I nodded, magnifying and moving the picture around to get a better look. Like me, Evan had dark hair and angled features, but that’s where the similarities ended. His eyes were ink black and his smile didn’t reach his eyes. Jonah, on the other hand, couldn’t contain his grin if he tried. He was pure joy and contentment. Of mixed race, his skin was darker than mine, but his eyes… they were blue like Marni’s. Like mine.
I marveled at this incredible find, feeling a surge of anger toward my father. He’d done this to me. Kept me from the one thing I’d wanted my whole life— brothers. A family.
“Do they know about me?”
“They know about Alex, but they don’t know Alex is Bodhi Beckett. I only just found out myself. Eddie changed your identity. I watched you grow up on television but never knew you were my son.”
Her shoulders slumped and, for the first time, I saw the toll my absence must have taken on her.
“I’m sorry,” I said, touching her for the first time as I rubbed circles on her back soothingly. “I didn’t know any of this. He told me you were dead.”
“He told you I was dead? I thought you just didn’t want to see me.” All traces of vulnerability vanished and she muttered under her breath, “Oh, I’m going to bury him just like he buried me.”
Her comment was troubling enough that I questioned her story. Was Marni already in contact with Tucker? Was he paying her off to stay away from me?
The question was too troubling to risk asking now that my brothers were involved. I had to play nice if I ever wanted a shot at a relationship with them.
Settling on a more neutral inquiry I asked, “How did you find us?”
“About four months ago, I saw a picture of you and Eddie together. He’s gotten older and richer, but I’d know him anywhere. And then when I saw you beside him, it all fell into place.”
And that explained why my father never wanted to be photographed with me. The picture she’d seen must’ve been taken by paparazzi because he’d never willingly allow that to happen. He always kept his distance when cameras were around, claiming he wanted it to be about me.
Who wants to take pictures of my ugly mug anyway?he’d say.
Pushing aside the memory, I met my mother’s gaze.
“So, what is it you want from me?”
She placed a hand on my shoulder. And I let her.
“I want to know you, of course.” She smiled. “Be a part of your life and have you be part of ours.”
“And what about Tucker?”
She shrugged. “What about him?”
“Are you going to press charges against him?”
Had it been my kid that someone had stolen, I’d want justice. Or at least some sort of police intervention.
“I think there’s a way we can come to an understanding, Eddie and me.”
Wrong answer.
21
Breeze: Round Two
Sitting by the picture window in the front of the house, I anxiously waited for my man to return home from the visit with his mother. Every scenario had passed through my mind. It could go either way. Bodhi’s expectations were high, but so was his doubt. How did one wrap their brain around twenty-four years lost?
After last night, I was more conflicted than ever. Ever since Bodhi had barreled his way into my life, wrapping himself around my heart like twine, I couldn’t imagine existing without him. We had it all— white-hot chemistry, teamwork, and the playful camaraderie I’d always dreamed of in a partner.
But Bodhi was a marked man, hunted by the very people who claimed to love him. My mission, if I chose to accept it, was to bring love, peace, and a sense of normalcy to his crazy life. And I could do that. But at what cost? How much was I willing to lose in order to gain the man of my dreams?
The Range Rover rolled up to the curb and I perked up. A minute passed, and then two, but Bodhi remained inside the vehicle. Imaging the worst, my pulse raced.
Dammit! What was with those luxury vehicles and their dramatically tinted windows? It made gauging the emotional stability of the driver inside near impossible. The longer he stayed put, the more convinced I became that the mommy dearest reunion had not gone well.
