Things Weren't Supposed To Happen Like This

Erica's head was still reeling long after Peter left but she didn't get the chance to say anything to Adam until after the kids were in bed. He was exasperated with Eli but more concerned about the fact that Jenna's baby daddy was back, which was to be expected. That was a more pressing concern than their son doing his cousin a problematic favor that he obviously felt sorry about.

He had gone into full-on overprotective big brother mode and he wasn't the only one. By Sunday, everyone had heard about Wesley's dad reappearing and were heavily debating what they should do about it when the man himself showed up holding Jenna's hand and went over to meet all the kids with Wesley. He was definitely familiar…where did Erica know him from?

"Hey, Jen…why is Wesley showing off Peter's friend Bryce to the other kids?" Evan asked hesitantly.

Oh! That was it. The world was an even smaller place than Erica thought but why hadn't he mentioned that when he brought the boys back?!

"He was my boyfriend before he was Peter's friend," Jenna replied casually. "Isn't it a small world? I never would have imagined he would make it as far as Florida and meet my family after we lost contact."

She was being way too nonchalant about this. No one bought it.

"So he is Wesley's dad then?" Adam asked.

"Yep. And my boyfriend again. So be nice, okay? If you've met him, you already know he's a good person."

"Jen, I met him at Evan's bachelor party and wedding very briefly. That isn't enough to say whether he's a good person or not. I thought he broke your heart! Why are you back with him?"

Jenna shook her head. "The FBI did that by making me leave him. Truthfully, I…before the first trial didn't go the way we hoped, I was planning on telling him everything and bringing him back to Florida with me."

"I'm here!" Jonas announced loudly as he came through the front door. "Hey, Bryce. You should come join us at the adults table. You can hang out with Wesley more later."

This was weird. This was very weird. But Peter tried breaking the ice since he already knew him and Evan did the same. In the process, he mentioned that he was here auditing Peter's company and looking for a job so he could stay in the area permanently once it was done.

When Adam heard that he was an accountant, he mentioned that his company was hiring and offered to give him the information. Though he was obviously suspicious of his little sister's "new" boyfriend, he was still looking out for him because of her. That was just the sort of person he was.

As the conversation progressed, Erica watched Jenna and Bryce interact almost as intently as everyone else was and the air around them was definitely odd but he did look at her with his heart in his eyes. And actually made her blush as red as Adam did on the rare occasions he was embarrassed. Erica hadn't seen him do it in years because he had become mostly immune to embarrassment in front of her after being together so long. That wasn't like Jenna at all.

Everyone teased her and laughed about it before the food came out and they played games afterward. Bryce did fit in with the Mitchells' rather aggressive gameplay style well but Erica supposed that was because he was used to both Jenna and Peter separately. That was still so strange.

"Well? What do you think?" she ended up asking once she had her husband alone.

Adam's eyes narrowed and his tone was grim. "I definitely need to observe more. Obviously, I can't do anything if he actually treats her well but he accepted all of this way too easily. That's suspicious."

"Yet you helped him anyway."

"Duh. I can respect wanting to be close enough to take care of family even if this is suspicious. It will probably be good for Wesley having his dad around."

Of course he could. Family mattered to him more than anything. How easily he accepted his son was a major point in Bryce's favor in Adam's book. But like he said, observing more was a good idea. Erica would have to do that too.

Over the following weeks, he certainly seemed enamored of Jenna and very patient with Wesley and any other kid who interacted with him and asked endless questions. And he moved down here the moment his audit was done and everyone helped unload things at Jenna's request.

She was moving in with him because she wanted Wesley to benefit from having both of his parents in the house. Jonas obviously wasn't too happy about being left behind but he didn't make a peep of complaint. Probably because he knew how much Jenna had missed her boyfriend when the FBI separated them. He had been there for that.

Erica still wasn't entirely sure what to make of all this but she sincerely hoped that things worked out between them. Jenna deserved to be happy after everything she had been through and Adam would finally be able to stop worrying about her so much.

===

Things weren't supposed to happen like this. When Jenna fell in love, everyone was supposed to be there to get a read on him before things got serious and potentially steer her away from anyone shady.

It was a bit late for that now considering she was dating the father of her son again and wanted them to be a real family. Everyone was suspicious of Bryce Fitzgerald both because he accepted the bizarre situation way too easily and because he was so obviously in love with Jenna. What in the world had their very manly little sister done to put him under her spell even after so many years apart?

Staying in the area for Wesley was one thing. That was a normal sense of responsibility to one's children. But that same responsibility did not extend to their mothers.

Adam still didn't know what to make of him after weeks of observation. He did end up getting that job at his company though so that ought to help him get a better read on what sort of person the man was when he wasn't in a large group.

On his first day of work, Adam walked up behind his desk and was shocked to see a picture of Bryce with a completely unfamiliar woman on it. He would think that it was a total stranger if not for the fact that it would be incredibly stupid for him to flaunt a picture of someone else in front of his current girlfriend's brother.

"Is that really Jenna?"

Bryce laughed. "Yeah. That's what she looked like when I met her. I remember being surprised the first time I saw her without makeup on. I hadn't realized she had freckles but they were cute."

Adam shook his head in wonder. "Jonas and Colton said she looked like a different person but seeing is believing. She looks absolutely nothing like my baby sister. She must have hated it!"

"Probably. She did practically live in a hoodie she stole from me not long after we met."

He was acting way too casual about this. If he had fallen in love with a ridiculously made-up version of his sister, wasn't what he was experiencing now too much of a downgrade?

"And you don't mind that she isn't the beauty queen you originally dated? Because Jenna hates dresses, makeup, and anything restrictive. What you see is what you get with her."

"Not at all."

"What is it you like about her, anyway? I can't deny I'm curious because men that have been interested in someone as boyish as her have been few and far between over the years," Adam admitted. "For a while when she had shorter hair, people actually thought she was one."

He could only ask the question he had been wondering from the beginning now because Jenna wasn't here to smack him for it. It wasn't like he was the only one either. Everyone was thinking it.

"I've never met anyone as lively as she is. From day one, she's brightened my life simply by being herself," Bryce said with a soft smile.

Hmm. He seemed to be sincere. That was almost too good of an answer though.

Adam continued thinking about this on and off until lunch when he was able to talk to Erica about it since they were both on their lunch breaks. Bryce ended up eating with him because he didn't know anyone else and he sort of continued the interrogation in between replying to her texts.

She thought the new development was interesting and told him to keep her posted. Of course. She was nearly as concerned about Jenna as he was.

In the weeks leading up to the camping trip, Adam noticed that Bryce typically talked about things he had done with Jenna and Wesley on their shared lunch breaks. He was very devoted to his little family, Adam had to give him that. He had gotten them two kittens and once he was on social media, he posted pictures and funny things they said or did constantly.

The camping trip was the real test though. It always was. If someone one of them was dating couldn't handle it, the relationship never lasted. It had happened with both Colton and Jonas.