Chapter 6
CHAPTER 6
“ I heard you and Mum arguing,” Danny said quietly.
Logan cringed. No matter how he felt, he’d always been careful not to badmouth Danny’s father. “I’m sorry. It was nothing serious. We just have a different opinion of how things should be handled.”
“Just for the record, I do believe Mum’s version of events. I know James will deny it, but she’s never lied to me before. Not even about him. And I understand why neither of you told me about this at the time. If anything, I appreciate that. I would have hated going there this past year and a half, knowing what happened and not having a choice but to be there. It would have affected my attitude towards my sisters and maybe stopped me from wanting to know them. They didn’t deserve that.”
He looked so sad and vulnerable Logan pulled him into a bear hug. “You’re a good kid, Danny. Hell, not even a kid anymore. You’re growing into a fine and fair young man, and I know you would have made the right choices, even if you’d known back then. But despite everything, your mother felt very strongly about not poisoning your attitude towards the Fulfords.”
Danny nodded. “She always has. Even when James wasn’t around. Even though he tried to tell me different, like he would about this too. But what he did was wrong. He should have respected your relationship with Mum, and he definitely should have had more regard for Kimberly. I can’t believe he’d just throw them away like that. Kimberly puts up with enough crap from Grandad, without her own husband allowing himself to be bullied into leaving her just so he can have a male heir. And I bet, deep down, she knows the truth about this, too, despite defending him. Besides, he already has me, without going to ridiculous lengths like that. It’s Grandad who engineers all this. He’s such a controlling bastard.”
Logan was so relieved Danny understood and accepted the situation, he let the cursing slide.
“But I do agree with Mum. I’ve seen first-hand how things are down there, and while I don’t agree with how Grandad handles things, and I wish my dad would grow a backbone, the workers don’t deserve to suffer even more because of them.”
Logan relaxed back into the seat he was sitting in. “What would you do, Danny?” he asked his stepson. “This is your heritage, after all.”
Danny made a face. “Honestly, a lot of the time, I hate being linked to either of them. I’m really glad I have a different name. And although I said I never wanted anything to do with the businesses, I’m tempted to go there, just to try and make things better for those people.” He shrugged. “You know, give them better pay and working conditions and stuff.”
Logan gave a small smile. Danny had a good head on his shoulders.
“I know Mum doesn’t want you to dismantle the company through Blackwood Universal, but isn’t there something else you could do?”
He quirked an eyebrow at the boy, surprised Danny would sanction him doing anything that might impact his biological family.
“Well…”
Danny narrowed his eyes. “You’ve already thought of something, haven’t you?”
Logan pursed his lips and nodded, wondering how much to reveal. “It won’t impact the workers, or even your father’s family,” he replied carefully. “But it will remove control of the company from your grandfather’s hands, and therefore, your father. You okay with that?”
Danny nodded, the light of certainty in his eyes.
Logan grinned, showing his teeth. Because the Fulfords were just big fish in a small pool… but he, on the other hand, was a goddamn shark.