Owen shot his mom a disgruntled look before he slid inside the house, but Erin was too involved in the revelation to notice.
Josh handed Mom and Dad the DNA results he’d printed off this morning. “This is from My Legacy DNA, the company where I sent my sample weeks ago. These are my matches.”
“‘Parent/child.’” Dad’s voice was full of wonder.
Mom covered her mouth as she met Josh’s gaze. Tears pooled in her eyes. “It’s really true? You have a son?” She jumped up, dashed around the table. “You have a son!”
Josh stood and enveloped her in his arms. “I do, Mom. And he’s pretty amazing.”
“Oh, honey, it’s a miracle. A precious miracle.”
“It is that.” Josh’s voice wobbled.
“This is unbelievable,” Erin said.
“I talked to him for a long time yesterday. He’s such a good kid: kind, helpful, hardworking, and so smart. He was very curious about me, about all of you.”
Mom turned loose of Josh and wiped her face. “Well, we need to have him over. We need to meet him. Can you call him?”
“Now?Mom... don’t you want to let this sit a minute? Take some time to digest it?”
“What’s to digest? We have another grandson. We’ve already missed nineteen years of his life and we’ll not waste another minute.”
Dad flashed Josh a grin. “What she said.”
Erin nodded emphatically. “The sooner the better.”
“No time like the present,” Patrick added.
From the other side of the screen door, Owen smirked. “’Bout time I had a male cousin around here.”
Josh breathed a laugh. Well, Will might as well know what he was in for. “All right then. Guess I’ll give him a call.”
***
Will put the mower back in the shed, thoughts of a cool shower drawing him toward the house. Of all the days to mow, he’d picked the one with hades-like temperatures. But it was a holiday and he had to take advantage of his day off. Plus, he’d wanted to stay busy and mowing was good thinking time. He had a lot to ponder—he’d already reviewed yesterday a million times.
Over the past twenty-four hours, he’d spent hours chatting with Addison on the phone. She’d been amazed to learn that their boss was his father. She’d helped Will sort out his feelings.
After he grabbed a shower he dressed in casual clothes. Mom was baking—cinnamon rolls, judging by the delicious scent wafting through the house—a sure sign she was troubled. And likely still feeling terrible about the way she’d handled Maggie’s first visit. He should probably put her out of her misery.
“Something smells good,” he said as he entered the kitchen.
She pulled a pan from the oven and his mouth salivated at the sight of the golden-brown, pecan-glazed rolls. “You’re just in time.”
It really didn’t matter that lunch had only been an hour ago. “Bring it on.” He sat at the island and watched Mom sweep aroundthe kitchen. She was always busy, his mom. She’d worked two jobs since the divorce and never complained.
She served up a roll on a small plate and set a fork and napkin beside it.
“Thanks, Mom.” Josh dug in, savoring the sweet and yeasty combination. He didn’t come up for air until he was finished.
“Is Addison coming over today?”
“No, she’s got plans with her family.”
Mom turned off the tap and leaned against the counter. She studied him for a long moment. “How are you doing with all this? Are you okay? You’ve been kind of quiet.”
“I’m good. Just taking it all in, I guess.” He glanced at the cupcakes sitting in a carrier and a fresh loaf of bread nestled inside a paper bag. “I’m not sure about you, though. You’ve been baking up a storm.”
