When Bryce Thorn’s call came in the following morning, the man was very clipped in his responses and questions. It was quickly established that Bryce Thorn was, indeed, David’s father. When asked specific questions about the boy, Wil was unable to answer as he had yet to meet David in person and had obtained little to no information on the boy.

The father agreed to come see his son, though he didn’t seem happy about it. Wil contacted Clint to arrange to have the boy brought to the station. His gut had begun sending up warnings the moment Bryce Thorn had come on the line, but the man was David’s father. Wil wasn’t yet informed as to how the boy had become separated from his father in the first place.

Clint agreed only to bring the boy to Wil’s home, and from there Wil could take him to the station. When the cowboy and Axel arrived, there was a younger boy with David as well.

“His name is Robby,” Axel explained, and Wil recognized the name from the list. “David asked if he could come with him. He hasn’t seen his father in a while and was nervous about meeting him alone.”

Wil saw no problem in Robby coming along.

Clint had stipulations before be willing to leave David with Wil. “You make sure he is a good man before you let him take the boy.” The fierceness in the cowboy’s tone left no room for argument. “Something is off here, I can feel it. David won’t say anything about his father, but you just make damn sure he is fit to care for a child before you send David with him.”

Wil had his own misgivings about the boy’s father, though he hadn’t yet met him. He assured Clint and Axel that he would assess the situation carefully. The two boys grew nervous and wary once the men left and seemed uncertain if they should trust Wil. Having Tad there helped them relax some and Wil tried to get David to talk to him about his father. The boy insisted he didn’t remember much about the man, but it was obvious he wasn’t being entirely truthful.

At the station, Wil had the two boys wait in an interview room. When Bryce Thorn arrived, Wil took an immediate dislike to the man. Though he was dressed decent enough, there was an unkempt air about him and the nicks in his shaven face suggested this was the first time he’d shaved in a while. Wil was disturbed by the man’s slightly bloodshot eyes and dull expression.

“Where is he?” Bryce Thorn’s voice was gruffer in person than on the phone—and it was gruff enough on the phone.

“Before you see him,” Wil said. “I want to talk to you about what he’s been through.”

“What’re you talking about?”

“First, let me ask…how did you and your son become separated?”

The man shrugged. “He ran off.”

“Why?”

“Ask him. I don’t know.”

“What about his mother?”

“She split and dumped him on me when he was a couple years old. Haven’t seen her since.”

Dumped him on him? “How did you and your son get along?”

“He wasn’t one for listening, so he was in trouble a lot. Probably why he took off.” He frowned. “What’s with the third degree? Did he tell you some bullshit story about me?”

“He hasn’t said anything.”

The man was impatient. “What did you mean you wanted to talk to me about what he went through?”

Wil rubbed his mouth. “Your son was taken by child sex traffickers.”

“What?”

Wil led the man into the small room behind the two-way mirror that looked into the interview room. “He’s been sexually abused.”

Bryce Thorn stared through the glass, a rigid frown cutting across his brow. “Are you telling me he was fucked by men?”

Wil didn’t appreciate his crude language. “To put it callously, yes. Children rescued from sex traffickers often require therapy-”

“Who’s that with him?” The man leaned closer to the window, eyes narrowing.

Wil sighed. “His name is Robby. He was one of the children who was rescued with David.”

“Why is he here?”

“David asked if he could come with him. You have to understand, Mr. Thorn, your son has been through a traumatic experience. He doesn’t trust many people right now and clings to what is familiar. In this case, it’s the other children who were with him.”

Bryce Thorn’s next words caught Wil entirely off guard. “I don’t want no faggot kid.”

“Excuse me?”

“He’s been screwed by men. That makes him a faggot now. And that other kid…is that his fucking boyfriend?”

Wil was struck speechless for a moment. The man seemed more offended by the notion that David might be gay because of his abuse—than by the abuse itself. “Mr. Thorn, being sexually abused by someone of the same gender doesn’t turn a child gay. No one can be turned gay. People are what they are from birth.”

Bryce Thorn looked at him skeptically. “What’re you—one of those liberal pansies? No one is born gay. God don’t make faggots. Getting fucked by men turns boys into faggots.”

Wil felt sick and regretted ever calling this man. “Regardless how you feel, I would appreciate you not repeating these theories to your son when you speak to him. He’s been through enough.”

The man chuffed. “I told you, I don’t want no faggot for a son. He ran away from me. Whatever happened to him after he left, he brought on himself. I’m not going to be stuck with the fucked-up mess he is now.”

Wil went still when he noticed David’s head sink low and tears roll down his cheeks. Wil’s stare jumped to the intercom—it was turned on. Jesus! He stepped over and quickly switched it off. But it was too late. Inside the room, Robby pressed close to David and laid his head on his shoulder, his own face wet with tears. Wil’s anger surged, and he had to struggle to keep it in check.

“Fine, Mr. Thorn,” Wil said stiffly. “You can legally give up your parental rights and David will become a ward of the state and you will be free from any further responsibilities.”

“Bring me the papers.”

“They will have to be drawn up,” Wil said. “You will be contacted when they’re ready to sign.”

The man nodded. “Fine. Are we through here?”

Yes—get the fuck out. Wil didn’t speak his thoughts aloud. “Yes.”

When the man was gone, Wil stood for a long moment staring into the room at the quietly sobbing boys. This is fucked up. People should have to pass a humanity test before being allowed to have children.

Wil entered the room a few minutes later and sat down at the table. “I’m sorry you had to hear that, David,” he murmured. “It was my fault. I didn’t know the intercom was turned on.”

“Is…is that what I am?” David whispered brokenly. “A fucked-up mess?” His chin trembled. “No one’s ever going to want me. My own dad don’t want me.”

“Hey.” Wil reached over and grasped his hand. “Listen to me, David. You’re not the one who’s messed up. If he can’t look at you and feel proud to be your father, then that’s a flaw in him, not you. Being a dad is a special honor, and there is something very sad about those who don’t understand that.”

Wil’s heart warmed as David gently gripped his hand. He didn’t know it just then, but a bond had been formed between himself and the two lost boys just wanting someone to love them. It would be a couple weeks before Wil realized that the decision to take these boys into his home and into his life had been made at that moment, at that very table, when he’d reached out to David…and the boy reached back.

 

•♦•

 

The search for Grace’s father ended tragically three days after it began. Luke had been right about her father’s dedication to finding his daughter; the man had spent every day and every cent he had searching for his little girl. The stress and pain of her loss, coupled with his lack of care for his own wellbeing had driven Henry Watts to an early grave.

Grace was laid to rest beside her father and the turnout at her funeral was massive. There wasn’t a dry eye in the crowd as Luke stood up and spoke for Grace. Axel stood at the front with Clint, holding tight to his hand, letting him know it was okay to cry for the little girl.

“Maybe…” Luke spoke through his tears as he looked at Clint. “Maybe her dad was really there. Maybe he came to take her to heaven with him.”

Axel took comfort in that thought and hoped that Clint did as well.

 

•♦•

 

Following Grace’s funeral, the same crowd of mourners gathered again a few days later for the other children who hadn’t made it out of the orphanage. No families had been found, but to an outside observer of the funeral procession, it would have seemed that they’d had many who loved them and held them dear to their hearts…and they would have been right. It didn’t matter that those present hadn’t known the children in life; they were children and that alone made them precious.

It was after the second mass funeral that Emmy and Oliver stepped up to not only ask Nina, Kelly, and Raimi to be a part of their family…but to discuss an option for the other orphaned kids. With Max, Horatio, and Lex Roaman backing them with adequate funding, the couple began to make plans to open a private foster care facility that could take in all the children.

Wil Jordan was in awe of this “family” that banded together to care for children who were not their responsibility, yet whom they treated as if they were their own. He found it ironic that his faith in humanity was restored by the compassion of a gangster family coupled with that of a family consisting largely of strippers. Never again would he judge a “book” by its cover. The cowboy alone had taught him that there are many layers to an individual, and not all those layers are readily visible to the naked eye. But when one takes the time to look deeper, they might just find a heart of gold buried inside a most unlikely candidate.