facts.”
Ryder looks at me. “What do you think, Paige?”
“I think… we tell him Greg isn’t the person we believed he was. That he’s made dangerous choices, and because of that, Jax can’t be around him anymore. We don’t go into detail about the hunters or the betrayal. Just… that Greg isn’t safe.”
“Yes, I agree, keep it simple and clear.” Parker nods. “And it doesn’t destroy everything Jax thought he knew.”
Remy leans back, crossing his arms. “Just enough to make him wary.”
Ryder laces his fingers through mine. “Then that’s what we’ll do. We will protect him with the truth, but only the pieces he’s ready for.”
The tightness in my chest eases a little, though I know the hardest part is still to come.
Okay,” I whisper. “I’ll tell him tomorrow.”
“Good, now that the heavy stuff is out of the way, who wants to watch a movie?” Callen asks, his voice suddenly brighter.
“Some of us have patrol tonight,” Parker huffs, pushing to his feet.
Remy stands too. “I have to check the perimeter cameras.”
“Just the three of us then. What shall we watch, Paige? A chick flick? Horror? Comedy?”
“Any apart from horror, I have enough real-life horror at the moment.”
“You’re right, waking up to see Ryder’s ugly mug every day is a horror,” he laughs.
“We look the same, you t**t!” Ryder snorts, throwing a cushion at him.
I leave the brothers to fight with an eye roll, even though I secretly love to see them like this, as I go to see Remy and Parker out.
The next afternoon, the kitchen smells sweet as the first batch of cookies bakes in the oven. Jaxon is standing on a chair beside me, his little hands covered in flour as he stirs more ingredients in a bowl that’s almost too big for him. His tongue sticks out in concentration, and despite the conversation we’re about to have, I can’t help but smile.
“Careful, baby,” I remind him as he tips the chocolate chips in. Half of them land in the bowl, the other half spill across the counter.
“Extra for me,” he giggles, grabbing a handful before I can stop him.
“Hey, you little thief!” Callen swoops in, snatching one and popping it into his mouth, making Jaxon shriek with laughter, and for a moment, it feels like the perfect family afternoon.
Which is exactly why we’d chosen to do this now. Surrounded by warmth and something sweet, hopefully it will soften the sting of what we have to say.
Ryder leans against the counter, his arms folded, watching Jax with that look he gets. It’s equal parts pride and fierce protectiveness. Parker pulls out a tray, setting it on the side ready for the cookies, while Remy hovers close by, as quiet as usual.
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