Chapter 13
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
That night, Callum began getting Parker ready for bed extra early. He’d discovered that he couldn’t wait until the last minute and expect the child to hop out of the shower, go to bed and instantly fall asleep, especially after a full afternoon at the beach.
Tonight, preparations had begun as soon as they arrived home. He smiled to himself at the thought, but it was how he had started to think of Brynn’s house. Home, where he slept on the sofa.
Once showers had been taken, they’d enjoyed a supper that consisted of a spaghetti squash casserole that Brynn had pulled from the freezer and heated up. Parker had looked at the dish skeptically, until he’d taken his first bite.
Callum hadn’t hesitated. He’d learned that anything Brynn put on the table was excellent.
After dinner, Parker put on his pj’s, and they played several games. Once seven thirty rolled around, Callum decided it was time for bedtime reading.
“I’m not ready to go to sleep.” Parker yawned hugely.
“If we start now, we might be able to read three books,” Brynn told him .
“Three?” Parker’s eyes widened. “We’ve never read three before.”
“Well, we are tonight.” Brynn shot Callum a wink, telling him she was as eager as he was for some alone time.
As had become their habit, they each sat on Parker’s bed and read, taking turns with each paragraph.
The voice Callum used for Oliver, Nate the Great’s friend, had them all laughing so loudly that they didn’t hear the front door open.
“Is anybody home? Brynn? Callum?”
Callum immediately pushed to his feet. “We have a visitor.”
“I’ll come with you.” Brynn turned to Parker. “Stay here. Understand?”
The boy nodded, his eyes wide.
Callum stepped into the living room and came face-to-face with his parents. “Mom. Dad. I thought you were on a cruise.”
“We got off the ship yesterday.” His father chuckled. “The emails and texts we were getting about you were mind-blowing.”
Max looked at Brynn. “It’s good to see you. I’m sorry to barge in. We rang the bell several times and knocked, but no one answered. We saw Callum’s Jeep, and the door was unlocked, so?—”
“The doorbell hasn’t worked since I moved in.” If Brynn was disturbed by his parents simply walking into her house, it didn’t show. “We were reading to Parker and?—”
“Parker,” Prim interrupted, her hazel eyes firmly fixed on Callum. “He’s your son?”
“Yes.” Callum’s gaze shifted between his parents. “Parker is my son.”
Hurt filled his mother’s eyes. “Why is this the first we’re hearing about him?”
“I—” Callum didn’t have a chance to explain.
“Are we going to finish the book?” Parker stood in the doorway, wearing his faded and worn, but much-loved, Spider-Man pj’s.
He blinked when he saw Prim and Max.
“Parker…” Callum stepped to his side. “These are my parents, which means they’re your grandparents.”
Parker’s brow furrowed. “I had a Grammy, but she couldn’t take care of me no more.”
“That had to be difficult.” Prim slowly moved closer.
“You were with Daddy when Suki jumped on him.”
For a moment, confusion filled Prim’s eyes, then recognition dawned. “That cat was mean.”
“You didn’t make Daddy pet Suki.”
“No.” Prim crouched down before her grandson. “I didn’t.”
“You have pretty hair,” Parker said, studying Prim’s strawberry-blond curls.
“Thank you.” Prim smiled warmly at the boy and ruffled his curls. “Your hair is just like your daddy’s.”
“I know.” Parker looked from Prim to Max. “Daddy said you used to read to him. Do you want to read to me?”
The longing on his mother’s face when she turned to him stole Callum’s breath.
“We’d like that,” his dad said, turning to Callum. “If that’s okay with you.”
“Yeah, ah, that’s fine.” Callum glanced at Brynn. “We’ll make some coffee or tea or something.”
He didn’t know what to think when Parker slipped his hand into his mother’s and pulled her down the hall.
“My room is here.” When the child looked up at Prim, Callum’s heart gave a ping.
Callum wished his sister was here tonight. Addie had a gregarious personality and their mother’s gentle touch. He did not doubt for a second that Parker would have gravitated to her as well .
“Where is Addie tonight?” Callum asked. Had one of his parents said?
“We’re picking her up on our way home. Once we got into town we headed straight over here. Your mother couldn’t wait to see if what everyone had been texting was true.” Max spoke in a low tone. “We have questions, lots of questions, but they can wait.”
Max gave Callum’s shoulder a squeeze, and the look in his eyes was as steady as the clasp of his hand. “Whatever happened, this will all be okay.”
When the two were in the room with his son, Callum turned to Brynn. “Sorry about them barging in?—”
“Nothing to be sorry about.” Brynn’s gaze swept his face. “How are you holding up?”
“I hadn’t expected this tonight, but I’ve wanted to tell them, and it’ll feel good to have them know.”
“I’ll start the hot water for tea, and then I’m heading to bed.”
“It’s barely past eight.”
“You need time alone with them.”
She was right. Of course she was right. But Callum didn’t want her to go, even if it was just into the other room.
“You know…” He stepped close and twined a strand of her hair around his fingers, his gaze never leaving hers. “I had other plans once Parker was in bed.”
“I had a few plans of my own for this evening.” Leaning forward, she kissed him on the lips. “You won’t need it, but good luck. See you in the morning.”
“Where’s Brynn?” Prim looked around when she and his dad slipped out of Parker’s bedroom, closing the door softly behind them .
“Let’s talk in the kitchen. Less chance of disturbing Parker. He can be a light sleeper.” Once his parents were seated at the table, Callum handed his father a faceted glass containing two fingers of whiskey and set a cup of tea in front of his mother before he sat with them. “Brynn went to bed. She thought we should speak privately.”
“He’s a lovely little boy.” Prim sipped her tea. “So smart and polite. Do you know what he said when we finished the last book?”
Callum had an idea but didn’t voice it. “No, what?”
“He said, ‘I’m pleased to meet you.’” Max’s lips quirked upward. “I didn’t know kids his age talked that way.”
Somehow, Callum kept the smile that wanted to form at bay. “His grandmother, the one who was raising him, is responsible for that.”
“Why didn’t you tell us you have a son?” His mother reached across the table and covered his hand with hers. “Did you think we wouldn’t understand?”
“I didn’t know about Parker myself until a little over a week ago.” Callum surged to his feet. “Look, I know you are disappointed. Yes, I screwed up, but I’m really trying and want to do right by Parker. I?—”
“Stop right there.” Max’s voice had whatever words Callum had been about to say dying in his throat. “We aren’t disappointed. We’re proud of you for caring for your child.”
Max Brody had been Callum’s dad for as long as he could remember. His birth father, Rory Delaney, had died when his climbing harness had malfunctioned, and he’d plunged to his death. Callum and Connor were four at the time.
Everyone always said Callum had gotten his love of extreme sports from Rory. That was likely true, but in every other way, in every way that mattered, Max was Callum’s father.
Having his father’s support—and his mother’s—during this time meant more than he could ever say. Callum took a deep, steadying breath. “Let me start at the beginning. Until Linette Thorson, Parker’s grandmother, contacted me, I didn’t know he existed.”
“Linette is the woman he calls Grammy,” his mother interjected.
“That’s right. She raised him. He was two when Rebekah, her daughter and Parker’s mother, decided she didn’t want to be a parent anymore.”
Max’s lips tightened. “Where is this woman now?”
“No one knows. When I heard from Linette, I did a search for her, but I couldn’t find any trace of her online. If she’s alive, and I have no reason to think she isn’t, she has to be using a different name.”
“When was the last time you saw her?”
“Almost seven years ago. We met at a wing-gliding event in Texas. After that weekend, we went our separate ways. I didn’t know she’d gotten pregnant or that she’d had Parker.”
Prim’s face was a mask of confusion. “Why would she not have contacted you?”
“I don’t know. She told me she was on the pill. Was she? I don’t know that either.” Callum abruptly stood and began to pace, though the kitchen was small, and there wasn’t much room.
After only a few passes, he plopped back down at the table and then laid it out for them.
“It’s good she put your name on the birth certificate,” Max said. “And gave her mother what company you worked for so she could locate you.”
“I’m sorry to hear about his grandmother. She sounds like a wonderful person.” Prim sighed.
“It was hard for her to let him go, but she had no other choice.”
“I’m glad she did.” Prim glanced at her husband and then back at her son. “Otherwise, we wouldn’t have known we had a grandson.”
“You’ve handled this situation just as I would have, Callum.” Max rubbed his chin. “Parker lost his mother and his grandmother. I thank God that little boy has you.”
“I’m not sure I’m cut out to be a dad.”
Max’s blue eyes softened. “Yet, you are one. I know you have it in you to be the father that child so desperately needs.”
“I don’t know if I can.” When the sentiment slipped past his tongue, Callum couldn’t believe he’d spoken the words circling his head since he’d gotten the call that had rocked his world.
The look in his dad’s eyes was as steady as the hand he clasped on Callum’s shoulder. “You’re a good man with good instincts. This has been a shock, but I have every faith that you’ll rise to the occasion and be a better man for it.”
Callum knew he should probably wake up Parker and take him to church the next morning. But he didn’t wake up until he heard the front door close. He made it to the window just in time to see Brynn heading for the car fifteen minutes before the service started. The sun turned her hair to spun gold, and the flirty summer dress she wore showed off her long, toned legs to full advantage.
There wasn’t a single doubt in his mind that she would be the sexiest woman in the entire congregation.
Pulling his gaze from the window, he forced thoughts of her and the kisses they’d shared from his head and started the coffee brewing.
The conversation last night with his parents had left him on edge. While they’d been nothing but supportive, all the talk had dredged up old memories and questions.
Why hadn’t Rebekah contacted him? That one question kept circling in his brain. Though he’d made it clear when they’d hooked up that he wasn’t looking for anything serious, he wouldn’t have left her to go through a pregnancy alone.
He would have supported her and his child. But she’d been as adamant as he that she, too, was only looking for a fun weekend. Still, would his financial support have been enough to make her stay and be a parent to Parker?
He desperately wished he could get on his bike and ride or even go for a long run. As tempted as he was, Callum knew he couldn’t leave Parker alone in the house. He might not know all there was to know about parenting, but he knew if Parker was here, he had to be with him.
He was definitely going to look into the YMCA day camps that Daisy had suggested. Not only would Parker get the chance to meet and have fun with other kids while they were in Good Hope, but Callum would also have time to work and exercise.
“Is it time to go yet?”
Callum shifted his gaze and had to hide a smile. Parker stood in the doorway, still wearing his pj’s.
“We’re not meeting them until noon.”
“What time is it now?”
“Just past ten.” Callum motioned to the kitchen table. “Sit down. I’ll rustle us up some breakfast. What would you like?”
Once Parker reached the table, he made no move to sit.
“What sounds good?” Callum prayed Parker said cereal, because he really didn’t want to make anything.
“I want to see my new grandma and grandpa.”
“You will.” Making an executive decision, Callum pulled the cereal box from the cupboard and dumped some Cocoa Puffs into a bowl. Seconds later, the chocolaty puffs, now swimming in milk, sat before Parker. “First, you need to fuel up.”
As if sensing this was an argument that he wouldn’t win, Parker sat, picked up a spoon and obligingly shoveled in a mouthful of cereal .
The boy chewed thoughtfully, his gaze on Callum drinking coffee as he stood at the counter.
“Why did you never come?”
Callum lowered the cup from his lips. “Pardon?”
“You never came to see me.” Two tiny lines formed between the little boy’s brows. “Didn’t you like me?”
Hadn’t they gone over this before? Though the time since he’d learned of Parker’s existence was a crazy jumble, Callum felt certain this was old ground.
“Remember, I didn’t know you existed until your Grammy contacted me.” Callum met the boy’s gaze head on. “Once I knew, I came.”
Parker took another spoonful of cereal, his expression contemplative as he chewed. After several long seconds, he nodded. “My mommy left and never came back.”
What did he say to that? He wished now that he’d had time to explore with Liam—or heck, with Brynn or his parents—the best way to handle these questions. They always seemed to know the right thing to say.
Brynn’s words about kids in Parker’s situation feeling abandoned rang in his ears.
When Callum finally spoke, he let his memories of Rebekah guide his response.
Pulling out a chair, he sat. It seemed important that he and Parker be on the same level for this conversation. “Did I ever tell you about the first time I saw your mommy?”
Parker shook his head slowly, his eyes bright with interest.
“We were at a wing-gliding event in Texas.” Callum felt his lips curve. “I didn’t know your mom before that day. I caught sight of her talking to a guy we both knew. I remember thinking that, when it caught the light, her dark hair glistened like one of those shiny black stones.”
There was no need to tell Parker that Rebekah’s shorts and tank had shown off a body as muscular as it was feminine. She’d been laughing over something. Her expression had been so joyful and her laugh so infectious that Callum had simply had to meet her.
“What did you do when you saw my mommy?”
“I went over and introduced myself. I told her my name, and she told me hers.” He thought back to that day. “I thought Rebekah was such a beautiful name, and that’s what I told her.”
He didn’t say that she’d laughed and teasingly asked if that line worked for him.
“I don’t ’member her.” Parker’s bottom lip began to tremble. “Grammy said that Mommy and I sang silly songs together.”
Callum poured cereal into the second bowl he’d taken from the cupboard and added milk.
“Grammy used to make me pancakes.” Parker glanced down at the now-soggy cereal. “Every Sunday, she’d put chocolate chips in them.”
Callum liked chocolate chips. He liked pancakes. While he tried to limit carbs, pancakes once a week didn’t seem excessive. Unless continuing such a tradition wasn’t a good idea. Would it only remind Parker of the grandmother who was forever lost to him?
The thought of someone as bright and confident as Rebekah leaving her son with an aging mother and simply walking away had a stabbing pain lancing Callum’s heart.
Callum settled his gaze on Parker. He wanted to believe that she’d loved her son and had tried to do right by him.
Now, it was his turn to step up to the plate and ensure that their son had a good and happy life.
I’ll take care of him, Rebekah. You can count on me .
Simply making the silent vow brought him peace.
“What do you say we toss this cereal, and I make us pancakes?”
The boy’s eyes went wide. “With chocolate chips? ”
Callum had seen pancake mix and syrup in the cupboard. Chocolate chips? “Let me check.”
He searched the cupboards and found nothing. But when he opened one of the drawers, he found a big bag of milk chocolate chips.
Turning, Callum held up the bag. “We are in luck today.”
Parker clapped his hands. “This is going to be a great day.”
Callum smiled. It was certainly starting out that way.