“I know.” I grab his hand and squeeze it. “Leo loves you so much, Logan. He already thinks of you as part of our family.”
“Except he’s got my face.” We both jerk apart, staring down the stairs to where Ellis is studying the pictures on the wall. “I have a son.” He doesn’t sound joyful now, and what I can see of his face is stark with shock. “Why didn’t you tell me I have a son, Lily?”
“You haveshit!” Logan growls, wrenching away from me and stomping down the stairs. “You had your chance, bud, and youblewit. He’s mine now, and so is Lily.”
Once upon a time I might have swooned at Logan Sawyer claiming me in public, but this is definitely not the time or place. I hurry down the stairs, gripping his arm until he turns back to face me. “Logan! That’s enough.”
Frustration flashes through his eyes, and he scowls at Ellis. “You gave up any fucking rights to them when you ignored her letters.”
“What letters?” Ellis looks completely bewildered.
I freeze, humiliation washing over me.Is he kidding?“Don’t make this worse, Ellis.”
He gapes at me. “I’m not. I just don’t understand. The last message we got from you was in the hotel, when you called the weekend a mistake.” He swallows hard and glances at Logan. “You also said you had someone else waiting for you at home.”
Someone else? Maybe I labeled my heat a mistake after they snuck out of my room like thieves in the night, but I never said anything about Logan. I was too mixed up in my own head about our relationship to mention him to the other alphas. Not that I was really in my right mind, anyway, being thrown into a heat with my scent matches…
“Lily.” Ellis is so pale, golden freckles gleam on his cheeks like tiny stars. “Did you try to get in touch with us after you left California?”
“A postcard,” I reply, the word getting stuck in my throat. “A copy of Leo’s birth certificate. A photograph of him on his first birthday, and a lock of his hair from his first haircut.” I tick the items off on trembling fingers. “Are you seriously saying you didn’t get any of that?”
“Crest only kept the postcard.” While we’ve been having a showdown at the bottom of the stairs, the others have joined us, and Otley now puts a hand on Ellis’ shoulder. “We didn’t get a chance to tell you yet, but I found this in your uncle’s papers.” He hands Ellis a folded piece of cardboard. It’s old and worn, but I recognize it as one of the postcards we sell in the store. I’d chosen it because even if they didn’t want to reply to me immediately, they’d always know where they could come and find me…
Ugh. I want to wrap my arms around that naïve, hopeful girl and give her a hug, but I’m too busy trying to swallow past the lump in my throat. “Crest is your uncle?”
“Wasmy uncle, along with being my agent and an eternal pain in my ass. He passed away a few weeks back,” Ellis mutters, staring down at the old postcard. He studies the picture of a riotous garden on the front,Rosie’s Bloomsprinted in swooping text, then turns it over and rubs his thumb over the stamp. “He really had this all along? The name of the farm, your contact details?” I don’t respond, because the truth is staring him in the face, just like Logan said. “And what about the other stuff you sent? Where is that?”
“My guess is he got rid of it,” Otley says quietly. “Maybe he used the hair…”
“For DNA testing.” Ellis’ gaze lifts to the picture wall, and his eyes are sheened with tears when they latch onto mine. “I’m sorry, Lily. I promise you, I didn’tknow.”
That lump in my throat is now as thick as a fist, so I just nod mutely at him. I don’t care if he’s the best actor in the world, he looks too heartbroken for this to be a lie, and Tristan makes a soft sound of protest as he steps into his mate’s embrace. “Neither of you knew,” he says in a fierce whisper, cupping Ellis’ cheek. “You remember how Crest was with me? He hated your attention being on anything other than your career. If he knew you had a son…”
Ellis wipes his hand over his face and hisses through his teeth. “That prick!”
“He wasn’t taking any chances,” Otley adds, squeezing Ellis’ shoulder. “He made sure Lily couldn’t contact us, but he also made it impossible for us to find her.”
Ellis swings my way, his eyes tortured. “But I asked him about you so many goddamn times! I didn’t understand how he knew so little, especially because his company was the main sponsor of the competition.” He blows out an angry breath. “I always knew he was an asshole, but I didn’t think he’d do something this shitty to his own family.”
Because if Crest was Ellis’ uncle, he was also related to Leo. I got a bad vibe off Crest, and his insults still haunt me to this day, but that level of ruthlessness takes my breath away. “I’m sorry he did that to you.”
“No,I’msorry.” Ellis grabs my hand, and even though Logan shifts at my side, he doesn’t try to stop him. “I should’ve known he was hiding something. He hated me talking about that summer, and was always trying to book stuff when I came out here looking for you.”
“You came to Idaho.” I know he already admitted this, but I still can’t believe it. If Ellis Castle was traipsing around the state, the press must have been right on his heels. Case in point – the news vans staked out in my parking lot.
“Every year, on our anniversary. I kept it lowkey, since you told Crest you didn’t want anything to do with us, but I came.”
“I didn’t say that…” I break off, because what’s the point in rehashing all of this? Crest did a brilliant job of keeping us apart, but he’s gone now. The next step is up to us, although I’m still unsure what that should be. “It makes me feel better to know you weren’t ignoring me,” I admit.
“The opposite, in fact!” Ellis looks so earnest, I feel another knot in my chest slowly release. But it tightens up again when he asks, “Can I meet him?”
I’m conscious of all their eyes on me – Logan included – and force myself to stand up straighter. I might be about to drop from emotional exhaustion, but I still need to protect Leo, first and foremost. “He's asleep right now. The trip took a lot out of him.” I catch Logan rubbing his jaw and rest my hand on his arm. We still need to talk about Leo’s accident, but I know that Logan would have done everything he could to prevent it. Sometimes Leo is just a force of nature. Ugh.Why does that sound so familiar?
“I need time to explain all of this to him,” I tell Ellis. “As far as he knows, his father was just some guy I met on vacation.”
“Of course.” Ellis looks crestfallen, but he rallies quickly, giving me a hopeful glance that puts some color back into his cheeks. “Can I call you in the morning? After you see how he's feeling, maybe we could meet up for breakfast.”
“Maybe,” I hedge, then nod at the window. “Just do something about the crowd out there, okay? If Leo is going to need anything, it’s normalcy.”
