Page 8

8

Jack

All I could think about was the man Mable said looked like me. She said his sons looked like me. Was my Dad in an accident, and is that why he left me there with her? I looked at the time, and it was eight in the morning. I was sure she would be awake.

“Hello,” she said.

“Mable, this is Jack Raider. I wanted to ask you about the man who looked like me. Do you think he could be my father?”

“Jack, he could be your twin, just a little older. If you'd like to speak with my daughter, I can arrange that.”

“Where does she live?”

“She lives not far from here, but as often as I see her, you would think she lived on the other side of the country. Why don’t you come early on Thursday, and I’ll take you to her?”

“Thank you. I’ll see you Friday morning.” As soon as I hung up, I knew she would call Grandma, who would call Eloise, but I needed to know if my father hadn’t left me.

Was he in an accident and didn’t know who he was, or did he recall having a son? He told me he would return for me. Maybe he had lost his memory.

Thirty minutes later, someone knocked on the door. I knew it was Nate before I saw him standing there. I’m going with you to see this man when you go because I know you’ll want to see him for yourself.”

“I don’t need you holding my hand,” I said.

“I know you don’t. Fraiser is going with us,” Nate said. “We are having a meeting in ten minutes.”

“I’ll be there as soon as I give Wolf his medicine. I swear he knows I put those pills in his food. I have to provide him with steak before he will eat it.

I almost had to wrestle Wolf to get him to take his medicine. He had already eaten the steak when I saw the pill lying next to his bowl. I wrapped it in cheese and ensured he swallowed it before leaving for the meeting.

The meeting was always held at Frasier Motorcycle Shop, mainly because that’s where we all hung out.

I’m going with Nate and Jack to Southern California. If anything comes up, don’t hesitate to call me,” Fraiser said.

“Wolf will have to stay with someone brave enough to feed him his pills. Who will watch him for me?” I asked.

He can stay with me,” Axel said, I enjoy having a wolf at my place. “Do I need to carry him outside to use the bathroom?”

“He should be okay with that. However, he needs to take his medicine, and I’ll have to show you how to apply the cream to his injuries. Which reminds me, has anyone heard anything about someone setting traps?” I asked.

“I heard some people talking about the additional traps they had found on their property. The law is currently investigating the matter,” Max said.

“I hope they find someone soon. I don’t want a child stepping into a trap,” Fraiser said.

Call me if you hear anything else, and be cautious while you're running. I would have stepped in that trap if Wolf were behind me. Instead, he got caught in it. We’ll find out who’s responsible for this, and when we do, we’ll take care of them. The police will issue a warning, and they’ll continue to do it,” I said.

We were up and ready early Friday. After reaching Kalispell, we headed to Mabel's. I saw Grandma pull into her driveway. I hugged the ladies, and they were ready to leave. They both climbed into the back with Nate and gave me directions.

“Do you think she has any photos I can look at?” I asked.

“I asked her the same question, and she’s putting together the photos she has. She did say she had some of the boys for sure. She said she might have a couple of their dad. Are you anxious about looking at the photos?”

“No, I don’t allow myself to become anxious. I fight hand-to-hand combat, I fly fighter jets at sixteen hundred miles an hour; I can’t afford to be anxious ever.”

“How do you keep yourself from becoming anxious?” Grandma asked. “I would love to learn that trick.”

“It takes training and learning how to control your mind when that feeling starts creeping into your head.”

“I doubt I would ever be able to control my mind, I can’t even control my mouth,” Mable said, and we all laughed. “Jack, I don’t want you worrying about what kind of man this person is.

“I asked my daughter,” Mable said, “and she told me he’s very kind. But she’s a little worried about you reaching out.”

“She doesn’t have to worry about me,” I said. “If he is my father, I’m not looking to upend his life. I still have doubts that this is even real. But if he is... I won’t bother him. He’ll never know I asked about him.”

“I don’t think that’s what Mable meant,” Grandma chimed in. “What people are wondering is—what kind of life did he have before he lost his memory? Was he married? Was he on the run from the law? Did he hit his wife? Leave someone who needed him?”

I glanced at her in the rearview mirror. She was watching me like a hawk. I gave her the answer I knew she didn’t believe.

“No. He didn’t leave anyone behind who needed him.”

But I was lying. We both knew it.

I had needed him.

I needed someone to pull me out of that woman’s house—that haunted, dusty old place run by a woman who woke me up screaming if I so much as left a fingerprint on a doorknob. She was cruel, unstable, and needed a hospital, not custody of her only child. I left her house at midnight with one bag, and I didn’t even glance in the rearview mirror as I drove off.

Now here I was, pulling into Cheryl’s driveway, and suddenly, my insides felt like they were hosting a boxing match. I pushed the nerves away; after all, I had told Grandma I never allowed myself to be anxious. Hell, I was only going to look at some pictures.

We waited on the porch. Grandma slipped her arm through mine. She pretended she needed support, but I knew it was for me, not her. I didn’t pull away.

The door opened.

A man stood there. With just a tiny bit of gray hair. T-shirt. Jeans. Older. Strong. Familiar.

I’d know him anywhere. I had to force my body not to crumble in front of everyone.

My father wasn’t quite as tall as me, but the build was the same. Muscles earned from hard work. We stared at each other in silence for a long moment. Then he reached out his hand.

I shook it.

“You want to come in and talk?” he asked. “Just looking at you... I can tell we’re related.”

“I didn’t come to visit,” I said honestly. “I just wanted to look at a photo to confirm if you were my father. I’m a grown man—I don’t need a dad. I understand you have two sons?”

“And a daughter,” he said. “They’re inside. Would you like to meet them?”

I hesitated. “I guess it’d be rude to say no…”

Before I could finish the sentence, I heard a car pull up behind me. I turned just as Eloise stepped out.

She marched over, clearly not thrilled. “Grandma, you forgot to mention what you and Mable were up to.”

She took my hand, gently tugging me away from the house. “Do you want to talk to him?”

“We’re already here,” I said. “Might as well. If he really lost his memory, then none of this is his fault. Besides, I think I see my siblings inside. I want to meet them.”

“For the record,” I added, “this wasn’t some Grandma-Mable scheme. I called Mable. I wanted to find out if he was my father.”

“Okay,” she said with a small smile. “I’ll get back to work then. See you later.”

She turned to leave just as Mable hollered after her.

“Don’t forget the sleepover at your parents’ tonight!”

Eloise spun back around. “ When was that decided?”

“We all thought it would be fun,” Mable replied, matter-of-fact.

“Do Mom and Dad know?”

“Yes. They do.”

Eloise rolled her eyes and climbed into her car. “See you later,” she said, driving off.

I turned back to my father—he was watching me with a grin.

“You forgot to kiss her goodbye,” he said with a wink.

“We’re not that far into our dating,” I muttered, trying not to laugh. I looked at the girl standing beside him. “Hi.”

“Hi. You look like my brothers,” she said.

“That’s probably the other way around,” I said, just as two boys stepped out behind her.

“Hi,” I said. “You must be the crew. Want to tell me your names?”

“I’m Bonnie,” the girl said proudly.

“Hello, Bonnie,” I said, shaking her hand.

“I’m Liam.”

“I’m Nile.”

“Nice to meet all of you. Do you play any sports?”

That one question opened the floodgates. They all lit up like stadium lights.

“Bonnie wants to be in the Olympics—she’s a gymnast!” Nile said.

“Liam and I play baseball,” Nile added. “We both got scholarships. Different schools.”

“That’s amazing,” I said, smiling. “Let’s sit down somewhere and keep talking.”

Bonnie pointed at Nate and Frasier. “Who are they?”

“Nate and Frasier,” I said. “Old friends. We were Navy SEALs together. Now we run a business.”

“You were a Navy SEAL ?” Bonnie said, eyes wide. “That’s so cool!”

We stayed for two hours. I talked with my siblings. My father. I could tell he wanted to say something. His eyes kept finding mine like he was trying to figure out how to bring it up.

“You’ve got a beautiful family,” I finally told him. “Don’t go digging around for memories. Your best life is standing right here in front of you.”

“I want to keep you in our lives too,” he said quietly.

“Let me know when the boys have a game. Or when Bonnie competes. I’d like to come and watch. And just so you know, you were already divorced from my mother when you disappeared. I don’t even know if she’s still alive. But you don’t need to remember that old life. It wasn’t a good one.”

When we finally said goodbye, they hugged me and entered their name and number into my phone. I gave them my address. Took theirs. As we pulled away, I realized I already missed them.

Isn’t that proof enough that I’m not like my mother?

I turned to Mable. “Thank you. For everything.”

“You’re welcome, honey,” Mable said with a small smile. “I was meant to go on that mountain and meet you.”