“Oh, Ma, don’t cry,” I reached out for her hand, feeling that tremendous amount of guilt pressing down on my chest.
“Let me get this straight.” My dad’s hard voice lashed out. He raised his brows, his eyes furious. “You knocked up your girlfriend andstilltook off gallivanting around the globe?”
“I didn’t know.”
“You would have if you hadn’t been such a—“
“Michael!” Mom shouted, her voice lashing with anger. “Enough! Sit down and shut up.” She pointed to the vacant chair beside her, and Dad begrudgingly obeyed, still glaring daggers of disgust at me. My mother turned her watery gaze to me. “Cal…” her voice wavered.
“Like I said, I didn’t know about him, and now I do. Before you say anything,” I lifted my hand in warning, noticing my father had been about to open his mouth. “Now that I know about him, I’m moving back. I’m taking a break from work to focus on getting to know my kid.”
“Oh, honey,” Mom was still crying a little, but she began to smile. “That’s—“
“Deplorable.” Dad scoffed, shaking his head with disdain. His arms were folded across his chest.
“Mike,” Mom sighed, turning to look at him. “He is trying to do the right thing.”
“The right thing would have been never leaving in the first goddamn place.” My father barked, his angry eyes boring into me.
“Yeah, Dad. You’re right. But I did, and I can’t focus on what I did years ago, I have to focus on the present. I’m done rehashing this with you. Leaving the way I did was a mistake. Now let’s move on.”
Dad slammed his fist against the tabletop, jostling the teacups and sloshing tea into the saucers. “Let’s move on?” He cocked a brow at me, and leaned forward, everything in his gaze challenging me. “You’ve got a bloody kid you supposedly didn’t know existed until what, yesterday? Who knows how many other bastard kids you’ve got around the globe, and we’re just supposed to move on because you said so?”
I drew in a breath, fortifying myself and working hard to ignore his digs and not let them flame my own temper. “Either move on, or I will walk out this door again, and you won’t be a part of what comes next. I may be a lot of things, Dad, but my son won’t know conflict like this.”
I was deadly serious, and he knew it. The silence stretched between us, wrought with the discord of our stare down.
“Michael, please.” Mom pleaded softly, placing a trembling hand on Dad’s shoulder. She sent him a beseeching look, and he conceded, clenching his jaw in restraint. She turned to me. “What’s his name?”
“Asher,” I replied, addressing her, forgetting my father for a moment.
“Where do they live?”
“Mahone Bay, Ma.” I could tell my answer upset her a little—they’d been so close for so long.
Mom cleared her throat, trying to disguise the hurt, and smiled—a genuine one. “Well, I’m glad to hear you’re moving back. And I hope we get to meet our…grandson soon.”
“You will,” I assured her. “I started house hunting, and I’m hoping to find something with a quick closing date. I could get a hotel room until my housing situation is settled. I don’t want to overstay my welcome here.”
“Don’t be foolish. You can stay with us.” Mom said, her tone leaving no room for arguments. Judging by the look on my father’s face, I didn’t think he held the same opinion on the matter.
I nodded my thanks, standing up. “I have some calls I need to make to line things up, so…I’ll see you later.” I pressed a quick kiss to my mom’s temple before leaving the room.
Now that I’d told them, it was best to leave my dad the hell alone and let him process the news in the way that made sense to him, without bearing witness to his indignation. His volatile reaction would entice one from me as well, and I couldn’t have that.
Harper
Istepped out of my car as the familiar gray Volvo slowed and pulled into the driveway, gravel crunched beneath the tires as it slowed and then came to a stop behind my car. Dad killed the ignition as Mom collected her purse, then they stepped out of their vehicle in sync.
We’d just pulled into the driveway ourselves, after stopping off at the grocery store.
Asher climbed out of the backseat and closed his door. Catching sight of his grandparents—his entire face lit up.
“Poppop!” He shouted, bulldozing into my father for a hug. Dad chuckled and hugged him, ruffling his hair affectionately.
“Hey, kiddo! How’s it going?” My dad asked.
“Really good!” Asher replied, his eyes widening with excitement. I held my breath, waiting for the bomb to drop. At nearly eight, Asher didn’t understand the complexities surrounding Calum’s return—or how my parents felt about him. I was hoping I’d have a chance to talk them privately beforehand, but I wasn’t counting on them showing up the moment they got back to town. “I’m meeting my dad tomorrow!”
