Forever and Always

Chapter Eleven: Jo

Jo

“Wow.” I whispered as we pulled into the driveway of the house Nick and I were renting for the unforeseeable future. The house is absolutely gorgeous. The driveway was freshly paved, there were beautiful bushes lined on both sides all the way to the front of the house where there was a giant wrap-around porch, and a porch swing at the end. The house was adorned in beautiful, gray siding with black shutters. The landscaping was perfect, but I knew it would be destroyed soon by the way Jamie plays outside.

“Nice, huh?” Taylor grinned as she bounced on the seat. The four-hour drive here has been nothing but amazing. We were laughing, singing all the songs we grew up with at the top of our lungs, and we even got a phone call from Jamie before he went down for a nap telling Taylor he missed her and loved her.

When I asked about me, he went silent, laughed, and then started to talk to Taylor again. I have a feeling those two will be as thick as thieves, and they’ll be even closer once they meet her partners.

She also told me the story about that as well. I had questions, so many questions, and she answered all of them with more detail than I would have liked. I couldn’t imagine handling two men at the same time, but she’s a trooper and, apparently, extremely flexible. She made it a point to tell me the guys were not involved sexually, but sometimes Gage does get a little affectionate with Drew.

I asked her if it would upset her if they were, and she shrugged and said no.

She actually thinks it would be interesting and a turn on. They could explore more avenues, but she would never push it. I was anxious and excited about meeting both Gage and Drew officially. I put two and two together when talking to Austin and Tristian. I’ve seen them. They know about Jamie, but they haven’t said anything to Archer. If they are able to keep that a secret, I have a feeling I’ll be able to trust these two men with our lives.

It was nice having her back in my life. It made me realize how lonely I was this entire time and just being around them makes me never want to go back to the way it was before, because this was home. This is home.

“This place is amazing.” She parked the car and I looked to the right where there was a driveway extension to the side of the house, “What’s back there?”

“Back there is a shed and an extension. There is something I need to tell you though.” She grinned, “They’re here.”

“Who’s here?” I questioned, worried Archer was here. I wasn't ready to face him yet.

“Everyone except for Archer and Gage.” She smiled, “They, um… were way too excited for you to come home. I did tell them you were not bringing Jamie, so they were a little bummed but excited to see you.”

“Exactly how many people are here?” I stuttered out. I never really did well in crowds, but I guess that was going to change.

“Let’s see…Dylan, Ray, Jordan, Summer, Sawyer, Finn, Art, Ava, Ollie, Felix, Luna, Aiden, Ethan, Sasha, me, you, and the kids are all here.”

“All…the kids?” I whispered, “How many kids exactly?”

“Gosh…like a thousand. Literally. They kept popping kids out or adopting. It was like every other day there was another new child running around. I couldn’t keep up!” she laughed, “Christmas is terrible. I literally have all the kid’s names written down and what they like. But at the end of the day, I usually get the girls something small, and we do a small spa day at my place and I send the boys sports things.” She shrugs, “And when they’re all older, they will get gift cards.”

“Wow. So, Jamie will have more than enough kids to play with.”

“Tons. And when you catch Miles on a good day, he’ll give the kids piggyback rides and spend lots of time with them. They love him, and they love going to his hockey games and cheering him on. They all wear his jersey, and he has the loudest support system there.”

“Oh, I believe it.” I laughed as I opened the door and stood outside, breathing in the fresh air and taking everything in. It flowed in me, calming me in a way nothing else has in years. It was good to be…home, “Half this town sounds like it’s related to him. I wouldn’t expect anything less.”

“He has a game this tomorrow night!” she clapped and jumped up and down, “I have a spare jersey! You have to come!”

“I don’t know.” I whispered, “Jamie should be coming out this weekend and I want to be home with him.”

“Nick isn’t bringing him until tomorrow night after his shift since he isn’t meeting Finn until Sunday.” She shrugged, “The game starts at seven. He will still be a few hours away at that point and Archer is working nights all weekend, so you won’t have to worry about seeing him right now if you are not ready.”

“Wait…I thought Nick’s interview was earlier?”

“Nope.” She grinned, “The job is already his. This is just a formality.”

“Why do I feel like all this was preplanned and a way to get me back home.” I sighed as I went to the trunk and grabbed my back.

As I closed the trunk, arms wrapped around my waist and I was lifted into the air and twirled around, circle after circle as the grip around my stomach got a bit tighter. I let out a scream, well, more like a squeal, as I tried to wiggle my way out of his embrace and get back on my feet.

“You’re home!” he laughed out loud as he continued to spin me around. In a blur, I saw more bodies coming towards me of all sizes. A smile crept onto my face as Jordan slowed down and put me back on my feet. Hands gripped my shoulder helping me steady myself while I regained composure from the dizziness that happened, “You’re home!” he yelled again, hugging me from behind and rocking me, “You’re not allowed to leave. Ever again. Never, ever again. People have been grumpy. Miserable. And downright mean since you’ve been gone.”

“Um, who?” I asked, laughing as I patted his hands. I looked up at Dylan as he grabbed my hands into his and swung our arms a bit, “You guys are acting like you haven’t seen me in like a decade.”

“Almost!” Jordan squeezed again, “Half a decade pretty much is a decade. But you’re home now and that’s all that matters. Now, maybe Tristian will stop being mean to us and Austin will be less grumpy. The girls probably won’t beat me up as much either.”

“You act like Jo stopped that crap before?” Dylan raised his brows, “If you weren’t such a pain in the ass to everyone, maybe they wouldn’t be like that. And, for the record, you do that s**t to yourself.” He laughed and looked down at me with his award-winning smile, “You look good, Jo.”

“No, look at you!” I laughed, “You’re all…musculary and aging well.”

He glared, “First off, that’s not a word, and second, are you saying I’m old?”

“She sure is.” Ray pulled Dylan away from me while Summer grabbed the back of Jordan’s shirt and pulled him back, “Now, you guys go and get pizza for everyone and hurry back. We have a lot to talk about.”

“But…but…she just got here.” Jordan whined before looking back at me as I was engulfed by Ray and Summer, “And Jo needs to tell me things because you guys are keeping it all hush, hush on me.” He looked back at me with pleading eyes, “They won’t tell me anything!” he whisper-yelled.

“I am so glad you never changed.” I laughed, “But I’ll tell you all everything. Don’t worry about the food right now. We can always eat later.”

“Oh, he was never going to get pizza because there was no way he was going to leave you right now.” Summer laughed, “I planned on teasing him, telling him I know more things and keeping it a secret to watch him squirm.”

“That…that’s mean.” Jordan rolled his eyes and came over to me, squatting down a bit, offering me a piggyback ride himself, “Hop on, little one. I’ll be your best friend and take you inside from the weirdos.”

“Speak for yourself.” Finn yelled from the door, “Now, come on in before the kids come and stampede out there to see what the hold up is. Hi Jo!” He waved and grinned.

Dylan grabbed my bag while Jordan went and grabbed Taylor’s, making their way inside the house to meet up with everyone else. They left us four outside in complete silence.

I don’t know how long we were just standing there, looking at each other, but it wasn’t weird or awkward, it was actually quite nice. I looked at the three girls that meant the most to me, the ones that have been there for me from the very beginning, and all three of them had tears in their eyes.

“Please, don’t.” I whispered, “If you guys start, then I’m going to start, and I really don’t want to cry right now.”

“I don’t think you understand, though.” Ray came over and held my hands, “You coming back home means more to all of us than you know. It means that Tristian has his long-lost daughter back, the one he’s been missing for years after getting his heart broken by Riley. It means that Taylor has her sister and best friend home.” She smiled over at Taylor.

“It means that the rest of the adults here have their sister home. You’re not just my sister and best friend, you’re everyone’s sister. They all looked at you like family, they still do. We’ve all wondered how you were doing every day you’ve been gone. It also means that all my nieces and nephews have another aunt in their lives that get to spoil them, and we know you will because that’s who you are, but most importantly…”

“Most importantly, it means that Austin, Hannah, Tristian and Sarah have their grandson home. It means that Archer has his soulmate home, and he finally gets to meet his son.”

“SON!” I heard yelled behind me and I froze, “What do you mean, son? What have you all not been telling me!” Jordan yelled, rushing over to us, huffing and being out of breath. Finn and Aiden were behind him, rushing after him.

“Jordan, calm down.” Finn huffed out, “Damn, I’m getting too old for this shit.” He mumbled.

“She has a son!” he pointed at me, but was smiling, “You have a son! Holy s**t! Lil’ D has a mini me? Do you have pictures? Oh my gosh! I need pictures! Please tell me you have pictures?”

“I do.” I laughed at him, “Let’s go inside, and we can catch up.”

Many hours later, after the kids spent their time in Jamie’s room, drawing pictures and decorating the room for him, they were picked up by their grandparents to spend the night so we could have time to catch up. Miles stayed behind with us and hung out upstairs watching tv. He didn’t want to be around the littles and the grownups at the same time and, since he has an early morning practice tomorrow, he wasn’t allowed to go out with his friends.

When we got inside, I was bombarded by a loud ‘welcome home’ and more hugs. Ava and Sawyer were standing in the kitchen with tears in their eyes and arms wide open for me to walk into. Being with my five girls brought a sense of calmness to me. The guys were all happy, hugging and smiling while itching to see what Jamie looked like. I guess Taylor was telling them in a group chat that he looked just like Archer. I mean, he does, but I don’t think they realize how similar they are. Hell, he looks just like Dylan too, since Archer and Dylan are almost identical.

I met Aiden and Luna officially. Aiden is a scary guy, but Luna insisted that he was just a soft teddy bear and has gotten a lot better over the years. After talking with them some and getting to know them as my landlords and family, I knew we would all get along. Luna is a doll, an absolute sweetheart and I soon realized how sweet she really was.

Felix though, he’s a damn character. He is beyond hilarious and loves to play jokes on everyone, adult and child. I can tell he was going to be like a big brother to me. He gives off those vibes.

Everyone has been more than welcoming, but no one has touched on the subject of Archer and that was something I was dreading.

Some of the guys were passed out on the couches after filling their bellies with pizza and wings while the girls were in the kitchen cleaning things up. Taylor insisted on going upstairs and finding an outfit for me for tomorrow night after the hockey game because she wanted to take me out and have a bit of fun before everything came crashing down.

Jordan, though, snuck outside to the back porch and was on the phone. I decided to get him a glass of lemonade and take it out to him. He was one of the ones that was more excited about me being home. I didn’t think he cared for me when I was younger, but I guess I didn’t really know them that well. I clung to Archer.

“Hey, I brought you something to drink.” I said to him as I walked up. He turned his head to me, shushing me. I jerked back a bit, confused at his reaction. It was just a drink.

“Yeah man. No, that wasn’t Summer.” He said with a pause, “No. I’m not cheating on her, god, I don’t have a death wish.”

“Should I go?” I asked him.

“Crap. No.” he said to me, “No. Not to you. To her. Crap. Um, no. Yeah. You know her, maybe? I don’t know anymore. I’m confused. Why did you call me again?”

Okay…maybe he was just weirder than I remembered. He reached out and took the drink with a smile.

“Archer, I swear to you, I’m not cheating on Summer. I plan on living to see my little ones at least graduate high school. After that, it’s fair game. I’ll be old and wrinkly at that point anyway.” He laughed and looked back at me, mouthing sorry, “Yeah. Tomorrow night at seven. Oh, you won’t? That’s a shame. Do you have patrols?”

I went to walk away, but Jordan grabbed my hind and whispered, ‘stay.’ I nodded and sat down on the stairs as he sat next to me, “Yeah. I’ll send you updates. Yeah. Yeah, there’s a new girl in our lives, but I’ll explain everything to you soon. No, it’s a surprise. A good one, I hope. Bye.”

“Does he...?”

“No. He doesn’t know it was you. The jerk actually thought I was cheating on Summer. Ha, yeah, right. She would murder me a million times and I don’t feel like dying anytime soon.” He laughed, “All he knows is there is a girl in our lives and I’m not cheating. He’s suspicious, but I don’t think he knows it’s you.”

“So, he’s not going to the game tomorrow?”

“Nah. He has to work with Gage. He’ll be at practice helping Finn out if you want to go down in the morning and really surprise him.”

“Not right now. I don’t feel like being somewhere that cold to be like, hey, I’m back! Knowing my luck, he'll get startled, slip on the ice, hit his head and have amnesia and really not remember me.”

“Yeah, well, you have to do it sooner or later.” He shrugged, “What’s your plan for that anyway?”

“Austin and Tristian have an idea.”

“Oh god…” he rolled his eyes, “if they came up with something, then you probably shouldn’t do it.”

“No, I actually like this one.” I smiled at him as I leaned my head on his shoulder while he wrapped his arm around mine, “The girl and them want to have a family dinner. Bella and Eli, I guess, had agreed to help watch some of the kids, and they were going to ask some of the others to watch them too. They want it to be just adults and do it on Sunday night when Archer is off.”

“Who’s going to be there besides the obvious?”

I shrugged, “I don’t know. I know Taylor is going to be there with Drew and Gage. Dylan and Ray are going to be there. The grandparents. Ava and Art as well, I think if they’re off work.”

“What about me and Summer?” he looked a little hurt. I wasn't sure if he was faking it or being real.

I shrugged and before I could answer, Dylan came outside and sat with us, “They want it to be immediate right now. Dad and Tristian know we have Jo’s back.”

“So, are you going to tell us what happened?” Jordan asked, “I know the girls know. Taylor told them everything, but they wouldn’t tell us because they were scared we would say something to Archer.”

“To be fair, we probably would have. I, for one, hate secrets more than anything.” Dylan said as he sat on the other side of me, “And since dinner is Sunday and everything will be out in the open, how about you tell us now so we know how bad this is going to be.”

“Jeeze, when you put it like that.” I rolled my eyes and shook my head. And then I told them everything. I told them both the whole story, every last detail. I even told them what Taylor told me about Tara. They sat there in silence while I spilled every heart-wrenching detail. Pain and anguish washed over their faces to the point they were holding back tears.

“Can I see a picture of him?” Jordan asked with a soft smile, wiping away a tear, “s**t Jo. I wish I knew how bad it was. Hell, you never should have done that alone. I wish you would have said something to any of us. I thought we were closer than that.”

“I didn’t know. At the time, I wasn’t thinking clearly. All I could see was him holding that pregnancy test that wasn’t mine. I saw her in his shirt. I have the ripped up picture, the text messages…”

“I need that phone,” Dylan grumbled.

“Tay has it.”

“Then she’s already going to do what I was planning. Gage can figure that s**t out. I’m sure of it. I don’t know how he does it or even if he can, but I’m sure he can figure something out.”

“Can I ask a question, and then I’ll show you Jamie?” they nodded, “Where is she? Tara?”

“She still lives in town.” Dylan shrugged, “Archer has a restraining order against her last I knew. Things went down pretty badly a few years back, but that’s his story to tell.”

“Have they…”

“Oh, god no.” Jordan shook his head, “He hates her with everything in him. She’s tried to get back in his life, but he refuses to even acknowledge her existence.”

“I know everyone has said he hasn’t dated…but has he…”

“I can’t say for sure if he’s been with other girls. I make it a point not to know my brother’s s*x life, but if he did, then it didn’t mean crap to him.” Dylan shrugged, “He thinks he’s sly, but we know where his heart truly belongs.”

With a nod, Jordan smiled, “Now. Pictures.”

With a small chuckle, I took out my phone and showed them picture after picture and, I swear, I never heard Jordan squeal like he did just now. He was amazed at how close he looked to Archer and Dylan. You can tell they were related. Dylan had tears in his eyes, looking at Jamie.

“I have lots of nieces and nephews and I love them all with every fiber of my being, but this…Jo…the fact that you and my brother created a miracle, a young man as handsome as he is, and knowing he is my blood, it hurts, but it makes me love him more than anything.” He whispered, “It hurts that we didn’t see him grow up. It hurts to know you did this on your own with no help from us. It hurts to see him in pictures without his cousins, aunts, and uncles. It hurts that you never reached out to me…I’ve been with you both from the beginning. I could have done something.”

“I regret all of that.” I sighed, “And I want to make it up to everyone.”

“Good. And the sooner he comes home, the faster it will happen.” He stood up with Jordan while Jordan handed me my phone, “I’m going to get everyone to get out of your hair. Is Taylor staying tonight?”

“No. Can you convince her to get out of here? I think I would like to be alone and just…prepare. I have tomorrow left and then everything comes to light on Sunday.”

“Yeah, we’ll get her out of here. If we’re lucky, she’s asleep, and we can just carry her and push her out of the car while we drive by the station, so Gage can take her.” Jordan laughed, “Here.” He handed me my phone, “I left a little something in there for you.”

“Um, okay?”

“Call him.” He whispered, bending down and kissing the top of my head, “Welcome home, Jo. I’m glad you’re home and for the record, I kind of get what you did. I don’t agree with it, but I get it. But you’re older, wiser. And we learn from our mistakes.”

And with those last words, Dylan and Jordan left me outside to gather my thoughts. Tonight has been nothing short of wonderful. I didn’t feel anger towards me like I thought there would be. They were just happy I was home. And if it felt like this, then I’ll never leave.

I don’t plan on it anyway.

One by one, everyone came outside and hugged me goodnight, with them asking if I was going to be okay being here by myself. With reassurance, they left and it wasn’t until the last car door shut and drove away before I took out my phone to see what Jordan was talking about.

And after a moment of searching, I found it.

Archer’s phone number was now programed into the phone.

My hand was shaking as I brought my finger to his name and pressed it. I brought the phone to my ear, listening to it ring and ring, but he never picked up.

“It’s Archer. You know what to do.” BEEP.

I let out a heavy sigh, “Hey.” I whispered, “It’s me. I um…I got your number from a friend…and I…uh…I don’t know what to say. I just…we need to talk and Archer, just so you know…I miss you.”

And a tear ran down my cheek as I ended the voicemail, hoping like hell I just didn’t make a mistake.