Chapter 4
CHAPTER FOUR
LIKE FATHER, NOT LIKE SON
Two months later
Jett
Getting to know your sperm donor as an adult is an odd thing.
I never set out to find my birth father. I figured he didn’t want me in his life, so why the hell would I want him in mine? Grandma told me no one knew who he was since my mom took that secret to the grave. I was just fine with Grandma. And when she died, I was good on my own.
At least I thought I was. That’s when genes, biology, and blood types became the most important things in my life.
So much, I thanked myself for being lazy and not dumping all of Grandma’s stuff after she died.
I’m not a “stuff” guy. I don’t have a lot of it, and I sure as fuck didn’t want to dig through hers.
Grandma was a packrat. She kept every single thing of my mom’s.
If there was a clue anywhere in this world about who my father is, it was in the storage unit I dumped Grandma’s stuff in. If she only knew the one trait I spent years giving her shit about actually saved my life, she’d come back to give me hell.
So, yeah. I had selfish motives.
It’s not like I hid that when I bent over backwards to get them to answer me. Little did I know, someone was gatekeeping me. That was a development I couldn’t focus on at the time since my body was a literal ticking time bomb.
But when I woke up from surgery and Harlow informed me I wasn’t going to implode from the inside out, I had a chance to sit back and think on why I was kept from my father.
I may be a cynical man, I know, but when Harlow and our father say they had no idea of my existence, I have no reason to doubt them. I’m not going to lie, it had more to do with Harlow than Patrick Madsion.
Patrick, on the other hand, is awkward as fuck around me, which is to be expected more than the happily ever after Harlow is determined will happen.
Last night, I got a call from Chrissie. She’s Harlow’s best friend and used to be her assistant, but now she’s Patrick’s.
Yes, my father had his assistant call and set up a meeting with me.
Not exactly dad material, but it intrigued me enough I accepted, took my meds, put my phone on silent, and went straight back to bed.
Ever since I got to the manor, sleep has come easier and easier.
The last few years have not been good, but the vultures aren’t circling, I don’t have depressing doctor appointments on tap, and nurses aren’t waking me up every hour in the hospital.
My mini suite is quiet, the bed is plush, and I set the room to the temperature of a walk-in freezer.
This is the only heaven I’m interested in being close to. The longer I’m here, the more I’m used to it.
It doesn’t take me twice as long to shower and get ready any longer. I’m still off work for a few more weeks. I have no rent. I’m staying at a five-star resort for free with an unlimited meal ticket.
I fucking hate the free-ride portion of this deal, but Devon has proven to be a man who will do anything to make my sister happy. He refuses payment.
Uncle Sam dictated my life since I signed at the young age of eighteen. After that it was my bum kidney. I can’t lie, I moved here because Harlow begged me to, and since she was giving me a kidney, who was I to turn her down?
But for the first time in my life, I find myself with choices. Now that I have them, I have no fucking idea what I want. I need to figure out if Winslet fits and find my own place.
I step off the elevator and move through the atrium. There’s something about a new lease on life that makes the world look bigger and brighter. With no shadow nipping at my heels for the last two months, I have stopped avoiding anything that produces happiness or life or a future.
It’s mid-morning and the place is bustling with vacationers. Some look like they’re moving from one event to another, and others are taking their time.
Time.
That’s another luxury that has taken some getting used to.
I make my way to the formal dining room where I was summoned for a family meeting and stop dead. Blake, the host, stands behind a piece of antique furniture that looks like it belongs in a castle.
“Welcome back to The Greenhouse, Jett. I don’t see you in here very often.”
This meeting might have been arranged by my father’s assistant, but at least he had the decency to plan it over brunch—formal and stuffy but softened around the edges with the promise of food.
“What’s up?” I peer through the restaurant that looks more like an indoor arboretum. “Yeah, the café is more my speed. But I’m here to meet Patrick Madison.”
The kid’s eyes widen, and his face lights up. “You’re here to meet your dad. That’s great.”
My brows pinch, but I don’t answer. The jury is still out on if it’s great or not since I have no clue what this meeting is about.
“You’re looking great by the way.” He makes no move for a menu or to show me to a table.
He looks me up and down and shakes his head.
“The new kidney is doing its job. Before you know it, you’ll be joining hiking adventures.
Maybe even skiing. I read that the full recovery for a kidney recipient is between three to six months, but your energy usually comes back between three to six weeks. ”
“You, ah, really know a lot about kidney transplants.”
His smile stretches from ear to ear. “I looked it up when I heard about you. I’m a curious soul.”
Since this kid seems to know everything about me, there’s nothing left to say. “That’s great.”
“I can’t tell you how cool it is to have Ms. Madison’s family here.
She keeps telling me to call her Harlow, but Grandma wouldn’t be happy, not to mention Mr. Donnelly is intimidating, though not as much as he was in the beginning.
” Blake comes out from behind the tall podium and leans in as he lowers his voice.
“Personally, I think it was all for show in the beginning. He’ll do anything for his employees.
And he bends over backwards for Ms. Madison. Everyone loves working for him.”
Since I’m officially the biggest freeloader on the planet right now, that makes me feel a little bit better. “He’s a good guy.”
“Everyone knows not to bill you. You should really take advantage of The Greenhouse more. We’re the best in the region.
Like a ten on a five-point scale,” he goes on.
What he does not do is show me to my table.
“Do you know who else doesn’t come to The Greenhouse?
Lennon. And she gets an employee discount. ”
“Ah, Lennon. I remember her.” I cringe thinking about how a woman half my size put me on my back. “It’s been months. I haven’t seen her since I first moved in.”
“That’s because she’s been avoiding you.
She was horrified when she tackled you. She thought she was going to get fired since you’re Ms. Madison’s brother.
But, like I said, Mr. Donnelly’s a good guy.
The only time he’s fired anyone is when he caught them getting it on in the coat room.
” He wiggles his brows. “If you know what I mean.”
I shift my weight and rest a forearm against the podium. “The manor is an interesting place.”
“It’s the best—other than that one time when a guest got shot. But he had it coming, so no one was really upset about it. I call it karma. My grandma calls it God’s consequences. Either way, no one died in the end.”
I glance at my watch and think about how Blake is going to make me late for the meeting with my father. But what’s Patrick going to do, disown me? “I read about the shooting. Crazy for a place like this.”
He waves me off. “You’re probably used to it since you saw action in the Army.”
“You’ve really done your homework.”
“Word gets around. Like I said, people have been talking,” he says nonchalantly like it’s no big deal. “And you live here now. Everyone is curious.”
“Living here is a temporary situation. If I decide to stay, I need to look for a place to rent.”
“Good luck. It’s slim pickings. Lennon lives in the basement of the library. I’m not sure how she does it. I went down there once on a third-grade field trip. It’s creepy as heck.”
“She lives in the basement of the library?”
“Yep,” he goes on as he eats into the meeting I have no desire to be at. “She’s almost at the end of her tryout period. That’s why she thought she was going to get fired for almost killing you.”
I stand up straight. “She didn’t almost kill me. I caught her in self-defense.”
“I can see that now. But she was still freaked. I don’t know her story, but she moved across the country to take this job. She really wants to make it work.”
“I had no idea her life was hanging in the balance after the incident. I’ll make sure and let her off of the hook the next time I see her.”
“You’re cool. But how could you not be since you’re Ms. Madison’s brother?”
“There you are.” Blake and I both turn to find Harlow standing at our sides.
She looks nothing like me. From what I could tell from old pictures on the internet, she looks exactly like her late mother.
Her long, blond hair is tied high on her head, and she’s wearing an outfit that looks like she’s either going straight to bed or to lounge in front of crap TV all day.
Definitely not like she’s standing in the middle of a five-star restaurant.
“I was about to come and look for you. I was worried you were going to back out.”
My lips tip up on one side. “You saved my life once. No need to worry about me anymore.”
She smiles. “Dad is waiting on us.”
I lose my smirk. “It’s a family meeting? Chrissie didn’t tell me that.”
“Chrissie has a lot on her plate, and they’re headed back to New York later today. It’s a miracle I got Dad back again so soon. Are you hungry?”
“Starving.”
“Sorry,” Blake says. “It’s my fault you’re late. I talked your ear off. I tend to do that.”
I lift my chin to the young kid who looks out of place but not out of his element. “Good to see you. See you around.”
“That you will,” he promises. “I see everyone around.”