No Easy Way Out

Chapter 8

A few days after Christina's visit, Jamie was with her & his family at a little park not far from their home watching JJ play.

After Christina had left, Jamie talked with Isabella, who was very supportive & very excited to see him get another chance to connect with his son.

She remembered the many conversations they had had where he would either cry or let his anger out. He expressed rage over Christina allowing Michael Gomez to adopt JJ without him even knowing about it. It wasn't until Jamie got a hold of the adoption records that he realized that Beth was responsible for his son being adopted by another man. It infuriated him greatly.

Isabella even remembered when she had first told him that she was pregnant. He had cried because he was hurt over the fact that JJ would never get to know his baby sister. Even though Jamie was over the moon when Adrianna was born, JJ not being in the picture hurt him deeply.

Now here they were in the park. Isabella watched with a smile as Jamie pushed JJ on the little swing set made specifically for toddlers. She could see how happy her husband was as he got a chance to play with his son.

"I honestly thought this wasn't possible," said Christina who was standing next to Isabella.

"Well, I'm glad that this is now possible," said Isabella. "I know that it means a lot to Jamie."

Christina just sighed.

"Look, I hope this doesn't cause problems for you, Isabella," said Christina. "You clearly love Jamie, & I appreciate that because all I've ever wanted for him was to be happy."

Isabella smiled. She appreciated hearing that.

"Thank you, Christina," said Isabella.

"You're welcome," said Christina.

"So since you want JJ to know his father, are you planning to live here or else where?" asked Isabella.

"Else where. I visited one of my cousins in San Diego a couple of days ago, & she & her husband own a rental property in La Jolla," said Christina. "I'm thinking about renting it. I do hope to visit here on the weekends once I get settled."

"Did you talk to Jamie about this?" asked Isabella. Christina nodded.

"I did. I talked to him yesterday before I boarded my plane to come back here," said Christina.

"That's good. I just hope everything works out for everyone," said Isabella.

"I do too," said Christina.

Meanwhile, JJ was tired from all of the excitement. Jamie noticed.

"You wanna go back to Mama, buddy?" he asked as he got JJ out of the swing. JJ smiled at him.

Jamie then carried his son back to Christina, who tried to take him in her arms, but JJ shook his head no.

Christina then looked over at Isabella, who smiled & nodded at her. They both knew.
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Back at the ranch, Beth was looking over some paperwork she had received that had information on the newest real estate developer that wanted the Yellowstone Dutton Ranch.

The developer, Thomas Hendricks-Smith, sounded impressive on paper, but as Beth read on, there was one part that clearly caught her attention.

It was the way he had acquired properties for development. A lot of the tactics he had used seemed very suspicious to Beth.

However, upon seeing the profits his company had made in the last three years, it all made sense to Beth.

Montana was going through a huge population growth, & Thomas Hendricks-Smith wanted in on the action.

However, Beth, along with the rest of her family, were going to make sure he didn't get the ranch.

That was always easier said than done.