“I was just telling Blake about how I had no idea about him. Didn’t know he existed. Didn’t know I had a child.”
She couldn’t miss the cutting, icy tone in his words.
“I—”She tore her gaze from Blake to look at Jesse. His face held back barely controlled fury, his eyes a stormy steel blue.
Blake stood and took a tentative step toward her.“You’re really my mom? Heather Carlson?”
“She goes by HeatherParkernow.”Jesse said the words automatically and tilted his head, watching her.
“Oh,”Blake said as he stood awkwardly in front of her.
Heather tried to pull herself together enough to say something. Anything. She swept her gaze over the boy and her heart crumbled into a million pieces. Her son. The one she’d missed every single day of her life. The one she often talked to silently in her mind. The one she scanned the streets for, wondering if some young boy would catch her eye and she’d justknowhe was her son.
“Blake.”She said the boy’s name, trying it on.
“Uh, hi.”Blake stood as if waiting for something, then he slid his hands into his pockets and took a step back.
Heather was torn between rushing forward and hugging him and just…touching him. His face. After all these years. But still she stood, grasping the doorframe, afraid she’d fall.
The boy was slim, and she wasn’t sure if that was from not eating enough or one of those awkward growth spurts kids got. He was in need of a haircut, and his clothes were clean but worn. He had a tiny, almost unnoticeable scar at the side of his forehead. But she noticed. She noticed every single detail about him. She couldn’t get enough.
And he had Jesse’s eyes. No denying that.
“I—”She stared at her hand. Why wouldn’t her hand reach out? She needed to touch him, make sure he was real, right here in front of her.
Blake gave a small shrug as if expecting nothing from her and went back to sit on the edge of his chair, grabbing his soda and taking a large swallow.
She should follow and tug him to his feet and hug him…
“Blake’s mom died,”Jesse said, his tone still frigid.
“Oh, I’m sorry.”
“I mean,you’renot dead. Obviously. The woman who adopted him died. You know, from when you gave him up for adoption. Without telling me anything about him.”His tone was controlled and even.Overlycontrolled.
But she knew Jesse. Knew him too well. He was way past angry. And she couldn’t blame him. Because she had kept this secret. For all these years. There was no excuse for that. None.
Just then Livy and Austin climbed up the stairs to the deck.“Hey, we were out walking and saw you guys up here—”Livy stopped short and stared at Heather.“You okay? You’re really pale.”
“I—”
“She’s in a bit of shock,”Jesse explained.“She just met her son.”
Livy whirled around and stared at Blake.“Her…what?Son?”
“You didn’t know about him either?”Jesse’s eyes blazed.“Ah, another Heather Parker secret.”
“Jesse, please,”she whispered.
Livy shook her head, and her wounded look tore at Heather’s heart. But Liv would have to stand in line. So many people were hurt right now.
“Blake, this would be…I don’t know the right term. But this is your mother’s cousin. She’s some relation to you.”Jesse’s eyes bore into Heather before turning back to Blake.
“Hi,”Blake said politely.“Nice to meet you.”
Livy reached out and touched Blake’s shoulder, giving him a warm smile.“It’s really nice to meet you.”
Which is what she should have done. Touched him. Wrapped him in her arms. The arms that had missed him since the day the social worker had taken him out of her arms and given him to his adopted mother.
