Sean

I lingered after Jess and Jake got out of the car and went into the building. I would have followed them in, but I knew Jess wouldn’t like that. Plus, I was so stunned that I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to move.

What the hell was going on?

I didn’t know, but what was certain was that Misty had thrown me into a tailspin. I could guess her motivations, was quite certain of them, in fact, but that didn’t change the fact that I couldn’t just let this slide. It would be easy to dismiss her and forget that she’d even shown up but I couldn’t do that.

If there was a chance Jake was mine, I needed to find out.

And the truth was, I suspected there was more than a chance. In the couple of hours I’d spent with the kid, I’d seen so much of myself in him it had taken my breath away.

It wasn’t just surface, either, though we had the same hair and eye color. He could have gotten those from Misty. I saw more than a few similarities in the shapes of our faces. But there was something about him, the way he walked, the expression he’d made when he was concentrating on the child’s pool game that Grace had dug up from somewhere… It was familiar and more than enough to make it impossible for me to ignore the possibility.

I wanted to punch the steering wheel, but instead curled my hand into a fist. Doing so reminded me of earlier when Jess had done much the same thing for an entirely different reason. She was completely disinterested in me having anything to do with the kid.

Probably sensible, but that wasn’t going to happen.

Just hours ago I’d been reaffirming my certainty that a family wasn’t in the cards for me. But that certainty didn’t change the fact that if Jake was my son, I would be a part of his life.

I waited another ten minutes to make sure all was quiet, and then I reluctantly left. When I made it back to Boiler Room, I found Grace there.

“Why haven’t you gone home?” I asked her.

When she looked at me, I instantly recognized her expression. It was the one that had made me certain we would be great friends. She looked slightly amused, something I always appreciated, and totally unconvinced. Something I appreciated less, but that made me respect her that much more.

“Obviously something happened. I figured you’d want to talk about it,” she said quietly.

“What makes you think something happened?” I asked.

She shook her head gently. “You mean other than the little boy who looks eerily like you?” she said softly, though I didn’t miss her sarcasm. “Sean, don’t try it. Now tell me what’s going on.”

I still marveled at Grace’s ability to be so gentle, so quiet, and, at least when it came to me, intractably stern.

“I’m not really sure, Grace,” I confessed. I hated that my voice showed my bewilderment, but there was no way I could hide it.

She looked at me, her expression sympathetic.

“Well, I know that first one was trouble,” she said.

“Misty?” I asked.

She nodded. “I remember her,” Grace said.

I did too, barely, but clearly she had made more of an impression on Grace. “Why?” I asked.

“She was horribly rude. And she didn’t pay for her drinks,” Grace responded.

“Why didn’t you say something?”

She looked at me like I was crazy, and I smiled, feeling somewhat sheepish. “Why do you think?” she said.

“Yeah, yeah. I get your point, Grace.” Even without remembering, I could imagine how it went. I’d probably spotted Misty and been too caught up in the chase to pay attention to her less obvious traits.

I went quiet then, trying to remember better the time when I would have met Misty. It was a bit of a haze. I’d just opened Boiler Room, and was still basking in the glory of the new business. Misty had only been one of many of the women I’d hooked up with, but there wasn’t much that stuck out about her.

That had changed.

“So is the boy yours?” Grace asked.

“I don’t know,” I replied, but with every moment that passed, that uncertainty decreased.

“And what are you going to do about it?”

“Right now? There’s nothing I can do. At least not today. But I can’t just dismiss the possibility out of hand,” I said.

“I know you’ve considered this, but there might be some ulterior motives at work here,” Grace whispered.

She looked at me with a serious expression on her face, and I wasn’t at all surprised by what she said. There wasn’t much that got past Grace, and I knew I could count on her counsel.

“What’s your take?” I said.

“Can I be honest here?”

She circled the bar and sat on one of the stools next to me, her feet dangling off the edge of the too-tall-for-her seat. It was sometimes hard to see the keen mind that she hid behind her shell, but it was there, and when she looked at me now, I could see her thoughts swirling.

“Of course you can be honest,” I said.

“That first woman, Misty, she’s up to no good,” Grace said.

“You think?” I asked, chuckling.

Grace nodded, her expression bordering on anger, not one that I saw from her very often.

“What she did was despicable,” Grace said. She spoke with a vehemence that made me look at her twice. “She left that boy here. Just left him!”

“Yeah,” I said, “that was kind of fucked up.”

“I can’t imagine any woman worth her salt doing something like that.”

Grace had pursed her lips and dropped her brows down low, her expression even angrier now.

“She’s after something,” I said.

“Something?” Grace said, sounding incredulous. “She’s after money, pure and simple.”

“Yeah,” I responded.

Grace nodded but then her expression softened. “But Jess—”

“What about her?” I asked, intrigued to hear Grace’s opinion and wondering why that was the case.

“She seems good,” Grace said.

“Quite the judgment to make, don’t you think?” I asked, though I had reached a similar conclusion.

“Maybe, but my gut tells me she is. I have no idea how she got mixed up with someone like Misty, but she cares about that kid. That much was clear,” she said.

“How can you be so sure?” I asked.

“Well, for one, she came in here, guns all but blazing. And other than that, it’s the little things. Like she was definitely worried about sending him away with me, but she also evaluated the situation and saw that it was best for him not to hear whatever conversation she was about to have with you. That was thoughtful, and the only thing she was concerned about was him.”

“Yeah, she was pretty anxious to get him out of here,” I said.

“As she should’ve been,” Grace responded.

“What do you mean?” I asked.

She rolled her eyes and shook her head. “Don’t get offended, Sean. But think about it from her perspective. You’re a stranger and you have the child that she so obviously cares about. Of course she wants to collect him and get the hell out of here.”

“Well, when you phrase it like that…” I said, knowing that Grace had a point.

Grace continued, “Yes, and that tells me she has a good head on her shoulders. Did you take them home in your car?”

“Yeah,” I responded, wondering about the shift in conversation.

“I’ll bet she was none too pleased about that,” Grace said.

“No, she wasn’t,” I responded, recalling how Jess had held Jake in a tight grip and had made sure to put the seat belt over both of them.

“And she shouldn’t have been.”

“Are you saying something about my car, Grace?” I asked.

“Besides the fact that it’s ridiculous, it’s not suitable for a child. And there was no car seat, nothing that suggested the boy would be safe. And, you were driving,” she added with a sharp little smile at the end.

“They made it home perfectly fine,” I said.

“And I had no doubt that they would. But I know you. Jess doesn’t. Did she ask you for money?” Grace said.

“No. In fact, she might have slapped me if I’d offered it,” I responded.

Grace nodded. “See. Her only concern was Jake. She’s good people. And she sure as hell wouldn’t leave him in a pub with a bunch of strangers.”

Grace frowned, looked almost furious.

“No,” I said, thinking back to those moments with Jess, remembering how her only concern had been Jake, “she definitely wouldn’t have.”

“So maybe that means this will be okay,” she said.

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“Jess is smart. So if it turns out that you’re Jake’s father, you might be able to work with her. And if not, at least Jake has her. I feel like he’s going to need her,” Grace said sadly.

“Yeah,” I said, certain she was right.

“Tell me what happens,” Grace said, sliding off the stool.

“You know I will,” I responded.

“All right, I’m out of here,” she said.

“You need a ride?” I asked, the instinct to look out for my closest friend immediate, as was her response.

“No. Good night, Sean.”

She patted me on the shoulder and then headed out of the pub, leaving me alone.

I stayed where I was, my thoughts swirling. I definitely hadn’t anticipated this, but now I needed to figure out what to do.

I might have a son, or I might just have a problem.

Either way, my entire life had just changed.