Chapter 74 #2
It takes ages for everyone to wrangle the kids and get them in their highchairs and seats, but once they have their pasta in front of them, the kids are happy.
We all take seats around the large dining table and dig in, my stomach not quite feeling up to the meal, but I force a couple of bites into my mouth.
Jackson sits across from me, places the folder down, and starts eating as if he has all the time in the world, not that he is sitting on a ticking bomb.
“I can’t take it any longer, please, Jackson, what have you found?”
Jackson puts his silverware down and grins. “I’ve gone through everything.”
The room goes silent.
I try to breathe.
“They’re real,” Jackson continues. “Rowan and Callum Sinclair. Confirmed identities. Confirmed birth records. Confirmed parentage.”
My stomach drops. They’re real. Fuck.
He keeps going. “They grew up in Scotland since they were babies. Looks like her parents had moved to Australia for a bit, but when she got pregnant at seventeen and then again at eighteen, they hightailed it back to Scotland.”
She was so young. What the hell was my father doing with someone so young? Oh shit. No. The worst-case scenario runs through my mind.
“D?” Charlie asks, noticing my inner torture.
“We don’t have anything to confirm what her relationship was with your father, D, but he is the father of her children. A DNA test was done by her family.”
I swallow hard, but it doesn’t seem to clear the knot in my throat. “She was so young.”
Jackson nods. “All I can find is that they were in the country for two years and then moved back. Their mother is a Lady, too, her own parents having titles. Not sure how they got tangled up in a religious cult in Australia, but it’s not the first time I’ve seen something like this.”
“Sounds like they left after she got pregnant a second time,” Sienna adds.
“Probably because my father was messing around with a fucking minor.” I sneer. Charlie reaches out and rubs my back.
“As horrible as it sounds, I think you’re right, and judging from what the letter says, she was scared for her life and kept it a secret from everyone,” Jackson explains.
“What I do know is a couple of years later, she married another aristocrat and he adopted the boys. That’s why they have the surname Sinclair. ”
“Derrick, your brothers are literally royalty,” Vanessa teases, trying to lighten the mood.
“Does that mean Olivia knows them?” Christian asks.
Jackson nods. “She does. Callum, the younger brother, is in London. Her sister Penny is friends with him as they used to party together. Olivia said, other than being a playboy, he seems like a good guy.” Wow.
What a small world. “They’re good men, Derrick.
Clean records. Stable careers. No red flags.
They’ve been genuinely trying to find you for the past year, and I honestly think they want a relationship. ”
My throat tightens. “You do?”
Jackson smiles. “Yeah, buddy, I do.”
This is a lot to take in. Charlie slides his hand into mine under the table. He always knows when I need him.
“Rowan, the older one, lives in New York. He works in investments. He is a year younger than you. Not married,” Jackson explains. Oh. A year younger. Shit. “And Callum is a year younger than him, and he works in finance too.”
“That’s awesome. You guys are all similar in age,” Evan adds. Sienna elbows him. “What?”
Evan’s right, it is kind of nice that we are all around the same age.
“Why did they reach out through a PI and not directly?” Charlie asks.
“I’m assuming because of Derrick’s name change, they couldn’t find him, it would have been hard to track down a needle in a haystack,” Jackson states.
“What do I do?” I whisper.
The whole table waits.
Jackson answers first.
“You do nothing you’re not ready for,” he says. “But if you want to contact them … it’s safe to. They’re just two men who found out they have a brother and want to know him.”
My voice cracks. “A brother.”
Christian grins. “Two brotherrrs,” he growls in his terrible Scottish accent.
“Chris,” Vanessa warns.
“What?” He shrugs. “He’s got Scottish brothers. Let me have this.”
Everyone laughs softly, and the pressure in my chest loosens, just a little.
Charlie squeezes my hand. “You don’t have to decide tonight.”
“When you’re ready,” Sienna adds gently, “you have all of us right here supporting you.”
I look around the table, my chosen family who have carried me through every version of myself. And I whisper, “I think … I want to meet them.”
Charlie’s thumb brushes over my knuckles. Sienna beams at me, excitement sparkling in her eyes. Evan gives a single solid nod.
Jackson clears his throat, business-mode activated. “All right,” he says. “If that’s what you want, here’s how we do it.”
My heart kicks up. “Okay.”
“No direct contact from you yet.” He raises a hand before I can respond. “Not because you can’t. Because it’s my job to make sure you’re never blindsided.”
Charlie hums in agreement beside me, protective as hell.
Jackson taps the folder in front of him. “The PI who sent the letter, Patrick Hale, is legitimate. Licensed. Clean. Good reputation. So, I’ll reach out to him first.”
Vanessa leans forward. “And what do you say?”
“I’ll tell him we received the letter. I’ll confirm Derrick’s current name, location, and that he’s willing to open a line of communication and that you wish for them to contact you directly.”
My stomach flips. “And then?”
“And then,” Jackson says gently, “they will contact you, and you can take it from there. Have as little or as much as you want with them.”
I exhale, shakily, this is happening. “So, I don’t have to … cold-call two Scottish lords tomorrow morning?”
“I mean, you can if you want. They are reaching out to you because they want contact. We don’t have to go through the PI,” Jackson explains.
“We found their information last night,” Sienna reminds me.
We did, and I’ve been obsessing over it all day, scrolling through their timelines.
“You won’t have to do anything alone,” Charlie whispers beside me. I look up at the stoic hulk of a man beside me, and I’m so thankful for him.
“What happens if they … um … don’t like me?” I ask.
“How could they not like you, you’re fricken awesome,” Sienna adds.
“They will love you, just like we do,” Christian states.
“I mean … all this?” I say, waving my hands over me.
“What, being a stylist?” Vanessa asks.
“No, he means being fabulous,” Christian corrects her.
“Obvs.” She grins.
I love these guys. “No. I mean, what happens if they weren’t expecting a gay brother?”
The table falls silent for a moment.
“I don’t think they are like that,” Jackson explains.
I shake my head. “I can’t go through another family rejecting me.” Tears well in my eyes.
“Oh, D,” Charlie says, pulling me into a hug as my girls get up and wrap themselves around me too.
“They are going to love you. They don’t care, I’m sure of it. They didn’t grow up in that cult,” Vanessa reassures me.
“I think the fact that her family left and she never spoke of that life ever again means they have put those beliefs behind them,” Sienna adds.
“You think?” I sniffle.
“I do. We can do some more research and ask Olivia to be sure before contacting them, if you want?” Sienna asks me.
“Call Olivia, she will know,” Isla suggests.
“You control the pace, D,” Jackson tells me.
“I’ll be right beside you, whatever you need.” Charlie nudges me with his shoulder.
“Thank you,” I whisper because I know I can deal with whatever happens if I have this man beside me. “And, Jackson, thank you too.”
Jackson’s expression softens. “D, you don’t owe me thanks. You’re family.”
My eyes burn again.
These guys are my family, but I guess that circle is now expanding.