Chapter 4
MEMPHIS
Within seconds, Cassia’s expression shifted from anger and fear to dejection and sadness. I hated to see that. I didn’t want her to think I was the enemy. If that was the case, then there was no way we could work together the way I hoped.
It had only been a few days since Iliana appeared with information that would change my life forever. Since then, I’d done nothing but think about the future and the best course of action for my daughter.
Every time those words crossed my mind–my daughter–I felt a surge of emotion that included sheer terror and, oddly enough, joy. I had never been one of those guys who swore they didn’t want kids. In my family, having children was a natural progression of life.
Be a little wild, find a woman who made every breath worthwhile, pray she had enough patience and tolerance to let you live, and then have some babies and live happily ever after.
That had happened over and over again in my family.
Almost all the couples I knew had defied the odds and stayed together.
Only a few had realized that they’d made the wrong move, but even then, they worked very hard to keep things civil, if not downright friendly.
At the very least, I wanted that between Cassia and me. I realized now that my previous approach was not the way to achieve that goal.
I decided to put my cards on the table and give Cassia the truth rather than take the bait and react with my own stubborn pride.
“Ivy is your little girl now, and she’s the last link you have to your brother, whether she shares his DNA or not.
I get that, and I promise I’m not trying to take that away from you, Cassia.
I don’t want to take her. Throw away any preconceived notions you have about me and my lifestyle, because I can guarantee that ninety percent of them are wrong.
Get to know me, my family, and my friends.
No matter what the circumstances were surrounding her conception, she deserves to be surrounded by people who love her.
That group includes you and your sisters, as well as me and my family. ”
“You’re not going to take her away from me?” Her eyes were filled with tears. I could hear them in her voice, but not a single one fell until she choked out, “I can’t lose anyone else. I just can’t.”
I took a step closer and rested my hands on her shoulders as I looked down into her dark brown eyes. “When your family joins mine, you won’t lose anything, Cassia. Neither will Ivy. She’ll be surrounded by so many people who love her, you’ll never have to worry about her feeling alone like you do.”
“She’s all I have left. Ivan told me to take her, and I did, but he never came out . . . and neither did anyone else.”
“I’m sorry, sweetheart,” I said as I pulled her close and wrapped my arms around her. “I know it doesn’t matter, but you’ll have my gratitude for as long as I live, Cassia. I promise you that.”
“I don’t want gratitude, Memphis. I want a family.” Cassia sobbed as she gripped my T-shirt in her hands. The sound broke my heart, but it shattered when she whispered, “I want my family.”
“I can’t give you your family back, but I can share mine with you and your sisters.”
“Why would you do that when you could probably just take her away and never look back?”
“Because family is more important to me than . . . you know what? You, of all people, can understand when I say that family is the most important thing in the world.”
“Mine is falling apart,” Cassia whispered, so quietly I almost didn’t hear her.
“You need someone to help you hold it together?”
She laughed, but there was no joy in it. The sound was just as heartbreaking as the tears in her voice when she said, “I don’t have anyone left who can.”
“You’ve got me now, and I come with attachments that I couldn’t shake off even if I wanted to.”
“What is wrong with me? Why am I telling you all of this?” Cassia asked as she pushed away, frantically wiping the tears from her face.
“Maybe it’s because you’ve been shouldering everything alone for so long that you can’t take one more thing. Me showing up today tipped the scales, but that’s okay. I’ll help you juggle it all.”
“Why would you?”
“Because you saved my daughter’s life. And I think finding out about her might just save mine.”
“What do those papers say?” Cassia asked as she wiped her face again and then brushed her hands over her hips. “Are you about to hand them to me and say I just got served?”
“If I tell you what’s in them now, then you might not invite me inside.” When Cassia’s eyes narrowed, I realized she was thinking the worst again, so I hurried to say, “I brought you a copy of the DNA test . . .”
“How did you get Ivy’s DNA?” Cassia asked. She shook her head before she whispered, “Iliana.”
I slowly nodded as I said, “She brought a swab that the lab was able to use.”
“I can’t believe she’d do that to me,” Cassia said angrily as she looked over my shoulder at the truck. “Did you bring reinforcements?”
“Yeah, just in case you decided to hit me over the head and feed me to the wood chipper.”
“I don’t have a wood chipper, but I have a great imagination.” I barked out a laugh, and Cassia finally smiled. “If I invite you and your friends inside, will you let me see what’s in that folder?”
“I will.”
“Let your people know it’s safe to come in,” Cassia ordered. I lifted my arm and motioned for Scarlet and Xavier to get out of the truck and heard both doors open almost instantly. Cassia assessed them as they walked up the sidewalk and then gave me a half-smile. “Your girlfriend is beautiful.”
“That’s not my girlfriend. That’s my sister, Scarlet, and our friend Xavier.”
◆◆◆
CASSIA
I had no idea why I was so relieved to hear that the woman waiting for Memphis wasn’t his girlfriend. That didn’t mean there wasn’t a woman at home waiting for him, or even a string of them across the country who couldn’t wait to see him again.
Even as nice as he’d been to me today–when I verbally vomited my emotions like I didn’t have an ounce of self-control and then fell into his arms like some damsel in distress–I had to keep in mind how he’d met Regina. I had to understand that had probably happened hundreds of times over the years.
Hopefully, his sexual exploits would have no bearing on his ability to be a loving father to Ivy.
If they somehow infringed on that, I would figure out how to make sure it never happened again.
I couldn’t remember the name of the woman who chopped off her man’s penis, but I would join her in infamy if Memphis Forrester’s dick adventures messed up Ivy’s life in any way.
When the woman stopped next to Memphis, I was shocked to see how much she looked like Ivy.
When she smiled, the dimples I loved so much on Ivy appeared on her cheeks.
It didn’t take a DNA test to see that Ivy was Memphis’s daughter, but I was going to look at the paper anyway.
I might even have one done myself, just to be sure.
It didn’t hurt to cover all the bases. I wasn’t going down without a fight if the man tried to take Ivy away from me.
Letting her build a relationship with her father was the right thing to do, but I was self-aware enough to know that I wasn’t willing to let them take her from me. From what Memphis had said so far, that wasn’t his intention, but I was not one to trust easily.
But then again, up until ten minutes ago, I hadn’t been the type to cry in a stranger’s arms either. Maybe I didn’t know myself nearly as well as I thought.
“Hi! I’m Scarlet,” the woman said as she stuck her hand out to shake mine.
I tried to return her smile but failed miserably as I shook her hand and introduced myself. “Cassia Belushi.”
“No shit?” the guy with Scarlet asked. He grinned and offered his hand. “I’m Xavier Duke. Are you related to the Belushi brothers?”
“Are you related to John Wayne?”
“No, but that would be really freaking cool,” he admitted. He sighed before he said, “I guess things went well.”
Quicker than I could blink, Memphis elbowed his friend in the ribs. I was shocked when his expression never changed as Xavier gasped for air.
Scarlet cleared her throat. “It’s very nice to meet you, Cassia. Your sister said so many wonderful things about you that I can’t wait to get to know you.”
“Did Iliana meet your entire family?” I asked, looking at Memphis.
“Only our grandma and grandpa. Xavier wasn’t there that day, but I brought him along because I needed someone to talk to.”
“And obviously I’m a little biased. Well, and I have a brain in my head,” Scarlet teased.
“I have a brain,” Xavier argued.
“Yes, but you also have a penis. Most of the time, it’s hard for a man’s itty-bitty brain to control everything else along with that too,” Scarlet said sarcastically.
“Do you see what I’m dealing with here?” Memphis asked.
“Honesty and intelligence along with mind-numbing stupidity?” I blurted.
Scarlet cackled before she got closer and threw her arm over my shoulders. “That clinches it. You and I are going to be very good friends.”
“Can we come out yet?” Erisa’s voice asked through the doorbell speaker.
“I guess we should go in the house,” I said as I shrugged off Scarlet’s arm and took a step closer to Memphis. “I’ve got some ground rules that I’m not willing to bend on.” Memphis just nodded, so I continued. “You’re not taking Ivy anywhere.”
“Not without you.”
“What does that mean?” I asked. Memphis lifted the folder again, so I glared at him and said, “Let’s go inside.”
I turned around and opened the door, stepping aside to let them pass. I was surprised when Memphis stopped next to me and asked, “Will you introduce me to Ivy?”
I took a deep breath before I nodded and said, “She’ll drag you over to the couch and make you watch her favorite show. That might give you an opportunity to see her in her natural element while I look at those papers.”
“Thanks.”
“You might not be thanking me when you find out what she likes to watch,” I mumbled. Once he pushed the door shut, I led him into the living room, where Ivy had strewn every toy she owned. “Good grief.”
“Yum!” Ivy giggled before she popped a fruit gummy into her mouth. Apparently, Iliana and Erisa had been too busy spying to entertain her, so they’d given her multiple packages of her favorite treat to keep her busy.
“Didn’t you just eat dinner?” I asked rhetorically as I started picking up empty packages. “You’re gonna turn into a fruit snack, kiddo.”
I turned around and realized Memphis was still standing in the doorway, frozen in place.
He was looking at Ivy, who was completely ignoring him in favor of the program she liked most. On the screen, an engine roared to life.
Ivy squealed, spewing gummies everywhere as she mimicked the noise.
I was mesmerized as Memphis’s face went from shock to joy in a split second.
“She’s watching . . .”
When Memphis’s voice trailed off, I said, “I know it’s crazy, but that’s all she cares about. I guess I should be glad it’s not baby-talk cartoon drivel, but this is all she’ll watch. She’d get really pissed when a commercial came on, so I found it on a streaming service.”
“Holy shit,” I heard a woman whisper just before a man started laughing. Seconds later, Scarlet asked, “Is that Dad?”
“What?” I asked as I whipped my head around. “Whose dad?”
“That’s our dad,” Memphis said as he sat on the couch near Ivy. He smiled at her and asked, “You like this show?”
“It’s her favorite,” Iliana answered from the doorway. “She can’t get enough of the reruns on this channel.”
“That’s Uncle Tucker, and that’s Uncle Sonny,” Memphis said as he pointed to the screen.
“Your family has a television show?” I asked in shock.
“They did years ago,” Scarlet explained. She smiled and said, “That’s our mom.”
I saw a woman in coveralls sliding beneath a car on a rolling tray. “That’s your mom?”
“She’s a mechanic, and so is our dad. Memphis is, too, when he’s not playing music.”
“You’re shitting me,” I whispered as I dropped onto the ottoman.
“That’s how I knew this was the right thing to do,” Iliana said, still standing in the doorway behind me.
I turned around and frowned. “Really?”
“I’m serious! I was watching it with her and saw these kids who looked just like her. It was so weird that I googled the cast to see who the hot guy was and realized that’s their dad.”
“Eww,” Scarlet whined.
“Sorry, but . . . you know . . . he kinda was,” Iliana stammered.
“When was this filmed?” Erisa asked.
“Hold on! England’s got a list!” Scarlet said as she pulled out her phone. It was only seconds before she named a season and episode. “Go to that one!”
I reached for the remote and searched for the episode. As the credits rolled, our guests shouted people’s names on the screen. We were only a few minutes in when Ivy squealed at the sight of a toddler in the background.
Memphis laughed. “See? I’ve always liked the spotlight!”
“That’s you?” I asked in shock.
Basically, Ivy’s biological family had been babysitting her for months, and I had no idea.