Chapter Four
Brenden sat in his car, staring at the soccer field filled with parents and kids. He had gotten there a lot later than he was expecting. His mother picked the perfect time to call. His dad was on a new health kick because of something he’d read in a magazine. Everyone in the family thought that the new phase was not going to last long. His father tried something new every few months. Brenden knew his mom just needed someone to listen to her complain for just a few minutes, since his sisters all had their own lives with their children and husbands who they had to take care of. Brenden didn’t know if he should consider that a compliment or an insult. He looked at the wrapped gift resting on the passenger seat.
He remembered Stephen told him that Nicholas loved the sixties Batman character. In his need to impress his son, Brenden had gone online and found the limited-edition action figure on one of those bidding sites. It was a little costly and he hoped that Nicholas would like it. He wasn’t sure if he did the right thing by coming here. He leaned his head back and knew he was stalling. Stephen had sent him a text earlier that morning telling him what field and color uniform Nicholas and his teammates were wearing since there was more than one team playing on the field at the same time.
Brenden was nervous; more nervous than he’d thought he would be. He couldn’t believe he was about to meet his son. Picking up the gift, he opened the car door, stepping out. Looking at the gift in his hand he wondered if it was appropriate to give his present now or later after the game. He hated how unsure he felt about everything. Deciding that it was better to wait, he threw the box back on the passenger seat then locked up his car. He shoved his shaking hands in his pockets of his pants and walked toward the field. He and Stephen had both agreed that they would not tell Nicholas that Brenden was his father, they wanted to wait and see how their relationship developed.
Brenden was scanning the field, looking for the team with orange and brown uniforms and stopped when he saw the little blond-haired boy running on the field, kicking the ball as an excited crowd cheered him on the second he kicked the ball into the net. Brenden watched as his son was cheered on by his teammates. Rushing over to him and giving him congratulated hugs. Brenden smiled as the coach tried to get the kids back to playing the game, but it was futile, to them the game was over.
“That was their first goal made this season.”
Brenden turned and was surprised to see his boss standing beside him.Shit.He didn’t know what to say, he definitely wasn’t expecting to see Tucker there. He opened his mouth to say something, but was stopped when his boss raised his hand and shook his head.
“I spent the past five years hating the man that got him pregnant and left him to take care of their child alone. Only to find out that I was wrong about everything.” He stepped closer to Brenden, staring into his face. “You know I never realized how much Nick looks like you until now. Maybe in the back of my mind, I knew and simply ignored what my gut instincts were telling me. I understand that we were both in the dark about a lot of things. But I’m going to give you a warning. You hurt them, and I will make your life a living hell. He’s more than just my nephew. He’s the son I wish I had. I’m warning you now, Smith, if you’re not willing to be a part of Nicholas’ life, walk away. If you think of taking Nicholas away from Stephen, be ready for a fight.”
Brenden clenched his fists, to stop himself from punching his boss in his face. He’d never take Nicholas away from Stephen. He’d never even thought about it. Tucker walked off before Brenden could say anything in his defense.
Well, this is starting out to be a great day. Maybe I should forget about doing this.
Brenden was about to turn around and walk away when a man he recognized as Stephen’s father walked up to him. Brenden braced himself for another verbal thrashing. The guy was handsome and looked like a slightly older version of Tucker. Same blond hair with some gray-green eyes, but slimmer build to Tucker’s muscular form. Tucker really kept his family life out of the office. Everyone knew about his wife, sister, and child dying, but no one knew he had a brother and nephew. Well, that was until Stephen showed up to work on the O’Brian case. The older man stopped in front of him, they stared at each other for a few long seconds.
“Julian Stevens-Young,” he introduced himself extending a hand. “I’m Stephen’s dad.”
Still skeptical, Brenden extended his hand shaking the other man’s hand. “I gathered that, Brenden Smith.”
Their hands separated, and fell easily to their sides. “Look, I know you’re expecting some kind of argument from me. But I just want to get to know you as the father of my grandson. I did not agree with my son, and he knows that, but I stood by him just the same. Hopefully, you can find it in your heart to understand why he did what he did.”
“I’m sorry,” Brenden apologized, even though he didn’t know what he was apologizing for.
“Please, Brenden, you have nothing to apologize for. I think in the heat of the moment you both didn’t think of the future or both of you saw things differently.” He walked beside Brenden patting him on the shoulder. “Come on, let's introduce you to your son.”
Brenden nodded his head and followed Julian. He was feeling a bit more confident than he was a few minutes earlier. They passed parents who were collecting their kids, some were eager to leave and others not so much. The moment they got closer to the little group and the second Nicholas saw his grandfather a bright smile appeared on his face, he ran to Julian who scooped him up easily.
“Grandpa, did you see me? I scored the winning goal.”
“I sure did, little man, it was epic.” Julian hugged and kissed his chubby cheek. Julian walked over to the rest of the celebrating group with Nicholas still in his arms.
“Thanks for coming,” Stephen said in greeting.
Brenden looked to the side of him, seeing Stephen looking at Julian and Nicholas then at him.
“I said I would be here,” Brenden chided, feeling defensive.
“Yeah, you did. Listen, I hope that my dad and uncle weren’t too hard on you. I know Uncle Tuck is still pissed at me, but he’s also extremely protective of his family. I should have warned you on what you were walking into.”
“It’s fine. I will admit, Tucker can be scary when he’s threatening you. But don’t worry, I can handle myself.” Brenden smiled, easing some of the tension between them for the first time in a long time.
“Are you ready to meet him? He’s happy about that goal, even though his team lost.”
Brenden’s palms started sweating, he felt as if he was about to meet some foreign dignitary for the first time when it was only a four-year-old kid.
“Yeah, let’s do this.”
They took the few short steps over to Julian and Nicholas, who stopped speaking and looked at them.
“Hey, bud, I want you to meet a friend of mine from work,” Stephen said as Julian put Nicholas on the ground. “This is my friend Brenden Smith.”
“Wow,” Nicholas said. “You’re tall, like a giant.” The entire group chuckled. Nicholas extended his hand like a grown-up. “I’m Nicholas Brady Young.”
