AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“It doesn’t matter.”
“Yes it does. Because it matters to you. I can see that. And that means it matters to me. I’m not only your boss, I’m your friend. At least, I’d like to think I am. So what gives?”
Aiden picked up his coffee. It was lukewarm. “It’s not what’s the problem, it’s who.”
“Now this sounds interesting.”
“Remember the girl I told you about? The one I left behind?”
“The one whose dad threw you out?” Robert asked. “Yeah, I remember.” Realization crossed his face. “Is she still here? Have you seen her?”
“I’ve seen her three times in a little over a week,” Aiden said. “I told you Angel Sands was small, but even I didn’t know it was that small.”
“And you want to leave because of that?” Robert shook his head. “I didn’t take you for a coward.”
Aiden laughed, though the sound was hard. “No, not because of that. I can handle her. It’s the rest of it I can’t manage.” He took a deep breath, blowing the air out in a single burst. “She has a son, an eight year old son. It turns out he’s my nephew.”
“Whoa.” Robert rocked back on his boots, folding his arms across his chest. “I have to admit I wasn’t expecting that.”
“Neither was I.”
Robert cleared his throat. “So Jamie is the father?”
“Yeah.”
“And this is the girl you loved back when you were a kid?”
“Yep.”
It was Robert’s turn to take in a big mouthful of air. He was quiet for a moment, staring into space. Shaking his head, he chuckled. “Jesus, we weave a tangled web, don’t we? No wonder you’re all messed up.”
“Are you worried about my performance on the project?” Aiden asked him. “I’d understand if you were.”
Slowly, Robert shook his head. “No. I trust you to keep your private life separate from your work. Anyway, now you have family here. Isn’t that something you’ve been missing ever since your mom died? You should stay here and get to know your nephew. He’s your flesh and blood, after all.”
Robert’s words stopped him short. Flesh and blood. Strange how that hadn’t even occurred to him; he was so busy getting crazy over the thought of Brooke and Jamie, he hadn’t even bothered to think about his own connection to Nick.
Aiden closed his eyes, picturing the way the kid had looked when they met at Lucas and Ember’s house. His dark hair, his curious eyes. The perfect mixture of Black and Newton. His nephew had Brooke’s goofy smile, and the same line of freckles across the bridge of his nose, but his hair and eyes came from the Black side of his family.
“I guess he is,” Aiden said, opening his eyes and looking at Robert. The old man was staring at him.
“What would your mom want you to do?” Robert asked. “Would she want you to walk away, or would she want you to get to know him? To take care of him?”
She’d always said family came first. Wasn’t that why they all left Angel Sands together? Even when Jamie’s activities turned obviously illegal, she still held out hope that one day her prodigal would return home.
“She’d want me to get to know him.”
“And how about you?” Robert asked. “What do you think you should do?”
Aiden tipped his head, thinking about his boss’s question. When he’d imagined his return to Angel Sands, he’d always seen it as some kind of redemption. The local kid from the bad side of the tracks come good. He wanted to show them all – the doubters, the rich kids, the ones who’d shouted out insults as they’d driven past in the brand new cars their parents had bought them. They’d been kids, but now he was a man. He wasn’t going to take any shit. Not any more.
He lifted his head and looked Robert Carter straight in the eye. “I want to stay,” he said firmly. “And get to know my nephew. But first of all I need to get back to work.”
* * *
Martin Newton was a man who commanded everybody’s attention simply by walking into the room. His once blonde hair may have turned into an impressive full head of white that contrasted against his deeply tan skin, but he carried himself as though he was closer to thirty-years-old rather than sixty. Brooke watched as he dominated the dinner party conversation, his voice loud enough to be heard across the twelve foot table, his eyes constantly scanning the guests to make sure they were listening to what he had to say.
As a child she’d thought he was a superhero, the same way Nick did now. He lapped up the attention of chi
