“Noah, you have to eat everything on your plate.”

He shook his head, pushing the plate of waffles away. “I don’t like my eggs like that.”

“Then don’t eat the eggs, but you have to eat the waffles.”

“They have that yellow gross stuff all over them!”

I groaned, my phone ringing and the normal bustle of the morning going on around me as a nanny and a home health worker both tried to deal with their charges while trying to stay out of my way. Chloe dropped me a wink as she finished cleaning up the griddle she’d used to make Noah’s breakfast.

I walked around the table and dropped into the chair beside Noah. “You understand that I already gave you your bolus insulin for this specific meal, right?”

“I know.”

“And if you don’t eat the waffles, you’ll have a low in an hour or two?”

“I know.”

“You don’t like to have low blood sugar, Noah.”

“Can’t I just have a bowl of Cocoa Krispies? Jacob has them every morning for breakfast.”

“But Jacob doesn’t have diabetes. He doesn’t have to balance his meals with his insulin.”

Noah had that look on his face that told me he was checking out. He didn’t care about the practical parts of his disease. All he cared about was that I always told him he could do everything other kids did, but he felt like I was lying because I wouldn’t let him have the meals he wanted.

“There’s too much sugar in the Cocoa Krispies.”

“Then I’ll take more insulin.”

“I don’t want you to take more insulin. I want you to eat the healthy meal Chloe worked so hard to fix you.”

“But Mom, I don’t like eggs like this.”

“You ate them like this just yesterday.”

“That’s when I decided I don’t like them anymore.”

I closed my eyes, the need to scream burning in my chest. I was about to give in, to let him have a damn bowl of cereal if that was what he really wanted, but someone else had a better idea.

“Hey, pal, you don’t like waffles? These waffles look really good to me.”

I looked up just in time to see Gentry stroll over and pick up the plate of untouched food. He stared at it for a minute and sighed.

“Looks like the kind of food someone like Iron Man would have for breakfast. You know, he has to eat really healthy to be able to have the stamina to fight inside that heavy suit.”

“You think so?”

“Oh, sure.” Gentry set the plate down in front of my son. “All that sugar in Cocoa Krispies would make him too tired to go fight all those bad guys.”

“But eggs are sticky and smelly.”

“Eggs are full of protein. And you know what protein does?”

Noah shook his head. “What?”

Gentry flexed one arm, tugging up the short sleeve of his black t-shirt to show off the thick, heavy muscles that bulged upward with his movement. “It builds muscle.”

“Could I get muscle like that if I ate eggs?”

“Eventually, sure.”

Noah immediately picked up his fork and dug into his eggs. I glanced toward the kitchen and found both Chloe and Rebecca staring practically open-mouthed at Gentry. I shook my head, dropping a kiss on Noah’s temple as I stood.

“Only two hours of video games today, Noah. You have art class downtown today.”

“I know. We’re going to finger paint.” He frowned. “Don’t they know that’s for babies?”

I looked at my son, at the dark hair tumbling around his face in unruly curls. To me, he was still a baby—a baby who talked back relentlessly, but a baby just the same—but he was stubbornly insisting on growing up.

“They have a clay option, Noah. Remember? We talked about it.”

“See? Chloe’s got you covered.”

Noah nodded, but he wasn’t looking at me or Chloe. He was staring at Gentry. My heart sank a little as I looked at the two of them. Gentry was studying my son, too, staring at the dark curls and the blue eyes, the slight build that the doctors promised was not a result of his struggles with blood sugar imbalances. I could almost see the wheels turning in his head. Had he already made the connection, or would that come later?

“I’ll be home early,” I said to both Chloe and Rebecca. “Call me if you have any problems.”

Gentry followed me out to the car, clicking the button that unlocked the doors. I waited for him to ask, waited for the questions, even the outrage. But they didn’t come.

Gentry climbed behind the wheel and started the car, leaving the driveway without the fanfare he’d offered the night before. I looked over my shoulder toward the tall colonial that housed my son and my father, caught sight of a curtain moving in the master bedroom upstairs. Dad was watching, but it wasn’t anything special. He watched all the comings and goings at his house even though he didn’t understand half of what was going on. It just made him feel safer, somehow.

We drove in silence as Gentry navigated the morning rush, uncharacteristically slowly. He glanced at me once or twice, causing me to self-consciously tug at the hem of my skirt, tugging it lower over my thighs.

“Brent’s going to stop by the office a little later. He’s got some information he wants to share with you.”

I bit my lip, holding in words that didn’t need to be said just yet.

The man had just met my son and he wanted to talk about his brother? Was that really the direction this thing was going?

“Gentry—”

“He thinks he knows who’s harassing you and why.”

“That’s good, I guess.”

I looked over at him, taking in the black cargo pants and black t-shirt that was apparently the uniform over at Stone Security. He filled it out nicely, his biceps incredibly impressive. I wanted to touch them, but the last time we’d touched, things had not gone as planned.

“Thank you for your help this morning.”

His eyes were smoky blue when he looked at me. But he didn’t say anything.

We pulled up to the office a few minutes later. He parked at the curb in front of the building.

“I have some things I need to take care of, but I’ll be back in a few hours. If you need to go somewhere…” He held out a card to me. “Call me. Don’t go off with anyone else.”

I took the card, noting that he’d added his personal cell phone number on the back.

I got out and he sped off, the back end of the Mercedes skidding on the asphalt. I could almost feel his anger as I watched him go.

He was pissed that I hadn’t told him. Well, that was his fault.

I spun on my heel and marched into my office, ignoring everyone as I tossed my bag across my desk and lay my head beside it. Joan came in and closed the door, coming to the desk to lay her hand on the back of my head.

“That bad?”

“He’s an asshole.”

“I knew that seventeen years ago, Amelia. But you wouldn’t listen to me.”

I turned my head to peek at her. “He met Noah.”

Joan’s eyes widened. “Yeah? What did he say?”

I shook my head. “Nothing. It’s like he doesn’t even care.”

She crossed her arms and leaned back against my desk, her face more serious than I’d seen it in a long time as she studied me. “Nothing? He didn’t even ask how old he was or if he was his?’

“Nothing.”

“Maybe he’s suffered a head injury and doesn’t realize the significance of what he saw.”

“I don’t think so.”

“How could he not ask? That child…no offense, Amelia, but Noah looks nothing like you. He’s an exact copy of Gentry.”

“Who’s an exact copy of Gentry?”

My whole body jerked as I sat up. Brent was standing in the doorway in a suit that looked as though it was designed just for him. Of all the Stone brothers, Brent was the most sophisticated. He had a way of filling out a suit that made him look like all the fantasy CEOs that filled the pages of the stupid romance novels Joan and I had been addicted to since we were teens. Damn handsome! Whoever his fiancée was, I hoped she knew how lucky she was.

“You Stone brothers need to learn how to knock,” Joan announced, moving around the desk to cross to Brent. “It’s rude to walk in on someone.”

“I knocked. I guess you didn’t hear me.”

“You should knock louder.” Joan glanced back at me. “You okay?”

I just nodded, not sure if I was okay or not, but not really in much of a state of mind to express that to her in front of another Stone brother. She slipped out the door and closed it behind Brent while he watched the whole thing with a comically confused look on his face.

“Did I interrupt something?”

I sat back and pulled my bag off the desk, dropping it onto the floor by my feet. “Nothing. Just old friends gossiping.”

“Are you okay, Amelia? You look a little frazzled.”

“Yeah, well, my life is a little chaotic right now.”

I went to drag my fingers through my hair, then remembered I’d put my hair up in a ponytail today, so all I managed to do was pull a few strands loose from what had taken me nearly fifteen minutes to perfect. I cursed a little under my breath as Brent took a seat, a small smile barely hidden behind a bad fake cough.

“Gentry said you knew who was harassing my company,” I said, trying to get him on track before things got too out of hand. “I hope that’s true.”

“It is, but I don’t think you’ll like the answer.”

“I haven’t liked much of anything I’ve heard lately. I can’t expect your answer to be any different.”

Concern burned deep in Brent’s eyes, but he didn’t ask what was clearly on his mind. Instead, he cleared his throat and began to explain what was turning out to be a very complicated situation.

“Your dad, two years ago, sold Jack the property on which we built Stone Security. Jack and I went to a dozen different real estate agents, but your dad understood exactly what it was we wanted and this property was bigger than we asked for, but the location was exactly what we’d been looking for. Jack fell in love with it and your dad was able to get us a good deal.”

“I know. I’ve seen the contracts.”

Brent inclined his head. “Well, in the eighteen months or so that we’ve been actively taking cases, we’ve made a few enemies. Among those is this motorcycle club here in Memphis.”

“A motorcycle club?”

“Yeah. Jack got himself wrapped up in this beef with the president of a motorcycle club in Jackson. This club here, Mad Dog, got involved and things didn’t go well. Then we went after them when their vice president attacked a couple of girls who worked for Aunt Rhonda.”

“I heard about that. You took down the police commissioner at the same time, didn’t you?”

“Yeah. That pissed them off royally. Took away a chunk of their business. Then a few weeks ago, we went head-to-head with them again, cost them more of their business. So they’re pretty pissed at Jack and me.”

“What does that have to do with me?”

“Nothing.” Brent leaned forward a little, watching me. “But your business is connected with ours through the sale of that land. And you’re not the only one they’re targeting. They’ve gone after our weapons supplier, a food distributor working for us, and a few other companies. They’re trying to run us out of business by disrupting the businesses that feed into ours.”

“Not really a smart move. You could just find other suppliers.”

Brent smiled softly. “True. But they’re making a pretty big nuisance of themselves. Big enough that we’ll have to respond. That’s what they want.” Brent straightened in his chair again, his expression tightening a little. “I’m concerned that if they learn the nature of your connection to us, they might increase the attacks on you, become a little more dangerous.”

I sat back a little, wiping the sweat from my palms on the front of my skirt. “You think they’ll try to hurt me?”

“They went after both Dane and Remy. I wouldn’t put it past them.”

That made me feel a little sick to my stomach. I got up and moved around the desk, my hands shaking a little. What about my family? What about my dad?

What about Noah?

“Brent…” I hesitated because this wasn’t the way I wanted things to go. But if Noah was in danger…

“What’s going on, Amelia?”

I sat in the chair beside him and leaned forward much the way he’d been doing, my hands clutched together between my knees. I took a deep breath and slowly let it out.

“My family—”

“Your dad’s still living at home, right?”

“Yeah.”

“We can post someone outside your house twenty-four seven.”

I shook my head. “There’s more.” I looked at him. “I didn’t want to do this. I went to the airport with the intention of making him finally listen to me. But then he had his fiancée with him—”

“If this is about Gentry, maybe it would be better if you wait and talk to him.”

“No.” I grasped Brent’s hand. “You’re going to think I’m a terrible person.”

“I doubt that.”

“Look, the thing is, I have a son. Noah.”

It didn’t take long for Brent to get the message. Understanding dawned in his eyes immediately. “Gentry?”

I nodded. “He met him this morning, but either he didn’t put it together or he just doesn’t want to know. Either way…my son is diabetic, Brent. He’s on an insulin pump and everything, but he can’t be without me or his nanny. If something were to happen and he was separated from us—”

“We won’t let that happen, Amelia.” He rubbed my hand between both of his like he was trying to warm it up. Then he sat back and laughed, a sound that was half amusement and half shock. “Gentry’s a father?”

“Yeah.”

“Christ! I never would have imagined…” He made that laughing sound again. “All these years and you never told anyone?”

“I wanted to. I wanted Gentry to know first, but when things…” I stopped because I was pretty sure Brent didn’t know what had happened between Gentry and me and I really didn’t want to get into all of that now. Especially not with Brent. I cleared my throat and tried again. “I tried to tell Gentry, but he cut me off. And when I told my dad, he was angrier than I’d ever seen him. He threw me out of the house, told me I’d brought it on myself and should deal with it by myself. Then I was ashamed.”

“My parents, my brothers, and Remy, we would have all been there for you.”

“I know. But I didn’t want to put Gentry in that position. Can you imagine? Him coming home from basic training to find his pregnant ex-girlfriend embraced by his own family? It would have been a betrayal and it would have forced him to make a choice he wouldn’t have made otherwise.” I pulled free of Brent and stood again, pacing a little as I remembered the dilemma I’d faced all those years ago. Not only had I lost the love of my life, I was left alone with a baby I’d wanted more than anything until that night, until Gentry revealed himself to be less than I’d believed him to be. “It didn’t end well,” I told Brent. “I didn’t want him to feel obligated to me.”

“Why did it end, Amelia?” There was true confusion in his voice. “Neither of you would ever say.”

Again, I couldn’t answer that. Not here and not to him.

I turned to look at him, tears making his face shimmer a little.

“Do I need to send Noah away? I have friends in Nashville who will take him and Chloe in.”

“I don’t think it’s come to that yet.” Brent brushed his hand over his head and leaned forward again. “But I think you need to talk to Gentry.”

“I’m trying.”

“You need to try harder.” He tilted his head slightly. “I had a child and I lost her. I can never express to anyone how precious the time I got with her was. Gentry’s already missed out on nine years of his child’s life. You can’t let him miss any more.”

“I know.”

“And your boy has a right to know his father.”

I nodded, tears falling from my eyes. “I know.”

He stood and came to me, taking my face in his hands, his thumbs wiping away my tears. “What you’ve taken on your shoulders is a tremendous burden, Amelia. But you’re home now and you’re not alone any more. The Stones take care of their own.”

A sob escaped my lips. He had no idea how desperately I’d needed to hear that.

Brent pulled me against his chest and held me while I cried for a long time. Then he let me go, his own eyes a little moist.

“I’d like to meet my nephew, soon.”

“Of course. You’re welcome anytime.”

He patted my face softly. “All right, I have to get back to the office. There will be someone posted on your house within the hour. We will make sure no one comes close to your father or Noah, okay?”

“Thank you.”

I watched him go, part of me wishing that was it, that I wouldn’t have to tell this story to anyone else. But he was right about Gentry and Noah. They both had a right to know each other.

The thing was, Noah knew about Gentry. If I’d said his name this morning, if he’d asked who this strange man was in our kitchen, he would have recognized the name. I never lied to my child. He knew his father’s name, knew he’d been overseas serving our country. And he knew that he would eventually come around now that we were back in Memphis. He’d even seen pictures, but I supposed time had changed Gentry enough that Noah’s young mind hadn’t put it together. Or maybe he had, and had simply chosen not to say anything. Either way, it wasn’t the meeting I’d envisioned over the past nine years. But maybe it was a start.