James McKay

James Robert McKay (born 1964) is the father of Chloe Dixon, the ex-husband of Marie Dixon, the maternal grandfather of Emma Flynn, and the father-in-law of Jack Flynn. He is a ballet instructor at the Juilliard School in New York City.

Early life
James was born and raised in Morristown, New Jersey, by his parents, Charles and Beverley McKay. James's parents were both in their mid-forties when James was born; they thought they were unable to have children, so James was a huge, but very welcome, surprise. Since James was an only child, he stayed close to his parents. Nate Wesley, Colin Brown, and Sean Griffith were his close friends since childhood. During his teenage years, James always felt a little bit on the outside of his circle of friends. He attributed that distance to the fact that the others liked showing off their masculinity and he did not. In reality, Nate, Colin, and Sean were disappointed that James became interested in taking up dancing rather than spending time with them. As an adult, James joined the American Ballet Theatre. He wanted to go to college on a dance scholarship, but his parents' health began deteriorating at the time and he felt that he needed to stay close to home. His mother was in the early stages of Alzheimer's and his father's mobility was being curtailed by severe arthritis. James did everything he could to help care for him.

During James's first season as a ballet dancer, he met Marie Dixon. She was touring the campus of Juilliard with a group of other students from Bridgeton Preparatory School, and they stopped by the theater while on the campus tour. James was in the middle of practicing a routine for Swan Lake when he saw Marie watching him practice. There was an instant attraction between them. They spent a few moments together before the tour guide was ready to continue the campus tour. Marie promised to visit James some other time. In her absence, James realized just how much he had fallen for Marie. She returned as promised, and he convinced her to stay when her friends left. Marie was impetuous and romantic by nature, and she loved the passionate whirlwind relationship. James quickly proposed and Marie accepted. They were married at the courthouse in Rochester, New York, shortly after graduating from college. James bought a small house in upstate New York. For a little while, he and Marie were deliriously happy. James was even happier when he found out Marie was pregnant with their first child a few months later.

However, James's life took a downturn during Marie's pregnancy. Both his parents' conditions worsened, and his father needed Charlie's help with his mother every day. At the same time, depression began to take a major toll on Marie. She wanted James to leave Rochester with her and start over somewhere sunnier, but James couldn't do that. After Marie had the baby, her depression was only compounded by the postpartum hormones. A few months after Chloe was born, Marie decided she couldn't live in Rochester anymore. She left on her own, leaving James devastated and her mother very confused. James wanted to follow her, but he couldn't leave his parents or his young daughter. Although he did not contest a divorce or demand child support, he simply wanted Chloe to spend time with him.

Three years later, James's parents died within five months of each other. Although James was devastated, the presence of his daughter Chloe brought comfort to him. James devoted himself to his job and worked his way up through the ranks to become the principal dancer of the Rochester City Ballet. He maintained his longtime friendship with Nate Wesley and Colin Brown, and the three of them spent a lot of free time teaching ballet to James's daughter Chloe. Nate in particular was a great support system during the years following his divorce from Marie and the loss of his parents; they became even closer. Later, when Nate lost his wife, Amy, to a car accident, James was able to be there for him.

Haunted
James first appears in the series when he arrives in California to console Chloe, who is now 17, and discuss her living situation in the wake of his ex-wife's sudden death in a horrific car accident. After a month of living with her grandparents, Chloe falls for Jack Flynn, an Irish immigrant on the RMS Titanic. When a panic-stricken Walter and Emily beg for James's help to find Chloe when she disappears to travel back in time, he is surprised, and tentatively accepts in finding Chloe, oblivious to the fact that she possesses the same talent he does for traveling back in time. James believes that it is for the best that Walter and Emily know the truth about where Chloe is and he eventually explains that she went back in time because she was probably bored. At the end of the novel, James makes a sudden appearance by showing up at the Christmas party Walter and Emily are having and he tells her that there have been rumors floating around that Marie may have survived her car accident, but they both are unaware that someone is watching them from a distance, although the identity of the woman is never really confirmed.

Golden Girl
In Golden Girl, after an intruder kills Chloe's grandparents on the night of her 18th birthday, James vows to take care of Chloe, explaining that he is the only family she has left. Unfortunately Chloe subsequently looks for clue in the attic that might help her figure out who killed her grandparents, which results in Chloe ignoring the warning he gives her about looking to the past to fix a mistake. He tries to convince her stay, but Chloe has already made plans to go back in time to solve these murders with or without him. Things get even more complicated when James comes upstairs and finds Chloe standing next to Jack with the photo album in her hand He tries to talk Chloe out of going back in time to kill the murderer, to no avail. Shortly afterwards, he watches Chloe tune out both his and Jack's advice and she starts to make the journey back in time, but he and Jack race after her at the same time she is departing the 21st century.

Later, George Gershwin, believing that Chloe was merely playing hard to get when they met, had come back to offer the information he knew about Marjorie, and upon hearing that Marjorie was going to meeting them at a warehouse in Brooklyn, suggested they take two separate cars, leaving James worried about his daughter's safety. After the casual meeting backfires, Marjorie challenges Chloe to a duel on the roof of Dixon Mansion, and says whoever gets there first will fire the first shot. Chloe wants to have everyone go in the car, but James tells her not everyone will fit and tells her that he'll be in the car ahead of her in hopes of putting her mind at ease. James reunites with Chloe and Jack at Dixon Mansion in the 21st century and the confrontation results in Marjorie's death.

At the end of Golden Girl, Chloe ends up graduating from Bridgeton Preparatory School and gives Jack a letter from Juilliard, which explains Chloe should consider applying as soon as possible, not knowing that Chloe has been considered by the school for her impressive talents as a dancer and a musician.

Angel Wings
At the beginning of Angel Wings, Chloe reminisces on the day her and Jack informed James about them moving in together. James reacts with anger when Chloe failed to mention this earlier, but calms down when he realizes that she is not a small child anymore. Knowing that Marie is not here to give advice of living with someone else other than a parent, James does not express his own disapproval, but informs her that she needs to be emotionally ready for this decision. It turns out, however, that Marie would have been happy with Chloe's decision just as she was when she moved in with James before Chloe was born. After this, Charlie feels like there is nothing he can do, and begrudgingly accepts that Chloe wants to be with Jack. Meanwhile, Jack and Chloe want to spend some quality time together over her short Thanksgiving break from Juilliard, which comes in the form of doing some cleaning upstairs in the attic.

Physical Appearance
James has curly brown hair and a lean figure. His eyes, which are a blueish-gray, is most stunning feature he has along with a gorgeous set of dimples. He stands about 6'0" tall and has an average build, with his arms and legs being lean but muscular as he has been dancing ballet for most of his life. Like Chloe, he has a moderate interest in fashion, but he chooses and outfit to be practical, but stylish at the same time.

Personality and Traits
James is a naturally responsible person who is sociable, but he doesn't enjoy large crowds. He's also excessively curious where he often ends up getting himself in trouble wandering into situations where he doesn't belong in. During free time, he mostly spends his time either doing crossword puzzles or reading books.

Chloe has said that her relationship with her father is quite unique, but she does find him easier to live with after her grandparents are murdered as he respects her privacy when she needs it, although he is protective of her.

Relationships
James McKay is the father of Chloe Dixon, the ex-husband of Marie Dixon, the father-in-law of Jack Flynn and the maternal grandfather of Emma Flynn.

Appearances

 * Haunted 
 * Golden Girl 
 * Angel Wings 

Trivia

 * James is ambidextrous, meaning he can use both his left and right hand equally.
 * He can improvise songs on the piano and he can play extremely difficult compositions.
 * His favorite color is green.
 * He owns a red 1965 Ford GT Mustang.
 * His likes roast beef sandwiches.
 * James has never married anyone following his divorce with Marie Dixon. He also didn't even marry anyone after she died.
 * It was actually James who caused the death of Tony Castillo. Because of this event, Marjorie actually vowed to kill his ex-wife and his daughter, Chloe.
 * One of his favorite bands are The Beatles, which he discovered while he was in college.
 * His excessive curiosity is one of his greatest weaknesses.
 * Despite what his ex-wife told Chloe about him, James actually took care of her when Marie had run away to California.
 * James's guardianship began with the death of his in-laws and ended when Chloe and Jack moved into an apartment in Greenwich Village.
 * His favorite cocktail is a Jack and Coke.
 * He wore wayfarers and drank coffee the morning after his 19th birthday, during which he got very drunk.
 * Wears a loose and comfortable clothing whenever he happens to be teaching a ballet class.
 * Even though he knows Chloe can take care of herself, he sometimes worry about her from time to time.
 * He was actually the person who suggested Chloe take ballet classes when she was five, explaining to her mother that it would be a good place to make friends and learn something at the same time.