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But avoiding the conversation certainly didn’t mean that she wasn’t thinking about Blake and the fact that he had finally come back to Serenity.
She just hoped that Gareth wouldn’t decide that his best friend’s cousin needed to be part of their gatherings. It wasn’t a stretch to think he might, especially since Blake had a child, and Gareth would likely think that Layla and Peyton might be good friends for her.
Charli wasn’t sure how she could keep that from happening, but she was going to try her best. The last thing she wanted was for Blake to find out about Layla. She’d never told her family who Layla’s father was, and when Blake had disappeared, she hadn’t been able to tell him either.
Now, she had no interest in sharing parenting responsibilities with anyone, but most of all, not with the man who’d promised her everything she’d ever wanted and then walked away.
CHAPTER TWO
Blake Madden dropped onto his couch, a can of soda in his hand. He popped the tab, then took a long swallow.
The day had been long, and he was glad for the opportunity to sit down. There were still boxes to empty, but they could wait. The most important things that needed to be unpacked had been Amelia’s, and with his aunt’s help, they’d managed to get her whole room set up.
“Thanks for your help, Jackson,” he said, glancing over to where his cousin sat sprawled on the overstuffed loveseat that matched the couch. “I really appreciate it. I doubt I could have made this move without all the help you and your parents have given me.”
Jackson lifted his can of soda in a cheers motion. “We’re happy to help. It’ll be nice to have you around again.”
When Blake had realized that the career he’d planned for himself in the army wasn’t going to work out, he hadn’t been sure where to go. He’d known he needed a good place for Amelia. A place where he would have support as he raised her by himself.
Since his own family wouldn’t offer him that, he’d had to look elsewhere. His aunt and uncle had always been warm and welcoming towards him, so Blake had decided that he had no option other than to return to Serenity.
He really hoped he hadn’t made a mistake.
“What do you plan to do for work?” Jackson asked.
“I’m hoping to get work as a mechanic,” he said.
“You’ve always liked cars, but don’t you need special training to do that?”
“I worked as a mechanic in the army. They offered me a lot of training, so I have that experience now.”
“No interest in furniture, huh?”
“Not unless I need to buy something to sit on.”
Jackson gave a huff of laughter. “Do you own any Madden furniture?”
“Nope. And I don’t plan to. If they’re not going to support me, I’m not going to support them. Plus, it’s a little out of my price range these days.”
“When was the last time you talked to your family?”
“I haven’t talked to Dad or Mom since I left Serenity last time. When Dad realized I was serious about not taking a role in the company like he wanted me to, he cut me off and told me I had to make my own way in the world.”
“Harsh,” Jackson said with a grimace.
“Yeah. I think he thought the threat would pull me back in line.”
“Guess that backfired, huh?”
“Yeah. But it left me with no options. I’d been getting a pretty healthy monthly allowance from my dad throughout college. Stupid me, I assumed that even though I didn’t want to join the company, he’d keep giving me the money after I graduated. Thinking that way meant I’d saved up nothing.”
“You could’ve come back here,” Jackson told him. “We would have helped you out.”
Except that he had felt like he couldn’t return to Serenity. Not when he could no longer follow through on what he’d promised Charli. How could he help her achieve her dreams when he no longer had an income and no prospect of being able to earn what he’d need to give her the life she deserved?
He’d made promises based on what he’d thought was going to happen, only for the rug to be pulled out from under him by his dad’s ultimatum. Rather than taking the time to deal with the situation like an adult, he’d allowed his dad’s rejection of his plans to morph into a fear that Charli would reject him because he couldn’t follow through on the promises he’d made.
Blake had always planned to get a job while he figured out how to get the training and experience he’d need to work as a mechanic. However, he’d counted on continuing to receive the substantial allowance from his dad to supplement whatever he earned while he tried to get his own dreams off the ground. It would have been enough to support himself and Charli.
