Page 10

Chapter

Nine

“ S ebastian, we need to talk.”

Sebastian blinked at Colton. “How the hell did you know where we were?”

Abby was napping in one of the little rooms in the back of the hotel. Xander had put up a little blow-up bed in there for her, and she had been playing with her Legos and her babies before she just crashed.

Sebastian had his yoga mat out and was looking through his legs upside down. Colton.

“Be quiet, she’s asleep. You’re not supposed to be here. I’m doing yoga. I’m trying to be Zen.”

“I’m pretty sure Zen and Namaste are completely different cultures, and?—”

“Shut up! What do you want? Come on.” He rolled up out of his downward dog and stormed across the room, taking Colton into the one adjoining conference room that was blessedly empty. “What do you want?”

Colton blinked at him. “I have a confession to make.”

“So confess.” He didn’t really want to hear what Colton had to say right now. He was tired and upset and not at home.

“I was looking for your desk. I wanted to see this proof that you had about me giving up my parental rights.”

Sebastian just stared, his head beginning to pound. “I swear to God, if you jimmied the lock on my desk, I’m suing you. That is unprofessional and shitty.”

“I didn’t touch the lock. You can look and see. That drawer flew open, and that paperwork was right there.”

“What, so you’re saying the ghosts were like ‘here, look and see’?” He didn’t believe this.

“Hey, I saved the hourglass, and I picked up all the cookbooks.”

“Am I supposed to say thank you? Did you film it? Because that would be a good thing for your show.” Damn it, he was so tired of this shift. He just wanted a normal life like normal people. He didn’t want to deal with this nonsense right now.

“No. And no, I didn’t film it. I didn’t expect you to say thank you.

I just wanted you to know—” Colton stopped and sighed.

“I wanted you to know that I have those papers, and I’m sending them to a lawyer and a forensic guy because I didn’t sign it and I have proof that I didn’t sign it. It’s not legal.”

“So what?” Oh, God. Colton was going to try to take Abby. He was going to get them out of his house. “I want you out of my house.”

He was going to have to sell everything and just take Abby and run. “How could you? You just show up. You have only seen her once. She doesn’t even know your name really. What you know, you were nice to her once, and you decide you’re going to take her from me?”

“What? No, Jesus. No.” Colton scrubbed a hand over his face.

“I have no intention of taking her from you. But someone, my parents and their lawyer, pretended to be me, signed my name, took away my choice in the matter, and drove you off so I lost you and my daughter.” His eyes gleamed with what Sebastian thought was anger, but not at him. “I intend to make them regret it.”

“And me? Are you going to make me regret it?” He watched Colton carefully, that flash of temper intimidating.

“No.” Colton’s expression softened. “You didn’t do this.”

“I didn’t. I didn’t even—You don’t understand. I called and called, and it was nothing, then that letter.”

“They… Well, I won’t tell you what my folks said.

It’s embarrassing and downright dehumanizing, and I’m ashamed of them.

They were keeping us from contacting each other, honey.

Like, actively. I’m guessing they kept my old phone and used it to keep you contained.

They told me it had gotten broken in the cave-in. So I had a new one with a new number.”

“They think I’m a gold digger. They think that I got pregnant on purpose.

” Sebastian was building up a head of steam.

“They think I want their motherfucking money, and I don’t.

I don’t want your money. I didn’t ever want your money.

I needed to let you know that you were going to be a father.

I never asked for a dime. And you know what?

I managed this all by myself. Well, with Xavi and Xander, which isn’t all by myself, but it wasn’t with you. ”

Colton nodded, holding his gaze, face so serious.

“You’re a stud. You did great, but that doesn’t make me any less mad at them, because I would have been here.

I would have been here for her, even if you and I decided we weren’t going to be together.

I’m her father—biologically, I know, but I would have done all of the things.

I would never ever have let you or Abby swing in the wind.

I was coming back after this job to see you.

I never was—I didn’t just walk out on you.

I thought I was calling you, and that you just weren’t answering. ”

That sucked big hairy balls, because it was too late now, wasn’t it? Now Abby was three, and he had three years, four, of just hating Colton with all he was, and he didn’t know if he wanted Abby to be part of a family that would do something like this.

Colton’s jaw tensed. “I can see you thinking hard. I get it. I do. My family sucks, and you don’t know if you can trust me.

But I hope you’ll give me a chance to prove to you that I was trying, and that I want to help.

And I—Well, what I want as far as us is neither here nor there right now, I guess. ” His smile was wry.

“I don’t even think that I’m ever going to… I’m tired, Colton. My house isn’t my house. I’m just tired.” And he wanted to sit and sob.

Someone had tried to fuck with his baby.

“That’s fair. Let’s work on the things we can work on.

Let’s deal with the ghosts. From there, if it’s all right with you, I’d like to spend some time with you and Abby.

I’m not asking for custody or solo visits or anything like that.

I just found out I had a daughter, and I’d like to get to know her. ”

“There’s not going to be a point where I’m going to allow her to know your parents.

I want to be clear there. If you can’t handle that, then no.

But if what you’re saying is true, and I don’t have any reason right this second to not believe you, they gave up their rights to call themselves grandparents. ”

He could take Colton with a grain of salt. But those assholes he was related to? Not a chance. Sebastian would burn them with his will alone.

“I told Sebastian that he should take the money.” Xander stood there in the doorway, arms across his chest. “I came to check on Abby. And I still think you should have cashed the check. You could have just put it in a bank account for her to have for college. We all saw the letter, we all saw the check, so don’t think that you can make it disappear by just willing it to be so. ”

Colton shook his head. “Dude, when this check was signed, when this paperwork was signed, I was in the hospital. I was in a friggin’ coma. I couldn’t have signed it. I have the medical records to prove it. They can also prove it’s not my signature forensically, but I was not even conscious.”

Xander blinked. “Man, what did you do to your parents to make them hate you so much?”

“Xander!” That was mean.

“What? It’s an honest question.” Xander shrugged, his focus on Colton.

“I don’t know. I’m not a hundred percent sure I give a shit.” Colton’s lips were a tight, hard line.

Xander nodded. “I can understand that. Anybody hungry?”

“I could eat,” Colton said. “And if Abby needs a college fund, I can start her one, or if she has one, I’ll put the money in. Screw my folks.”

“So we can talk about that.” There was very little he wasn’t willing to do for his daughter, including swallowing his pride. “But not today. Today, let’s work on…” He opened his hands. “I don’t even know. I—I don’t even know what to do next.”

His entire world had just shattered again, and just because it wasn’t bad news didn’t make it not fucked up as hell.

He’d dealt with the fact that Colton was an asshole.

He dealt with the fact that Colton’s people were assholes.

He’d dealt with the fact that he was going to be a single dad, and now he had to deal with the fact that everything might or might not be okay.

This was very stressful.

“You don’t have to.”

“What?” He looked at Colton, utterly not understanding.

“You don’t have to know what to do next. It’s all right. We’ll figure it out.”

He opened his mouth, but then closed it, because he had no idea what to say to that. It was the kindest thing anyone had said to him in ages. Xander and Xavi were always telling him to suck it up and get his head in the game and all the other mixed metaphors of encouragement.

Sometimes, he just wanted to be told that it was going to be okay, or that he wasn’t alone.

So, he blinked hard, clenching his hands in his lap. Then he took a deep breath and nodded. “Okay. Okay, one thing at a time. Do you need me to come to the house to help?”

“Only if you’re okay with being on camera.

We could do a little on-camera interview about what’s been happening.

If not, or if you need to come down and get stuff, just let us know, and we’ll tell you when we’re between sessions.

” Colton gave him one of those slow smiles, the ones that had always been just for him.

The ones that spoke of what they knew about each other, not of Colton having a public persona.

His heart kicked into high gear, and Sebastian was pretty sure he didn’t want it to. But there it was.

“Come on, you two.” Xander stuck his head back in the door. “I’m making food.”

“Okay.” It was so weird to be in this situation, but here he was.

Maybe Colton was right, though. Maybe he didn’t have to know what to do next.

At least not right at this very moment.