Chapter 19

I worked for a few hours in my office before I rounded up Maddie and Owen to drive to the shoe store. On the way, we stopped at some local burger joint with a crammed kids' playground in back, where Owen exhausted himself climbing some jungle gym thing with monkey bars and swings where Maddie pushed him so high he made himself hoarse from excited screaming.

Afterward, we all had burgers and fries and milkshakes—well, they both had milkshakes, I had a bottled water—and had fun playing video games in their retro game area. We played basketball and Skee-Ball before we finally carted Owen off to the car and headed to a couple other local stores near the sneaker store where Owen had gotten so lucky last week.

It was almost two weeks now.

Lo and behold, different sneakers with lights existed that he wanted. Different red and blue Spider-man ones that also fit him perfectly, although this time, he was fitted by someone who had not attended classes with Maddie. Owen was thrilled to wear his new kicks home from the store this time too, though during this ride home, he fell asleep and had to be carted in for a nap by Maddie.

I'd barely just hauled in the many bags we'd collected today. Not only from the grocery store, but we'd stopped in other shops after today's successful sneaker shopping expedition. Owen had ended up with new jeans and new books and more new toys.

Oddly enough, now puzzles were something he enjoyed, as well, so we'd gotten a couple of those too. Since when were puzzles a thing with him?

"Since his mom sent him one," Maddie admitted, leading the way to the sitting room coffee table where she pointed out the completed puzzle, and beneath it, the mailer from Owen's mother.

I read the card inside as my gut tightened.

Caro rushed in the room and I held up a hand before she could speak. "Don't tell me Melissa contacted you too."

"Melissa?"

"Melissa Smith?" I reminded her, nudging aside the mailer on the coffee table shelf with my shoe. "Owen's mother?"

"Yes, actually, she did. She called the other day and left a VM while I was shopping. Then again today."

"What does she want?"

Although I was already certain I knew what she wanted. Most likely, she was already planning for the end of the summer. Maybe her play was winding down or she couldn't line up others after the current one finished.

In whatever case, she wasn't getting her claws back into my son without a fight. Not after realizing she must've yelled or scolded Owen enough he was afraid to make any mistake—or even in some ways, to just be a kid.

Not while there was still breath in my body.

"As I'm not you, I haven't spoken to her yet. Honestly, I think you'd better have your lawyer contact her. You'd be better off keeping all of this official so she can't pin you down to something said off the cuff."

I pinched the bridge of my nose. "I fear you are very much correct that I need to keep all of this as official as possible."

Maddie frowned. "You think she's going to try to take Owen back?"

"It's what she claimed she always intended to do. I was just supposed to have him for the summer."

Right, because who wouldn't be satisfied with getting their son for just a few months?

I had no intention of getting to know him and then just returning him as if he was a possession. No way would I stand for being a temporary part-time parent. How confused would Owen be if I just waltzed out of his life again? He'd been so messed up that his mom had gone away. If then I did the same, he wasn't going to believe anyone could be trusted to stay in his life.

I knew all too well what it was like to grow up without trust. It fucked up a person in too many fundamental ways to count. He was too young to recover from this yet again.

So it couldn't happen. Period.

I sat on the sofa and let out a long breath, working the mailer between my hands. Caro left as quickly as she had appeared, mentioning something about calls she had to return. Maddie sat beside me and rubbed my leg, trying to soothe me without words. She was so good at that and tended to casually touch me often. I'd never had anyone like her in my life. Of course, I wanted her to stay.

"I should tell you why I originally came here. I mean, the first time, when I met Owen's mother."

"Yeah, how did you end up here? The Cove is a popular tourist attraction, especially now that the baby thing is such a factor, but I can't see that causing you to visit here."

"No." I swallowed hard, keeping an ear tuned toward upstairs. Owen had mentioned playing with some of his new toys and he'd aimed for his rarely used playroom, but I fully assumed he'd be back downstairs anytime now. He liked spending time with us. And vice versa.

Last thing I wanted was for him to accidentally hear anything about my gnarly family tree. God knows I hadn't wanted to hear about it, either.

"My mother was from around here, I think I mentioned before in passing."

"Okay," Maddie said slowly. "Like actually in the Cove? Or just the general area."

"Born in a little town near here actually, Turnbull. But she fell out of contact with her distant family years ago, and her parents are long dead. But my mother married a local man from the Cove and had sons. Twin sons, in fact, like your brother."

"Twin sons from the Cove? The only ones I know of are…" She trailed off, her eyes narrowing as she made a much closer study of me. Probably realizing as I had how much I looked like them. "Not the Hamiltons?"

I merely nodded.

She wet her lips. "That family is considered basically a founding family here. And they're your brothers?"

"Half," I said quickly. "I'd assume they know of me, and of Sydney, but I don't know for sure. And I have no idea what my sister knows. We've never discussed it."

"Are you going to talk to them, now that you're living here?"

"I've gone back and forth about it. Finding out about Owen has changed my stance on it. At first. I was just going to let things stay as they've been for all these years. I have my sister and we're close. Very close. I don't need more family, especially people I don't know who have never made an effort to get to know me."

"But you said yourself, you're not sure if they even know about you. Seth and Oliver are good men, Jude. Everyone likes them. Maybe you're missing out by not having them in your life?—"

"Maybe," I agreed softly. "I'm more concerned maybe Owen is missing out. They have children. I've looked into them."

"Yeah, they do. A couple each. Owen has cousins. He could use more family in his life, don't you think?"

"Yeah. I absolutely do. I want him to get to know his cousins, if their parents are okay with that." I leaned back against the sofa cushions and stared up at the ceiling. "I have to get a paternity test for Owen."

Maddie cleared her throat. "I get that. Just to be safe. But he looks just like you. And you look just like them."

"I do. And he does. If he's not mine, he still is. It doesn't matter if it's not legal. I still will consider him my son."

Maddie's eyes filled and she sniffled, throwing back her shoulders. "Yeah." She swallowed a few times. "Yeah, I get that. And you thinking that way just shows what kind of man you are."

I let out a broken laugh. "Oh, I'm no hero, trust me. But I already love Owen. And love doesn't depend on blood."

She sniffled again and pressed her forehead to my upper arm. "No, it absolutely does not. Some of the closest family can not even be a true relation. Family can be found anywhere, anytime."

I thought of Xavier and Gavin and the bonds that had grown between us, mostly through pressure at first, and then eventually, through time and trust. "It sure can."

"Do you want to meet the Hamiltons?" Before I could answer, she rubbed my thigh. "Do you want me to go with you? I don't have to," she said quickly, as if she expected me to be offended by the offer rather than being hopelessly moved. "But I don't want you to face it alone, unless for some reason you want to. Maybe it would be easier for you to go alone."

"No." I exhaled. "I've been alone far too much of my life, and I don't have any desire to do anything this weighty alone." I leaned over to brush a kiss over her hair. "I would love if you would go with me, thank you. Thank you for everything."

She flushed. "But if there are questions about what my role is in your life, if I have any right to be there…"

"You have every right. You matter to me, Maddie, and anyone who asks why you're at my side will be told exactly that. Family is also a choice, isn't it?"

"Yes," she murmured. "And I'd say it's a choice we are both making."