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He had certainly succeeded. I couldn’t be any more surprised had my mother been standing in front of me. And she’d been dead for two years.
“I-you—”
“Scottie, I’m almost finished!” Jay yelled. “Don’t you dare leave without me. My car’s still at the garage.”
Griff’s eyes shifted toward the staircase behind me. His jaw ticked and his nose twitched. He seemed nervous.
“Is that him?” he asked. “Is that my son?”
I nodded. “Yes, but he can’t know you’re here.”
“Why not?”
Footsteps clattered upstairs. Oh god, Jay couldn’t see him. I grabbed a fistful of Griff’s shirt and tried to turn him around, but he was way too big for me to move him even an inch. He frowned, and as the footsteps started down the stairs, I trembled.
“Please. If Jay finds out you’re here, he’ll never forgive me.”
“I’m his—”
“We’ll figure something out, but for now, please get into the closet.”
I released his shirt, stepped back, and yanked open the door to the coat closet.
Griff raised his eyebrows. “You expect me to fit in there?”
“You don’t have a choice.” I pushed my glasses back up my nose. “If you want to have any form of relationship with your son, then you’ll fit.”
He cursed under his breath and moved toward the closet. “Only because I trust you, Scottie.” He glared at me. “Despite everything.”
Despite all my lies. The photograph I’d sent him. Chestnut curls, brown eyes, and a personality that shone even from a two-dimensional shot was the opposite of who I was in person. Pale, freckled, blond, and blue-eyed. I had the face of a cherub, or so people said. A face that looked way too innocent and inexperienced.
He shuffled into the closet, and he hadn’t been kidding. He barely fit, and when I shoved the door shut, he grunted and cursed.
“Shh.”
Why did this have to happen to me? I’d done a good thing keeping a father abreast of what was going on in his son’s life.
I have only one rule in this friendship, Scott. Don’t mention my father. Ever.
I’d done more. I’d violated Jay’s privacy by pulling out a letter he’d discarded into the trash can. I hadn’t meant to deceive him all this time. The way he’d get moody after each letter had made me feel bad for him. How could I make him feel better if I didn’t know what was wrong? So I’d snooped, and when I’d read the heartfelt letter his father had sent him, the words had touched me, leading me to make the stupidest decision ever.
I’d written back to his father. And had kept writing to him for seven years.
“Look, I’m all dapper.” Jay jumped down the last two steps and held his arms wide. “Am I good looking or what?”
I rolled my eyes. “You don’t need me to feed your ego. You get enough of that already.”
“Ah, don’t be jealous. You know you’re the most important person in my life.” Jay crushed me to his chest in a hug. Damn, he was almost as big as his father.
“Why don’t you warm the car up and take it out of the garage?” I jangled my key at him. “I’ll double-check we’ve locked up properly, then meet you in the driveway.”
“No prob.” He took the key from me. “By the way, who was that at the door?”
“Uh, some random kid selling cookies.”
“And you didn’t get me any? Damn, Scottie, that’s cold.” He chuckled and walked away. I collapsed against the wall, removed my glasses, and swiped the sweat off my brow.
That had been way too close.
