“Not to compete with your processing, but…” I pull my phone from my pocket and show him the photo of the man I swear is my father. It’s time I talk to him about my dad.
He unwraps his arm from me and takes the phone, staring at it. “You really think it’s him?” he asks as he turns to me.
I nod. “I didn’t mention this before, but Mom talked to him a few weeks ago,” I start.
“Wait! What?” he says, a look of confusion and hurt on his face. Shit. I should have told him; I just needed time to figure it all out.
“Yeah. I’m sorry, I wanted to talk to you about it, but I needed a few days. I guess I’m processing too. Anyhow, she ran into him on the street. He said he was working on a contract here and wanted to reconnect when he was more settled.”
“Wow,” Hutch says, placing his elbows on his knees and leaning forward, his hands steepling together.
“Yeah. So on the way here, I swear this was him. Maybe a mile away. Not far. He’s here. That’s got to be him,” I state.
“Kasen?” Hutch suggests. I know what he means. Kasen is the man who can find anyone. But again, a feeling of guilt creeps through me. I hate asking people for things.
“Maybe. I mean, he did help me find my grandmother, aunt, and cousins,” I agree.
I study Hutch. I’m worried about him. He’s normally so jovial. And here he is being super serious. I once heard Bray say something about Hutch having a serious side. And I’ve seen little glimpses of it over the past few weeks. But he looks like he has the weight of the world on his shoulders. I know he visited his family, and aside from telling me it went well and all is good, he hasn’t spoken about it. Part of me wants to make him tell me everything, right now. And another part wants to wait until he’s ready to talk about it.
“You sure you’re alright?” I ask again, hoping he’ll talk about it.
He nods. “I’ll figure it out. But right now, we need to find your dad.”
I look around us.
“What about your mystery?” I ask, motioning to our surroundings.
Hutch reaches down and picks up a bouquet of flowers from the side of the bench.
“I think I’ll deal with it another day. But you look like you could use these now,” he says as he hands them to me.
I smile up at him. “Thanks,” I say as I smell them.
“Anything for my princessa,” he whispers, reaching out and pulling my hand to his lips. He kisses it, and I want to swoon. This man is too perfect. I know he has his own demons to wrestle with, but that only makes him more real. I just hope we can conquer all of these crazy things together.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Hutch
As soon as Jocelyn gets off work, she comes upstairs, and I immediately usher her to Kasen’s apartment.
I knock on Kasen’s door. No answer.
Jocelyn tugs on my hand. “Come on. We can talk to him later,” she urges as she tries to pull me toward the stairwell.
I don’t budge and knock again. No answer, but I swear I hear noise from inside his apartment.
I pull out my phone and text him.
Me: Answer your door, fucker.
No answer, but for sure I know there’s some noise coming from inside his apartment. A muffled cry?
I feel my brows furrowing in confusion and annoyance.
“OMG. We need to leave,” Jocelyn states as she tugs harder on my hand.
“Why? He’s home,” I state, motioning to the door.
