AllFreeNovel
Share Us
So much for what Royce told me the other day about it not being a bad thing if I was his son. He hadn’t changed his mind.
“Nothing is certain,” Connor said.
“It is. I think I know when I come in woman. I didn’t know his mother from dirt. You better believe I was wrapped up tight. There is no way I got her pregnant.”
Had Connor opened the mic on purpose? Did he want me to hear this exchange?
Then Connor said this. “Dad, condoms aren’t one hundred percent. Anything is possible. Let it go for now. He’s likely family either way you look at it.”
“What? Teddy’s son? Probably. He looks a lot like his other boy.”
Had he kept tabs on his brother or had one of my brother’s shown him a picture of Grant? Besides, Grant and I didn’t look like twins. We had similar build and the same dark brown hair, but that was it. I looked as much like Grant as I did Connor and Kalen.
“I still don’t understand why you didn’t tell us you had a brother,” Connor said.
“Why would I? Teddy walked away from this family. From me.”
“You can’t possibly be mad about that considering you walked away from your son.” Connor was referring to Kalen.
“His mother took him away from me,” he groused.
“You did nothing to get him back,” Connor argued.
“I didn’t need him when I had you. I wouldn’t need him if you would have agreed to take over the business.”
“Have you ever considered that I told you ‘no’ to the business so that you’d be forced to contact him? That maybe I wanted to know my brother? Consider that while Kalen was in Scotland with Bailey months ago and you were in the hospital, I ran my business and yours just fine.”
I thought Royce might blow a gasket when he yelled, “You gave it all away to a man that hates me. You are the only one I can trust to have my best interest.”
“Maybe it’s time to consider that Kalen doesn’t hate you. He hates that you weren’t there for him. That you didn’t care to be there for him. He assumed you’d written him off not knowing that you care more about your businesses than your sons.”
“That’s not true,” Royce blustered.
“Isn’t it? You shipped me off to boarding school and you left your firstborn in Scotland without trying to find him.”
“Moira left me and took our son. She made her choice.”
“One you regret. And if you don’t change your attitude, you may regret how you’ve treated Liam.”
“He’s not my son.” Royce’s adamant words bothered me more than I was willing to admit. Though I learned my brothers didn’t fare well as his sons either. I had this story all wrong.
“On the chance that he’s not, he’s likely your nephew. I would have thought you’d learn by now how important family is.”
“Family? All that boy wants is a piece of my money. He could be nobody to us. But you’ve given him a job. Forcing us together like you apparently did with your brother. I can’t believe you.”
“Just shows how little you know me, Dad.”
It was time to set down and I muted their conversation so I could completely focus and not make a mistake.
Connor and Royce were still arguing as they got out of the helicopter. A hospital porter was there with a wheelchair, not giving me a chance to question Connor. I hadn’t determined if that conversation should have been private or if it was for my benefit. I did get one answer. My hatred for the brothers and the life I presumed they lived was over.
I considered the empty elevator a good sign. So far my day had been shit. I pushed the button for the ground floor so I could exit the building. There was little chance I’d run into Natalie as her afternoon shift hadn’t begun and I was glad for that. I’d yet to get over her betrayal and I wasn’t ready to talk to her.
Only the elevator stopped on the way down and a man I didn’t want to see entered.
“Liam.” Doc Love sounded as surprised as I felt.
I pointed to the floor buttons because he hadn’t chosen one. He glanced that way. “I’m headed down too. I am glad to see you.”
There was no good reason why he and I needed to talk.
“It’s about Natalie.” When I didn’t respond, he continued. “It’s just, I sensed the two of you had unresolved feelings. I really like her, but I don’t want to get in the middle of anything messy.”
Messy? He didn’t know the half of it. I could have told him that Natalie was in my bed this morning, but I didn’t. Despite it all, I still wanted the best for her. I managed these words right before the door opened on our floor.
