Page 61 of Finding Love

CHAPTERNINETEEN

There was so much that Ryder had to deal with before he and Brook could head back to Pride. The house on Hunt’s Point was officially on the market. Already, they’d had half a dozen showings.

He’d tasked Brook with going through the house and marking any items that she wanted for the Ocean View place. He’d arranged for those items to be packed up and stored at a facility just outside of Pride until the house was ready for them.

He was also selling the boat and the cars. At first, he’d thought about moving them to Pride, but just to take the yacht out, he had to have a crew of at least four. The thought of maintaining such a large vessel for the rest of his life had him quickly accepting the first offer that came his way. Besides, Brook had her sailboat that they could go out on.

They were set to meet with Parker at the end of the next week to go over all the remodeling designs on the house. He was spending ten hours a day getting things in the office ready to leave. He’d talked to the board about his move, explaining that he wasn’t leaving the position, just shifting locations.

They were hesitant at first, but after what they’d gone through with Mark, they agreed to give it a try. The trial period would last three months and if things ran smoothly, they’d agreed to sign off on it permanently.

He’d already implemented a lot of changes around the office. One of the changes allowed a lot of the workers to work from home offices. The other was allowing a more casual dress code.

He was happily surprised at how well all the new changes were going. Everyone had seen a noticeable improvement in morale and, according to the accounting department, numbers were up almost twelve percent.

He’d been informed that Mark had finally gotten out of jail, but he hadn’t heard anything further on the case against him, as his lawyers were dealing with it.

His lawyers were also dealing with a few loose ends that he’d left dangling when he’d left a year ago, things he should have delt with long ago. Properties his father had owned that Ryder never cared for were being sold. Items in the safe at the bank would be auctioned off, along with most of the paintings and other artwork in the house.

He was sitting in his office getting ready to clock out and head home when the phone rang.

“Is this James Gallant?” the woman asked.

“It is.” He waited. “Can I help you?” he asked when she didn’t say anything more.

“I… this is going to sound totally weird, but… I’m… My name is Faith Reginald.” He heard her take a deep breath. “I’m… My mother is Grace.”

His heart leapt in his chest, and his hearing and eyesight ceased to work for a few seconds.

Grace. His mother.

Then everything rushed back to him. His hearing, his eyesight, and most importantly, his mind.

“I see,” he said, clearing his throat. “And what can I do for you?” he asked in a clipped tone.

How many people had come out of the woodwork after his father’s death, demanding a slice of the financial pie that his old man had left behind? Too many.

“It’s not really about me. First, I want to make myself clear. I’m not contacting you because I want anything from you. To be honest, I only just found out about you a week ago.”

It was strange, but he could hear the honesty in her voice.

“Okay,” he said slowly.

He heard her take a deep breath. “I… have an older brother. Half-brother really. John.”

“Miss Reginald. Faith,” he said when she didn’t continue.

“He’s more your brother than mine. You and I… We’re half-siblings,” Faith said.

Ryder swallowed. “Are you saying…”

“My mother apparently hid her pregnancy during her divorce to your and John’s father. I only just found out, like I said, last week. But John, he’s known for a little longer.”

Ryder instantly saw the irony in the names. His father had always wished that he’d been named after him. However, before his father could arrive at the hospital after Ryder’s birth, his mother had already named him James Ryder.

“How long has he known?” Ryder asked.

“My mother claims that he’s known for about a year. He did one of those DNA tests and confronted my mother until she told him everything,” Faith said. “That’s when he took off. We haven’t seen or heard from him since. Mr. Gallant, James…”