7

Ronan

Ronan was on pizza duty. He'd offered to pick up dinner for the family meeting. The pies smelled so good that he'd nearly pulled over twice to cram his face full of pepperoni goodness. Thankfully, he made it to Fitzgibbon's house without digging into whichever pizza was on top of the stack of boxes.

Twenty minutes later, with the kids happily munching away and their feet dangling in the pool, the adults sat around the large patio table with their own slices. All of the usual suspects were there, with one new addition. Cisco Jackson had come by with his husband, Luca, and their adorable son, Frankie. Everly had taken the little boy under her wing and was wiping his sauce-covered face with her napkin.

"Just to catch everyone up," Fitzgibbon began. "After Corny and Destiny left, I had a meeting with Cisco. I filled him in on what Tennyson knew and what Corny admitted to. We ran his criminal record, along with Destiny's. Her real name is Martha Stewart. No," Fitz snickered. "not that one."

"What did you find out, Fitz?" Carson asked, looking as if he didn't want to know.

"Your father has a criminal record as long as my arm," Cisco said. "It's mostly for petty crimes, but there were three charges of fraud. One in California having to do with a yoga studio and the second being the GoFundMe scam out of Colorado and the one you knew about in Arizona. The Colorado case is the only open case against him, which, to be honest, surprised me more than anything."

"What are the ramifications of that charge?" Cole asked.

"It's a Class 2 felony, punishable by up to twenty-five years in prison and fines, which can total a million dollars, which would be on top of the money fraudulently raised during the scam."

"He said they'd raised a quarter of a million dollars. Did they take all of the money?" Carson asked.

Cisco nodded. "Yeah, every last penny. We might be able to mitigate his sentence if the money is returned to GoFundMe so the donations can be given back to the people who donated the funds."

"Where the hell are we going to get two hundred fifty thousand dollars?" Cole's voice broke. He swiped angrily at tears flowing down his face. "I've got a mortgage to pay. Three kids to put through college. I just can't—"

"Why do we have to pay his dues?" Carson asked angrily. "We're under no obligation to help him or Martha."

"That baby is our little brother or sister. No matter the situation, no baby should be born in prison. I guess we could take a second mortgage out on the house." Cole looked to Cassie, who shook her head.

"Before we even talk about the money, the two of you need to figure out what exactly you want from this man. Do you want him to stick around Salem and be a father? Do you want to help him out and not see him for another thirty years? Do you just want him to take his circus full of monkeys and leave town?"

When Cole shrugged, Cassie continued. "I love you, Cole. You know I do, but I love our family more. I won't let you bankrupt us for a man you haven't seen in thirty years." Cassie took a ragged breath.

"I've always dreamed about having a father," Cole admitted. "When Cass was pregnant with Laurel, I remember feeling so ill-equipped to be a father myself. I mean, Mom was great, but I didn't know if I would fuck things up like he did with us."

Carson set a hand on his brother's shoulder. "I was the same way. Truman was too. His father was a hands-off kind of guy, so he didn't have much of a role model to follow either. When we brought the babies home from the hospital, we were too busy trying to keep them and ourselves alive to worry about what kind of parents we'd be. Remember?"

Truman nodded. "When they got to the point of holding their own bottles and sleeping through the night, I mentioned being worried I wouldn't be a good father, and I remember Carson telling me to look at our three babies. Our kids were happy and healthy because we made sure their needs came first. All these years later, it's still the case."

"I'm not sure what I want from Corny," Carson admitted. "I was twelve years old when he left for good. I remember how Mom would cry at night when she was alone in her room and thought we were sleeping. That went on for months after he left. Then—" He took a shuddering breath. "—when Mom got sick. I called him so many times, and he never responded. He missed her funeral and showed up a few days later, wanting to know what Mom left him in her will."

"I didn't know he was here after Mom died." Cole looked at his brother as if Carson were a stranger.

"I was trying to protect you."

"So how come I don't feel protected?" Cole shouted. "You lied to me and shut me out of making decisions for myself. How can I ever forgive you for that?"

"I don't know," Carson admitted, tears glinting in his eyes.

Jace raised his hand in the air as if he were about to order more wine. "I may have a solution to part of your problem if you want to hear it."

All eyes turned to Jace. Cole nodded while Carson kept his eyes on his uneaten pizza.

"What if I pay back the scam money? Along with the hospital bills associated with Corny's dialysis and surgery. Hell, I can foot the bill for the baby's birth and Martha's care, too, if need be. You all know the kind of money my father left me. What's it for if not to help my family?"

Carson cleared his throat and wiped his misty eyes. "That's very sweet, Jace. Ordinarily, I would wave off your help, but Truman and I don't have the resources to pay this debt or the hospital bills that are going to rack up."

"Who's going to donate a kidney?" Cole asked. "You? Me? One of our kids? What if he decides to leave town after the surgery? What if he doesn't want to be my father? What if he abandons the baby like he abandoned us?" The pain in Cole's eyes was raw and devastating. Ronan wished he could hug his friend but felt glued to his seat.

"I don't know, Cole." Carson grabbed his napkin and dabbed his eyes. "I can't answer any of those questions. I'm putting my foot down at the kids giving Corny a kidney. None of them are old enough to understand the physical ramifications of what they're doing."

"I agree," Cole said.

"I suppose the next thing is to get tested to see if one of us is a match. I'm not sure I'd do it. Does that make me an awful man?" Carson blinked back unshed tears.

"Would you give me a kidney?" Ronan asked.

"In a heartbeat," Carson said.

"Me too," Cole agreed. "You've always been here for us and our kids. Mom loves the hell out of you, and I've seen the way you hug her in those rare moments when you're able, and I know you love her as much as your own mother. All Corny ever gave our mother was pain, but does he deserve to suffer or die for that?"

No one had an answer to that question.

"Is he really sick, Ten?" Carson asked. "You seemed to be the only one of us who could pick anything up from him."

"I have a hard time reading my mother, and it was the same with David when he was alive. I'm sure that the shock of seeing him after all these years, combined with how close you are to the situation, is the reason you're not getting a clear read on him. I can see how sick he is. For a man in his early sixties, he reads much older, thanks to the way he abused his body over time. It could be that the kidney is the first of many health issues in his future." Ten shook his head. "I hate to be the one to tell you that."

"Is he out to con us in any way?" Carson pushed his plate away with a sour look on his face, as if the thought of food was making him nauseous.

"Not where it comes to his health. I'm sure you don't need me to tell you he and Destiny are dining on lobster tails tonight."

"I figured as much." Cole sighed. He looked toward the pool, where the kids were finishing their pizza and laughing at something Wolf said.

"As far as I see things, we don't need to make any firm decisions tonight," Ronan said. "You both need to get blood tests to see if you're even a match. You might not be." He paused for a moment to let his words sink in. "Cisco, are you going to arrest Corny?"

"Not right now. If Jace is serious about paying back the money Corny stole, I'll get in touch with the DA handling that case and see what can be worked out. Just a warning that you might have to hire a lawyer to act on Corny's behalf. I doubt he has one on retainer."

Jace turned to Fitzgibbon, who nodded. "I am serious. I can wire the funds tomorrow if need be. Same goes for getting Corny a lawyer. He's going to need an apartment too. The Hawthorne Hotel is expensive."

"Yeah, it is." Carson sighed. "Jace, we'll set up a payment plan to get you back all the money you're spending on our father."

"That's not necessary." Jace smiled. "I always feel like you all do so much for Aurora and Fitz, and all I've done is book my private jet for us when we travel. I want to do this for you because I can."

"Okay," Carson agreed. Cole nodded.

"If that's the case," Ronan said with a big smile, "what would you think of sponsoring Jell-O wrestling for our next block party?"

"What the hell is Jell-O wrestling?" Cassie asked.

"Just what it sounds like." Ronan laughed. "There's a large inflatable pool thing set up inside a boxing ring. The pool is filled with Jell-O—usually, it's lime green. The women wear skimpy bikinis, and the men wear Speedos. You know, like professional wrestlers."

"I'm going to regret asking, but how do you know about this?" Ten asked.

"YouTube." Ronan grinned. "You'd be amazed at the videos Everly and I watch at night."

"Like the time you got her interested in Roller Derby? So much so that she cried when I wouldn't get her roller skates?" Ten didn't wait for Ronan to answer. "Or the time you showed her videos of baby goats in pajamas, and she cried for two weeks because we wouldn't buy her a goat? What the hell would we do with a goat?"

"Milk it?" Ronan suggested. "We could make goat cheese and sell it at the next school fundraiser."

Carson snorted and started to laugh. Cole joined him. Within seconds, the entire table was cracking up over how exactly one would milk a pajama-wearing baby goat.

Ronan appreciated this moment of levity, even though it came at his expense. He knew that in the morning, some heavy bills were going to come due. Carson and Cole were going to need to have a heart-to-heart with their father, at the very least. There were going to be some hard questions coming his way. Ronan could only hope Corny had the right answers.