Lost Until You (The Sorrentino Brothers Series Book 1) (12 page)

Stone wrapped his arm around my shoulder, sliding me toward him. “Shhhh…I got you. Nothing’s going to happen,” he tried to reassure me, but the damage had already been done. There was no way I could face those people again. I felt like an idiot showing up unannounced.

My door opened, the cold air swooped inside, as Brax tugged me away from his friend and into his arms. I didn’t know how to feel or what I should do. I came all this way, looking for answers, wanting to meet my family. But now that we were here and I had seen what type of person Pat was, I was fearful of what was to come.

“Jazz?” a voice called my name from behind my husband. I lifted my head, spotting Phyllis, Pat, and Landon standing on the sidewalk beside the truck.

Brax released his hold around me and then turned around. He grabbed my right hand, while Stone continued to hold my left. This time I was able to get a good look at Phyllis. Her face was red and blotchy, and you could tell she had been crying for a while. I looked at Landon next to her, a smiled forms at his lips. He made eye contact with me and lifted his hand, waving me over to them. I risked the chance, allowing my eyes to travel over to Pat. And in that very minute, I noticed tears running down his face.

Was this really happening? Obviously, these people were upset and wanted to talk, but at the same time, I was freaking the hell out. I didn’t know how to control my emotions any more. I closed my eyes and pinched my leg, making sure this was really real. That they were really calling my name.

I knew I sounded like a broken record, but I couldn’t help it. I have waited all of my life to meet them, and today, my wish had finally come true. When I felt the pull on my thigh, I knew I was, in fact, not dreaming. I released Brax and Stone’s hands, zipped up my coat, and climbed out of the cab. Taking a deep breath, I walked over to the Lander’s, stopping on the grass a few feet away.

Phyllis covered her mouth, sobbing into her hands. Pat wrapped his arm around her shoulder, comforting her the best way he could. Seeing how we put them on the spot, I couldn’t fault them for their sketchiness. I probably would have felt the same way, too.

Landon was the first to step out, stopping directly in front of me.

 “When I first got a good look at you, I had a feeling we were related. But seeing how it’s been so many years, I didn’t want to jump to conclusions.” He smiled again, and a sense of peace washed over me. “You look so much like my sister when she was your age, it’s crazy.”

Now it was my turn to sob. I looked at the ground, trying to keep my emotions in check, but it was impossible. Brax, Brix, and Stone rushed to my side to make sure I was okay. I lifted my hand, asking them for a minute, so I could take it all in. They respected my wish, keeping still behind me. I wouldn’t expect anything less. I was surprised the three of them didn’t follow me out there to begin with.

My guys.

They were always there for me no matter what was going on. Whatever I needed, they never let me down. None of them. I couldn’t be more thankful to have each one of them by my side.

“Jasmine?” Pat muttered, pulling me from my thoughts. He reached for his wife’s hand, and together, they made their way over to me.

“I’m sorry for earlier. When my son called,” he said, nodding his head toward Landon. “He made it seem like four people were up to no good, standing in my house.” Pat let go of his wife’s hand and held out his arms.

“Can we start over and be formally introduced? I feel awful for the way I had treated you. All of you.”

Without thinking twice, I launched into his arms. Pat wrapped his arms around my back, keeping me pressed against his chest. His cries echoed through my ears, my sobs matching each one of his. We stood like that for a good couple of minutes before I released my hold around him and then took a step back.

“I’m Pat,” he reached his hand out toward me. “I’m your grandfather. It’s good to finally meet you.”

I gave him my hand, not knowing what to say. I couldn’t stop all of the emotions I was feeling.

“Hi…hi, Pat.” I giggled. “I…I’m Jasmine. You can call…call me, Jazz.”

His grip was firm, but loving, letting me know he was sorry for everything he had done earlier.

“I’m sorry,” Phyllis whimpered, interrupting our greeting. “I told myself if this day were to ever come that I would be strong. Instead, I’m over here crying like a baby.”

We all chuckled. I knew the feeling. Being strong was one thing, but when you had spent years wondering about something so important to you and then it finally happened, a whirlwind of emotions took over. I couldn’t fault her for that at all. She was human just like the rest of us.

I was next to reach my hand toward her. Phyllis shook her head and pulled me in for a hug instead. “Hugs, honey. That’s what your grandma gives.”

Hearing her words made my knees become weak. My body swayed back and somehow I lost my footing. Just as I was about to hit the ground, Brix reached out and grabbed a hold of me, refusing to let me fall.

I was crying so hard that my husband moved in and lifted me up off my feet, carrying me to the front porch, setting me down in the chair. Everyone gathered around us, while the Lander’s apologized to the guys.

Phyllis squatted down in front of me, placing her hands in mine and said, “Welcome home, honey.”

In that very moment, my heart stopped beating. This couldn’t be real.

Chapter Thirteen

Brax

When I was finally able to calm Jazz down, I carried her inside the Lander’s house, setting her on the couch. Brix and Stone stayed with her while I ran out to the truck and grabbed her purse. Jazz asked me to call and check on Savanah while I was out front, so I did. I needed a few minutes, anyway, to regroup.

“Hey. Is the baby okay?”

“She’s great. We just ate dinner and now she’s playing with T while I clean up the kitchen.”

“Good. We shouldn’t be that much longer.”

“How is she?” Kelly asked.

I leaned against the truck, running my fingers through my hair. “She’s all right now. It was fucking crazy earlier.”

“What happened?”

“Too much to talk about now, Kel. We’ll be home soon. Make sure Savanah’s in the bed by nine.”

“Will do, B. Make sure our girl’s okay. I don’t like to hear this wasn’t a good night for her.”

“Yup. Later.” I shut the phone down and went back inside.

As I walked through the foyer, Landon stopped me and placed his hand on my shoulder.

“Hey, Brax. You got a minute?”

I nodded my head, following him into the dining room. He pulled out a chair and sat down. I took a seat on the other side of the table, eager to get back to my wife.

“Before you go back in there, I just wanted to say thanks.”

 “For what?” I looked at him confused.

“Let me reiterate. My parents...they’ve had a hard time dealing with my sister’s death for a while. It didn’t help that Pey forgot to mention she was pregnant, so when she ended up dying, it was a shock to us all.”

How did Peyton’s family not know she was pregnant?

“We knew she used to see some guy off and on back in high school, one my parents didn’t approve of, but that relationship had been over for quite a while. So when she passed, it was a huge surprise. I was off at college and had to come home, throwing away my career so I could take care of them. My dad’s business went under, and Mom was admitted to the hospital numerous times for nervous breakdowns. It was bad, man,” Landon expressed, as he rested his elbows on top of the table.

“You guys coming here tonight was definitely something we all needed. I can’t thank you enough for bringing Jazz. I’m sure my parents will extend their gratitude before you all head home, but I wanted to be the first to tell you, so you weren’t caught off guard.”

“Thanks, man. I don’t know what to say. It’s like we’re all getting shit passed on to us that we aren’t expecting…wow.”

 “Tell me about it. It definitely hasn’t been exciting, but now with Jazz here, I’m hoping she’ll decide to stay in touch. We could use some sort of life around here, if you know what I mean.”

This was crazy. With everything I gathered from Stone, my biggest fear was coming here and them turning Jazz away, not giving a shit what had happened to her over the years. But this…I was speechless.

Landon stood up, pushing his chair under the table. “Let’s go in the living room. I bet your wife is wondering where you are.”

I grabbed Jazz’s purse, following him through the house. Landon stopped at the entrance of the living room. As I made my way inside, Jazz lifted her head, looking up at me. Her face was still a little pale and her eyes were practically bloodshot, but the smile on her face was enough to give me some sense of peace.

I walked around Landon, passing Brix and Stone seated on the recliners, and sat down on the sectional next to my wife. She turned toward me and kissed my cheek, then reached out for my hand.

“Thanks for joining us,” Pat eyed me from across the room. “Jazz was just filling us in on her story, where she was raised and all. So, how did you two meet?” he asked with a simple smile.

Jazz didn’t hesitate and dove right in, telling her grandparents how we became a couple. I sat back and listened to the three of them talk like no time had ever been spent apart.

I was so fucking proud of my girl. Things might not have gone as planned earlier tonight, but I was glad they turned around. For her sake, anyway. Jazz deserved the world, and I would do just about anything in my power to make sure she had it. My only stipulation was that she didn’t get hurt in the process. My girl had been dragged through the mud for so long that when we said our vows, I promised her a new life. And come hell or high water, I was going to give her all of the happiness she missed out on, and make up for lost time.

I peeked at my phone and noticed it was already ten o’clock. We still had an hour ride home. Jazz saw me checking my phone and stood to her feet.

“Thank you for having us. Stone worked really hard trying to find you two.” She looked at Stone and winked.

Phyllis got up, stopping Jazz from leaving. “Before you go, I have a picture I wanted to give to you. It’s not in that pile, I’ll have to run upstairs and grab it. Do you have a minute?”

“Sure,” Jazz agreed with a smile that made me proud.

“I hope you decide to stay in touch now, Jazz. Phyllis and I would love to meet that precious daughter of yours.”

“Me, too,” Landon said, interrupting his father.

“Brax and I will be happy to bring her by. Just tell us when and we’ll be here.”

Phyllis came back into the room, heading straight to where we were standing. She handed Jazz a picture of Peyton and some guy standing in what looked to be a park.

“Here’s another one of Pey, but I want you to keep it. You’ll probably have better use for it than we will.” Pointing to the man in the picture, Phyllis continued. “This is your father. His name is, T.J. He and Peyton were a couple throughout high school. They had been split up for quite some time. I guess we were in the dark about the fling those two carried on when she finished college. It was a surprise to us all, really, even though it shouldn’t have been. Peyton Ann loved that boy something fierce.”

“What school did they attend?” she asked her grandparents.

“Broadneck Senior High School over the bridge, then Peyton went to law school in Florida. I can’t tell you about the boy, because I have no idea where he ran off to. Last I heard, he got married and had a bunch of kids.”

I pulled Jazz against my chest, resting my chin on top of her head. As we viewed the picture together, I noticed the guy looked really familiar.

“That’s Peyton?” I asked, not believing my eyes. Jazz looked just like her mom. You almost couldn’t tell the two of them apart.

“Mrs. Lander,” I interrupted their conversation. “If you don’t mind me asking, what was T.J.’s last name?”

That had me curious. I had seen both of them before somewhere. I just couldn’t pinpoint it. Peyton looked just as familiar as T.J.

Phyllis looked to Pat as if she was nervous to tell me. Pat squeezed her hand, telling her to go on, and she turned back around to face us.          

“He was an older fella, honey. I believe he graduated two or three years before our girl. His name was T.J. Sorrentino. An Italian guy and quite handsome. He was very tall and had the darkest colored hair I’d ever seen. Nice boy, he just wasn’t right for our girl.”

 Wait. There were only a handful of Sorrentino’s in the state of Maryland, and as far as I knew, I was related to them all.

Hold up…

Is she talking about Uncle Teto?

My Uncle Teto?

“Do you know if his first name is Teto?” I questioned her, hoping I could calm myself down. So many thoughts were running through my mind. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.

Uncle Teto was my father’s second cousin. He and Dad were tight growing up, but I hadn’t seen him in years. In fact, Uncle Teto lived with my family for a while, until he found some girl and ran off. That was the last I had heard about him. And shit, this was when I was about ten, so it very well could have been him.

“You know, I couldn’t tell you, honey. Peyton called him T.J., so that’s what I assumed his name was.”

Worry covered Jazz’s face, and for the hundredth time today, I hated it. I didn’t understand how this was going to come about, but I needed to get a hold of my parents. I had to get to the bottom of this regardless, because I knew at any second, my wife was going to cause a scene.

Reaching in my front pocket, I grabbed my cell phone and looked at the time. It was fifteen minutes ‘til eleven. We probably should head out anyway. I was sure Kelly and Tanya were going nuts sitting in our house waiting to hear what happened tonight.

“I know you all need to get back. It’s getting late,” Pat said. “Be sure to keep in touch now, Jazz, you hear?”

“We will. Jazz has waited a long time to find you all; I hope we can catch up soon.”