Page 30 of Mad Love

My dad is a combination of awestruck and distrustful, meeting the quarterback of his favorite team after he’s taken them to the Super Bowl two years in a row, who also happens to be the father of his grandson and hasn’t been around at all.

Weston gets it out of the way right off the bat, before we even leave the foyer to join his family. He hands Caleb to them, which makes both of them cry, the grief about Sasha so raw it’s brutal.

He’s gracious when I introduce him to them. He tells them he’s sorry for everything that’s happened. He’s so sorry for their loss. And that he didn’t know he had a son until the hospital called him on Saturday. My parents are as shocked as I was, even more so finding out it washim, and I think they’re so genuine that I can see on Weston’s face that he truly believes it.

What shocksmeis that they believe Weston didn’t know.

I think maybe I was wrong to ever jump to that conclusion, especially knowing how Sasha could sometimes twist the truth. I just always wanted so badly to believe whatever she told me.

“We’re sorry,” my dad says. “I wish I knew what Sasha was thinking. There were times she didn’t…make the best choices.” His cheeks flush and he looks down at Caleb as his eyes fill with tears. “But she was a good person, Weston, and she loved this boy more than anything.”

“When you’re ready, I’d like to hear more about her,” Weston says.

That makes my mom cry harder, and I hug her and then my dad, while Weston stands there quietly, being there but giving us space at the same time.

When we get our bearings, my mom looks at Weston and says, “I’m not sure if you can trust us after all of this, but we’re here, and we’ll do whatever we can to help. We want to be part of Caleb’s life and if this gets to be too much, we could also take care of him. We’d never keep you from seeing him.”

“I appreciate you saying that,” Weston says.

I wasn’t sure if it would make him angry to hear that or not, but he’s calm.

“I won’t keep you from seeing him either. I want to raise him, but that’s part of why I asked Sadie to stay here and help me. I don’t want to take him from the only family he’s known. He needs normalcy and I don’t know how long Sadie is willing to do this with me, but as you’ll see, it’s a big place, so she could stay here forever and it’d be okay with me.”

My mom’s eyes meet mine and I can see her mind whirling as much as mine is.

“What happens when you meet someone?” she asks, still looking at me and then at Weston. “Eventually you’ll both fall in love with someone and they might not be okay with this arrangement.”

“I’d like to have it in a legal document,” I say. “That way, you’ll trust that I’m not going to take him from you when I go to the store, and I’ll feel better knowing I won’t get the boot when you get a girlfriend.”

For a second, there’s a flash of indignation in his eyes, but when he nods, it’s gone. “We can talk to my parents about it tonight. I can have my family draw up paperwork—they’re lawyers. And you can look it all over and see if you agree to it or if we need to keep tweaking it. Sadie mentioned before that she needed it in writing and I should’ve made sure it was done then. But if the day comes when we are in relationships, and I’m nowhere close to that, by the way, I’d still want Sadie to raise Caleb with me. It sounds like that’s what Sasha really wanted—for Sadie to raise him—and I’d like to think that since she put me on the birth certificate, she’d be okay with me raising him too.”

My mom opens her mouth, but nothing comes out.

“Thank you,” I whisper.

“Are you guys hungry?” he asks. “There’s a lot of food in the kitchen.”

“I don’t think we’ll stay,” Dad says. “We’re exhausted and not good company right now, but I’d like to meet your family before we go.”

They go into the living room and meet everyone, and it’s strange how well everyone gets along. When my parents start to leave, Lane and Felicity both hug my mom.

I walk my parents to the door and they study me intently.

“Are you really going to be okay here?” Dad asks.

“I think so. The whole thing is crazy, but I’d rather be here than living without Caleb.”

They nod solemnly and we all hug each other.

My mom pats my cheek when I pull away.

“I think you’re in good hands,” she says.

And the craziest part is I’m starting to believe she’s right.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

COOLER THAN THAT

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