Page 53 of Jay Bird

Jay Bird’s chest tightened again.

Jesus Christ. This was supposed to be temporary, just a security measure, nothing more. So why the hell did hearing his name attached to hers sound so damn right?

Across the table, Derek caught his eye. There was no amusement left in his expression now. There was a quiet understanding, edged with concern. Derek knew exactly what Jay Bird had just offered Willow and Lily.

Jay Bird gave him the slightest shake of his head, a quiet, warning gesture that said everything without a word—not here, not now.

“Jay look!” Lily’s little voice came from the living room.

When he turned, he saw Lily standing beside the coffee table holding up a sheet of paper covered in colorful scribbles.

Jay Bird smiled despite himself. “That’s beautiful, peanut.”

“Ellie!”

Apparently, one of the purple blobs was an elephant.

“I can see that.”

Willow laughed softly beside him.

And just like that, Jay Bird found himself sitting at his kitchen table with a woman who had agreed to temporarily take his last name, her daughter who would carry it too, and his commander watching him like he knew a storm was coming.

CHAPTER EIGHT

The house was finally quiet, and Willow sat curled into one of the chairs on Jay Bird’s back patio, one leg tucked beneath her as she held a tall glass of iced tea and looked across the enormous backyard.

The summer evening was warm, but a light breeze drifted off the creek and moved through the trees. Somewhere nearby, insects chirped steadily while the last streaks of sunlight disappeared beyond the property.

Willow breathed in deeply, letting the air fill her lungs as she sat there for a moment. She closed her eyes briefly and made a quiet promise that she would never take something as simple as this for granted again.

For three years, she had lived where Chen allowed her to live, often behind walls high enough that she couldn’t see much beyond them. Even when she had been permitted outside, there had always been someone watching. Fresh air had never really meant freedom.

Tonight, she could sit outside because she wanted to, and that alone felt like a luxury.

Willow lifted her glass and took a sip while thinking about the day.

There was a lot to process. Her identity, her father’s life insurance policy, and the fact that her brother was in prison, which, honestly, was the least surprising revelation of the day. On top of that, the three thousand dollars was sitting in New York’s unclaimed-property system waiting for her, the unsettling knowledge that someone had been searching for Willow Beckett, and somehow, in the middle of all of it, she and Lily had temporarily taken Jay Bird’s last name.

She understood why they were doing it. But taking Jay Bird’s surname felt strangely personal—too intimate, even.

She had spent years listening to Chen call her his. She was his possession. His to use however he wanted.

But Jay Bird had offered his name and then immediately made it clear it gave him absolutely no claim over her.

That difference mattered more than she thought he realized.

Willow smiled faintly as her thoughts moved to the rest of the afternoon.

Lily had eventually warmed up to Derek, and it didn’t take long for everyone to realize that Commander Derek Connors had a surprising gift with toddlers. Within an hour, Lily was happily showing him Ellie, her drawings, and what felt like seventeen completely random objects she had collected from around Jay Bird’s living room, as if each one were a priceless treasure she absolutely needed him to see.

Tink hadn’t been quite as successful, though he had definitely tried. Lily, however, wasn’t having it. She stayed suspicious of the enormous former SEAL, watching him with narrowed eyes every time he spoke, as if she were still deciding whether he was friend, threat, or just a very large inconvenience.

Tink had finally looked at Jay Bird and muttered, “Your kid hates me.”

Jay Bird hadn’t corrected him, and surprisingly neither had Willow.

After Derek and Tink left, Jay Bird had walked her through his security system. He showed her every camera, explained the sensors, demonstrated how to pull up the feeds, and wrote down every code for her, even though she insisted she could remember them.