I searched his face, unsure if that was true or not. I saw some strain, but for the most part, he looked like his usual loving self.
I swallowed a knot in my throat. “Are you sure?”
“I made my peace with what your mother did long ago. I left because that fight isn’t mine anymore. Whatever Analise did in the past, it’s in the past. I have you, and I have Malinda. That’s all I need.”
“And Mark.”
“And Mark.” He nodded. “You’re right. I’m proud to have him as a son.”
David Strattan wasn’t my biological father, but he was my dad in every other sense of the word. I realized now that neither of his children was biological.
I frowned. “Dad…” Could I ask what I wanted to ask? Was it even my business?
“Sam?”
“Can Malinda still have children?”
“Oh, Sam.” He pulled me in for a hug. “I know what you’re thinking, and I don’t need children of my own. Your stepmom and I have talked about children, but if we decided to have them, we wouldn’t go the biological route. We’d adopt. She went through menopause early. She can’t have any more children.”
“I’m so sorry.”
He shook his head. “It’s not for you to worry about. It’s not even for you to think about. There was a time I wanted my own child, but I had you, and those were the days when I worried whether Analise would even let me keep you as a daughter. You were enough for me. Then I was lucky and got Malinda and Mark, too. I have a daughter and a son, and two more stepchildren with Mason and Logan—four if you count Nate and Matteo. I’m very blessed.”
“Are you sure?”
“I am.” He hugged me again. “You should go make sure Mason’s okay. Steven’s a nasty drunk. I have no doubt he’ll start ribbing Mason about you. That’s what he does. He searches for a person’s weakness and pushes on it. He already knows Mason and James’ weaknesses: the women they love. That was another reason I left. If Quinn had started in about you, I don’t know what I would’ve done.”
“Oh.” Well, fuck. New alarms sounded in me. “Yeah, I should head back then.”
But when I got there, the two fathers were gone. Adam and Mason remained, and Nate right next to them.
I approached, unsure if I was still needed. “Everything okay now?”
“Sam.” Adam’s chest rose with his head. The regret in his eyes mixed with anger. “I’m sorry for what my dad said. I didn’t know you heard any of that until Nate came out, but he was drunk. No. That’s no excuse. He… I know you think I was coming at you guys earlier, but I wasn’t.”
“Jeff said you’re going into politics,” I said.
“I’m hoping, but with my dad how he is…” He motioned in the direction Steven Quinn must’ve gone. “I don’t know if that’s a possibility. I’m getting ready to take over the family company if he doesn’t stop drinking, and you never know. Maybe he’ll end up going to rehab, too.” His eyebrows pushed together. “Where’s the one your mom went to again? We might need a good referral.”
“Is that what you think?”
“Hmmm?” His head tilted. With his hands in his pockets, his body half-turned away from me, it came off like he was distracted.
Was he? Was that why he was asking for the wrong information?
“My mom wasn’t a drunk. Is that what you think?”
“I’m sorry. What?” He turned to face me, his hands still in his pockets.
Adam knew my mom wasn’t a drunk. I said, “You just asked where my mom went to rehab, like your father would go there for his drinking.” I waited. Would he realize his mistake? “You were there, Adam. I talked to you about her. I confided in you.”
And I waited.
Then I saw it. Realization filtered over his face, followed by regret, and then sympathy. “Sam, I’m so—”
I waved that off, shaking my head. “Sorry. I know. I heard you. My mom wasn’t a drunk and a junkie. She wasn’t an addict at all. She has a mental disorder, and she went to intensive therapy for it. I could tell you where she went, but I don’t think that’s where you’d want to send your dad, if you’re actually going to send him somewhere.”
I’d had enough. Things were fine here. Adam was off in his own head, plotting or planning something. I wasn’t sure why Mason and Nate were still here, but I didn’t care. I started to head back. I needed to hug Becky one more time, and then I was ready to leave.
“I wasn’t lying about my dad.”
Adam’s voice stopped me. I turned around again.
“And I do remember your mom,” he said, his eyes boring into mine. “I’m distracted right now because I do want to go to law school and into politics. I don’t want to stay here and take over my dad’s company, so right now when I asked about the wrong type of rehab, I was wondering if somehow my mom could take over instead. Or one of my sisters. Would that be fair to even ask that? Molly is the next oldest, but she’s just graduating high school. I don’t think that’s a fair burden to place on her shoulders. And then I wondered if that would affect Becky’s decision to marry me. If she’d be okay if we stayed in Fallen Crest for the rest of our lives, if she truly said yes to me because she loves me.”
Stark pain looked back at me.
“So please take my apology because I do mean it,” he finished.
I jerked my head in a stiff nod. I didn’t trust him regarding Becky, but I could recognize another child in pain over a parent. “Becky agreed to marry you. She doesn’t care what you end up doing. Believe that.”
“Thank you, Sam. I will.”
As I turned to go, I heard a voice I hadn’t heard for almost two weeks.
“Uh, yeah…”
I was already starting to smile.
Logan came around the back entrance, hand in hand with Taylor. He pointed behind him. “Just saw Dad helping this asshole’s pops into the car, and they both reeked of booze.” He dropped Taylor’s hand and held up his arms. “Come to me, my big brother. The better-looking Kade is back in town!”
My family was back together again.
Mason hugged Logan, then Nate, and I was last.
After setting me back on my feet, Logan skewered Adam with a look. “What’s that motherfucker doing here?”
I let Mason answer that and moved to hug Taylor. “Hey. How was the trip?”
“Good.” She waved to Nate and Mason, a little shy.
She was the closest to me, but even we weren’t super close. She and Logan had been together for almost a year now, but since she was from Cain, she liked to stick close to her friends there. Logan slept more at her house during the year than ours, which had caused some tension between him and Mason.
Taylor raked a hand through her dark blond hair. “We got to the house, but no one was there, so Logan used a GPS tracker thing he has installed on Mason’s phone. When he realized you guys were here, he got really quiet. Is this a bad place?” She looked around. “I gotta say, this is somewhere my dad would hang out.”
“It’s not really the place. It’s the people.”
“Sullivan?” we heard Logan saying. “I remember taking one off your hands more than a few times. Not that one? Tate.”
Adam shook his head. “Nice, Logan. Yeah. It’s just great to have you back.”
Nate ignored Adam. “It’s Becky, Sam’s old friend.”
Logan looked at me. “Old friend, right? Don’t tell me that’s changed, too.”
“Uh, it was old until about thirty minutes ago. It got genuine again.”
“It did?” Adam asked.
I ignored him. “Don’t knock it until you meet her again, Logan. She’s changed.”
“Not a backstabber any more?”
More like just a smarter backstabber, but I shrugged.
Logan turned to face his brother. “What the fuck is going on? You stopped taking my calls a week ago.”
“You stopped calling.”
I swallowed a knot in my throat. “Are you sure?”
“I made my peace with what your mother did long ago. I left because that fight isn’t mine anymore. Whatever Analise did in the past, it’s in the past. I have you, and I have Malinda. That’s all I need.”
“And Mark.”
“And Mark.” He nodded. “You’re right. I’m proud to have him as a son.”
David Strattan wasn’t my biological father, but he was my dad in every other sense of the word. I realized now that neither of his children was biological.
I frowned. “Dad…” Could I ask what I wanted to ask? Was it even my business?
“Sam?”
“Can Malinda still have children?”
“Oh, Sam.” He pulled me in for a hug. “I know what you’re thinking, and I don’t need children of my own. Your stepmom and I have talked about children, but if we decided to have them, we wouldn’t go the biological route. We’d adopt. She went through menopause early. She can’t have any more children.”
“I’m so sorry.”
He shook his head. “It’s not for you to worry about. It’s not even for you to think about. There was a time I wanted my own child, but I had you, and those were the days when I worried whether Analise would even let me keep you as a daughter. You were enough for me. Then I was lucky and got Malinda and Mark, too. I have a daughter and a son, and two more stepchildren with Mason and Logan—four if you count Nate and Matteo. I’m very blessed.”
“Are you sure?”
“I am.” He hugged me again. “You should go make sure Mason’s okay. Steven’s a nasty drunk. I have no doubt he’ll start ribbing Mason about you. That’s what he does. He searches for a person’s weakness and pushes on it. He already knows Mason and James’ weaknesses: the women they love. That was another reason I left. If Quinn had started in about you, I don’t know what I would’ve done.”
“Oh.” Well, fuck. New alarms sounded in me. “Yeah, I should head back then.”
But when I got there, the two fathers were gone. Adam and Mason remained, and Nate right next to them.
I approached, unsure if I was still needed. “Everything okay now?”
“Sam.” Adam’s chest rose with his head. The regret in his eyes mixed with anger. “I’m sorry for what my dad said. I didn’t know you heard any of that until Nate came out, but he was drunk. No. That’s no excuse. He… I know you think I was coming at you guys earlier, but I wasn’t.”
“Jeff said you’re going into politics,” I said.
“I’m hoping, but with my dad how he is…” He motioned in the direction Steven Quinn must’ve gone. “I don’t know if that’s a possibility. I’m getting ready to take over the family company if he doesn’t stop drinking, and you never know. Maybe he’ll end up going to rehab, too.” His eyebrows pushed together. “Where’s the one your mom went to again? We might need a good referral.”
“Is that what you think?”
“Hmmm?” His head tilted. With his hands in his pockets, his body half-turned away from me, it came off like he was distracted.
Was he? Was that why he was asking for the wrong information?
“My mom wasn’t a drunk. Is that what you think?”
“I’m sorry. What?” He turned to face me, his hands still in his pockets.
Adam knew my mom wasn’t a drunk. I said, “You just asked where my mom went to rehab, like your father would go there for his drinking.” I waited. Would he realize his mistake? “You were there, Adam. I talked to you about her. I confided in you.”
And I waited.
Then I saw it. Realization filtered over his face, followed by regret, and then sympathy. “Sam, I’m so—”
I waved that off, shaking my head. “Sorry. I know. I heard you. My mom wasn’t a drunk and a junkie. She wasn’t an addict at all. She has a mental disorder, and she went to intensive therapy for it. I could tell you where she went, but I don’t think that’s where you’d want to send your dad, if you’re actually going to send him somewhere.”
I’d had enough. Things were fine here. Adam was off in his own head, plotting or planning something. I wasn’t sure why Mason and Nate were still here, but I didn’t care. I started to head back. I needed to hug Becky one more time, and then I was ready to leave.
“I wasn’t lying about my dad.”
Adam’s voice stopped me. I turned around again.
“And I do remember your mom,” he said, his eyes boring into mine. “I’m distracted right now because I do want to go to law school and into politics. I don’t want to stay here and take over my dad’s company, so right now when I asked about the wrong type of rehab, I was wondering if somehow my mom could take over instead. Or one of my sisters. Would that be fair to even ask that? Molly is the next oldest, but she’s just graduating high school. I don’t think that’s a fair burden to place on her shoulders. And then I wondered if that would affect Becky’s decision to marry me. If she’d be okay if we stayed in Fallen Crest for the rest of our lives, if she truly said yes to me because she loves me.”
Stark pain looked back at me.
“So please take my apology because I do mean it,” he finished.
I jerked my head in a stiff nod. I didn’t trust him regarding Becky, but I could recognize another child in pain over a parent. “Becky agreed to marry you. She doesn’t care what you end up doing. Believe that.”
“Thank you, Sam. I will.”
As I turned to go, I heard a voice I hadn’t heard for almost two weeks.
“Uh, yeah…”
I was already starting to smile.
Logan came around the back entrance, hand in hand with Taylor. He pointed behind him. “Just saw Dad helping this asshole’s pops into the car, and they both reeked of booze.” He dropped Taylor’s hand and held up his arms. “Come to me, my big brother. The better-looking Kade is back in town!”
My family was back together again.
Mason hugged Logan, then Nate, and I was last.
After setting me back on my feet, Logan skewered Adam with a look. “What’s that motherfucker doing here?”
I let Mason answer that and moved to hug Taylor. “Hey. How was the trip?”
“Good.” She waved to Nate and Mason, a little shy.
She was the closest to me, but even we weren’t super close. She and Logan had been together for almost a year now, but since she was from Cain, she liked to stick close to her friends there. Logan slept more at her house during the year than ours, which had caused some tension between him and Mason.
Taylor raked a hand through her dark blond hair. “We got to the house, but no one was there, so Logan used a GPS tracker thing he has installed on Mason’s phone. When he realized you guys were here, he got really quiet. Is this a bad place?” She looked around. “I gotta say, this is somewhere my dad would hang out.”
“It’s not really the place. It’s the people.”
“Sullivan?” we heard Logan saying. “I remember taking one off your hands more than a few times. Not that one? Tate.”
Adam shook his head. “Nice, Logan. Yeah. It’s just great to have you back.”
Nate ignored Adam. “It’s Becky, Sam’s old friend.”
Logan looked at me. “Old friend, right? Don’t tell me that’s changed, too.”
“Uh, it was old until about thirty minutes ago. It got genuine again.”
“It did?” Adam asked.
I ignored him. “Don’t knock it until you meet her again, Logan. She’s changed.”
“Not a backstabber any more?”
More like just a smarter backstabber, but I shrugged.
Logan turned to face his brother. “What the fuck is going on? You stopped taking my calls a week ago.”
“You stopped calling.”
