Charlie looks across and says grimly, “He’s on his way.”
Leaning back, I breathe out slowly. That’s all the answer I need. My father wouldn’t tear down here if that name didn’t mean something to him. Shit just got real.
8
Summer
They give me some time to settle myself and then Maxwell says curtly, “We should take this somewhere quiet.”
Charlie nods and they both stand and Maxwell says, “Follow us. We need to sort this out tonight.”
I feel my legs shaking as we follow them through the crowd of people who are openly staring. Then we head through a door to the side which cuts the music off as the door slams. Suddenly, it all feels very real as we follow Maxwell down a passageway with Charlie bringing up the rear. It feels so final. Whatever happens next will give me the answer I need. If it doesn’t turn out to be him, then I would continue my search a little happier. The reason for that happiness concerns the man striding in front of me who has affected me in a way I wasn’t expecting. Just one look from those enigmatic eyes makes me shiver with lust. If I am related to his father, nothing could ever come of it.
He leads us to a door at the end of the passageway that opens into an office. Pulling out a seat, he says curtly, “Here, you may as well sit, he may be some time.”
I look at him in surprise. “What, he’s coming here, now?”
He nods and I feel something inside that can only be described as a mixture of excitement and trepidation. I’m not sure I’m ready for this. It’s too soon. How can I face him like this, so harsh and brutal?
Tracey looks at the guys and says angrily, “For fuck’s sake, this is cold. If Joey is Summer’s father, shouldn’t we give them some privacy?”
Maxwell sits behind the desk and shakes his head. “If he asks, of course.”
Charlie sits by the door and I feel him staring at me as I start to play with my fingers nervously. I hear the clock ticking loudly on the wall and the silence is oppressive and mistrusting. All the time the two men stare. They are unflinching and any earlier friendliness has been left behind in that booth. They are intimidating, cold and I find myself struggling to breathe.
I think we sit there for a good twenty minutes before we hear footsteps. Charlie slips from the room and I make out whispered voices outside. My heart starts thumping so hard I think they will hear it and I feel so hot I think I’ll explode.
Then the door opens and as I look up my breath hitches as I stare into an identical pair of eyes to mine. Joseph Carter.
I see nobody in that brief moment but him. Everyone else melts away as I stare at a face that looks so familiar to me. I can’t look away and neither can he.
He is a good-looking man who wears his age well. He must be 6ft tall and stocky, with dark hair and those piercing blue eyes. He is dressed immaculately and I see the shock in his eyes as he says in a rough sounding voice, “Leave us.”
No words are spoken as the three onlookers leave the room until it’s just the two of us.
I’m not sure what to do and stand awkwardly.
He continues to stare and I watch as something lights in his eyes that makes my heart shake. That look says it all. He never knew.
He approaches me slowly, staring the whole time. As he reaches me, he lifts his hand to my cheek and gently touches it as if checking I’m real. Then he says softly, “You are so like your mother.”
Once again, I feel the pain shoot through me as my lip trembles and I struggle to hold on to any strength I have left.
Then he reaches for me and pulls me to him and wraps his arms around me as any father would. I feel his emotion as he says gruffly, “I swear to god I never knew. When Meg left, I didn’t know where. I was in prison for a long time and when I got out heard she’d moved to the states. I was never told I had a daughter because I promise you that if I’d known, I would have come for you.”
I start to shake as the sobs move their way through my body. This is too much - he’s too much and as I break down in my father’s arms, I know I’m home where I belong.
Maxwell
There is nothing else to do but wait. I pace up and down the corridor outside my office and curse my bad luck. Tracey just stands leaning against the wall looking worried and I do nothing to reassure her. Charlie looks as wretched as I feel and shakes his head and says softly, “I’m sorry, man.”
I let the comment go because he knows how I feel. We have a sixth sense where the other is concerned and he would have seen the way I looked at Summer. I never look at women like that. I take my pick and never have to try hard. It was different with her because she didn’t know who I was—or so I thought. Turns out she knew exactly who we were and was using us for her own purposes.
I make a fist and my brother looks at me with concern.
“You ok?”
I nod, trying desperately to control my anger. I’m not sure why I’m so angry but I can’t rid myself of the nagging voice in my head that’s telling me Summer’s off limits. Why should I care? I’ve just met the girl but I know she’s different. I knew that the minute I laid eyes on that sexy ass swaying to the music. She lit up the place like a ray of sunshine and at that moment, I knew I had to have her. This is a fucked-up situation because as it now turns out, she’s the last girl in the world I can have.
I hear Charlie say to Tracey, “You ok, babe?”
She shrugs. “I think so. You know, Summer doesn’t know about your family, only what my mum told her. She came here looking for her father and that was all. As it happens, that was easier than we all thought and now I’m worried.”
Charlie says in surprise. “Worried about what?”
She sighs heavily. “She’s vulnerable. Her whole life just crashed and burned and she’s floundering. I can’t even begin to understand how she’s feeling and this, on top of her grief, might send her crazy.”
Charlie smiles reassuringly. “Listen, you may have heard a lot of bad shit about our family and most of it true. But we put family above everything and if Summer’s Joey’s daughter she will be loved with the fiercest kind of love possible. Joey doesn’t have any kids of his own. He spent so long in jail he didn’t exactly have the opportunity. Then he met our mother, and she had lost the ability to have kids a few years previous. If Summer’s his, then she’s his only biological child. You don’t need to worry about Summer’s future, Trace because nobody will be as loved as much as that girl by her father. She is a gift from God as far as he’s concerned and he will give her the moon if he could.”
I’ve heard enough and say angrily. “I need a drink.”
I storm out and head straight to the bar. I need to clear my head because Charlie’s words, although meant to soothe Tracey’s worries, just added to mine. Of course, Joey will be protective of his daughter. The trouble is, I’m the one she needs protecting from. In my heart, I know this is a battle I will surely lose. With Summer in our lives, things are going to get messy pretty damn quickly and I’m not sure what the fuck to do about it.
The bartender takes one look at me and spins my usual drink my way. Double scotch on the rocks and I need it more than anything tonight. I lean on the bar and down it in one and nod for another. I don’t miss his worried expression. I’ve got a reputation for being a crazy bastard when I lose it and they tiptoe around me when I’m in one of my moods. Charlie usually gets to wade in and calm me down but not tonight. Tonight, I need to forget and fast.