Chapter 27

Leo

The sun peeked through my window announcing it was morning, which was fine with me. I hadn’t slept a wink. No matter how hard I’d tried, I couldn’t get Kya and Addie out of my mind. I hadn’t talked to her since the day of the conference and really didn’t know if I could look at her ever again.

As much as I loved her, I couldn’t help but be pissed off. I needed a little more time before I went to her and wasn’t totally sure what course of action I wanted to take.

Addison was my daughter, and I’d been cheated out of her life since the day she was born. I’d missed out on all the firsts, the walking, the talking, the first day of school, her learning to say daddy, and every single day she could have known who I was, and I could have known her.

I wanted to punch a wall. I got up, knowing I couldn’t be alone, but I couldn’t really talk to Jon, and even though Dad was the last fucking man I wanted to get a lecture from, I needed to speak to him.

As I brushed my teeth and trimmed my beard, I knew I had to find out why he’d done this. Not only that, but he had a granddaughter he didn’t know. Did he even want to see her? Even though I’d been a total disappointment, maybe she’d make up for it somehow.

I walked to the closet and pulled out some comfortable jeans and a casual, button-down shirt and slipped them on. I found my shoes by the dresser and stepped into them while I grabbed my wallet and shoved it into my pocket. On my way out, I grabbed my keys and headed out to my car.

Being Wednesday morning and so early, the sun had barely begun to shine, I knew my dad had to be home. He never went to the office too early, and on Wednesdays, he liked to have a nice breakfast at home and practice his golf swing for an hour before heading in to work.

I drove up to his new house and wondered if he ever thought about getting remarried after Mom had died. He’d been alone since, and while I knew he’d dated a few women, nothing had lasted.

I walked up to the house and knocked on the door, and a moment later, he answered wearing his long red robe with the black trim. He’d always worn the same kind, and I knew it was because my mother had bought him one every other Christmas for years before she died.

He held his hand up to me and gave me a hard look. “Before you start with me, Leonard, I didn’t know Milton would spill what he knew to the press.”

“Why even put him on the case in the first place? I told you Kya didn’t deserve that, that this case was a joke, and you hired some asshole to stalk Kya and Addison, looking for dirt.”

He walked away from the door, leaving me to walk in and close it behind me. Then he waved his hand dismissively when I turned around to go after him. “I didn’t know anything about the baby rumor, but it isn’t anything a paternity test can’t fix.”

It was scary that I had also come to that conclusion when I thought it was a mistake. “Oh no, it’s not just a rumor. Turns out, it’s true. Congratulations, you’re a grandfather.”

His face paled, and suddenly, he was at a loss for words. We stood in silence, and I gave him a minute to collect himself. I knew how rough that shock could be. He finally looked up from the floor and met my eyes. “You mean to tell me it’s true. You really have a child with that woman?”

“I saw Kya five years ago, and yes, I got her pregnant. And I only just found out about it at the conference.” I felt like a loser admitting that. I had this amazing little human being in the world, and I didn’t even know it. “You should see our little girl. She looks just like Kya but with my eyes.”

Dad put his hand to his lips and then held his hand over his heart. “Your mother’s eyes?”

“Yeah, Dad. Mom’s eyes.”

My father turned and began to pace the room, and after a few times back and forth, he stopped and turned his attention back to me. “I regret what happened at the conference, but we’re not encouraging the client to take a deal.”

I knew he would be stubborn about the case. He had never been one to back down. No matter how much he needed to. “He’s going to lose, Dad. There’s no way you can win.”

“So? I get paid anyway, son. Jon is prepared for trial, and we’ll let the cards fall where they may, but I need you to be ready for it.”

I had only one more warning for him. “Don’t go after Kya. She’s the mother of your granddaughter, and the little girl needs a stable home and a stable family. If you do anything for any of us, make sure you don’t disrupt that.”

He waved his hand as if to calm me down. “Jon already took care of that. He threatened to quit if I insisted he bring Kya up in court. And believe it or not, in light of the child being involved, I agree.”

“Her name is Addison, Addie for short.” I took out my phone and pulled up a picture I’d taken of Kya and Addie together. “See? Your granddaughter.”

Dad’s eyes narrowed as a smile played over his face. “She does look like your mom.”

“I don’t know if I can do this. I’ve thought about it all night. I want to be with Kya, but this is hard. I’m not sure if I can forgive her. I’m not even sure I can defend her.”

“You know, son. I’ve thought about what you said. How you think I’m disappointed in you. The truth is, I’ve always been tough on you because I want you to reach your fullest potential. I know there’s greatness in you, much more than there is in me. You’re a much better man, and I promised your mama I wouldn’t let you waste your life not giving it your best. I need you to know you’ve never let me down, son. Not once. I’ve never been disappointed in you, not even when you walked out at work. And now, that woman needs you, and so does that little girl. The only thing that could disappoint me is if you let another five years of that girl’s life go by without you in it.”

“Thanks, Dad.”

“I love you, son. I know I don’t say it enough, and hell, I barely show it, but I love you, and I’m proud of you.” He glanced back down at the phone. “You two sure did make a beautiful kid.”

I looked down at the picture too. “She’s got good genes.”

“I’ll see you in court?” His brows rose as he waited for my response.

“Yeah, Dad. I’ll see you in court. But I think I should call Jon. I want to make sure things are set and let him know I’m not angry at him.”

“He’s a good egg, that one. Too bad this case won’t improve his record any.” We shared a chuckle, and I let myself out.

I walked away from my father for once feeling like things were okay with us instead of like everything was falling apart.

I got in my car and took a deep breath knowing that as badly as I wanted to run to Kya, it was still a tad early and she would be taking Addie to school, so I decided to find Jon, who I figured would be sipping coffee at the office.

I drove down, and this time when I walked in, there weren’t as many glares or people looking at me like I was out of place. And sure enough, I found Jon sipping coffee and chatting it up with some of the office staff. They cleared out when I walked over to Jon and extended my hand. “Hey, man. I wanted to talk.”

He took my hand and pulled me in for a hug. “How are you?”

I raked my hand through my hair. “A father. Can you believe that shit?”

Jon shook his head and blew out a long breath. “As many women as you were banging, it was bound to happen. Hell, who knows? She might even have a sibling out there somewhere in the world.”

“Shit, you’re right,” I said. “One secret baby at a time.” We shared a chuckle, but mine was half-hearted. I had really been a man-whore, and now I had a little girl to be worthy of.

Jon crossed his arms and leaned back on the counter of the office coffee bar. “So, when do I get to meet her?”

“I’ll bring her around sometime after I go talk to her mother. I haven’t since the press conference, not really talked, you know. I didn’t know what to say to her, and I was so angry that I thought if I stayed around, I’d only make it all worse.”

He turned and picked up his coffee and took a sip. “You’ll figure it out, man. You’ll be a great dad.”

“Thanks, but speaking of dads, mine told me you stood up for me and Kya, and I appreciate it.” He’d finally taken his own stand against my father, and I respected the hell out of him for it.

He turned a soft pink. “Hey, man. That’s what best friends do, right? Besides, that’s the mother of my best friend’s kid. And I have a feeling if I did anything to hurt either one of them, you’d hunt me down and castrate me.”

“With rusty scissors.” I held my hand up to vow. “Yeah, I had a good talk with the old man earlier. I dropped in on him and was prepared for things to go south, but instead, it was actually the best conversation we’ve had since I was a kid.”

“That’s great, man,” he said. “Maybe you should have been on your own all along, you know? Paving your own path without all of his pressure.”

“I don’t know. I have a feeling all of his pressure shaped me, you know. It’s hard to believe I’m saying it, but I really feel that’s true. I also have a feeling Addison could bring us together and make us closer like Mom used to.”

“Addison? That’s your daughter?” he asked. Those words were strange, and claiming a daughter was even stranger, but it also felt kind of nice.

I swelled with pride. “Yeah, we call her Addie.” I turned on my phone and showed him a picture.

He leaned over to look and gave me a nudge. “Wow, a beautiful woman and child. You’re a lucky man.”

I felt a sinking feeling in my chest. “Only if I make things right.” I had to get to Kya and tell her how much I loved her and wanted her in my life. I checked the time and saw I had a little while yet. The anticipation and not knowing what would happen had me wound as tight as a coil.

Jon took his last sip of coffee and tossed the cup into the trash. “Well, I know you’re probably going to win, but I want you to know I’m going to refuse the settlement. I think my record can handle a loss. Besides, once this shit is over, I’ll get all of the cases you would have gotten, so I’m pretty sure I’ll get my fair share of winners.”

“I think so, too, man. You’re a damned fine attorney. This Whit White prick doesn’t deserve you.”

Jon elbowed me. “Fuck that; I don’t deserve his sorry ass.”

“Too true, brother. I guess I should let you get to work. I think I’ll head over and be waiting on Kya when she gets back home.”

Jon offered me a fist bump, and I took it. “Good luck, man.”

“Thanks,” I said. “I need it.” I wasn’t entirely sure Kya was going to want to keep me in her life.