He then motioned to one of the chairs in front of his desk. “Please, Logan, have a seat.” Skylar glanced at Dante, motioned to the other chair, and grinned. “You, too.” Dante nodded, then took the seat beside Logan. It was only when the two men had sat down that Skylar went behind his desk to sit as well.
Logan hadn’t known what to expect from Skylar, but a feeling of sincere warmth when they shook hands had not been it. Nor the friendly smile. He knew immediately that whatever Silas Kingston had told his son about Edwina had not unsettled him at all. Sitting behind that desk was an extremely successful businessman who had undoubtedly been raised to embrace his mixed heritage, was confident with who he was, and, unlike Lance, this particular brother could mask his thoughts whenever he wanted to.
The man sitting beside him, Dante, was another matter. Although Skylar had introduced him as his godbrother, Loganhad a feeling he was more than that. The man came across as someone who could handle any situation, regardless of how threatening, and remain unfazed. There was an air of danger and intrigue about him. He had sized Logan up the moment he had walked into Skylar’s office. He thought Dante better fit the role of Skylar’s protector than godbrother. Then again, he was probably both.
Knowing the reason he was there, Logan pulled the envelope out of his jacket and handed it to Skylar, who placed it in the middle of his desk. “Thanks for delivering this. I will take time to read it tonight.” Skylar paused and then asked, “What kind of relationship do you, your siblings, and your father have with Edwina?”
Logan saw no reason not to give him a truthful answer. “We don’t have any kind of relationship with her.” Not sure how much Skylar’s father had told him, he continued. “Over the years, she has done several horrible things - things we found offensive and hard to stomach. Luckily, my two brothers and I were spared most of it, as our father raised us. Our sister Carrie was another story. Edwina took Carrie with her when she ran off with another man. She was barely six weeks old at the time. We didn’t see Carrie again until she was sixteen, after we hired a private investigator to find her.”
Logan felt that now was not the time to tell Skylar that they’d found Carrie living on the streets of LA, a runaway who had survived the type of life no child should have to endure.
“When did you and your siblings discover I existed?” Skylar asked.
“Not until the letters arrived two weeks ago. Edwina addressed the packet to my father. There were six letters inside. One for Dad, and his four offspring. The sixthletter was for your father. That was the first time we had ever heard his name. We asked my father who he was, and he told us. Edwina had revealed his identity in her letter to my father. Until then, we hadn’t known we had another brother.”
There, he had said it. Regardless of whether Skylar Kingston ever acknowledged it, theywerebrothers.
“Is delivering the letter your only reason for coming to San Francisco?” Skylar asked.
“No, but it’s one of them. Personally, I’d like to get to know you, Skylar. And I don’t speak just for myself, but my other siblings as well. The Montgomerys are big on family. However, the decision to have a relationship with us is yours. We’re extending the offer and hope you will accept.”
Skylar didn’t say anything for a moment, then asked, “How long will you be in town?”
“Until Friday morning.”
“Is there a way for me to reach you while you’re here?”
“Yes.” Logan thought about giving him his business card, but that seemed so impersonal, so he stood and pulled out his cell phone. “We can exchange numbers. What’s yours?”
Skylar rattled off his phone number, and when his cell phone, which was sitting on his desk, rang, Skylar said, “I’ve got it.”
Skylar stood. So did Dante. “Thanks for delivering the letter to me, Logan. I will contact you before you leave San Francisco,” he said.
“Sounds good. And in case you don’t, for whatever reason, it was nice meeting you, Skylar. Just remember that you do have family out there.” He then turned to Dante. “Nice meeting you aswell, Dante.”
“You too, Logan.”
Logan met the man’s gaze. Although Dante had not spoken during the meeting, for some reason, he felt the man’s words were sincere. Nodding, he then turned and walked out of the office.
After taking a shower, Skylar stretched across the bed and glanced at the nightstand where he had placed the letter he’d received today - a letter addressed to his father that he intended to read. Obviously, Edwina Montgomery had no idea Silas had passed. However, before he opened that letter, he wanted to talk to Haven. He needed to hear her voice before digging into his past.
Retrieving his cell phone from the nightstand beside the letter, he called her.
“Hello, Skylar.”
He loved hearing her voice. The sound of it relaxed him, just as he’d hoped it would. “Hello, sweetheart, how was your day?”
He listened to her describe the advanced technology covered that day and how excited she was to be part of the training session, and that she couldn’t wait to return to her job to share the skill with others.
“Sorry, I’ve talked your ear off. How was your day, Skylar?”
He paused a moment and then said, “I met my brother today.”
“Your brother? I didn’t know you had a brother.”
“Same mother, different father. Dad told me that my mother had another family before he died.”
“Another family, older or younger?”
