Chapter Thirty nine Events

Janice hummed to herself as she tided the kitchen and put Mrs. Jackson's baking equipment in order. Mrs. Jackson, Mrs. Sandra, and two of Ty's aunts had just left to deliver a wedding cake and two birthday cakes that they had been working on since five that morning.

She got her food handlers' permit two weeks ago and she was having a lot of fun learning as much as she can from Mrs. Jackson. With Mrs. Melissa's help, she had become a more experienced baker and a better mother. With Faith been six months old, her days had gotten a lot busier; with taking care of Faith so that Miss Alice could clean, helping Mrs. Melissa in the kitchen, getting computer lessons from all the Jackson's children plus their cousins and aunts; reading up on the medical books that Ty had given her.

And of course, exercising with Anna or Ty or Caleb every morning; which was paying off very well. She had lost a few pounds and she now looked a lot better than she did a few months ago. Anna had taken the job of her personal hairdresser and she loved all the hairstyles that she had given her so far and so did the rest of the family, especially Ty who has told her more than once how lovely she looked.

He was even busier now with his work, his seminars, his training, and of course making things work with his girlfriend, just the thought of him being with that woman made her green with jealously.

Kayla had come to church with him a few times in the last two months but thank God the woman had missed the Sabbath she and Tyler got baptized together and rededicate their lives to God.

From what she saw Kayla wasn't a nice person, for one the girl looked at her with scorn on her face and when she saw how close Ty was to Faith and how protective he was of her, the woman's look of scorn had turned to complete hatred. Kayla didn't really know who she was or that she was living at Tyler's house, she just knew that Janice was very close to Ty and his family.

Kayla was so full of herself that there wasn't room for anyone else. She walks around like she was the queen of Egypt, all proud and superior to everyone else. Janice had also noticed the I'm better than all you church people look she always has on her face and the 'I've your son and you can't do anything about it look that she keeps giving Tyler's family.

The girl was hateful and bitter and she didn't deserve someone as sweet as Tyler but it was also obvious to her that Tyler was still very much in love with the woman, only god knows why. Ty was way too good for that woman but he would be perfect for her. As she took the cupcakes that Mrs. Melissa had asked her to put the icing on from the fridge memories of the past few months' events flashes through her mind.

The first event was Mother's Day. Mrs. Jackson's children had organized a barbecue and jerk cookout for all the mothers of the family. There was a lot of food and tons of presents for every mother including her. She got to meet both Mr. and Mrs. Jackson's parents and some of their other family members. She also got to meet the two young ladies and the young man that the Jacksons had raised and lots of other people that they had helped one way or another.

She had also learned that the Jacksons were contributors to various orphanages which made her feel even closer to them seeing as though she grew up in one. In the evening they all went to a concert at the most exquisitely decorated garden she had ever seen in person, a beautiful end to a wonderful day.

The second event was Fabian's birthday party, it was a grand elegant function with most of his friends and family. She stayed inside for most of it because she was afraid to go out there but Tyler eventually dragged her out of the house at two in the morning.

She had to admit she loved dancing with him, he held her so close she could feel his heart beating, his arms circled around her and held her protectively against him and for a moment she just closed her eyes and moved seductively against him to the beat of the love song.

Then to her greatest surprise, he tilt her head upwards and covered her lips with his in a gentle erotic kiss that curled her toes and left her head spinning with questions, which he later cleared up. He didn't mean to take advantage of her he was just caught up in the moment and the music but that was a kiss she would not soon forget.

A kiss she wished never ended. She had often wondered how his lips felt and now that she knew, wow, needless to say, she was even more in love than she was before and from that kiss, she was sure he had feelings for her too; he had to feel something for her. Why else would he kiss her like that? That wasn't just a peck on the cheek that was a full-on passionate French kiss. With tongue and all that, good lord it was an erotic kiss. What she wouldn't give to experience a few more of those with him.

Her third event was father's day and again their children organized a special day for their father and all the fathers in their family that were available to come to their get-together.

All the children began the day by taking their dads to the spa, then to a father's day luncheon at an elegant restaurant, and then finish off with a get together at the house and as they have been doing at all the previous events, the Jackson boys, Christian and Scott entertained everyone with a hot dance number and Scott was right, everyone did demand an encore which the dancers gladly granted.

She had been so busy helping with the preparations that she hardly ever had time to think about Leon and the fact that he was still out there, somewhere looking for her. Never in a million years did she expect her life to turn out this way and she thank God every day for bringing Tyler and his family into her life.

(AN someone suggests I use these,**** so I'm trying them, as usual, please let me know what you think)

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Tyler sighs heavily as he left the medical seminar, got in his vehicle, and closed the door. Running his hands through his hair he sucked in a deep breath and let it out slowly. A lot had happened within the last few weeks, and he now felt like one big emotional wreck.

For starters he was dealing with a lot at work, his job in the ER was very demanding, and then there was his quest to become an Advanced Medical Specialist, which was proving to be a lot more hectic than he had first thought.

Then there was dealing with Martin and his snide remarks and the fact that his focus in the O.R wasn't as sharp as it should be and the chief of staff wasn't very pleased with him at the moment.

He told him yesterday that if he didn't shape up and concentrate he would have to suspend him from the OR and that would set him back in his training so he couldn't afford for that to happen. He has never been suspended from anything in his life and he wasn't about to start now, his job and goals mean too much to him.

Now if he was really been honest with himself he would have to admit that his biggest distraction was the fact that for months he has been denying that he had feelings for Janice. He had denied it to his friends, his brothers, his parents, and most of all himself but the truth was he did have feelings for her, very strong feelings, and no matter how hard he tried to push them aside and focus on Kayla and the baby they just won't go away, in fact, if anything they keep getting stronger and that kiss as amazing as it was didn't help either.

God help him, he was trying to make things work with Kayla because of the baby, so why did he kiss Janice? Then again how could he not, she felt so good in his arms. The seductive movements of her body against him, the way she gripped the hair at the nape of his neck, and the sounds she made against his lips, "Oh God please help me." He groaned as heat rushed to his groin.

Still, a part of him knew that as good as that kiss felt it was wrong because deep down he knew that he was using Janice to ease the hurt, betrayal, and disappointment he was feeling because of Kayla and if he was capable of doing that, then what kind of person does that make him. He thought with shame.

Yes, he did have strong feelings for her but the fact that she couldn't have any more children was a big stumbling block for him. He rests his head back against the seat, closes his eyes, and breathes deeply.

Janice was a wonderful person, hell she was damn near perfect. She was the kind of woman he would love to spend the rest of his life with but his desire to become a father makes that impossible and then there was Kayla.

A part of him still loved her very much but he was finding it very hard to trust her or believe anything she says. Then there was the fact that he couldn't bring himself to touch her sexually or even kiss her except on her cheek because he still couldn't get the image of her and that man out of his head.

He told her he needed time but he seriously doubt that time could change how he felt. Everyone kept telling him that the child she was carrying wasn't his but he was still holding onto the hope that they were wrong.

But what if they weren't, what would he do then. How was he supposed to handle that, even if the child wasn't his he would have no problem raising it as his own but that was if the real father didn't demand custody of it?

And if that was the case, would he have the strength to stay with her and hope that one day they would have a child together? Then there were the questions that kept plaguing him whenever he was with her; he had called off his cousins so now he was left to wonder; was she still cheating on him? And how many men except for the two he knew about did she sleep with or was still sleeping with? And how the hell could she have been cheating on him for so long and he didn't know anything about it?

And how could she lie to him and betray him for so long? Why would she do something like that to him? Did he really spend two years mourning a child that wasn't his? Was that the reason she didn't tell him that she had lost the child because she had the father there to comfort her and she didn't need him?

The biggest question was why did he keep doing this to himself? Why was he torturing himself with these damn questions, it's not like it was going to change anything, what's done is done and there was still a chance that the child she was now carrying was his, he just needed to hold onto that for now." He took a deep breath, fasten his seat belt and pull out of the parking lot.

A few minutes later he was on his way to the supermarket when he saw Kayla's mother walking along the sidewalk; pulling alongside her he called out to her, stop the vehicle and step out. "Hi Tyler, I haven't seen you in a while, how are you?" She asks in a weak tired tone.

He noticed how pale and drawn she looks as though she hadn't gotten a good night's sleep in ages, she had also lost a lot of weight which on some women would be a blessing but on her not so much.

"I'm okay but you don't look so good; what's going on with you?" He asks in concern. She sighs heavily and leans against his vehicle. "I'm hanging in there, how's my daughter? The last I heard she was pregnant again, you must be very happy." She said with a weak smile.

"What do you mean the last you heard and why are you asking me how she is? Didn't you see her on the girl's birthday? She also told me she was coming to see you two days ago?" He said and her tired eyes widened in surprise. "No, I didn't; the last time I saw Kayla was last Christmas when you brought the gifts for the girls."

"Whoa; back up a second; what!" "My electricity was disconnected two months ago, so I called Kayla and ask if she could help me. That was when she told me that she was pregnant and that she can't help right now because things were very bad with you financially. That was the last time I heard from my daughter."

"This is a joke right! You're kidding, right? Please tell me you are joking!" He shouts in disbelief. "There is nothing funny about my situation Tyler. I've been without light for three months now and I recently got a letter from the water commission saying that if I don't clear up my balance soon they will have no choice but to disconnect my water supply."

"You have got to be freaking kidding me!" Ty said grabbing his hair. "And to make matters worse my girls have been missing school a lot because I have no money to send them, I'm still trying to get them on the path program, not to mention, my health is failing, high blood pressure, kidney problems, you name it but who's complaining; the Lord will work everything out." She said wiping sweat from her forehead.

"I just stop by the wholesale and these few items were all I could afford." She explains. "This is unbelievable; your freaking daughter is a few screws short of being a nut case." He swears beneath his breath.

"Mrs. Watson, last Christmas when I came to your house I saw how hard things were for you and the girls, so two weeks after that I gave Kayla fifteen grand to give you." He stops took a deep breath then continues.

"It was my way of making things easier for you and every fortnight after that right up until two days ago I've put that amount in her hand especially for you." He said counting to ten slowly as he takes deep breaths.

"For almost a year now Mrs. Watson; so what exactly are you trying to say to me?" She snorts and shakes her head. "I'm saying that I haven't seen a penny of that money Tyler. If I had then I wouldn't have to be using candles for the past three months." She chuckles sadly.

"And I wouldn't be struggling to send my children to school. They will be sitting their (GSAT) meaning -(Grade Six Achievement Test); next year and they are so not ready, they have missed so many classes. I could move mountains with fifteen grand every two weeks." She said sighing tiredly. "I'm a sickly woman Tyler and I can't hold down a steady job like most people and that has made life even harder for me." She sighs again.

"Why would she do something like this? Knowing how hard things are for you, why would she...I just don't understand." He shakes his head in disbelief. "I've learned over the years that my daughter only cares about herself. She's a selfish, self-centered woman. She's just like her father, he was so selfish and greedy that he tried to con a couple of drug dealers and that's why he lost his life." She said sadly.

"I've seen a lot of her father traits in her and sometimes it scares me." She said with tears in her eyes. "Um….Mrs. Watson, there's something you should know." He said leading her to his vehicle. He opened the passenger door and let her sit while he stands by the door. "A few months ago I came home and caught Kayla in our bed with another man. I've since moved out but even then I let my father know so he could give her the money for you." He said.

"There is also a chance that the child she's carrying isn't mine but I still decided to forgive her, but this; I just don't know how much more I can handle." He said in frustration. "Things have never been bad with my financial life; in fact, it's been so good that I recently bought another coaster bus and it's now on the road and two days ago I didn't just give her fifteen grand; I gave her eighteen grand and now here you are telling me that you haven't seen any of it, none of it!" He asks rubbing his temples.

"Enough of this; do you have a bank account?" He asks. "Um…yes…I do but I haven't put anything in it in four years, so I don't know what shape it's in." "No problem, I'll sort it out, and another thing, I'll be your doctor from now on. I'll be sending a car for you tomorrow morning so you can come to the hospital for a full blood work...

and don't be going to the store anymore, everything you and the girls need will be delivered to your house from now on, just send me a list on my phone and seeing as though I was on my way to the supermarket, come with me and I'll get you some things." "That's okay Tyler….I…" "No, don't argue with me." He said getting in the vehicle, fastening his belt, and driving off. "God bless you Tyler." She said softly as he head towards the supermarket.