Page 34 of My Turn

“The lawyer is supposed to reach out to you this week. It doesn’t mean that you have to be the custodian, which is why they spoke to us. We’re blood related, so the court could potentially see us as an option. Since Jake appointed you in his will, you’re the first choice, but the lawyer thinks that we might be better suited to it since she’s our granddaughter.”

“What about the stepdad?” I asked.

“It’s a possibility. Neither of Alicia’s parents designated him and he’s had issues with finances before. The court wants to ensure that a responsible party has control of the money.”

“Tell them to use a court-appointed custodian. None of us know this kid.”

Mom frowned. “She’s your niece, Jayce.”

“She was hardly even Jake’s daughter, so I don’t see how that matters. Alana shouldn’t have to deal with any of this. He already fucked her over with this bullshit.”

“I understand that he made some mistakes and I’m not condoning anything that’s happened, but this is a child. Your brother’s child. We should all want what’s best for her.”

“Maybe her stepdad is what’s best for her. He’s the only dad she knows, I’m sure.”

“Maybe, but if they’re going through the trouble of reviewing all of the options, I want to be involved in that. She’s a part of him and we were never given the chance to be involved.”

“I need some air,” Alana blurted before she stood. I watched her flee out the front door and fought the urge to follow.

“Jayce,” dad said.

“Look,” I sighed. “I’m not saying that I wouldn’t want to be a part of her life, but she’s nine fucking years old. She doesn’t know any of us exist. Do you think it’s best for her to go and blow up her life by throwing three grandparents, an uncle, and an almost stepmother at her? I just don’t see what good it will do.”

Mom stared at me with a furrowed brow. “How do you know how old she is?”

God damnit. That was the second time I had a slip of the tongue because of this situation.

“I found out before Jake died,” I admitted. “I told him he had to tell Alana about it. He never did.”

“Fucking Christ,” Dad huffed. “Why the hell wouldn’t you tell us?”

“Why is everybody angry atmefor not saying anything? I’m not the one who cheated or kept a secret for a fucking decade.”

“You should’ve said something,” Mom said softly.

“I’m tired of answering for Jake’s sins. If he’d just died earlier, maybe things would be a hell of a lot easier.”

“Jayce,” Charlie scolded.

Getting to my feet, I grabbed my jacket and moved toward the door. “Thanks for coming, guys. Feel free to stay as long as you’d like.”

When I opened the door, I deflated. Alana’s taillights were already fading into the distance. Now I wasn’t just annoyed. I was pissed.

I closed the door and returned to stand behind the couch. Curling my fingers over it, I took a deep breath.

“Whatever you guys need, I’ll do it. I’ll speak to the court if they want, talk about your character. Anything. If you want to bring her into our lives, I’ll be the coolest uncle she’ll ever find. I don’t want control of the estate, so that whole thing is on you guys, but I’ll support you. I just don’t want Alana to have to deal with any more shit because of what he left behind.”

“Neither do we,” Charlie replied. “She’s family and, believe me, I was pissed when I found out about all of this, but Alicia didn’t ask for this either. We’ll do what we can for Alana. Always.”

With a nod, I grabbed my wine glass and carried it to the sink. It would be nice if I could just focus on my game with Alana, but the universe kept dropping more shit on us. She was going to be even more fragile. Maybe I could make that work in my favor. She needed something to lean on, a release.

Soon, baby. I would give her one hell of a distraction.

*****

Alana’s phone wasn’t active, so I was pretty sure she was asleep. I closed the front door as softly as I could. Glancing around, I was surprised that there weren’t beer bottles or an empty fifth lying around. I was glad for it. Stress drinking at our age quickly turned into alcoholism.

I carefully made my way down the hall and pushed her door open a little further. She was on her stomach with her face turned in this direction. Her nose was squished against the pillow and her lips were parted. It was fucking adorable.

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