Maybe leaving Isaac alone is what is best.
Chapter Seven
GRAYSON
“I’m sorry, you’re going to have to repeat yourself,” I say to Maggie, the social worker who just showed up on my doorstep. I would love to know how she fucking found me. Our address is somewhere out there, and Sebastian better search the entire internet for it if someone can find it so easily.
I stare at her, then the kid she has her arm around who is staring up at me with big brown eyes that look too much like mine. That’s normal. Plenty of people have brown eyes. It isn’t a big deal. I can’t fucking freak out about what this lady just told me.
“Please, come sit in the living room. Let’s get more comfortable,” Jaxon says, ushering them to the couch.
“Thank you. A rest would be great. We had a long journey,” Maggie adds with a tired exhale.
It sounds genuine, but I can’t be sure. My mind is racing.
Maggie and the kid take the loveseat, and me and the guys take the bigger couch. The girls aren’t here. They are in town, shopping. Good. Last thing I need is more women to bombard me right now. I run my fingers through my dark brown hair. I have no idea what to say. I’m dumbfounded. I’m fucking pissed. I’m heartbroken. Betrayal sinks deeper into me than it ever has before.
If what Maggie says is true, this eight-year-old kid sitting next to her is mine. I have a fucking son.
A son I missed for eight years.
“I know this must come as a shock to you,” she says, lacing her hands in her lap. Her back is straight, and her voice is crisp and clear. The way she moves and speaks sounds like she had professional lessons in etiquette. Her clothes are expensive and impeccable. There isn’t a wrinkle on her navy-blue skirt or a rip in her pantyhose. Her hair is long, tumbling over her shoulders in a chocolate fountain, and her eyes are filled with warmth and sympathy.
I turn my head and see Heaven salivating to get a taste of her. She’s way out of his league.
“Dillion is your son, Mr. Campbell. It took me a long time to find you. Too long. I had to hire a private investigator to be honest. You are very good at hiding yourself.”
“This is impossible.” I smooth a hand over my mouth, and Jaxon pats my back. Feels good to have my friends at my side for this. They are making me calmer. “I haven’t seen or spoken to Kendall going on nine years. You’ve seen my record.”
“I also know you’re a man who was wrongly convicted, and you were with a swayed jury and judge. Listen, I can try to pull some strings to get your case appealed if you’d like, but we can talk about that after we talk about this.” She lowers Dillon’s hood, and his eyes are on the floor, cast away from me.
He hasn’t spoken a word.
“No,” I whisper when I see the clean shape of his head. “Come on. Come on!” I yell and stand at the same time, lacing my hands behind my neck. Dillion jumps and clings to Maggie, afraid of me.
But I’m beside myself. I’m devastated. My son is sick. By the looks of it, he’s very sick. With my heart pounding, I close the distance between us and kneel on the ground. I look from him to her and say, “I swear, I didn’t know. I didn’t know he existed. I didn’t know he was sick. I would have tried to help. I would have…” I swallow the emotion. It’s one thing to find out I have a son, but to know he’s sick? That’s another level of turmoil. “I would have done my best to be there.”
“His mother put him up for foster care a few years ago.”
“That fucking—”
Maggie rounds her eyes at me, and I clear my throat. “That fudging bitch.”
“Mr. Campbell,” Maggie scolds me, and Dillion giggles.
I grin. “I think someone agrees. Hey, kid…” I lift his chin and peer into the eyes so similar to mine. It’s impossible not to see the similarities. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry I wasn’t there. If I would have known…”
He nods and lays his hand on my cheek, still not saying a word, but everything he needs to say is in that small touch. My palm lays over his, and I lean into his touch. It’s a feeling I’ve never felt before. This void in my chest is being filled, and I already love him so much knowing he’s mine.
“Why is he here? How sick is he? Do you need money?” I question and fumble around in my pockets. “I don’t have my checkbook on me. I’ll write the amount you need—”
“Mr. Campbell…” Her hand lands on my arm, stopping me from drawing my own conclusions. “We are here because I was finally able to find you. I never gave up looking for his family. His foster families didn’t work out. He’s a good kid, but none of them are able to cope with a sick child.”
“How sick?”
“Leukemia,” she says, laying her hand on the back of his neck. “He’s strong. He’s doing great with treatments, but it’s a strong cancer. It’s fighting back hard. Dillon, sweetie, why don’t you go play?”
I don’t like that.
I don’t like that she’s sending him away. It means whatever she wants to tell me, he can’t hear.
“Hey, buddy…” Jaxon gets up from the couch and kneels beside me, holding his hand out to Dillon. “We have an awesome game room. You want to play some air hockey?”
“Oh, I’ll totally win,” Heaven challenges, standing up on his good leg, swaying a bit. He almost falls, but Sebastian reaches out and catches him.
“Whatever. I’m the best,” Owen points to himself, flexing his big muscles in a show.
Dillion smiles, his two front teeth gone, and my heart melts. How the hell is this happening
