Scott turned toward him very slowly, his hands clenched tightly at his side. “What?”
If the old guy had more blood in his body, he probably would have flushed. Instead his sickly colored skin turned faintly less pallid. “I couldn’t help notice that Natalie didn’t have wine last night and Dalton mentioned that she’d asked for decaf this morning. When I was down at the pool earlier, I noticed a little... I thought...” He stopped uncomfortably. “It probably isn’t my place tosay anything, but I just want to make sure she has everything she needs.”
“Damned right it isn’t your place to say anything.”
It wasn’t any of his business. Scott fought the blast of temper that was threatening to take hold. This wasn’t about Natalie’s comfort—or that wasn’t all of it anyway. The old man was practically salivating at the idea of a baby to carry on his foul bloodline.
The bloodline Scott didn’t want.
Thomas Greythorn the fucking third wasn’t getting anywhere near Scott’s progeny. When he thought of how happy hisrealfather would have been—the father he would give anything to have back, even if he were on death’s door—it made him even angrier.
Scott came right up to his “father” and looked him square in the face. “Stay away from Natalie. I don’t want you anywhere near her. We wouldn’t be here if there was anywhere else I could have gone. I needed a safe place to hide out for a few days. I didn’t come here to get to know you or be some big happy family, so if that doesn’t work for you just say the word and we’ll go. I had a father, and I sure as hell don’t need one who cheated on his wife and tricked someone else into raising his bastard.”
The senator showed the first glimpse of his former hard-assed reputation. “Sit down, Scott. Now.”
Scott was so shocked by the steely tone, he snapped back. “What?”
“I said sit down. I can’t stand for long periods of time, and you are going to listen to what I have to say whether you like it or not.” His mouth was pulled so tight, white lines had appeared around his lips. The expression wasn’t one that was unfamiliar to Scott; it was like looking in a damned mirror. “When I’m done you can decide whether you want to leave.”
The senator sat on one of the weight benches and Scott sat opposite him on one of the machines.
“I regret a lot of things,” the senator said, “but tricking another man into raising my son isn’t one of them. Your father knew you were my biological child.”
He might as well have smacked Scott across the forehead with a two-by-four. The effect was the same. Scott had been leveled. His head was ringing with shock and disbelief.
The senator read his reaction. “Yes, he knew you weren’t his. He knew about the affair. Although ‘affair’ is probably putting too strong a word on it. Your mother and I were two old friends who were having problems in their marriages and had a drunken lapse one night that could have destroyed a lot of lives. It was stupid, selfish, and unforgivable, but I cannot regret it. How can I when you were the result?”
Scott was glad he was sitting. He felt as if the rug had literally been pulled out from beneath his feet, leaving him with nothing to stand on. Words stuck in his throat. “What happened?”
“The usual dumb excuses. A party without our spouses. Too much drinking and reminiscing. Me feeling ignored by my wife whose focus was on our new daughter. Your mom vulnerable from the difficulties she and your father had been having in conceiving a child—something they both wanted very much.”
Jesus. Scott didn’t know what to say. “I didn’t realize.”
“Of course you didn’t,” the senator said sternly. “You weren’t supposed to. You were a child.”
“When did my father learn the truth?”
“As soon as your mom realized she was pregnant she went right to him—before she told me, as a matter of fact. By that time I’d gotten my head out of my ass and realized how much I loved my wife and what an arrogant, selfish fool I’d been.”
“Did your wife know?” Kate had seemed to think she hadn’t.
He shook his head. The stern facade softened in shame. “I never told her. Maybe I should have, but I was too scared she would never forgive me or be able to look at me the same way again. And there was Katherine to consider. But your dad forgave your mom for her moment of stupidity. He did more than forgive. He considered it a gift.”
Scott was incredulous. “What? For cheating on him?”
“No, maybe not for that. But for you. He’d just found out that he couldn’t have a child. Not knowing how to tell your mom was one of the reasons they’d been fighting.”
Scott couldn’t believe it. “So he knew? This whole time he knew?”
The senator nodded. “But he never wanted you to. He made your mom and me promise never to tell you. It was a promise I came to regret. At the time, I’m ashamed to admit that I was worried about my wife and the election I was about to run. I didn’t think about all that I would be giving up.”
“But you kept your word?”
“Reluctantly. I felt I owed it to him. And I would have gone on keeping it if Kate hadn’t come to me with what you both had found out. I’d kept up with you. Followed your progress. I wasn’t surprised that you’d gone into the service. It’s in your blood. I was the first in the family not to go into the military. My father was an air force pilot in Korea, and my grandfather was an admiral in the Pacific during the Second World War.”
Shit.Scott didn’t know what to say. Kate had never said anything. Although he supposed he’d never asked. He’d made it clear the subject was off-limits.
But it was what else he’d learned that was harder to process. He was both overcome and humbled by what he’d just heard. His father had known and loved him anyway. He hadn’t been deceived.
