Chapter 5
CHAPTER FIVE
WHAT A DIFFERENCE A DAY MAKES
WESTON
Getting her to agree to stay a few weeks with me was easier than I’d expected. Once that’s behind me, I step out of the room and walk down the hall until I find the stairs. When I’m certain the stairwell is empty, I call Felicity. She answers after two rings.
“Hey, I was just thinking about you,” she says.
“What were you thinking?”
“That I’m going to start charging you for every cute reporter who flirts with you during interviews. Seriously, it’s gross to see your brother shamelessly flirted with on TV.”
When I’m quiet, she says, “What’s wrong?”
I take a deep breath. “I found out I have a child. A baby…his name is Caleb.”
“ What ?”
“The hospital called yesterday and said my son had been admitted. He was in a car accident with his mom and when I got here, she had already passed. I was on the birth certificate.”
“Oh my God, Weston. Who is it? She died? Why didn’t you call me? I would’ve been there with you.”
“I know you would’ve. His mom’s name was Sasha Chapman. I didn’t know her well. I’ve been trying to piece it together. I think we met at a party Cal Morris had not long after the Super Bowl last year.” I bend over, feeling a wave of panic. “I haven’t told Mom and Dad yet. I needed proof before I dragged you guys into this. The Mustangs legal team did all the tests and he’s mine. But I knew when I saw him.”
“You did?” Her voice cracks. “Weston. A baby boy,” she says softly. “This is amazing and…heartbreaking. How old is he?”
“Two and a half months old.”
“You must be in shock. I can’t believe this.”
“I am in shock. I don’t—Felicity…what if I’m not good at this?”
“Good at being a dad? Weston, listen to me. You’re going to be great .” Her voice cracks again and she’s crying when she says, “I can’t wait to see you be a dad. You’ve got this. I know you do.”
“I hope you’re right.”
“I’m right about this, West. I don’t doubt you for a second. Look how good I turned out having you as a big brother.”
I exhale, feeling slightly calmer already. I should’ve called her immediately. My older sister Olivia, on the other hand…I can already hear the crap she’ll give me over this. “Love you.”
“I love you . When can I see him?”
“Soon. There’s a lot to work out. Sasha’s sister Sadie is…involved. There’s a lot to tell you, but I just didn’t want more time to go by without you knowing. I’ll call you later and fill you in on the rest. I’m excited for you to meet him. He’s perfect. I’ll send you a few pictures as soon as we hang up.”
The call to my parents is a lot harder to get through, with a lot more questions, but ultimately, they’re kind and loving, as always. I let them know I don’t have many answers yet, but that there’s no fight for me to see my son, and that seems to ease their minds. They’re excited to meet their grandson. I ask them to let Olivia know and promise to have them over as soon as we’re settled.
I didn’t tell my parents or Felicity about Sadie coming to the house or really many details other than the fact that Caleb’s here, he’s mine, and he’s healthy. I already know they will think Sadie staying with me is a terrible idea. They’re probably right, but she just lost her sister. I felt awful even talking about a lawsuit when she’s already lost so much.
I don’t know what I’d do if I lost my sisters. Olivia and I aren’t even very close, but it’d still be devastating. And Felicity—she’s been my best friend since the day she was born.
When I go back into the room, I can tell Sadie’s been crying again. She’s holding Caleb and she looks up when I walk in.
“They’re discharging him soon,” she says.
As she’s saying that, the nurse comes in and walks us through the discharge papers. When she leaves, we gather the few things from the room and then look at each other like now what?
“I’ll follow you to your place,” I say. “We’ll get a few things and I can arrange for movers to get more tomorrow.”
“That’s not necessary. We don’t need to involve movers. I can get what I need and meet you at your house.”
“Okay, I’ll take Caleb with me.”
Her eyes flash, a frown deepening as she shakes her head. “No. He stays with me. You don’t even know what to do with him yet.”
“I’ll manage. You’ll have to forgive me for not trusting you to take him by yourself.” I lift my shoulder and she sighs.
“I’m not going to disappear with him,” she says softly.
“I don’t want to test out that theory.”
“Fine. You can follow me, but don’t judge us when you see our place.” She points at me.
“I won’t.”
She rolls her eyes and mutters something but carefully places Caleb in his car seat. An officer came in earlier to let Sadie know they’ll call when she can pick up any belongings from the wreck. When the hospital said we’d have to have a car seat before Caleb could go home, I thought I’d need to go buy one. I was surprised when Sadie said she had one in her car.
I’d like to think I’d be an awesome uncle and do whatever Felicity or Olivia needed, but I’m not sure I would ever think of keeping a backup car seat in my vehicle at all times.
I’ll be needing one for my SUV anyway.
And a ton of other baby things that I have no clue about….
How the hell am I going to do this?
I pick up the car seat and we walk out of the hospital room.
“Do you mind if we take the stairs?” I ask. “Less chance of photos being taken that way.”
“Okay.”
We’re quiet as we walk to the parking garage. Sadie gave me her address when we were still upstairs, and I can see my SUV just a few cars down from hers, so I’m not worried she’ll make a quick escape.
I set Caleb in my SUV and get the base out of Sadie’s car. It takes a ridiculous amount of time to figure out how to put it in my back seat, but I finally do. Sadie shows me how to click the car seat into the base and waits until I’m behind her to pull out. That small gesture gives me hope that we’ll be able to work together peaceably.
I second-guess everything the whole way to her apartment.
Do I really want Sadie staying with me? Not at all.
Do I want my son? Yes.
Should I be working so hard to keep Caleb’s aunt in his life full-time after she helped keep him a secret from me? I don’t know the answer to that.
My parents and sister Olivia own their own practice and the Law Offices of Shaw & Shaw have an impeccable record. My brother-in-law Sutton is a judge.
But the truth is, even if I didn’t have the best resources on my side, Sadie wouldn’t stand a chance in court if she ever tried to file for custody. Not only that, it wouldn’t take much for me to keep her from seeing my son.
It just feels wrong. Not as wrong as Sasha not telling me about Caleb, but enough that I’d hate myself for it.
We drive into a neighborhood that’s older but well-kept. Sadie pulls into the parking lot of an apartment building and parks near the entrance. I park near her. Caleb is awake and I smile down at him. He stares at me intensely before smiling back and I laugh in surprise. Every single time I look at him, I get this weird ache in my chest.
“Hey there, little guy,” I say like a goofy fool.
Sadie bumps into me and we both turn to look at each other, too distracted by looking at the baby to care about anything else. Her smile is bright and pretty and for a tiny second, that shadow isn’t in her eyes. It quickly clouds over when she looks at me and motions for me to follow her.
Once we’re inside, we take the elevator to the third floor and she unlocks the door. She’s gotten increasingly anxious on the way up.
“It’s not much,” she says.
We walk into the apartment, and it’s simple but clean. The only clutter seems to be a few small baby things.
“It’s nice,” I say.
“Most of his stuff is back here.” She points behind her shoulder.
She walks down the hall and from what I can tell, there’s only one bedroom with a twin bed and a crib. There’s a changing table by the closet. Sadie opens the closet and it’s full of baby clothes and I’m assuming, Sasha’s wardrobe.
She flinches when she sees Sasha’s clothes but grabs a bag and puts Caleb’s outfits in there.
“What can I do to help?” I ask.
“Take one of these bags and get all the diapers it’ll hold. They’re right there.” She points to the little shelf by the changing table. “And lots of wipes. I can get his clothes and toys…and pictures.”
She pauses by the bed and picks up a picture. It’s of Sasha and Caleb. Her eyes fill with tears and she tucks the frame into the bag and keeps moving.
When she has everything she wants from the room, she hands me another bag.
“For his books and toys that are in the living room. I’ll get my things and then we can go.”
We walk back into the living room and she bends down at the small chest of drawers, pulling her clothes out and packing them. I notice the pillow and blanket folded up beside the couch.
“Is this where you sleep?” I ask.
She nods. Her eyes narrow on me and I try to school my sympathetic expression. Some couches aren’t the worst to sleep on, but this one looks lumpy and narrow.
“I have a few things to get from the bathroom.” She tilts her head toward the hall. “There’s a portable crib folded up in that closet.” She points to the door.
“Okay, I’ll grab it.”
She nods and rushes down the hall, and when she comes back a few minutes later, her eyes are red and swollen, and her cheeks are splotchy.
Fuck.
She grabs a few more frames and tucks them in her bag and sets all her bags by the door.
“I’m ready,” she says.
“I can take this stuff out and come back for the rest…if you want to make sure you have everything you want…” I watch as she swallows hard and nods.
“Thanks.”
I take as much as I can carry and load it into my SUV, and when I come back to the apartment, there are a few more bags in front of the door.
“I forgot about the food.” She’s in the kitchen and putting food in paper bags. “I don’t want it to go to waste.”
I stand in the doorway of the kitchen and see her wipe the tears from her face as she hurries to empty out the fridge.
“Sadie,” I say softly, “we can come back and do this another time…if it’s too much.”
She takes a deep breath and it’s shaky. “Okay.”
I take the bags from the counter and she follows me out of the kitchen. I take the groceries to the car and when I come back, we’re able to get the rest of the bags and Caleb to the car in one more trip.
“Are you okay to drive?” I ask when everything but Caleb is loaded in my SUV. She’s still crying. It’s almost like she doesn’t even realize it, the tears are just falling. “I’d feel better if we sent someone to pick up your car. My friend Penn might still be in the area and he could drive it to my place.”
She’s holding Caleb’s carrier and looks down at him.
Her eyes are in such pain when they meet mine again.
“That might be for the best,” she says.
I nod and open the passenger side for her, taking Caleb as she climbs in. Sadie’s holding her keys and when I hold out my hand, she places them in my palm and I put them under her driver’s seat, texting Penn when I’ve shut the door.
Are you still in the area?
He texts right back.
Penn
Yes, sir.
Would you be able to pick up a car and drive it out to my house sometime tonight? There’s no rush.
Penn
I’m on it.
I send him the address, tell him where the keys are, and he says he’s five minutes away.
You’re a lifesaver. Thank you.
Penn
I’ve got you, man.
The drive to my house is quiet besides the sounds of Sadie sniffling and Caleb’s little baby squeaks.
I don’t know what the hell I’m doing, but I think we’re in this together.